Zoar

The garden is growing! On May 17th, Zoar’s confirmands and congregants shoveled dirt, planted, and watered to install a small community garden of four raised beds in the gravel parking lot. To best serve the Tuesday Night Community Dinner Ministry, we planted salad ingredients. If you’d like to help care for the garden, there is a watering sign-up sheet on the bulletin board across from the office. Thank you to everyone who made the garden possible, beautiful, and so much fun

Chances are, if you and I live long enough, we may end up having a mystical experience - a Holy Spirit encounter - that we can't explain. It might come in the form of a vision or dream. It might come as a voice that seems to speak from somewhere deep within us...or from somewhere far beyond us. Over the years, I've heard a number of people tell of such experiences, and some have even said that their experience included an acute sense of smell or a profound sensation of touch.

A very wise woman recently reminded me that saying goodbye is hard. And I think today's readings reflect this. In the first reading from Acts, the apostles say goodbye to Jesus as he ascends into heaven. And in the gospel, Jesus says goodbye to his apostles through prayer. Last summer, I said goodbye to my dear friend, Inger. I met Inger when she was well into her nineties. A very perceptive pastor matched us for lay visitation and we became fast friends. I visited her most W

I know I’ve said this before, but I feel like it bears repeating: I don’t give nearly as much time and attention to the news media as I once did. I just can’t. And based on a number of conversations I’ve had recently, I think many of you resonate with that…. So, these days I dip into the news just enough to stay informed because it’s important to be aware of what’s happening in our community and in our world – in all the places where you and I live and work and play. One

On Monday, May 4th, staff from Clackamas County Department of Human Services joined with members of the Zoar Sewing Circle for a potluck lunch at the church. This semiannual event is an opportunity for staff to pick up the quilts and other items donated by the Sewing Circle and share stories about how these items impact women and children who are experiencing a variety of traumatic life experiences. The quilts are especially comforting for children in frightening or unfamilia

The Evangelical Leadership Team is hosting a Zoar Movie Day featuring "The Wild Robot" on Sunday, May 31st right after the Worship service. Food - including a sandwich bar and traditional movie snacks - will be provided. Feel free to invite your friends to join us! We have created a Facebook Event you can share to help spread the word or simply forward this blog post. Zoar Movie Day - The Wild Robot

A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of attending a bat mitzvah for a dear friend's daughter. I always enjoy going to synagogue services even though I don't speak or understand a lick of Hebrew. But I appreciate the depth of dedication to the Torah and the intimacy of the Jewish community in that sacred space. And as I was basking in the beauty of the service and delighting in the pride of the entire community centered on that bright 13-year old girl, I wrestled with today'

Building trust and solidarity across differences. In Canby, immigrant leaders and friends from Zoar Lutheran Church are co-creating spaces to strengthen food security and community resilience. Last month, they hosted a multilingual, multiracial gathering to prepare for the upcoming “Cocinando el Futuro Juntos” cooking class series. Over a shared meal, people exchanged stories, struggles, and hopes for the class. Language was no barrier—laughter filled the room. Several partic

Perhaps I only imagined it or maybe it showed up in one of my dreams because I've searched all over, and I've never been able to find it since.... I'm talking about a cartoon drawing I saw several years ago that shows Jesus behind a gated wall. In the cartoon, there are people standing inside the gate, alongside Jesus, and one man is scratching his head and saying to another one, "I just don't understand it. The gate is locked, so how do all these people keep getting in?" The

A Letter from Religious Leaders in the Pacific Northwest "At a time when armed conflicts proliferate, and democracies strain under polarization and the coercion of autocrats, truth itself is contested and trust for moral authority stands at a crossroads. This week, we are seeing how religion is used as a balm—or a blade. "Around the world, sacred traditions are being invoked to justify violence, exclusion, and domination of our neighbors. Political opportunists wrap themselve

