St. Lucia Festival on Sun, 12/9 at 4PM

 
This year St. Ansgar will hold its St. Lucia Festival on Sunday, December 9th at 4PM.The event is free and open to the public.

What is the St. Lucia Festival? It is a Swedish Christian tradition that dates from the 14th century. According to the old Julian calendar, December 13th was the longest night of the year, and thus marked the first step toward spring, with its promise of light and sunshine. It is on this date that the people of Sweden celebrate the Lucia Festival. Christian legend has it that the Romans betrayed Lucia. Later, Vikings impressed by her faith, are said to have brought her legend to Scandinavia from Sicily, where she is the patron saint of fishermen.

Every year at Saint Ansgar, the St. Lucia legend is told. Authentic Swedish carols are sung, a young woman from the congregation is crowned the "Queen of Light, " and traditional Scandinavian refreshments are served. Come and enjoy one of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Just an Old Fashioned Fair on Sat, 11/10th 10-2

Don't miss it! St. Angar's "Just an Old Fashioned Fair" is Saturday, November 10th from 10AM-2PM. Every year Portlanders flock to the fair for homemade crafts, our famous luncheon featuring homemade fish chowder, delicious baked goods including our very own Julekake bread, Scandinavian gifts, and the ever unpredictable White Elephant Sale. 100% of the proceeds from the fair will go to charity! The doors open at 10:00 AM. Come one, come all. See you at the fair!

Help Provide 8,000 Meals for the Hungry

St. Ansgar's Social Justice Committee is raising funds and signing up volunteers for Kids Care meal packaging Saturday, November 3rd at 9AM. Each high protein, high calorie meal costs just 25 cents. Meals will be sent to the Good Shepherd Food Bank. Please help in our efforts to alleviate hunger in Maine. Stop by the church with a donation towards the $2,000 we need to provide 8,000 meals or sign up to help on the first Saturday in November.

Make Some Noise!

Today was the first "noisy" offering led by St. Ansgar's Sunday School students. Proceeds from this loose change offering will go the the ELCA Malaria Campaign. Bring in your change every third Sunday and delight the children as the sound of the offering in the metal cans gets louder and louder. 

At the New England Synod Assembly this past June, churches voted to make the ELCA Malaria Campaign a focus and priority over this next year.  Malaria kills 655,000 people each year, and most of those people are children under five years of age. That means a child dies from this preventable disease every 60 seconds.

The ELCA has committed to raise $15 million to help prevent, treat and educate communities in Africa about malaria and eliminate deaths from this disease.

Donations can also be made on the ELCA's website and in the general offering at St. Ansgar. Be sure to put offering donations in an envelope clearly marked "ELCA Malaria Campaign."

New Blog for Dietrich Bonhoeffer Info and Events

A new blog for Dietrich Bonhoeffer information and events is under construction. See it take shape at cheapgracebonhoeffer.blogspot.com

Be sure to read about our upcoming sermon and discussion series starting on October 28th.

The Rev. Maria Anderson, Transition Pastor

        In November of 2014, we welcomed Pastor-Developer Maria Anderson to our pastoral staff to serve in a new role here at St. Ansgar.  On February 1, 2016, she was called by the New England Synod to be Transition Pastor at St. Ansgar. Pr. Maria works part-time at St. Ansgar walking with us in our lives of faith and encouraging us to tell the story of our faith through every aspect of our lives.

Pr. Maria also serves in a new role in partnership with the ELCA, the New England Synod, and the Maine Episcopal Diocese to develop small faith communities for people in their 20's and 30's, who may or may not consider themselves Christian, throughout the Portland area.  We are excited to partner with her in this new "experiment".

      Participating in the life of a congregation has been an integral part of Pr. Maria's life and her story.  Originally from Lindstrom, Minnesota, a small Swedish town not unlike Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon, she was the 6th generation to grow up in Chisago Lake Lutheran Church and the child and grandchild of active church members. She often attributes her call to be a pastor to this community and their invitation to lead them in worship through singing at the age of 12.  It is where she discovered her musical gifts, the value and importance of community, and the love and grace of God.

     Upon graduating from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where she sang in the Concordia Choir and was a student leader for the campus's service learning organization, Maria moved to Oakland, California to try out her degree in Social Work through participating in Lutheran Volunteer Corps in 2009-2010.  During that year she served as a Case Manager for people experiencing Homelessness in Berkeley and live in an intentional community.  Through this work, Pr. Maria discovered that the relationships she desired to build were pastoral - and she realized her call to seminary.

     Pr. Maria enrolled at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) in Berkeley, CA for the call of 2010 where she studied, systematic theology, the Bible, Poetry, Process Theology, Thomas Merton, and Non-Violence, amongst other things.  PLTS is a member of the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of theological schools in Berkeley, which provided a diverse and unique seminary education.  It is this context that has prepared Pr. Maria to be a pastor in a context that is increasingly less and less religious.  Upon being ordained in October of 2014, she was thrilled to move to Portland, ME to begin this new chapter in her life.

      Pr. Maria's passions in her work include, building relationships, sharing stories, asking questions of faith and doubt, advocating for a world that reflects God's inclusive love, and making music.

    When she isn't being present around Portland, having coffee with others, or attending fun, local events, you may find Pr. Maria working with her trainer at Anytime Fitness, baking something delicious, working on a knitting project, utilizing her amazing sense of direction on one of the many hiking trails around Portland or New England, or taking photographs her adorable little kitties, Elliot and Ollie, and uploading them to Instagram.



Annual Blueberry Festival on Tues, 8/7

Our Annual Blueberry Festival is on Tuesday, 8/7, beginning at 6:30pm. All are invited to bring their favorite blueberry treat to share and if you don't have time to make a treat, stop by anyway. There's always more than enough. The basement is cool, and the cobbler is fine.

A few words from Pastor Bill Barter on the merits of blueberries ---

Dear Friends,

Want to be healthier? Eat blueberries!

Blueberries are phytonutrient superstars. These fruits contain significant amounts of anthocyanadins, antioxidant compounds that give blue, purple and red colors to fruits and vegetables. In addition, blueberries also contain ellagic acid, another phytochemical that has been shown to prevent cell damage.Blueberries are a very good source of vitamin C, manganese, and both soluble and insoluble fiber like pectin. Blueberries are also a good source of vitamin E.

Here’s the link with the info: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=8#nutritionalprofile

OK, the sugar in the blueberry desserts may be a problem, but come enjoy the fellowship anyway!

Pastor Bill Barter (who really does care about your health).