Zoar

When I visited Marie in the Kaiser ER a couple Saturdays ago, as I was got out of my car I pulled out my wallet and found my Oregon Synod pastor card, signed by Bishop Laurie, just in case I needed to prove that I had the authority to visit a patient because I wasn't family. When I have joined other pastors to show support for immigrants at a courthouse or in a public square, we put on our collars as a symbol of spiritual authority. News companies recently have had to claim

Kids of all ages are invited to join us for "Trunk or Treat" on Sunday, November 1 at noon in the church parking lot, 190 SW 3rd Ave., Canby Wear your favorite costume! "Trunk or Treat" at Zoar

Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. I want to begin with a confession. I don’t know about you, but I can be pretty good at holding a grudge. Not that I would ever admit it at the time. I prefer to call it “having a very good memory.” I remember things. I remember what was said. I remember how it was said. I remember what day it was. I can probably remember what I was wearing. And, if necessary, I can probably produce witnes

People have been hurting each other since the beginning of the biblical story. When God asked Adam why he ate the fruit, and Adam said, She made me do it, there probably was a conversation at the dinner table that night. When Moses put his assistant Aaron in charge of the people, so he could go up on the mountain to receive the commandments, when he comes down again, everybody is bowing down to a golden calf. I imagine Moses had an emergency staff meeting with Aaron shortly

You and I get sold stuff all the time, don't we? We are often called consumers, as if that's our main identity. And now my computer remembers products I have been interested in and hawks them to me on the side in case I forgot about them. I think sometimes Christianity gets marketed as a product. Believe in Jesus and you'll receive these benefits. Follow Jesus and watch for the blessings. But Jesus didn't usually sell the benefits of following him- on the contrary, he said it

As many of you know I grew up, and worked in the Roman Catholic Church up until about 20 yrs ago. For various reasons I quit, (although you never really quit.) I then languished in my self-imposed desert, devoid of any formal religion. I was quite content to experience ‘church free’ Sunday Mornings. Through a series of events though, I ended up here, with you all. guess God wasn’t done with me. (God is never done with us.) As with all devoted Roman Catholics, I grew up with

As the office administrator, I'm usually the first one at the church during the week. On Monday, I found a note from the woman who does our janitorial service. It had $62 clipped to it and said, "I found this stuffed in the crack between the doors when I came in to clean this weekend." Also on Monday morning, there was a bucket full of plums, pears, and apples at the front door. That's not common, but we have had a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables donated the last couple of

I pastored in Eugene for ten years, and because we were a large congregation, I started something called neighborhood groups so our people in geographical proximity could get to know each other. There was a team captain in each neighborhood who called once a month and asked for prayer concerns. And then there was a quarterly get-together at the host's house. I was a neighborhood captain, and in our group was a very classy, dear woman named Sigrid, who was in her early 90s.

Friday afternoon I was wrapping up a visit with Myron and Nancy, and as I was getting ready to leave their place to go visit some other members, they both commented, "You must hear a lot of stories, Pastor...." I smiled and said, "Yes, I do. I get to hear all kinds of stories, and it's a great privilege." In fact, over the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking a lot about some of the stories and bits of wisdom I've heard recently. And as I started to focus on my sermon pre

Congregation Events During Pastor Michelle’s Clergy Renewal The Mutual Ministry Team has been working to set up events during Pastor Michelle’s Clergy Renewal. Check frequently for updated information! Sunday, August 9th – a Farewell Reception for Pastor on her last Sunday before she leaves (after worship). Sunday, August 16th – A Welcome for Pastor John as our Bridge Pastor (after worship). August 21st – A trip to Mt. Angel. We will visit the church and then Abbey followed

Maybe it's the emotional roller coaster of being a companion to people who are navigating the peaks and valleys of life. Or maybe it's the bittersweet feeling of saying good-bye to our intern this past week - bitter because I'll miss her, yet also sweet because I trust God has important work for her to do. Or maybe it's my personal stress level, as I frantically try to round up all my runaway "ducks" and get them in a row, so that I can go on renewal leave August 11th in good

So you probably noticed that we're in the part of Matthew now where Jesus tells a whole lot of parables. It's like Jesus warmed up his audience with the parable of the sower where he stopped to explain what it means, and then he ratcheted this parable thing up a little more with last week's parable of the weeds, and then today he lets loose a rapid-fire series of parables that he ends by turning to his disciples and saying, "Have you understood all this?" The text says "they

On Sunday, July 26, we said farewell to Intern Pastor Katie Insalaco. Having graduated with a Masters in Divinity and completing her internship here a Zoar, she is moving on to the next step in her journey. Many have asked about what’s next after my internship ends and the short answer is “I don’t know”. I would love to pastor a congregation but there are very few open calls in the Portland area and I don’t want to move so opportunities are limited. Please pray that the right

Back in the day when I was a kid riding in the car with my family, I remember there were a few times when I was looking out the window, and I saw a bumper sticker that got my attention, though I wasn't exactly sure what it meant at the time. The bumper sticker declared, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention...." Fast forward a few years to when I was a teenager driving myself around, and I saw that same bumper sticker on an older car: "If you're not outraged, y

On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, our weekly Community Dinner celebrated 15 years of providing a hot meal for anyone in Canby. The inspiration for this ministry came from members Bob and Sally Boonstra who were on an Oregon Synod mission trip to Mexico in the spring when they were challenged by the question, “What will you do in response to what you’ve learned on this trip.” The Boonstra’s gave loving leadership to the ministry for 5 years, then turned over the ministry to Connie T

Pr. Michelle and I typically choose who's going to preach based on our schedules and not the lectionary so imagine my delight when I opened up today's gospel reading and it was the parable of the sower. I get to talk about soil health to a captive audience! Thank you, Holy Spirit! Now I don't need to explain the meaning of the parable too much because Jesus does it for us. He tells us that seed sown on a path is like the one who hears the good news but let's evil snatch it

Zoar Lutheran Church Celebrates in Canby Independence Day Parade Twenty-three members of the Zoar family participated in Canby's annual Independence Day Parade. Carolyn and Mark Shearer provided the truck and trailer, and Beth and Rosie Robles help with the decorations. Over 100 lbs. of candy and over 500 flyers inviting kids to Vacation Bible School were distribute over the 45-minute walk through NW Canby. DO YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOS? PLEASE EMAIL TO office@zoarlutheran.org Parad

Yesterday morning, 23 of us from Zoar participated in Canby's annual Fourth of July parade. It was fun tossing candy, handing out flyers for Vacation Bible School, and greeting our friends and neighbors. We were grateful for cool weather, surprised by the larger-than-usual crowd, and encouraged by the words of community members who expressed gratitude he ministry Zoar's people do in Christ's name. Overall, it was a good morning, and yet for many of us, there was an uneasy fee

I want to begin this sermon by saying "happy heavenly birthday" to my sister, Sandy. Sadly, Sandy passed away from complications related to Parkinson's Disease on December 30th My sister was born almost a generation before me and would've been 81 years old today. She married young - at age 19 - so, I don't remember her ever being at home when I was a young child. In fact, her son, my nephew, Sean, is actually closer in age to me, since he's only four years younger than I am!.

From Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar: Saints of Oregon and Siblings in Christ, Nearly two years ago, the congregation at Bethany Lutheran Church in NE Portland reflected on the sacred history of their congregation as they prepared to leave it. Their ministry in Christ had served thousands of members, neighbors, and friends through more than one hundred years of life and faith. By the end of 2024, the congregation voted to close and gift their property to the Oregon Synod. In turn