Taize Community Prayer This Sunday 6/19 at 5PM

All are welcome. Come and experience the meditative power of Taize worship.

Yard Sale This Saturday 6/11 9AM-2PM

All proceeds go to offset the costs of our Vacation Bible School. Guilt free shopping!

Vacation Bible School July 11-15th

St. Ansgar is pleased to host its seventh annual Vacation Bible School week for kids (ages 4-14) in the community. Once again we are partnering with Calumet Lutheran Camp and Conference Center in NH to provide professionally trained and experienced counselors. VBS is sure to provide a safe, fun, and welcoming atmosphere for all participants.

VBS which is all day (8AM - 5PM) is only $45 for the entire week. The dedicated VBS Committee raises money every year to keep that cost affordable for all. There are 30 slots. Be sure to contact the church soon to reserve space for your youngster. Here's to another week of summer fun at St. Ansgar!

Pray the Taize Way in 2011.

This Advent St. Ansgar hosted our first community worship featuring chants and prayers originating from the world-reknowned monastery in Taize, France. In the new year we will host Taize Prayer once a month. In January it will be at 5PM on Sunday, 1/23. After that Taize Prayer will be on the third Sunday of the month (excluding July) always at 5PM. If you have never been to a Taize Prayer, be prepared for a meditative experience. The easily sung melodies and the simple and timeless words of Scripture are interspersed with silence and icon imagery. All are welcome.

Resolve to End Hunger!

Today is the first Project Feed Sunday of 2011.

The first Sunday of every month is Project Feed Sunday. Project Feed is an emergency food bank serving Portland and supported by many area churches. All are invited to bring canned goods and other basic necessities to St. Ansgar for donation to Project Feed.

Please limit canned goods to items that are easily prepared (canned soup for example rather than canned pumpkin). Helpful nonfood items include large diapers, toilet paper (individually wrapped), tissues, toothpaste and toothbrushes, dish soap, laundry soap, sanitary napkins and tampons, shampoo, and bar soap.

On the first Sunday of every month the donations are brought to the altar during the offering and after the service they are transported to the food bank which is housed in Woodfords Congregational Church. St. Ansgar also accepts cash donations on Project Feed's behalf. Members need only designate on their offering envelopes which portion of their offering they would like to go to Project Feed.

If you have any questions about Project Feed visit their website. For those who would like to volunteer for Project Feed through St. Ansgar, contact the pastor. He can put you in touch with a few members who volunteer regularly.

Update from the Sewing Group

The Sewing Group recently shipped 25 layettes to Lutheran World Relief. Each layette contained enough clothing to give a newborn’s family and the newborn a great start. (Pictured above is a layette being given to an Afghani mother.)

We thank Thrivent for the financial support. The next project is school kits. A goal of 20 has been set. The spring project will be Health Kits.

You are invited to help. Come to an upcoming meeting or contact the church for more details. To find out how The Sewing Group's efforts combine with those of other Lutheran churches around the world, view this video from Lutheran World Relief, Ordinary to Extraordinary.

Evangelical? What Does St. Ansgar Mean By That?

The dictionary defines "evangelism" as “zealous preaching and dissemination of the Gospel, as through missionary work.” The official name of our church is St. Ansgar Evangelical Lutheran Church, and we are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). As a church that preaches the Gospel, it is fitting to have the word "Evangelical" in our name.

Unfortunately, the word "Evangelical" has taken on a very narrow meaning in recent times. Evangelicals are often viewed as self-proclaimed Christians who preach a message of fundamentalism, nationalism, and narrow-mindedness towards others. What sometimes passes as evangelical faith would hardly be recognizable to Jesus, whose Gospel (good news) was about redemption, healing, and inclusion.

Recently, the Church Council at St. Ansgar voted to update our church sign and make more room for movable text. We shortened the name on our sign to St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, and removed the term "Evangelical," in part to save much needed space to publish dynamic messages, and in part because the term "evangelical" has gained such a negative connotation in today's society. People have actually commented on feeling automatically excluded when they see the term "Evangelical" on our sign! We have made a similar change on the header of our blog.

Despite its potentially negative connotations and its misuse by fundamentalists, the term "Evangelical" is a fitting name for a church that is Gospel-based. It continues to be part of our official name at St. Ansgar. As we develop new and better ways to evangelize in our modern times, the Gospel remains at the forefront, a beacon of hope, justice, and God's love. We are a people of the Good News!

Pastor Bill Barter