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

January 2016

I’ll just go ahead and say it.

I think it’s neat that the church

has annual meetings during

Epiphany.

Here’s why: Epiphany itself,

January 6th, is when we cele-

brate the wise men from the east

arriving to worship the newly

born Jesus (Matthew 2).

This is a BIG hint right here

that the good news of Jesus is

not only for the people who al-

ready know they are God’s peo-

ple, but is good news for the

whole world.

It’s worth noticing that Mat-

thew’s gospel begins with Magi

— astronomers from Persia —

and ends with what we know as

the “Great Commission,” the

instructions from Jesus to “Go,

therefore, and make disciples of

all nations.”

So the season, or time after,

Epiphany, is a good time for the

church to think and pray and

listen and sing about how we

might help the good news shine

as brightly in people’s lives as

that first star that guided the

magi.

How do we go out, and how

do we welcome in?

How can we learn to wel-

come strangers from different

places to join us around the

manger, and give thanks for the

(odd) gifts they might bring?

How do we go out, carrying

the light of Christ in our lives?

Those seem to me to be the

big questions we should be ask-

ing when we gather as a congre-

gation to review the past year

and prepare for the next.

Maybe the season will guide

us: Wednesday, January 6th,

like the traveling Magi, we’ll

move out of our comfort zone

(the St. Mark’s building) and

gather with Holy Trinity and St.

Paul’s at St. Paul’s for a potluck

and a “star celebration.”

Sunday, January 10th, we

celebrate the Baptism of our

Lord and, following Jesus into

the water, hear ourselves named

as beloved daughters and sons,

claimed and sent out.

On to the Wedding at Cana,

in which Jesus reveals that he

bears God’s creative power and

joyful presence into the world.

Hmm . . Joyous celebrations in

which we discover that God has

provided more than we ever

thought possible.

On to Jesus’ first sermon, in

his hometown of Nazareth, in

which he lays our his priorities:

good news to the poor, release

to the captives, recovery of sight

to the blind, letting the op-

pressed go free, in other words,

to proclaim the year of the

Lord’s favor. Hmmm. . .how are

we helping with that work?

Who’s out there, doing that

work, that we could join in

with?

Then Jesus wraps up his

hometown sermon by remind

his hearers and us that God’s

prophetic mission pushes be-

yond our human-made bounda-

ries so that mercy and grace are

extended to those regarded as

outsiders. Hmm. . . Where are

we drawing boundaries lines,

and where are we reaching

across them? Who’s reaching

across boundaries to us?

And then WOW! It’s Trans-

figuration: for a brief time, Je-

sus is on the mountaintop, shin-

ing with his full glory — which

will be made manifest in his

death and resurrection. And we

are left to wonder how we re-

flect his glory to give light to the

world? Who else is letting the

Christ-light shine brightly in

their lives?

Good news, Servants of

Christ the Servant: we’ve got a

month of Epiphany light in

which to ask, wonder, pray and

listen.

Pastor Elizabeth Larsen

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: Epic Janitorial

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

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 ex-ample through service, ad-vocacy and community

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

POINSETTIA CONTRIBUTIONS The Poinsettias decorating our sanctuary were given by: : Al & Gloria Bowen In Memory of Burnadean Kennedy

