October 26, 2021

     The Zoar Lutheran Church Women (ZLCW) Coordinating Council would like to ask that you prayerfully consider contributing funds toward our Thankoffering Sunday, which is November 14, 2021. The contribution will go to the Women of the ELCA (WELCA), which does a wide variety of work to raise awareness of issues that affect women, as well as supporting women in using their God-given gifts for vocation.
 
     Please make your checks payable to ZLCW and indicate in the memo line that they’re for the “Thankoffering.” Thank you!

Zoar Sewing Circle Update
 

We have started tying in the room on Wednesday mornings and are filling up our cabinets with quilts to donate. We've completed six quilts for the church office to have on hand for anyone who might need one while staying at the church. We first saw a need for these during the wildfires last year. Our cabinets were empty, since we had delivered quilts to DHS in August 2020. Several people who evacuated to the church or who were volunteering didn't have bedding. We decided to keep some on hand expressly for this purpose. If they get given away, we will replenish them. 

A huge thank you to everyone who has grabbed a box or bin of fabric to wash at home. We are down to two bins of fabric to wash. Each time a clean bin comes back, we are excited to sort it and get it ready to be cut for quilts.

We're not quite sure what our donation to Children's Services will look like yet, but it will happen in early December. We are watching case counts closely and will talk with them about what works best. We're not sure if a potluck will happen or if it will just be a quick pick up. Once we know, we will send it out. 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, November 17, 9am-12pm - tying in sewing room.
November 18 - December 31 - Winter Break

Early December - Donate quilts to Children's Services. 

Christian Education Opportunities
for the Whole Congregation 
 

As twenty-first-century Americans, we live in a society where most people don't know the biblical narrative of salvation. In fact, today even many members of Christ's church struggle to articulate the stories that are so integral to our faith. So, throughout the coming program year (Sept. 2021-May 2022) Zoar will be engaged in a multi-faceted, congregation-wide time immersion into the biblical narrative of salvation. As our guide we're using a multi-age curriculum based on Dan Erlander's book Manna and Mercy: A Brief History of God's Unfolding Promise to Mend the Entire Universe. Listed below are some of the ways we're exploring and deepening our knowledge of Scripture and God's saving plan for this world God so loves.

Sunday School: We've now held our first six Zoom Sunday School sessions, and it seems to be going quite well. Thank you to our teachers, Amy Aamodt, Connie Tye, Pam Hygelund, Di Bernklau, and Ardeth Wood, and Pastor Michelle. This Sunday we'll hear Teacher Pam tell the story of how God provided manna for God's people in the wilderness (Exodus 16:1-17:7).

Here's the Zoom link for Sunday School:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82064617931?pwd=QU9WSERGNFlSakwyUjRiakoxVTZOZz09
You may need to enter the passcode 447875.

Confirmation:  Confirmation class is off to a good start using Manna and Mercy. We meet again on Sunday, November 21. (Parents, please watch your email and text messages for updates as to whether we're meeting in person or online.)

Thursday Morning Bible Study (10:30 am): Our group has decided to do a deep dive into the biblical salvation story using Manna and Mercy as our study guide. (Scroll down for more information on how to join our study!)

 
     At last night's Church Council meeting, we heard that the number of dinners being served is going up as the colder weather sets in and as word gets around that Zoar provides hot, nutritious meals on Sunday and Tuesday evenings.

     Please pray for our dinner crews and for our neighbors in need. Also, please prayerfully consider whether God might be calling you to be part of one of our teams that cooks and serves dinner.

     In the spirit of Jesus, who always fed hungry people, our faithful Tuesday and Sunday night dinner crews  continue to care for our neighbors by serving delicious, nutritious dinners in our narthex area or to go. In recent months they've been consistently serving around 100 meals each night. 

If you'd like to volunteer to help our dinner crew serve, or if you can provide home-baked cookies, please contact the church office: 503-266-4061 or zoar@canby.com.

The good news: The new sound system that was ordered back in April to replace the existing 35-year-old sound system in our sanctuary is here and some of our members have begun to learn how to operate it.

The not-so-good-news: We can't have the system installed until we have someone willing to be in charge of learning and operating it. We're currently working on that, so stay tuned for more developments!

Due to the spike in COVID cases, the Clothes Closet has no opening date in sight, but does serve individual clients on an emergency basis.
 

The Clothes Closet is an outreach program of the Canby Transgender Alliance (CTA) that has been in existence for two years. The Living Room in Oregon City, which provides a safe space and resources for LGBTQ youth and young adults, is also a partner agency.

At present, Zoar is supporting this important outreach by providing space to the Clothes Closet. In the future, we hope to receive training that will enable us to have Zoar volunteers welcome and offer support to vulnerable people in the community. Sarah Rodriguez from CTA is the main contact person for the Clothes Closet.
 
Members of Zoar's volunteer support team include: Cindi Jeskey, Mel Kubik, Jewell Manley, Kårin Rothi, and Pastor Michelle Manicke (Ex officio).