Join us for Christmas Services!

St. Ansgar will celebrate Christmas with two services:

On Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m. we will have the family Christmas service with Holy Communion.  There will be a special Christmas message for the children, along with some amazing brass, violin, organ, and vocal music. ASL for the deaf and hearing impaired will be offered at this service.


On Christmas morning, we have another communion service at 9:00 a.m. This service is much quieter than the Christmas Eve service. Some people prefer the informal and contemplative nature of this service.

On Sunday, December 29th, join us at our regular 10:00 a.m. worship time for a festival of Lessons and Carols with Holy Communion.

On Sunday, January 5th, join us once again at 10:00 a.m. for an intergenerational Christmas pageant to tell the story of our Savior's birth and the arrival of the three wise men.

Come Join us for a Special Holiday Concert!

A Holiday Concert will be held on Saturday, December 14, at 7:00 PM.  Heather Connolly and Pastor Ellen, along with some friends, will be presenting this concert at St. Ansgar Lutheran Church to benefit the Portland Community Free Clinic.

The Portland Community Free Clinic provides much needed healthcare to low income workers throughout the greater Portland area.  Serving the working poor, the Clinic cares for approximately 600 patients in 1600 encounters per year, providing health services to people who would not otherwise be able to receive sufficient healthcare.  High quality care is provided by 100 plus volunteer physicians and nurses. 

Over the past 10 months Pastor Ellen and other volunteers, have been working to create an organization that will help provide sustainable and ongoing funding for the work of the Clinic. The Friends of the Portland Community Free Clinic became an incorporated organization this past summer.  Proceeds from the Holiday Concert on December 14 will be used to provide health care for many.

Advent is here!

The season of Advent is here! This is a time to remind ourselves of the anticipated coming of the Lord while we remember his first coming at Christmas.

In addition to our regular Sunday worship for Advent, we have lots of things planned for the whole family:

The Scandinavian Weekend is on December 7 and 8. On Saturday the 7th, we will have our annual fair from 10:00 to 2:00 with traditional Scandinavian gifts and baked goods, plus our legendary haddock chowder.


On Sunday, December 8th, we will crown our St. Lucia at 4:00 p.m. The crowning is followed by a reception with lots of goodies and an opportunity to once again browse the Scandinavian marketplace for wonderful holiday gifts ideas.

On Sunday, December 15th at 10:00 a.m. worship, we will be holding our Christmas Pageant. This year, our pageant is multi-generational!

We will have two Christmas services, one at 7:00 p.m. Christmas Eve (a family service), and a slightly quieter service at 9:00 a.m. on Christmas Day.

On Sunday, December 29th, we will have Lessons and Carols at 10:00 a.m.

Come and join us for worship Sundays at 10:00 AM during the school year and  9:00 AM during the summer. Following the service is Coffee and Conversation. All are invited to enjoy the fellowship and tasty treats.

During the school year our Sunday School program for children under confirmation age is incorporated into worship time. On the first Sunday of the month, the liturgy is youth focused and families are encouraged to worship together. On other Sundays families start the worship together and children are called to the front for a blessing with their teachers. Then the Sunday School leaves worship for their lessons. Children and teachers come back at the Passing of the Peace. This way children receive the liturgical message in a way that is meaningful for them and parents can worship worry free. In addition, there is a cry room where parents can still view the service while their babies and toddlers get a play break.

For information about confirmation classes, please contact Pastor Bill.
 

Holiday Evening Services:
Ash Wednesday 7PM
Joint Lenten Services Wednesdays Throughout Lent (Call church for details.)
Maundy Thursday 7PM
Good Friday 7PM
Christmas Eve Family Service 7PM

Summer Worship Schedule

St. Ansgar is now on our summer worship schedule. This Sunday and all Sundays during the summer months, worship will begin at 9:00 AM. Come out and worship in the cool of the morning, enjoy coffee and conversation, and head out for your summer Sunday plans in peace. Are you from out of town? We love visitors! Please join us.

Seafarer's Friend

This Sunday, we welcomed Rev. Loring Carpenter, Executive Director of Seafarer's Friend, a Christian mission to those who serve on ships. In conjunction with this celebration, St. Ansgar made a donation to the ministry from the proceeds of a fundraiser to hang a new ship in our sanctuary back in 2012.

Rev. Carpenter's sermon begins with his wearing a hard-hat (thus, the laughs). It ends with a presentation of the check.

A wonderful sermon on caring. Enjoy! Here is the link to the sermon: Pr. Loring's Sermon

Here is the Seafarer's Friend web link: http://www.seafarersfriend.org/

Soren

One year ago, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Sanctuary at St. Ansgar. Soren Christensen, chair of the building committee of 1962, welcomed us into the church with the following words:

"Sisters and brothers: With gratitude for the building of St. Ansgar, we are gathered to celebrate fifty years of the worship of almighty God and the building up of the body of Christ in this place. For a half century, it has been a place for the gathering of the people of God, a place for proclaiming the gospel through word and sacrament, a place for bringing life and hope to us and to this community. Peace be to this house, and to all who enter here."




About one hour ago, Soren left this earthly existence. He spent 93 years preparing for today. As we gather in this earthly sanctuary, we believe that he now joins us in the Communion of Saints. Thanks be to God.