St. Andrew's Feast Day

Today is the feast day of St. Andrew!

Who was St. Andrew?  Andrew was a fisherman who was minding his business--catching fish--when Jesus called him to follow him.  Andrew, along with his brother Simon Peter, are exemplars of the faith, because they dropped everything they were doing, leaving him and family, to follow Jesus of Nazareth.

The hope and prayer?  May we be like St. Andrew, dropping everything in our hands and go, follow Jesus, casting the net wide in catching people, sharing with them in body, mind, and spirit, the Good News!

Pastor Brett

Curing Warring Madness

In the hymn by Harry Emerson Fosdick, "God of Grace and God of Glory," the third verse has always stood out to me: "Cure thy children's warring madness; bend our pride to thy control; shame oru wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul."

"Thy children's warring madness" came to the fore today in reading and listening to the shooting at Umpqua Community College, 180 miles from where I am writing this in Roseburg, OR. This is the 45th massacre in 2015.  45th. That is 45 too many. 13 dead. 20 year old killer, also dead.

We have a problem in this country.  It is of epidemic proportion. As a Christian community of faith, we stand foursquare against gun violence like this. And not only in this country, but anywhere in the world. Violence begets violence. Period.

"Cure thy children's warring madness" is our prayer.

Pax!

Pastor Brett

Getting back in the saddle again...

Life has been busy with us at St. Andrew's.  We had a full summer, with "Blues Vesper" and "Hear and Now," along with a heck of a picnic and music fest. And we are looking forward to our Youth Group Rummage Sale, Cuban Libre, and Cuban Auction. What these events are allowing us to experience at St. A's is an opportunity to enjoy one another.  Because it is in relationships with one another that we truly experience the Christ.

Coming up soon?  Stewardship Campaign!  And what we are looking forward to is imagining what our future is going to be as a congregation at St. A!  Get ready for opportunities to share your ideas of our collective future!

Ready...set...dream!

Pax! Pastor B 

New day in the United States, revealing what we already know in the Church

Today is a new day in the U.S. Today, LGBTQI and non-LGBTQI people were honored and recognized as equals under the law.  Both due process and equality under the law were met today as a Constitutional standard, and we are celebrating that.  As someone who is open and honest about who he is as a child/son of God, to be denied rights and privileges 98% of this congregation can enjoy all along, is huge. Big.

Yet within the Church (universal), the body of Christ, the household of God, we who are LGBTQI are already "equals" or fully loved, because we are all created in the image of God, and as the poster says "God doesn't make junk."

The PCUSA offices in Louisville, and the elected leadership sent out this "blurb" today in light of the ruling of the Supreme Court of the US:

“It is always good when the church is at the front end of a movement such as this and catches the spirit in the wind of where people are attempting to move society and give voice to those who have long been silenced,” said the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness. “Our task now is to educate congregations and address how the church is to engage society and our differences. It’s much more than a gay/lesbian issue. We are seeing laws overturned in favor of communities that have not always been represented.”

More here: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2015/6/26/pcusa-celebrates-supreme-court-decision-same-gende/

Pax! Pastor B

Presbytery of the Cascades is HERE at St. Andrew's!

The Presbytery of the Cascades two day meeting, June 19-20, has begun!  They are here!  And the hospitality of St. Andrew's is wonderful.

Y'all are wonderful people at St. A!

Pastor B

Moving Forward in the Summertime!

Exciting times at St. A's this summer! It's summertime!

Presbytery of the Cascades is meeting here this weekend, June 19-20, 2015!

And Session last night approved the following:

* Plastic for Offertory!  We will be accepting credit cards, along with cash, checks, and on-line donations.  This will start July 5, 2015!

* Worship will now include midweek Eucharist on Wednesdays, 6:30-7, starting in September 2015 in the small chapel;

* Cuba is on our minds!  Preparing for welcoming the Rev. Michael Beaton from Cuba to our pulpit and community on June 28!

* And an exciting August 2015 is just around the bend!

Enjoy!

Be safe!

And God Bless!

Pastor Brett

Catching Up with a Congregation on the Move

What's going on at St Andrew's?  My calendar is full from the past few weeks, and is filling in quickly before I take off for India.

* CSA: we are now a drop off point for Pumpkin Patch;
* We now have planted a vegetable garden;
* This fall we will focus on healthy minds, healthy bodies, and healthy faith;
* We celebrated Pentecost and still are speaking in both English and ASL;
* Pastor Brett spent a week finishing a rough draft of PRACTICING PILGRIMAGE at St. Ben's in St. Joseph, MN, the world's largest women's Benedictine women's monastery;
* Pastor Jeremy and family are off on vacation;
* Cuba is happening here.  Auction and next year's trip is under way in terms of planning;
* New office administrator will be coming on baord Aug. 3, while we are sad and sorry to be seeing Donna Haub leave;
* Choir had a most excellent picnic last Wednesday night.
* Pastor Michael Beaton from Cuba will be here for 2 weeks;
* Presbytery of the Cascades will be meeting at St. A's this Friday and Saturday;
* We are learning to pray the Lord's Prayer with ASL;
* New paraments are in the sanctuary;
* Jesus is being preached in thish Church;
* The Holy Spirit is moving in the lives of people;
* The creating God is busy as ever.
* Love reigns
* Carolyn Gazeley and Jeremy wrote a great column in the Crossroads;
* Blessing of the Animals on July 26, 2015;
* We are going to start using plastic for offertory July 5, 2015...

And the list goes on.

Stay tuned!

Pastor Brett