The Messenger

A Publication of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 5415 SE Powell Blvd., Portland OR 97206

October 2014

Talking recently with a retired pastor, I was asked “so what is going over at St. Mark’s these days?”

The next day, meeting with another person, I heard “I need someone to paint the big picture. Now, I

can’t draw or paint to save my life. But thanks to computers, I can make diagrams. So here’s your dia-

gram of what will be happening at St. Mark’s this fall.

Pastor Elizabeth Larsen

We gather for worship at 9:30 on Oct. 26th, Reformation

Sunday. That day we will celebrate the ways in which the

church is always reforming and being re-formed by the

Holy Spirit for God’s kingdom. Specifically, how St.

Mark’s has committed to live out its life in the service of

Christ.

Sunday, November 2nd All Saints Sun-

day, when we remember the faithful wit-

nesses who have gone before us. Including

those who built up St Mark’s. In addition

to the 9:30 am worship service, we will

have a luncheon at 1pm in the downstairs

social hall to celebrate 90 years of minis-

try. It will be a celebration of the past, the

present . . . And what’s to come.

Sunday, October 12th at 11am, it’s a congrega-

tional brunch following the 9:30am worship ser-

vice, in the downstairs social hall. After a report on

how we’ve lived into the vision and the list, it’ll be

time to assess progress and offer new ideas.

Remember “What is God calling

us to do and to be as Servants of

Christ the Servant?” Remember

“how do we live this out?” (If

you don’t, you can turn the page

and refresh your memory).

So how we doing at that?

Between now and Oct. 12th, please re-

view, ponder and PRAY over the St.

Mark’s mission and the way we live it

out — it’s right there on the next page.

The conversation team re-

views, condenses and sorts

out the results of the brunch

conversations. (Please be

praying for them)

And . . .. Onwards

into the future!

Following worship, during

the coffee time, there will

be an opportunity to find

out more about the vision

lifted up and sign on.

Pastor:

Rev. Elizabeth Larsen

pastor@smpdx.org

Office: 503-777-1443

Monday-Thursday: 9:00-2:00 pm

Off Fridays

Cell Phone: 503-267-8053

Organ/Piano: Arlan Evensen

aevensen@qwest.net

Administrative Assistant/

Newsletter Editor:

Joyce Nance

office@smpdx.org

Office: 503-777-1443

Monday-Thursday: 8:30-1:30 pm

Off Fridays

Council President: Brian Steves

bsteves@gmail.com

Custodian: Robert Thomas

Webmaster: Scot Brende

brendes75@hotmail.com

Servant Fund Chair:

Sally Durham

sallyanddennis@comcast.net

Ministers to Chinese

Community:

Pastors Andrew Yong & Terry Yang

503-860-3388 (Pr. Andrew)

Asamblea Apostolica: Pastor Andres

Cruz 503-333-5038

Who’s Who at St. Mark’s

2

Coming soon

Sunday, October 5th Blessing of the

animals as our observance of the

feast of St. Francis. 2pm in the

parking lot, weather permitting, or

under the breezeway roof. Please

bring your animals leashed, in carri-

ers, or in cages. All creatures great

and small are welcome. Francis of Assisi (died 1226) renounced

his family wealth and devoted himself to serving the poor. The Or-

der of Friars Minor (Franciscans) was formed under his leadership.

Francis is remembered, among other things, for his spirit of glad-

ness and gratitude for all God’s creation.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS; COMING UP: Sunday, November 23rd Christ the King. The Portland

Eastside Ministries’ joint worship service

will be at Central Lutheran this year.

Wednesday, November 26th Thanksgiving Eve Worship

and Pie Fest. We’ll gather to give

thanks to our generous God at 7pm,

move to the coffee room to share some

pie, and then send most of the pies to the

St. Francis dining hall for their Thanks-

Thank you to everyone who re-

sponded to our questionnaire

about topics for monthly educa-

tional sessions.

The top five topics were

The economic inequality in

our world and what it means

for the church

Adapting to cultural and eth-

nic changes in our world

Understanding people of vari-

ous generations

Death and dying: deci-

sions, preparations, hos-

pice, living wills

Two different time slots were

requested: after worship on

the last Sunday of the month,

and a session on a week night

evening.

Since we have a lot going on

this fall, the plan is to begin

these monthly sessions of

“adapting to a changing

world” in January.

In the meantime, you might

find something new in your

mailbox. The Servant

Fund has given a grant to

pay for a “congregational

subscription” to the Lu-

theran Magazine. The plan

is to use the cover articles

and accompanying study

guides as jumping-off

points for our monthly ses-

sions. Happy reading!

