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Clickable Table of Contents |
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Join us in person for worship every Sunday at
Visit our website, www.standrewspdx.com, for an online bulletin. Click on "Bulletin" on the right side of the home page. |
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Thoughts from Pastor Sarah |
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Dear Kindred in Christ,
Monday night, about 75 people of faith gathered and committed to non-violence and non-reactivity whatever may happen while we worshiped outside the ICE facility. We each had battery operated candles and walked a few blocks to ICE and participated in responsive readings, sang, and prayed. A counter protester spewed hateful messages via a bullhorn, but we stayed calm and bore witness to the hope of this season. I was particularly heartened because in the gathering were people from St. A's, Valley, and Multnomah who had participated in our book discussions and there were lovely moments of reconnection unfolding. There were, in fact, people from many different faith communities. Thanks to those who joined in and to those who prayed for the event.
Last night, we had a truly lovely gathering in our sanctuary. We were ably led by Stephanie Smith and sang and prayed and lit candles for an hour. If you missed our first mid-week Advent service, you still have two more opportunities-- On 12.10 and 12.17. If you are a singer and want to join the pop-up choir, please arrive by 6pm. If you are an instrumentalist, please contact Stephanie to let her know you'd like to play. Otherwise, arrive by 7pm, take a seat in a circle of chairs (not a pew) at the front of the sanctuary, and let yourself be calmed, centered, and bathed in music and prayer. I know my schedule is overwhelming at the moment; this was just what I need in the midst of my busy week. Invite friends and neighbors, make plans to join us.
This coming Sunday is our Advent Communion service. As is our new practice, you are invited to bring food donations (or money for the Neighborhood House free food market) on Communion Sundays. There will be a box by the door ready to receive your food donations. We also hope you will bring emergency supplies for vulnerable neighbors. This week we encourage the sharing of small first aid kids, blankets (perhaps foil), batteries or chargers. There will be a basket or box in the narthex ready to receive these donations this Sunday. In addition, the giving tree for West Women's and Children's Shelter is up in the narthex. Gifts need to be returned to the church by Sunday 12.14, unwrapped with the label attached. So please claim a tag or two this Sunday. So many opportunities for generosity. I hope you will respond to the invitations that make sense to you.
Please continue to hold Merrie Backer and Connie Blumthal in your prayers. And indeed, let's hold our world in prayer. Thanks be to God, we are prepared for whatever may come, our go bag is ready. I hope you'll worship with us on Sundays and Wednesdays this month to be strengthened in your trust in this good news.
I will be on Zoom for coffee chat between 10am and 12pm tomorrow (I promise not to oversleep this week). If you have questions or concerns, or just want to connect, I hope you'll click on that link and join us.
17 years ago today I was in active labor all day. Caroline entered the world at 2:34 in the morning on December 5th. We'll be celebrating tomorrow. The gift of Caroline is definitely faith inspiring.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Sarah |
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SCRIPTURE
December 7
Ezekiel 37:1-14
John 11:25-26
December 14
Isaiah 55:1-13
John 4:13-14
Read these passages online here |
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ADVENT MISSION INVITATION
Each Sunday, we will collect specific emergency items for community members without access. These items correspond to themes in Pastor Sarah's Advent sermons each week.
Our Mission team will put your donations in Ziploc Ministry bags, and may take them to our friends in shelters or to other non-profits.
Sunday, December 7
Please bring for the sake of our neighbor's emergency preparedness:
- Blanket (consider a foil version that's easy to carry)
- Batteries/Charger |
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Advent season has officially begun in a big way. Please mark your calendars for the remaining December dates and plan to join us as we celebrate the Advent of Jesus Christ in song, prayer, and fellowship. |
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If you need assistance getting to or from the church, please call
Larry Kelley at 503-724-1966. |
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Dear brothers and sisters in faith: When I served on the St. Andrew’s staff (1990s-2009), I was encouraged and financially supported as I worked my way through the extensive PC(USA) Certified Christian Educator training. Now, as Elder of Christian Formation, I’d like to share a bit of what I’ve learned, with a brief message each month.
