Author: Jill Richard

October 2022 – A note from Congregational President Tim Grace

Posted on by Jill Richard
Worship at St. Paul Lutheran Church

October 2022 From Your Congregational President

Declaring & Teaching – Jesus is Lord !

Romans 12 – Life in God’s Service
12 So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living
sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.
Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete
change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and
is perfect.

And because of God’s gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than
you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that
God has given you. We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the
same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as
different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has
given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; if it is to
serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so.
Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever
shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.

Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as
Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with
a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.
Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.
Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. Be happy with those who are
happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept
humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.

If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be
good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take revenge, my friends,
but instead let God’s anger do it. For the scripture says, “I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.”
Instead, as the scripture says: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink;
for by doing this you will make them burn with shame.” Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with
good.”

Words to Live By
Paul says it best, Romans has always had a special place in my heart, one of Paul’s best letters in my
opinion. I was looking for something to capture the essence of our church life this Fall. There is
always much to do in our service to the Lord and the way he has instructed us to behave in
relationship to each other is all here. May it be so in our hearts, minds and actions toward each
other. Pray for a Spirit of Peace as we continue to work through the challenges He has bestowed
upon this church body.
Blessings,
Tim Grace

 

September 2022 – A Note from Congregational President Tim Grace

Posted on by Jill Richard

Declaring & Teaching – Jesus is Lord !

1 Chronicles 16:29-36

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy attire. Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Let the heavens be joyful, and the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” Let the sea roar, and everything it contains; Let the field rejoice, and everything that is in it. Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy in the presence of the Lord; For He is coming to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His faithfulness is everlasting. Then say, “Save us, God of our salvation, And gather us and save us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise.” Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting! 

 

Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

 

Seasonal Update 

Has everyone been enjoying Summer?  I hope so, as Fall is quickly approaching. How are we all doing as a congregation and as individual children of God ? Hard to say, some days better then others. The above scripture is from the August 21st Portals of Prayer devotional and seems to work for the current church season.  The devotional is titled Abiding Love. We know He is faithful in His provisions for us but sometimes things just don’t seem to make sense or put another way “to add up.”

 

There is much work to be done at the church and as often can be the case, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Our harvest field is right here at the church and there is much to be done and there is much that is being done to carry the church to a glorious future.

Following are a few summer projects that we need help with. Replacing the siding on the Senior Center; the church will purchase the necessary material and it will be delivered and onsite for a siding-demo-reinstall party celebration that will start 7:00 AM Saturday September 17. We are asking everyone who has ever turned a screw or operated a skill saw to please show up and be part of the miracle. Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve coffee/breakfast for a mid-morning break and freshly smoked beef brisket will be served at 1pm. There will be much to be done to remove and replace this siding, your prayers are greatly appreciated. Please bring your own tools if you have them.

 

Other projects include, painting the wood trim on the church, and general painting for the old school building, the connect center, the activities house and our tractor sheds. All of these need to be completed before the wet weather arrives. If these projects are not completed this year the wood on these buildings will likely be permanently damaged.

 

Blessings, 

Tim Grace

Farewell Letter and Thanks to Our St. Paul Family

Posted on by Jill Richard

St. Paul Lutheran Church and Preschool has been like a second home for John and I and our family over the last 13 years. When our family first arrived in Sherwood, summer of 2009, I will never forget driving around the neighborhoods of Sherwood and we saw a sign in a yard for “St. Paul Lutheran School Enroll Now”. I asked John to stop the car and go knock on their door and ask where this church was located. John did go knock and Jeff Shipman was who opened the door!! From that moment on we knew St. Paul would be our church. That summer we began attending the church services in the grove and the rest is history.

The St. Paul community support and the love of God have been an enormous source of comfort and relief for the Prehm Family during these past 13 years.

Unfortunately, our time here in Oregon is coming to an end and we will begin a new adventure the end of September in Chicago, Illinois. As many of you know, John has been working in Chicago the past 20 months and has been blessed with such a great opportunity to share his gift and knowledge of finance in Health Care. 

John and I know we can never find another church family as close and loving as this one, but we believe God has a plan for us and that we will continue to serve out His plan faithfully, even in Chicago!

We want to thank Pastor Don, Pastor Rich and Pastor Walt for their inspiration and love for our family. I want to thank all of you for your unending love and support for me during my time as your Preschool Teacher at St. Paul Lutheran Preschool these past 10 years. We will truly miss you all, and we will keep you and St. Paul Lutheran Church and Preschool in Sherwood, Oregon in our prayers.