3

AS SERVANTS OF CHRIST THE SERVANT,

WE ARE CALLED BY GOD TO: Spread the Word of God through worship, prayer, discipleship and education

Spread God’s love by example through service, advocacy and community

Be spirit-led stewards of our time, talents and money

How do we live this out? Adapt to a changing world

Be welcoming, inclusive, honest, friendly and nonjudgmental

Partnering and follow-up with newcomers

Signage/advertising

Cookies and grandparents

Live out our values through our worship service

Traditional

Intimate

Music

Wholly Love

Bible study

Vacation Bible School

Build community through continual member & homebound contact

Calls

Visits

Rides

Activities

Stewardship opportunities

Getting and using resources

Tithing

Streamline volunteer opportunities: sign-ups and job descriptions

Community building beyond the congregation

Welcoming others to use the church building

Expand our experiences/ministries

Joint services

Sharing resources

Chinese community activities

Work with Pastor Andrew

Help the poor (local)

Feed the hungry (pantry)

Pie fest

Community basket

Clothes closet

Serving soup at pantry at least once a month

Help the needy (world-wide)

Quilts

Noisy offerings

School supplies (Lutheran World Relief)

4

Celebrate Life Together

Birthdays October, 2014

Victoria Morrow,3rd

Gene Petrasso, 6th

Ruth Wentzien, 6th

Doris Zilk, 7th

Carole Johnson, 8th

David Clark, 14th

Ellen Anderson, 15th

Fay Day, 15th

Buck Johnson, 16th

Ed Ronning 20th

Laura Richards, 24th

Rev. E. Larsen, 26th

Laura Donnelley, 29th

Anniversaries

Dorothy & Leroy Teeple, 28th

Marcia & Don Olney, 11th

Vicki & Dennis Morrow, 34th

Prayers & Concerns

Unable to worship with us: Fay Day,

Lenora Johnson, Ceil Libke, Fern Luke,

Don McLaughlin, Pauline McNeff, Aud-

rey Rutger, Billie Smith, Lucille Stariha,

Dorothy Swanson, Clareann Teeters, Carol

Thompson, Marguerite Thomson, Ruth

Wentzein, Dorothy Trimble, & Doris Zilk.

Continued Needs: Fern Luke, Robert Thir-

inger, Lucille Stariha, Carol Deo, Sr,

Esther Stotik, Laura Keith-Byland, John

Etzel, Dorothy Trimble, Mark Gardner,

Lorna Schwartz, Crystal and her children,

James Langley.

In mourning: Family and friends of Dick

Welk, family and friends of Lois Gogl,

family and friends of Tom Karter, Sr.

The Church & Beyond: The Oregon

Synod and our partner churches; the Port-

land Eastside Ministry Coalition; Pastor

Yong’s & Terry’s Ministry to the Chinese

Community; Pastor Cruz and the Asamblea

Apostolica; our service men and women,

our Muslim brothers and sisters; the volun-

teers and clients of the food pantry, clothes

closet and community basket; for peace

and compromise in the Mideast, and in

Ukraine. Prayers of gratitude for the media-

tors, every cease fire and aid box .

FOOD PANTRY: Fridays from 3 to 6 PM

BETHLEHEM CHILDREN’S CLOTHING CLOSET

Coordinated by Brenda Richards and Deb Schulz

4th Saturday from NOON to 2 PM

A MINIMUM OF 5 VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED EACH WEEK

*A MAXIMUM OF SIX VOLUNTEERS FOR EFFICIENCY

Date *Volunteers

October

25th

Lynda Kennedy

Five Additional Volunteers Needed

November

22nd

Lynda Kennedy

*Five volunteers needed

November

22nd

Lynda Kennedy

*Five volunteers needed

OCT 3RD Mary

Karter

Al Bowen, Dean Winter

Jenny Winter,

(4 out of 5 needed)

OCT

10

Ed

Thiringer

Madeline Grimm, Teresa

Osgood

(2 out of 5 needed)

OCT.

17

Mary

Karter

Ruth & Jerry Griffith, Brenda

Richards, Pastor Larsen & Max,

D.B. (BINGO!!)

OCT.

24

Madeline

Grimm

Jennifer Lubin, Roxanne

(2 out of 5 needed)

OCT

31

Mary

Karter

Ed Thiringer, Madeline Grimm

(2 out of 5 needed)

Date Lead Volun-

teer

Volunteers

Dear Friends,

Many thanks for your “contribution to the cause”.

Shoe vouchers are going out the door as we

speak.

