St. Andrew's Lutheran Church

Dear Friends,     If you were not able to join us for worship this past Sunday, you missed a truly moving , breathtaking, deeply dramatic presentation of  the Passion of our Lord.  We want to thank our music director, John Rea, who wrote and produced the play (with some pretty good material from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as well composed some of the music. We certainly want to thank all of our choirs for their hard work and dedication.  Your support of this performance and your confidence in carrying out your varied tasks is  the glue that brings all of it together in such a profound way. Each year many people are blessed by this profound proclamation of the Gospel.  Thank you!     This Thursday at 7:30 we begin our three day journey from despair to hope, from darkness to light, from death to life.  Here is our worship schedule for Holy Week: Maundy Thursday – 7:30 PM Tonight we are reminded that our life of discipleship is a life of forgiveness and servan…

Dear Friends,     Looking back over this past month, my heart is filled with thanks for some pretty incredible servants here at St. Andrew's who are touching hearts and changing lives whether they know it or not.  Thanks be to God for: - About 100 volunteers behind the production of our Musicale.  People in the surrounding community have not stopped talking about this show. - Those who work so hard preparing our midweek Lenten dinners as well as our hospitality committee who has done such an outstanding job over these past months welcoming scouting groups, leaders of our Southeastern PA Synod, First Communion families, our youth, and those who worship here each Sunday. - 38 volunteers who prepared 10,500 meals for children overseas as part of our Stop Hunger Now Youth Overnight. - Those of you who continue to donate food for local food pantries, prepare and serve food at St. John's Soup Kitchen, prepare hygiene kits for those whose lives were severely impacted…

Dear Friends,     John Wesley, the father of the Methodist Church had a powerful conversion experience on the evening of May 24, 1738 when he attended a meeting in a chapel on Aldersgate St. in London.  It was there when he heard someone reading from the Introduction to Martin Luther's commentary on the book of Romans and felt his heart strangely warmed.  This fact is well known to Church historians and many Methodist leaders.  However, what is not so well known is that on the afternoon of that same day, Wesley attended a Vespers Service at St. Paul's Cathedral where Psalm 130 was sung as an anthem.  Wesley was greatly moved by this anthem and his heart was opened to what  God would reveal to him that night and in the days ahead.     Martin Luther loved this Psalm as well and saw it as a great Old Testament exposition of forgiveness offered by grace apart from human works.  This Psalm, "Out of the Depths," is treasured today for the writer'…

Dear Friends,     Last Wednesday at our Midweek Worship Service, Pastor Christian McMullan reminded us that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, not our policies, our plans, or our dreams.  Almighty God stands in the midst of conflict and chaos with promises of life, love, and hope.   In last weekend's outstanding performance of The Wizard of Oz (the entire production was amazing - Thank you cast and crew!), we were reminded that sometimes to find what we are looking for, we don't have to look much further than our own backyard.  And this past Sunday, as we continued our series on the Lord's Prayer with the petition, Thy Will Be Done, we were reminded of how God can even take the evil in our own backyard and use it for good.    This Wednesday at 7:30 (dinner available in St. Andrew's Hall at 6:30), we will be continuing our series Psalms of Hope as we reflect on Psalm 121 and the ways that we can find God's comfor…