St. Andrew's Church / June 2022 Newsletter

JUNE 2022

Shepherd's Column

How is it possible that it is June 2022? That means that I have been shepherd of the congregation for one year. Somehow this thought seems unrealistic. Can a year go by so quickly? Time seems to compress, as a whole year seems like much less. When you move fast enough, time slows down, as Einstein states in his theory of relativity. This has probably happened to us. Tarja is very competitive in nature, and I tease her that her motto should be ‘ let’s start with full speed and then accelerate.’

How much fits into one year? Surprisingly a lot, I realize now, but a year ago I would have answered differently. I would have never guessed at the amount of events, that have fit into this year. Sometimes I have journeyed from peak to peak and do nice things, experience excellent events as well as meet great people. However, at times I have experienced the valleys in between the peaks, but that is normal life for a shepherd.

The best thing still is that I can do the work of this calling together with my loving wife. A small surprise I have experienced the congregation’s dedication to shared issues. You have done this volunteer work with an open heart. We would have never accomplished so much without your help. All support and prayers have carried us through the year. A heartfelt thank you to everyone, especially to Michael for all his help.

I am especially thankful to our area Dean Tate, and since October, the new Dean Winsor, who have always been ready to help and guide when I have needed it. Under my SAM status, I have checked in with them for any church matters, such as when to wear a robe during services. I have experience dmany new things this year and sometimes it seems as if I have had to live outside my comfort zone all the time. I have survived everything and have learned a lot with time. I have enjoyed my work as shepherd and feel that my calling is with this congregation.

Blessings for the whole summer!

Sami-Shepherd

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Dear Members of the Congregation,

As summer approaches, we plan to continue with some events at the church. Please be on the lookout for additional information soon. Wherever you are this summer, you can always find us on Facebook.

Thank you for your continued support of our church community. We could not continue our mission without it.

We look forward to an eventful fall program and are so thankful for all of our volunteers who provide many social events for our community.

Summer blessings

Saara Saarela-Vening

SUPPORT OUR WORK!

We warmly thank all those who have remembered and supported our congregation through their gifts. We are living through economically challenging times, and we need your prayers as well as financial support, so that our work can continue year round.

May God blesse you and your gift!

Make your paypal donation here

PRESCHOOL FAREWELL

With a sad but very grateful heart, we say a final goodbye from our preschool. The church council decided that the school should close because of structural problems with the building, insurance and other issues. We appreciate the difficulty of this decision and understand.

We are very thankful for the years that we were able to serve our families. We did our best to teach our students the love of Jesus, of learning, playing, and creating. We encouraged acts of kindness and empathy, appreciation of music and art, enjoyment of nature and physical activity. We hope that these little seeds that we have planted in them will grow and bloom throughout their lives.

The pictures you see are from our last month together. Thank you again for your support over the years.

Goodbye and God Bless,

Pirjo Komonen Campitelli

1. Jacob bought this from his brother Esau by giving him a soupbowl: hunting gear / a cloak received from his Father Isaac / his birthright

2. What was Jacob's Father in-law's name?

Laban / Levi / Lot

3. Jacob's father in law promised his daughter to Jacob when he offered to pay a bridal ransom / stayed in Laban's house to work / organized a seven day wedding celebration

4. Jacob's first wife's name was Rachel / Rebecca / Leah

5. What did Jacob injure when he wrestled with God? shoulder / hip / knee

6. God gave Jacob another name Abiel ("God is my Father") / Ishmerai ("he protects") / Israel ("he fights")

7. How many sons did Jacob have?

6 / 10 / 12

8. Who was Jacob's favorite son?

Judah / Josef / Benjamin

9. What did Jacob give to this son that the others did not receive?

camel / colorful suit / family land

10. What did the other brothers do? They rejoiced / they asked their father to give them the same / they mistreated their brother and threw him into a well.

CORREST ANSWERS AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER! 😊

Sometimes our birhtday lists are not up to date. If you notice someone's name missing, or would like your name removed from the list, please notify us. THANK YOU!

MUSIC NEWS

Summer is here and the busyness of the season is behind us. Even though we are now gathering in smaller groups, the strong message of God and praising Him with music will continue throughout the year. It is nice to be among a large congregation, but the atmosphere during our summer months is just as warm and inviting.

This month, I would like to highlight our music teams. At the Finnish service we have had our loyal hymn leaders Hanna Kiuru and Lauri Kanervikkoaho with us all year, and during our winter season we were joined by a third singer, Liisa Haarjärvi. We have gathered once a week at my home to practice and sing hymns together for Sunday’s service. They have also been with us at our monthly rest home devotional services. Thank you!

The English music team has also been very loyal, as we have a nice group of hymn leaders and musicians – Kristen and Tuomo Karvonen, Susanna and Robert Morgan, and Glenn Beckman. We have gathered once a week at the church office to pray and practice music for Sunday’s service. Thank you!

These groups have put in a lot of hard work learning a variety of traditional hymns and newer praise music. It is a blessing for me to work with these wonderful people.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Col. 3:16)

Have a blessed June!

Michael

PIRJO-LEENA KOSKINEN'S COLUMN

There is an old Finnish proverb that says: ’Envy will drive away even the fish in the water’. Also there’s a saying that someone is ‘green with envy.’ Where does that come from? Ancient Greeks were saying that envy increases the secretion of bile and that will cause a human body to get a green hew. When somebody gets really mad, we may use a verb ‘sapettaa’( bile is ‘sappi’)

Very early in the Bible envy was considered a mortal sin, no less than that. Quite often I catch myself using language saying that I envy someone for skills I hope for myself. But it is different to admire than envy, and the difference is that envy will poison the human mind even to the point that it causes harm to both the envious person and their target. Admiration instead is a positive feeling, it will bless both the one who admires and the one who is an object. We have many examples in the Bible about both kinds of cases.

Now it’s time when all kinds of Championships in sports are decided and competition is tough. The real sportsmanship congratulates the winner and accepts defeat gracefully – next time it may be my turn to win and receive the honors. Envy is a devious disease and we have to fight it forcefully. Fortunately a human being can learn if he really wants to.

Congratulations to all those who are graduating this spring,

God's Blessings to all!

Pirjo-Leena

MAY HIGHLIGHTS

There has been a nice crowd present for our Wednesday lunches to enjoy Tarja and Sami's delicious preperations.

On May 22 we celebrated the 100th birthday of our loved member

Laura Hirvelä. God bless you Laura!

On May 27th we held two very touching services at the rest home, one in the Pokela Room and one in the nursing home lobby, where there was 22 resident's worshipping with us. What a blessing!