Peace

Fr. Patrick

Francis Center

October

2014

5

Pentecost 17

12

Pentecost 18

19

Pentecost 19

26

Reformation Sunday

Greeters

Ed Thiringer

Laura Donnelley Dolores Morelli Gary & Jeri Dayton Lynda Kennedy

Prayers of the People

Joyce Nance

Brenda Richards Jon Cheskin Al Bowen Teresa Osgood

Readers

Lori Petrasso

Amy Larson Jenny Winter Lynda Kennedy Marcia Olney

Nursery Attendant

Jeri Dayton

Vicki Rutger Dolores Morelli Carole Johnson

Lorie Petrasso

Jeri Dayton

Ushers

Brian Etzel

David Sawyer

Don Olney

Travis Osgood

Madeline Grimm

Marg Lyseng

Brenda Richards

Terry Larson

Gene Petrasso

Ruth Griffith

Buck Johnson

Vicki Rutger

Brian Etzel

Brian Fajardo

Lynda Kennedy

Lafe Hallum

Wholly Love

Sally Durham &

Dolores Morelli

Linda Kennedy Sally Durham Teresa Osgood Jon Cheskin

Communion

Assistants

Lori Petrasso

Virginia Langley

Brenda Richards

Marg Lyseng

Brian Fajardo

Don Olney

Marcia Olney

Brenda Richards

Virginia Langley

Lynda Kennedy

Gene Petrasso

Don Olney

Marcia Olney

Communion Prep

Vicki Rutger

Carole & Buck Johnson Brian Etzel Vicki & Tom Rutger Terry Larson

Bread Baker

Brenda Richards

Carole Johnson Brenda Richards Lorie Petrasso Terry Larson

Sound System Bob Olsrud Bob Olsrud Brian Fajardo Bob Olsrud

Announcements

Terry Larson

Refreshments

Lynda Kennedy

TBA Lynda Kennedy Dot Long TBA

Counters

Mary Karter

Brian Etzel

Mary Karter

Ed Thiringer

Sally Durham

Bob Olsrud

Edgar Ronning

Al Bowen

Dolores Morelli

Jean Johnson

Brian Etzel

Madeline Grimm

Gary Lippert

Marg Lyseng

Worship Ministries at St. Mark’s Please speak with one of the coordinators (whose names are below each of the ministries listed) if you would like

to get involved with one of these important ministries.

Thank you to all who helped with our latest landscaping projects. 23 people showed up on

Thursday, Sept. 11 to spread bark dust. In record time, one and a half units were spread around the

church. By 6:00 we were enjoying cool drinks and dinner provided by Vicki Rutger, Lynda Kennedy,

Dolores Morelli and Sally Durham.

The property committee would like to thank those of you who contributed towards the purchas-

ing of the bark dust and to the 4 individuals who worked on Wednesday and Thursday in anticipation

of the work party.

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2014

7

Thank you, thank you for that beautiful bouquet from the

friends at St. Mark’s. My, how nice of you, and here I’m 99 years

old.. How the time goes. I’m so enjoying it. It’s the prettiest bou-

quet I’ve ever seen.

Pauline J. McNeff

Please note that the completed backpack kits need to be returned by Sun-

day, October 12th at 9:30 (if you’re a fast sewer, there are some remaining

kits in the coffee room). If you have any questions check with Sally Durham.

Then we’ll get everything assembled, and bless the backpacks on October 26th,

Reformation Sunday.

Update on the Lutheran World Relief backpacks

The Sunday bible study is back, and it’s time to wrap up Genesis by working our way through the Joseph

narrative (Genesis 37:1— 50:26). Here’s the schedule of what we’ll be discussing when. So that we can

jump right in on the discussion, please read through the day’s selection before 11am on Sunday. You can

read the whole story straight through or read each passage just before Bible study, come to the study

every single Sunday, or pop in for the sections that really interest you.

Sunday, September 28 Genesis 37:1-6

Sunday, October 5 Genesis 39:1-23; 40:1-23

Sunday, October 12th check-back and follow-up on the congregational conversations. Brunch in the

social hall following the service.

Sunday, October 19 Genesis 41: 1-57

Sunday, October 26th Reformation Sunday Following the worship service, during the coffee hour, will

be a time to find out more about the vision lifted up on October 12th and sign on.

Sunday, November 2 All Saints Sunday Genesis 42:1-44:34

Sunday, November 9 Genesis 45: 1-28

Sunday, November 16 Genesis 46: 1-47:31

Sunday, November 23 Christ the King The PEM joint worship will be at Central Lutheran this year.

Sunday, November 30 Advent begins! Genesis 48:1-50:26

Once we wrap up Genesis, we’ll take a break to let Advent and Christmas wash over us. When we re-

group in January, we’ll go on . . . . to Exodus???

Wednesday, Nov. 26th

Thanksgiving Eve Wor-

ship and Pie Fest We’ll

gather for worship at

7pm, share some pie, and

then send most of the pies

to the St. Francis Dining

Sunday morning Bible study

All God’s Children are invited to Sunday Worship

9:30 a.m. Worship with Communion Every Sunday

10:45a.m. Coffee Fellowship

11:00 a.m. Bible Study & Choir Practice

11:30 a.m. Mandarin Chinese Worship

3:00 p.m. Asamblea Apostolica

www.smpdx.org

“Servants of Christ the Servant”

Pastor: Pr. Elizabeth Larsen Heavenly Peace Ministry Pastors: Pr. Andrew Yong & Pr. Terry Yang Organ/Piano: Arlan Evensen Administrative Assistant: Joyce Nance Custodian: Robert Thomas Webmaster: Scot Brende

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church 5415 SE Powell Blvd. Portland OR 97206

NON-PROFIT ORG

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PORTLAND, OR

PERMIT No. 1115

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