and John Howard Kennedy

Jeri & Gary Dayton In Memory of Shirley & Mel French

Sally & Dennis Durham In Memory of Loved Ones

John & Norma Etzel In Memory of Parents, Norma &

Elfriedo Diekman and Herman &

Marie Etzel

Ruth & Gerald Griffith In Memory of Hoffart-Griffith

Families

Madeline Grimm In Memory of Loved Ones

Lafe Hallum In Memory of Sally Hallum

Cindy Huber In Memory of Vivian Huber

Esther Huntley & Family In Memory of Husband, Lee Hunt

ley; Parents, Hugh & Minnie Hunt

ley and Frank & Agnes Buehler

Marilyn Hutson In Memory of Husband, Kenneth

Hutson

Clara Jackson In Memory of Family Members

Solveig Jondahl In Memory of Douglas Jondahl &

Granddaughter, Andrea Jondahl

Dorothy Long In Memory of Jerry Long

Marg Lyseng In Memory of Iver & Matilda

Lyseng

Dolores Morelli In Memory of Helen & Frank

Dempster and Steve Dempster

Joyce Nance In Memory of Susan Martin, Zach

Spennagel, and Andy Wolfer

Marcia & Don Olney In Memory of Mothers, Irene Fick

and Catherine Olney

Hannah Schink & Family In Memory of Chester Schink

Deb Schulz In Memory of Nancy Schulz

Jerry, Liz, Kara In Memory of Edwin Thiringer

Dean & Jenny Winter In Memory of Joshua Winter,

In Honor of Miriam & Matthew

Fowler

3

Christmas continues at St. Mark’s

. . And then it’s Epiphany

After the long waiting of Ad-

vent, we revel in the twelve

days of Christmas: Christmas

Day, and the two Sundays in

Christmas (December 27th

and January 3rd) we’ll wor-

ship using a Christmas Carol

liturgy.

Sunday Dec. 27th You can still

bring in your little red barns for

ELCA World Hunger to the wor-

ship service.

Sunday, January 3rd,

*kids are invited to bring their favorite

Christmas book to share at Wholly Love.

*we’ll choose where to direct the gathered

total from the red barns, using the ELCA Good

Gifts catalog.

*everyone is invited Epiphany Open

House (2pm—5pm) at Pastor, Jon, Max and

Ted’s house (7324 SE Knight Street). We’ll be

“chalking the lintel” at 3:30.

“Chalking

the lintel”

is part of a tradition of Epiphany house

blessing, inscribing 20 + CMB + 16with

white chalk above the main door. The

numbers change with each new year. The three

letters stand for either the ancient Latin bless-

ing Christe mansionem benedica, which means,

"Christ, bless this house," or the legendary

names of the magi (Caspar, Melchior, and

Balthasar).

Epiphany begins with a

tri-congregational potluck

and “following the star”

event at St. Paul Lutheran

(3880 SE Brooklyn St.)

with Holy Trinity and St.

Mark’s. Wednesday,

January 6, 2016, 6:00pm.

To celebrate the many ways the good news of

Christ has gone out into all lands, we’ll worship

during Epiphany with a round-the-world liturgy

(setting 6 in the blue book). If you’d like to

prepare or brush up, come to choir practice af-

ter worship on Sunday, January 3rd.

The St. Mark’s annual

congregational meet-

ing and potluck will be

Sunday, January 24th,

following worship, in

the downstairs social hall.

Please send all reports electronically to of-

fice@smpdx.org by Monday, January 11th.

Once again, the annual report package will be

distributed primarily by e-mail; paper copies

will be available on Sunday, January 21st.

This is your opportunity to prayerfully con-

sider serving a two-year term on the St. Mark’s

council, joining the Servant (Endowment)

Fund, or attending Synod Assembly in Eugene

April 29 — May 1.

You can sign up electronically for the pot-

luck at signupgenius.com or on paper in the

coffee room. We really appreciate the RSVP so

that we know how many people to prepare for.

Church on the road: Worship at Mt. Tabor Courtyard Wednes-

day, January 6th at 12:30 at the Courtyard

(2nd floor Community Room of the“Park”

Building,6323 SE Division)

Thursday, January 13th, 1pm at Powell

Valley (in the library, 4001 SE 182nd).

If you have a relative or good friend at one of

these locations, or live relatively close to one of

these facilities, come be a part of “church on

the road”. For many of our elders, communion

is good, seeing the pastor is good, but the

chance to worship together is really special.

20 + C + M + B + 16

4

The “giving tree” is up!

As part of preparing our

hearts for God’s dwelling

among us, we have a not-

quite-Christmas tree

which will be ‘decorated’

with things that a modern

-day Jesus, Mary and Jo-

seph could use. That is,

the clients of the St.

Mark’s food pantry and

Bethlehem Children’s

Clothes Closet.