Love, 

The Prehm Family

September 2022 – A Note from Pastor Don

Posted on by Jill Richard
fireworks

S.P.A.R.K.   (St. Paul Church’s Announcements to Read and Know)

 September 2022

Dear friends in Christ, I am taking some time off from church work, but I will see you again on Sunday, September 11th. Below are some newsworthy items you should know as the summer comes to a close, and school starts. 

  • On Sunday September 11th Leslie Abbott will be installed as preschool teacher at the 10:45 AM service. We are excited to have Leslie as our teacher along with a large group of thee-year-olds enrolled—that means lots of new families to meet and get to know over the course of the year. Diana Burda will continue as preschool aide along with Rebecca Sanchez. 
  • Also on Sunday, September 11th we say “farewell and Godspeed” to Kathy Prehm, who has been our preschool teacher and director since 2012. A reception will be held after the 10:45 AM service in the church lower level. There will be food, cake, and a presentation. I encourage all of you to attend to recognize and thank Kathy for her outstanding service to our church and community. 
  • Firm Foundations Academy is getting ready to launch their hybrid homeschool in Modular C and the old schoolhouse. Parents of the children who are enrolled in this program have donated many hours to cleaning and repairing the classrooms for school. This is a rental agreement and not a new mission of the church. However, we have established a good rapport with the owners of this exciting program and pray there will be opportunities for the ministry to be involved in the lives of the families who come here. 
  • Beginning Sunday, September 11th I will be leading a new adult education study, Callings for Life: God’s Plan, Your Purpose. This series will cover questions many of us have such as, “what is my purpose in life?” “what is the one thing I was born to do?” and more. While I encourage all adults in our congregation to attend Bible study between services, I especially encourage parents with children to attend this. We have a Sunday school for your children to learn about God while you attend the adult education. Please come! 

The ministry of our church enjoyed a productive and enjoyable summer. The National Youth Gathering, while brutally hot in Houston, was a success. So was our Vacation Bible School, thanks be to God, Jen Gatke, and all our volunteers who made it happen. Confirmation and Family Camps at Lutherwood were also highlights of the summer for our youth and families. Now it’s time for me to rest a bit, fly some model rockets at Sod-blaster IV in Pasco, and recharge for all the activity which will be happening on our campus after Labor Day. God bless you all and have a safe and blessed rest of summer. 

 

Pastor Don 

September 2022 – A Note from Pastor Rich

Posted on by Jill Richard

Greetings in the Name of Jesus,

How fast the summer past.  I pray that you had quality time with Jesus.  We were challenged to read the book of Acts.  This gave us an opportunity to explore the church in the post resurrection era.  Being in God’s Word is essential for survival in today’s woke culture.  This month I encourage the seniors to delve into the letter to The Colossians.  Read and meditate on one chapter per week.  I invite all of you to join the seniors in this exercise.  Colossians gives insight into the person and work of Christ.  You will discover what it means that Jesus is the Head of The Church.  It calls us to rise above all worldly philosophy and sin.

The Senior Saints will resume weekly gatherings on Wednesday, September 14.  Bring your sack lunch, your Bible, and yourself each Wednesday at 12 noon.  Water and coffee will be provided.  

Are you ready for persecution?  In 2 Timothy 3:12 it says everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.  The world may hate you for what you believe, but in the end you win.  We have life everlastingly with Jesus.

May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Pastor Rich

        

Bingo the Basset Hound
Bingo the Basset Hound

Hi folks,                       

Hi all, I look forward to seeing my Senior friends again on Wednesdays.  

I will miss the dog days of summer.  Now I need to go back to sniffing out rabbits.  After all that is what we were bred to do.  Thanks to Claude Hampton and his crew for hauling a piano to the Center.  Thanks to all who took care of the Senior Picnic.  It was a great time!

Now time for a smile or two.  This month it is about rabbits.

  • What did the rabbit give his Girlfriend?  A 14 carrot ring.
  • Where do rabbits work?  At IHOP restaurants.
  • How do you know a rabbit is in a good mood?  He is hoppy.
  • Why did the rabbit build himself a new house?  He was fed up with the hole thing.
  • What is a rabbit’s motto?  Don’t be mad, be hoppy.
  • Why are rabbits so lucky?  They have four rabbit’s feet.
  • What is a rabbit’s favorite game game?  Hopscotch.
  • One more?  What do you call a rabbit working in a hotel?  A bell-hop.

Have a good September!  

