St. Andrew's Lutheran Church

Dear Friends, "Be still and know that I am God.     I am exalted among the nations,     I am exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10     I am not alone in running frantic.  Between church and home, there are times that I live at a pace set by some pacesetter I don't even know.  And yet, If I'm honest, I realize that I am running a race that I see many others around me running as well.  Some are running even more frantically than I am.  I am amazed when I consider the number of nights and weekends that I spend at St. Andrew's beyond regular office hours.  However, I am even more astounded when I consider some of St. Andrew's volunteers who work full time jobs and then seem to be spending as much time if not more time in the building as I am.  (There are leaders of our musicale who would be prime examples of this).  I don't even know how some of them do it and how they manage to fit it all into a day.  And it is because of the commitmen…

"Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life." - Marty Haugen (ELW # 780)  Dear Friends,        This Wednesday night, following our Lenten Dinner at 6:30, we will gather for the first of five Lenten Midweek Services (beginning at 7:30 PM)  This week we are privileged to welcome back Pastor David Stickley to the pulpit.     Pastor Stickley is no stranger to St. Andrew's.  Not only is he the husband of our DCE, Janice, but he also preached and presided here many times during the course of Pastor K's ministry among us.  I look forward to sharing the chancel with him this week as he reflects on what is perhaps the most treasured and well known of the 150 Psalms of the Bible.  Psalm 23, "The Lord is My Shepherd"  has been a source of blessing and hope to millions of people through the centuries, a poignant reminder that even as we walk through the deepest and darkest valleys of our lives, we are never alone. C…

Dear Friends,     At the heart of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Christ.  On one side of this event and it's remembrance are the 40 days of Lent (not including Sundays), a time of preparation for the celebration of our Lord's passage from death to life.  On the other side are the 50 days of Easter, a time of proclaiming and rejoicing in our redemption.  Right in the middle of it all is Holy Week including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, days in which our attention is riveted on Christ's death and resurrection.  The entire 90 days is best seen as a whole viewed from two sides, from the cross and the empty tomb, each incomplete without the other.  Listed below is a schedule of Lenten observances in the weeks ahead:  SATURDAYS (5PM) AND SUNDAYS (8:15 AND 11:00 AM) IN LENT "THE LORD'S PRAYER"
Ash Wednesday (Feb. 13 @ noon & 7:30 PM )      "Return to Our Father" First Sunday in L…

Dear Friends,  This upcoming Sunday, churches throughout the world who follow the assigned readings and festivals of the Church Year will be celebrating Tranfiguration Sunday, the final Sunday before the Lenten season begins.  On this day, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up  to a mountaintop to pray.   There they will experience an awesome vision they will never forget.  We need mountaintop experiences of our own, places to pray, and sources of strength for the valleys ahead.  We will also be following Jesus through the valleys during the season of Lent.  Our daily journey with Jesus will take us to:     - quiet places of prayer     - opportunities to feed the hungry     - nights in lonely gardens and angry storms     - the joy and peace of more mountaintop moments     - instructions to care for ourselves and those around us     - reminders that we are never alone but always in the power of the Spirit     - assurance that Jesus meets us exactly where we are bu…