So, warm scarves for gar-

land, knit hats for a top-

per, toothbrushes for ici-

Thank you thank you thank you To everyone who contributed presents, wrapping paper, tape and energy

to wrap new toys and games to help Christmas happen for the Bethlehem Chil-

drens’ Clothes Closet families. Our efforts collected approximately 175 gifts,

gave out 116 presents to 44 families at the Clothes Closet (an all-time record for

the number of families

served in a day! ), The

remainder of the gifts

were donated to the

Letty Owings Center, a

recovery home for

women and their chil-

dren.

You Made a Difference We can read a lot of newspaper articles

on the need for affordable housing in Port-

land. Lots of ideas, little action.

The St. Mark’s congregation showed ac-

tion. By going to MACG (Metropolitan Alli-

ance for the Common Good) and PEM

(Portland Eastside Ministries) meetings and

Portland City Council Housing Bureau op-

portunities for testifying, we’ve shown that

we are helping organize the efforts for af-

fordable housing. Showing up in itself says a

lot to the decision makers. They see that peo-

ple are interested in making changes in Port-

land. There IS power in numbers.

Thanks to the efforts we’ve made, City

Council moved the Tax Increment Financing

(TIF) from 30% to 45%. This was unani-

mously approved by the City Council.

TIF funding is only a small piece of the

puzzle. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open for

other opportunities to join the organizing ef-

forts to help our Brothers and Sisters in

Christ afford housing for their families.

Mary Karter

The Giving Tree is here!

cles, packages of soap as ornaments. Instead of a

tree skirt, packages of toilet paper and diapers.

Other suggestions are: toothpaste, shampoo, de-

odorant, razors & shave foam, laundry detergent,

dishwashing soap, cleaning supplies and feminine

hygiene products.

Always needed are kids’ socks and underwear

(new, please).

5

Celebrate Life Together

Birthdays January 2016

Owen Steves, 6th

Audrey Rutger, 7th

Gary Lippert, 19th

Linda Weaver, 21th

Brian Fajardo, 25th

Anniversaries, January, 2016

Brenda & Eldon Richards, 19th

Norma & John Etzel, 21st

Prayers & Concerns

Unable to worship with us: Fay Day, Lenora

Johnson, Ceil Libke, Fern Luke, Don

McLaughlin, Pauline McNeff, Audrey Rut-

ger, Lucille Stariha, Dorothy Swanson, Clare-

ann Teeters, Marguerite Thomson, Ruth

Wentzein, Doris Zilk, Al & Lorna Schwartz

Continued Needs: Fern Luke, Robert Thir-

inger, Lucille Stariha, Carol Deo, Esther

Stotik, John Etzel,, Lorna Schwartz, Crystal

and her children, James Langley, Carole Cole,

Robert Capozzi, Marguerite Thomson, Mike

Giante, Vivian Huber, Bruce Huber, Zinnia,

Laura Richards, Jackie Tschaggen, Deanna

Huntley, Esther Huntley, Lucas & Savannah,

Gene Van Tassell, Carol Nickachos, K. D.

Brown, Diane Zimmerman.

In Mourning: Family and friends of Billie

Jean Osgood, Zack Spannagel, and Andy

Wolfer.

The Church & Beyond: The Oregon Synod

and our partner churches; the Portland East-

side 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 volunteers and clients of the

food pantry, clothes closet and community

basket; for peace and compromise in the

Mideast, and in Ukraine. for the mediators,

every cease fire and aid box . The citizens of

France and, in particular, the city of Paris, the

people of Yola, Nigeria; the people of Ba-

mako, Mali, the people of Colorado Springs,

the people of San Bernardina

DATE *VOLUNTEERS

JANUARY

23RD

Lynda Kennedy

Others TBA

FEBRUARY

23RD

Lynda Kennedy

Others TBA

MARCH 26TH Lynda Kennedy

Others TBA

FOOD PANTRY: Fridays from 3 to 5:30 PM

DATE LEAD VOLUNTEERS

JANUARY

9TH

Dolores

Morelli

Brenda Richards, Madeline

Grimm

JANUARY

16TH

Mary

Karter

Ruth & Gerry Griffith, Pastor &

Max, D. B.