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Let’s meet a modern day Reformer -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (PART II)
Bonhoeffer helped form the Confessing Church. But while he and some Confessing Christians moved toward open resistance against the Nazi regime, more moderate Protestants made what they saw as necessary compromises. In a letter to Karl Barth, Bonhoeffer wrote that he suddenly found himself an opposition to all his friends and had decided that, “
it was time to go for a while into the desert." He left Germany, despondent over his church’s cowardice.
Bonhoeffer became the crucial link between international ecumenical efforts and the German conspiracy against Nazism. He was arrested in April 1943. In his prison writings,
“Letters and Papers from Prison,” he welcomed the coming together of Christian belief and the concept of Christ in the modern world. He was executed by the Gestapo in 1944.
Let’s never forget!
Roberta Schlechter, CCE
Image source: Wikimedia Commons via a cooperation project with the German Federal Archive. |
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Our Giving Tree holds 40 tags representing unique wishes for the residents of West Women's & Children's Shelter -- take a tag and fulfill a wish!
Gifts are due back to St. A's,
unwrapped (with label attached), by Sunday, December 14. Simply place your gift(s) under the tree in the Narthex and enjoy the feeling of giving. If you have any questions, you can send an email to Emily Dew.
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CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING
As it’s noted in the above section, the Christmas Joy Offering benefits the Presbytery in their work to support workers and their families in their time of need and leadership development and education for communities of color.
While we hope you give to that offering, we also have our Christmas Eve offering here at St. A’s to prayerfully consider. On December 24, you have the opportunity to support locally as well as internationally. Your generous gifts will be put towards the St. Andrew’s Deacon’s Emergency Fund as well to a financial gift and/or fulfillment of material needs for our Cuban partner church during the upcoming Cuba Mission trip.
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SPIRITUALITY FORMATION
Our Winter and Spring class series will be an Introduction to Celtic Spirituality.
Our text will be
The Book of Creation: An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality by J. Philip Newell, ordained in the Church of Scotland and the foremost expert on Celtic Christian spirituality.
We'll focus on the first seven days of Creation: |
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- The First Day: The Light of God
- The Second Day: The Wildness of God
- The Third Day: The Fecundity of God
- The Fourth Day: The Harmony of God
- The Fifth Day: The Creatureliness of God
- The Sixth Day: The Image of God
- The Seventh Day: The Stillness of God
The book is available for purchase through Powell's Books, Annie Bloom's, or other seller. Classes begin on January 7 and meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 12:30 to 2:00pm in the lounge (through April 1).
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CUBA CORNER
We’re finalizing our delegation, but would love to have you if you’d like to journey with us to Cuba for mission work. As we noted previously, we are working to make sure anyone who is interested has the ability to do so. Please contact Marilyn Palumbo.
Stay tuned for more information about an exciting fundraising opportunity that we’re calling Dine & Donate for Cuba Mission!
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ZIPLOC MINISTRY
Saturday, December 6
10:30am-12:00pm - Ziploc bag filling and donation drop-off
Each month, St. Andrew's sends large Ziploc bags filled with essential items to our ministry partner Operation Nightwatch, who then distributes them to the houseless people who utilize their services. Thanks to generous donors, along with additional Neighborhood Ministries funds, we receive enough funding each month to cover these costs. We are grateful to be able to continue this important work.
So what can you do to help? It has been brought to our attention the constant need for donations of new socks and new men's boxer-briefs, for many of our ministry partners. These can be dropped off at our Ziploc bag filling, at worship on Sundays, or during office hours.
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SERVING OUR NEIGHBORS
We always need more volunteers who love to cook. If you’d like to share in serving our neighbors at WWCS, check out the link here.