Love from your Basset Hound

Children, Youth and Family Update – September 2022

Posted on by Jill Richard

Children, Youth & Family Fall News!

Happy September! Our Children, Youth, and Families had a wonderfully jam packed summer. There were family camps and Confirmation camp at Lutherwood, National Youth Gathering in Houston Texas, Art Camp in the Connect Center, and Vacation Bible School in The Grove. We also had several campfire & s’mores nights, family movie nights, and weekly Sunday school. It truly felt like a St. Paul summer again!

At VBS this year, our theme was Created for God’s Purpose! We discovered how God made each of us to not only help each other but to also help build up God’s Kingdom on Earth. We shared the Love of Christ with 95 kids and 45 volunteers! 

On September 4th during 2nd service, Pastor Rich will be blessing the backpacks of all our students and teachers. Feel free to bring as many backpacks as you would like. Thank You Pastor Rich for blessing our backpacks and wrapping us up in blessings this school year.

On Wednesday September 7th at 6:30pm in the Library, CYF will be having a planning meeting for the next several months. If you want to help CYF with Trunk or Treat, Thanksgiving Pie making, Advent decorating, Drive- thru Nativity- and so much more; please come to this meeting!! The Zoom Link for this meeting will be emailed out on Sept 3. If you would like to attend in-person or via Zoom, please let me know! 

Oktoberfest is September 25th from 4-7 pm. CYF will be selling Root beer Floats in commemorative St. Paul Lutheran Church mugs that are yours to keep, while supplies last! The Youth will be helping run the carnival games and hand out prizes as well. If you would like to help out, please let us know!

In Sunday school, we will be finishing our look into the many ways God blesses us with gifts of His Grace. Starting September 11th, Sunday school will be held in the Education building. The High school group will meet in Pastor Don’s office, Elementary will meet in the Library, and the Preschool will meet in the downstairs classrooms. 

We are so excited to have all our Sunday school classes in the Education Building! Sunday school will still be between 1st and 2nd service every Sunday. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support as we love everyone as Christ has loved us! 

“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” –Romans 5:8

God Bless you all!

Jennifer Gatke

Youth Program Director

jennifergatke@stpaulsherwood.org

503.550.9457 cell

CYF September

 

Summer 2022 from your Congregational President

Posted on by Jill Richard

Declaring & Teaching – Jesus is Lord !

Philippians 4:10-14 – God’s Provisions

“I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty.”

 

By the Grace of God

We have been blessed with many gifts and with those gifts comes responsibility to manage them to God’s Glory. Not sure there is much new that I can say on this subject that was not covered in my report to the Voters in June. Suffice it to say, we received $87,353 in “Other” donations or income this past fiscal year that was beyond the regular giving to the church. A significant portion of these funds were given to special funds or purposes which end up as Liabilities on our balance sheet. That means the money can only be spent for the purpose it was given and is not available for regular expenses.

 

The council has been working on our budget and we were having difficulty creating a balanced budget because we have so many people giving to these restricted funds rather than the general fund. This is part of the cause of the deficit in our budget between our giving and our expenses. The general fund is where the unrestricted donations go and is what is used to pay our bills and support the ministries of the church. Without sufficient donations to the general fund, the other donations are not useful if we are not properly funding the operations of the church.

 

My report identified that the church council has an obligation to establish the projects and funds that the church will support. The council voted in June to support only two (2) funds at this time. The Family Care Fund and the Mission Festival Fund. For the foreseeable future we will not be accepting donations to any other funds. All other donations are being directed to the general fund of the church. We are suspending receiving donations to the Building Fund and all other previously established funds until our current budget deficit has been resolved.

 

We are aware that change is hard and that people like to give to specific things that they support. We pray the Spirit leads you to continue to support the church through regular donations all to His Glory

 

Blessings,

Tim Grace

Summer 2022 – A Note from Pastor Don

Posted on by Jill Richard

Spark

S.P.A.R.K.  (St. Paul Church’s Announcements to Read and Know)

Summer 2022

In his report of the 50th anniversary celebration, Pastor F. Westerkamp, commenting on the fact that the congregation was getting old, said it so well: “May our gracious God grant that the dear Gospel of Jesus, the Savior of sinners always remain new, sweet, precious, and desirable to us until the Lord closes our eyelids. Then our weak and so often pitiful praise will become praise that is perfect and roars through heaven to the glory of Him who has purchased us sinners for His blessed possession and has transferred us into the heavenly inheritance. Oh, what a glorious and eternal Jubilee we shall then celebrate!”

 The above paragraph is from our church’s 125th anniversary booklet. Notice pastor Westerkamp, in 1928, said the congregation was “getting old.” My goodness! I wonder if he could have imagined the congregation would celebrate its 100th and 125th anniversaries? There’s no reason to doubt we will celebrate our 150th in 2028 either. If Pastor Westerkamp were alive today, he would think the congregation was getting very old for being around so long! Come to think of it, he would be very old himself! Thanks be to God, the Good News of Jesus Christ never gets old. It brings life and immortality to light in sinners like us. And it’s for all people who hear it and take it to heart.

In an essay I read recently by Roger Kovaciny, (a former Lutheran Church worker in Ukraine,) he outlines some reasons why the Church is experiencing an “evangelism implosion.” Some of them seem symptomatic to me as to why our church is facing difficulties in gaining people. For example, he says, “One reason why the church grew [in the first Century] was because during persecutions, the many people helped by Christians wouldn’t turn them in to the Romans. And during the numerous plagues that ripped through premodern cities, Christians saved many victims by nursing them instead of fleeing. Many who recovered attributed their rescue to the Christians or the Christians’ God. Many were converted. Just like today, the church didn’t grow from miraculous mass conversions or evangelism programs. The Mormons found out their ubiquitous cold calls are successful only one time out of a thousand. (Sound familiar?) What works for them is what works for us: having children or making friends and bringing those friends to church or a meeting with the pastor. Meeting with the pastor at the home of a friend is fruitful one time out of two—literally five hundred times oftener than a cold call on a stranger.”

I must admit, in my thirteen years in the ministry I have never been invited to someone’s home to speak to a friend about Jesus. I would in a heartbeat if asked to do so. Perhaps Mr. Kovaciny’s experience overseas was different than what I have seen in the Northwest. Some of you have told me you’ve invited your neighbors and friends to church, and they politely declined. What else can you do? Have more babies? That’s one solution; but it’s not an option for a lot of us at St. Paul because, well, to put in Pastor Westerkamp’s words, we’re “getting old.” If Kovaciny is right, then we will have to work harder and be more persistent in our invitations to friends to come to church. To that end I pray the Lord to give us courage and strength to do it.      

Pastor Don

Summer 2022 – A Note from Pastor Rich

Posted on by Jill Richard

Greetings in the Name of Jesus,

Welcome to Summer!  May this summer be a time to come closer to Jesus.  The Senior Saints have a challenge for all.  The seniors are reading the book of Acts and meditating on these Words of Scripture.  This is a good time to read Acts during the Season of Pentecost.  Acts gives us the history of the Church after the Resurrection and the Day of Pentecost.  The challenge is to read and meditate on two chapters per week.  Willing to accept the challenge?

The Seniors will meet only on the second Wednesday of July and August.  In August we will have our picnic.  Remember to get your picture taken for the new pictorial directory.  Thanks to Dottie for heading that project. 

Question.  Are you free or in some type of bondage?  Real freedom is found in The Truth.  Jesus is the Truth!   To know the Truth you must be in Scripture.  If you are neglecting Scripture, you are missing out on being free.  In John 8:31-32 we read, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  I urge you, search the Scriptures and be free!

God’s Blessings on your Summer!

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Rich

Bingo the Basset Hound
Bingo the Basset Hound

 

Hi folks,

                            Enjoy the Dog Days of Summer.  This means we dogs take time to slow down and enjoy relaxing.  I slow down on my sniffing for rabbits.  We Basset Hounds give the rabbits a break.  So my advice to you is give yourself a break from a hectic pace and have fun this summer.

 

Here are some summer smiles for your good health, and to celebrate summer.

 

Here goes: 

  • What is brown, hairy, and wears sun glasses? Give up?  A coconut on vacation.  Arf Arf!
  • What kind of tree fits in your hand? Got it?  A palm tree.  Arf, Arf!
  • What did the little corn say to the mama corn? Where is pop corn? 
  • Where do goldfish go on vacation? Around the globe. 

Here is a cute one.

  • What do you call a Basset Hound at the beach. In August? A hot dog,  Arf,
  • When do you go at red and stop at green? When you eat a watermelon.
  • Why do fish swim in salt water? Because pepper makes them sneeze.

One more? 

  • Okay here it is. What did the reporter say to the ice cream?  What’s the scoop?

 

Hope you smiled and you are healthier.  Enjoy summertime!

 

Love from,

 Bingo