If you joined us for worship during announcement time last Sunday, you may have seen my screen share of the beautiful new Advent banner our own talented Donna Pottratz made for us. Thank you SO much, Donna, for this labor of love!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you that the twelve $50 gift cards provided for wildfire relief by Shepherd of Valley Lutheran Church in Beaverton had been shared with farmworker families in Molalla. Eleven of the twelve families who received a card they were going to use it to buy food. Here are some testimonials from three of the families that received a gift card:

1. Hello, We are a family of 5 people. My daughters are 12 and 6 years old, and my baby is 6 months old.  I think this has been a difficult year for everyone in the whole world for everything that has happened with COVID-19.  We always live in fear of contacting COVID, but when the wildfires happened- it was like nothing we ever thought of that would affect our family.  We had to evacuate to Vancouver WA to my oldest daughter’s home.  We were there for over a week. My spouse had to leave his work because he is a fieldworker, in addition, this has affected us emotionally as well. Thank you, Mollala Resident
2. I was impacted by the wildfires when we (Molalla) was evacuated and my work was also here in Molalla. I couldn’t work and had to spend money for shelter and food for my family.  Thank you, Molalla Resident
3. We were strongly impacted by the wildfires when we were evacuated from our house and I had to spend money to stay somewhere. During this whole time I did not work. We were not able to take anything from our house and the expenses were so high. Thank you, Molalla Resident

    Yesterday I learned through Bridging Cultures board member Sarah Rodriguez that food distribution for hungry people in Molalla is lagging at present. So, I have authorized a check for $2500 from the Pastor's Emergency Fund to be to sent Bridging Cultures. Their director, Janet Diaz, will purchase 25 $100 Walmart gift cards for farmworker families who've been impacted recently by wildfires and other crises.

     The $2500 I have allocated represents $2200 that was generously donated by YOU, the members and friends of Zoar, for wildfire relief, plus an additional $300 from COVID relief donations received by the Pastor's Emergency Fund.

     Thank you for your generous donations that make it possible to help some of our most vulnerable neighbors! As Jesus says, "Whatever you have done to the least of these who are members of my family, you've done to me." (Matthew 25:40)

God bless you,
Pastor Michelle Manicke

Our joint confirmation class with Macksburg Lutheran Church is engaged in an in-depth study of the Beatitudes. Pastor Lorin and Pastor Michelle are also working to help our youth deepen and broaden their prayer life, in order to instill spiritual resilience. Recently, we had an introduction to centering prayer. Recognizing that there are many styles and practices of prayer and that each person must find what works for them, the pastors have purchased prayer journals and finger labyrinth cards as gifts for our youth to explore.

Our scheduled Zoom meeting times in January are Sunday, January 10 ("Blessed Are the Meek") and Sunday, January 24 ("Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst") @ 12:30 pm. A link will be sent via email to the parents of confirmands. 

Thank you so much for your generous donations to Zoar's Community Dinner fund. Thanks to your financial support and the dedication of our hardworking volunteers, we're able to serve more of our neighbors in need.

Many neighbors in Zoar's wider community are hurting. We know this because the number of people coming to our take-out Community Dinner on Sundays and Tuesdays has been  increasing. Since there've been several evenings recently when 120+ dinners were served, our crew has increased the number of meals they're preparing. Yesterday, December 22, more than 150 to-go meals were served up!

The situation could become even more dire for many around the end of the year, as unemployment benefits shrink or shrivel up completely. We're also painfully aware that due to wildfires that ate into county housing funds, there's a lack of warming shelters for houseless people this year. Of course, this is all complicated by the dangers and restrictions of COVID. Clackamas County has been slow to respond to our inquiries about Zoar's serving as a warming shelter; their staff are currently focused on purchasing old motels to serve as housing.

While we wait for an answer about the warming shelter, we are focused on providing meals for those who are hungry. Because we've been running out of food the past few weeks, our crew is considering increasing the number of prepared meals to 200 as we move toward Christmas. As Sunday crew member Steve Morgan pointed out, "We know how to distribute leftover meals--just take them down to the Canby Center, and folks come around to get them!--but we don't know what to do when we run out of food and have to turn people away...." 

In addition, two of Zoar's Sunday kitchen crew members have connections to My Father's Heart in Oregon City, which has been providing limited shelter to help a handful of folks get out of the cold. My Father's Heart may need help providing meals for their guests, and Zoar is considering the possibility of helping out with some of those meals.

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.