Casseroles are dropped off at St. A’s during the first Saturday Ziploc event.
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Supporting Your Faith Family
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ISING 20th ANNIVERSARY WINTER CONCERT AT THE RESER-
REACHING FOR THE STARS
If you're available this weekend, come see Pastor Sarah sing with ISing Choir in their 20th Anniversary show entitled Reaching for the Stars.
This not-to-be-missed event takes place at The Reser in Beaverton. Embark on a musical journey featuring "To Shiver the Sky" (composed by Grammy Award winner Christopher Tin, performed under the direction of Stephen Galván with full orchestral accompaniment, and featuring acclaimed soloists Arwen Myers (soprano) and Steven Evans-Renteria (tenor)).
Celebrate the spirit of exploration and humankind’s quest to conquer the heavens, highlighting the world’s greatest astronomers, authors, inventors, and pilots, including da Vinci, Copernicus, Jules Verne, Amelia Earhart, and John F. Kennedy.
By attending, you will also experience the world premiere of “Perfect Silence,” a new work by composer (and former ISing Assistant Conductor), David Walters, that explores how and why we come to know the universe. The concert will conclude with “We Come A-Darkly Caroling” by David Lovrien, a compilation of Christmas favorites sprinkled with humor and wit.
Proceeds from all concerts go to non-profits. This year the choir is raising funds for the Beaverton Resource Center. This organization "connects people with the essential services they need, all in one place."
Showtimes are:
- Saturday, December 6 at 7:30pm
- Sunday, December 7 at 3:00pm- SOLD OUT
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ENJOY ART IN THE NARTHEX
The three recently installed art works in the Narthex are from the Poulsen-House-Walsh NW Art Collection. Recently on exhibit at The Salem Art Association, the entire collection includes twenty-two works by seven NW Oregon Artists.
Mike and Mary have noted that their daughter, Kirsten, is an art curator and project manager. She will be rotating the art every few months (when visiting her parents) so that St. A's may get to enjoy the collection firsthand. |
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Virtual Gatherings & Events
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10:00am Worship
(also in person)
Friday, December 5 & 12
10am-12pm Virtual Coffee Chat, Zoom
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"COFFEE ANGELS" NEEDED DURING FELLOWSHIP
Volunteers are always needed on Sundays to make post-worship coffee hour & fellowship happen. If you would like to sign up for one or more Sundays, click here to sign up. Contact Marie Dolson or Gail Planck for more info.
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DISABLED STREET PARKING ACCESS
Please note that the street parking along SW Sunset is reserved for picking up and dropping off those who need extra assistance getting inside for worship on Sundays. We ask that you please leave these spaces open and not park there. There is plentiful parking in our lot across Dosch.
Those needing assistance can also use the driveway on Dosch for dropping off and picking up, and take the elevator up to the main level. If you have any questions or need further assistance on Sundays please contact the office. |
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ST. ANDREW'S NAME TAGS
As part of our welcome we encourage everyone to wear their name tags during Sunday worship. If your name tag is worn, has been lost, or if you never received one in the first place, contact the office and we will be happy to make you a new one (with our current logo!).
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FLOWERS FOR SUNDAY WORSHIP
If you would like to recognize a special occasion or person (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries) or memorialize a loved one by placing flowers on the chancel, please contact Bev Ruggles to confirm a date. Contact the office for Bev's phone number if you don't have it. |
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NATIONAL SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE
People experiencing a mental health crisis have a way to reach out for help in the U.S., by calling or texting the numbers 9-8-8. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. It will function much like 9-1-1, but is solely dedicated to addressing mental health needs. Click here for more information on this potentially lifesaving program, and help spread the word. |
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Member Database access is available anytime. Contact the office to get set up. |
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For online giving please visit:
standrewspdx.com/give
Thank you for continuing to support the ministries of St. Andrew's through your online donations and checks sent by mail.
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Kara Errico, Office Administrator/Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator
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