Luke the Evangelist tells us that the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus is a distance of seven miles, but you and I know better.... We know better, because even though most of us have never been to Jerusalem, at one time or another, we've all walked that stretch of road to Emmaus, though we probably know it by a different name— A name like Death. Depression. Divorce. Abuse. Addiction. Alzheimer's. ....You can fill in the blank!... And yet whatever name we give that road, you an

On Sunday, April 12, during the Worship Service, Pastor Michelle recognized and thanked our knitting and crochet group for creating these beautiful prayers shawls. She offered this blessing: Gracious God, Source of all blessing and of every good gift, we give you thanks for the work of our Zoar knitters and crocheters, who have lovingly knit together these beautiful shawls. Bless these shawls as they travel to places nearby and far away. May they provide warmth and comfort to

I love today's gospel. It is one of my absolute favorites. Poor Thomas. My memories of sermons related to this story centered on Thomas's failures to believe. They shame poor Thomas for his suspicions. I mean what do we normally call this story? The story of Doubting Thomas! Thomas has been labeled for millennia by his - quite rational, in my opinion - disbelief and need for reassurance. While Jesus's post-resurrection appearance is also recorded in Luke 24, there is no men

"All of life is grief...." My friend's voice was gentle, but her words jolted me. I opened my mouth to protest, but something stopped me in my tracks. I closed my mouth, pursed my lips, and nodded silently because those words had stirred up a truth somewhere deep within me. "Yes," I thought. "Life is laced with grief, AND at the same time, our grief is born of love, and so, it's all woven together with beautiful strands of love and hope and faith. That's what gives life mea

Just last week, I was at Fred Meyer with my son, Jack, loading our groceries into the car when an older man approached me in the parking lot. He said, "Did you see that guy who came up to me just now?" I filled with dread, wondering what had happened and thinking about keeping Jack safe. I said, "No, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention." The man said, "He just walked up to me and gave me this" and reached into pocket to pull out ... a fat wad of cash. He continued, "'I...

Oftentimes on this Palm Sunday, the story about Jesus’s procession into Jerusalem is coupled with the Passion story. But today, we’re going to hang out with just the procession story because it is so rich, so meaningful, and so relevant for many of us today. It’s such a vibrant story that we read it twice! Come back for Good Friday services and we’ll experience the Passion story gospel then. Let’s set the stage for today’s gospel. Scholars generally agree that Jesus and his

During this season of Lent, our Thursday morning Bible study group has been exploring a small book that offers great insights into some of the characters on the fringes of the Palm Sunday path. The book is titled An Unlikely Lent: Extraordinary People of the Easter Story. Using the insights we've gleaned from the author, United Methodist pastor Rachel Billups, along with our own God-given gift of imagination, we've been able to step back and take a fresh look at the Palm S

Leprechaun Trap Dateline - Zoar Lutheran Pre-School, Canby OR During the wee hours of March 17, a group of mischievous leprechauns created havoc and chaos in the pre-school room. " We knew this was a possibility ," said preschool teacher Mrs. Kim. " We built and set out leprechaun traps, but that didn't stop them from creating a huge mess. There is green and rainbows everywhere !" No one was at the church at the time and no other rooms or areas were affected. A highly skilled

I feel like the gospel of John is love wrapped in a hug wrapped in a blanket. And today's gospel blanket is equal parts warm and fuzzy and uncomfortable and scratchy. Now our synoptic gospel writers Mark, Matthew, and Luke, tell the intimately familiar Last Supper story of Jesus breaking bread and sharing wine and saying the words we hear each time we come to the communion rail. Fun fact: Mark's and Matthew's Jesus says "Take; this is my body." (Matt. 26: 26, Mark 14: 22) whi

I wonder: Who else besides me is struck by how eerily on point today's gospel reading is? {Show of hands, if that was your reaction as you listened... ] In this passage from Matthew 24, Jesus tells his disciples, "You will hear of wars and rumors of war," and before Jesus even finishes his thought, our finite human brains are already off to the races, thinking, "Whoa! The Middle East and much of the rest of the world are under fire and on fire.... Does that mean we're living