JANUARY

23RD

Madeline

Grimm

Elise & Owen Christman

JANUARY

30TH

TBA TBA

A MINIMUM OF FIVE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED EACH WEEK

BETHLEHEM CHILDREN/S CLOTHING CLOSET

Coordinated by Brenda Richards and Deb Schulz

4th Saturday from NOON to 2 PM

Bible study will resume Sunday January 10th at 8:30am

in the coffee room, led by Dean Winter

TIS THE

SEASON FOR WARMTH! The Clothes Closet is asking for help in gathering

some warm winter clothing to help children

through the cold weather. They need mittens,

hats, scarvess, underwear, warm socks, and baby

blankets.

If your children or grandchildren have outgrown

their winter coats here’s a chance to give them a

valuable second life.

The Closet serves around 30 to 40 families each

month for a total of around 80-100

children. What better place to help out!

Worship Ministries at St. Mark’s Please speak with the office if you would like to get involved with one of these important ministries

January

2016

3rd

2nd Christmas

10th

Baptism of Our Lord

17th

2nd Epiphany

24th

3rd Epiphany

31st

4th Epiphany

Greeters Mary Karter Laura Donnelley Dolores Morelli Gary & Jeri

Dayton

Marg Lyseng

Prayers

Of the People

Lynda

Kennedy

Teresa

Osgood

Sally

Durham

Al

Bowen

Dolores

Morelli

Readers

Marcia

Olney

Jon

Cheskin

Brian

Steves

Jeri

Dayton

Max \

Cheskin

Nursery Attendant

Vicki Rutger Dolores Morelli Carole Johnson

Lorie Petrasso

Jeri Dayton Jeri Dayton

Ushers

Travis Osgood,

David Sawyer

Don Olney

Madeline Grimm

Marg Lyseng

Brenda Richards

Terry Larson

Gene Petrasso

Ruth Griffith

Buck Johnson

Vicki Rutger

Brian Etzel

Brian Fajardo

Lynda Kennedy

Lafe Hallum

David Sawyer

Travis Osgood

Don Olney

Wholly Love

Story Book Day Sally Durham Jon Cheskin Dolores Morelli Teresa Osgood

Communion

Assistants

Brenda Richards

Lynda Kennedy

George Peters

Gene Petrasso

Marcia Olney

Taylor Osgood

Mel Anderson

Jenny Winter

Gary Dayton

Marg Lyseng

Gene Petrasso

Brian Fajardo

Tom Rutger

Scot Brende

Paul Brende

Communion

Prep

Vicki & Tom

Rutger

Jeri & Gary

Dayton

Vicki & Tom

Rutger

Lorie & Gene

Petrasso

Brenda

Richards

Bread Baker

Brenda Richards Jeri Dayton Vicki Rutger

Lorie Petrasso Brenda Richards

Sound System

Bob Olsrud Bob Olsrud Brian Fajardo Bob Olsrud Bob Olsrud

Announcements

Brian Steves

Teresa Osgood Mel Anderson Brenda Richards Scot Brende

Refreshment

Lynda Kennedy

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Counters

Brian Etzel

Mary Karter

Kara Thiringer

Sally Durham

Bob Olsrud

Edgar Ronning

Al Bowen

Dolores

Morelli

Brian Etzel

Madeline Grimm

Gary Lippert

Marg Lyseng

Brian Etzell

Mary Karter

Kara Thiringer

Scripture Readings for January, 2016 Sunday, January 3rd, 2nd Christmas: Jeremiah 31:7-14, Psalm 147:12-20, Ephesians 1:3-14, John 1:1-18

Sunday, January 10th, Baptism of Our Lord: Isaiah 43:1-7, Psalm 29, Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sunday, January 17th, 2nd Epiphany: Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 36:5-10, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11

Sunday, January 24th, 3rd Epiphany: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12—31a. Luke 4:14-21

Sunday, January 31st, 4th Epiphany: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 4:21-30

7

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Januar

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2015

—

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All God’s Children are invited to Sunday Worship

8:30 a.m. Bible Study (coffee room)

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

10:45a.m. Coffee Fellowship

11:00 a.m. Choir Practice: Everyone Welcome!

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: Epic Janitorial Webmaster: Scot Brende

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

NON-PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

PAID

PORTLAND, OR

PERMIT No. 1115

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED.