Our congregation was moved by Samuel Koilpillai's temple talk about his work rescuing discarded babies in Hosur, a town in Southern India not far from Bangalore. Mr. Koilpillai is retired from the World Health Organization and shares a family connection with St. Ansgar. His daughter, Leela Nowrangi, is our Music Director.
The Sunday School students and teachers have decided to donate the Sunday School offering monies to the organization that runs the orphanage and medical clinic Mr. Koilpillai founded. Please join in the ministry of our Sunday School by making a donation to Mr. Koilpillai's organization, CUP (Community Uplift Projects) International.
Make checks for your tax deductible donation payable to:
CUP International
The address for donations in the United States is:
17517 Queen Elizabeth Drive
Olney, Maryland 20832
We are already getting phone calls wondering when we will hold our annual fair this year. Mark your calendars. It will be Saturday, November 10th from 10AM - 2PM.
Every year Portlanders flock to the fair for homemade crafts, our famous fish chowder, delicious baked goods, and Scandinavian gifts. Proceeds benefit youth programming and capital improvement projects at St. Ansgar as well as local charities. (For a list of which charities received donations from last year's fair monies, click on "Special Events.")
Be sure to check this website for updates and for ways you can help.
Sunday School begins...
SEPTEMBER 9TH
at 9:30 AM
St. Ansgar's Sewing Group has a rich history and a strong sense of mission. It meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM for sewing, food, and fellowship.
The sewers range in ability from novice to seamstress. Together they construct school kits, layettes (kits for newborns), and sewing kits for Lutheran World Relief. They also craft quilts which are either donated to Lutheran World Relief, sold to provide funds for the kits, or donated to local charities such as the Training Resource Center and Gary's House.
This work has a huge impact. If you have high speed Internet, click on the following link to watch the Lutheran World Relief video, Ordinary to Extraordinary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHFuY2w97RA&list=PLG3PYu6_CExbAbzVVFnrlc12hIzACvLCF&index=1&feature=plpp_video
If you would like to attend a Sewing Group meeting bring a sandwich for yourself and a snack to share if you plan to lunch. Know that you can attend for any part of the meeting, arriving late or leaving early if necessary. Sewing ability is not required. There are always projects for beginners and/or non-sewers. Also, if the meeting times are not convenient, but you would like to sew for Lutheran World Relief at home, call St. Ansgar and someone will contact you.
Anyone can help the Sewing Group by donating the following:
1. Used clean blankets or sheets (for use as quilt stuffing)
2. Spools of thread
3. Buttons, preferably in matching sets of 6, but family button jars are also helpful
Music is an integral part of our worship service and one of the ways St. Ansgar comes together as a congregation. Volunteers (such as Jim McDonough pictured above) collaborate with our music director providing both instrumental accompaniment and vocals. The Sunday School students are frequently part of the music program singing songs and playing hand chimes.
The votes are in.
Last year's Just An Old Fashioned Fair proceeds will fund St. Ansgar's youth programming (Vacation Bible School and Camper Scholarships), a few important capital improvement projects, and several local charities including:
Protestant Chaplaincy – Mercy Hospital,
Protestant Chaplaincy - Maine Medical Center,
Project Fuel,
Project Feed,
Seacoast Mission,
Friendship House,
Gary’s House, and
the Wayside Soup Kitchen.
See the links for more details about these fine organizations.
A sincere thank you to all you saints of St. Ansgar!
If you are new to Lutheranism or if you are Lutheran and interested in knowing more about the theology and history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), check out this page on the ELCA's website:
http://www.elca.org/communication/brief.html
There are answers to frequently asked questions and links to videos you can watch free online or order on DVD.
You might be interested to know that the demographics of the "typical Lutheran" are changing. In the "Lutheranism 101" article on this web page and featured in the June 2006 edition of The Lutheran, Kathryn Kleinhans shared the following statistics:
"Today there are almost as many Lutherans in Asia and the Middle East (7.4 million) as there are in North America (8.1 million), and there are more Lutherans in Africa (15 million) than there are in Germany (13 million)."
