Saint Andrew Lutheran Church
Saint Andrew Lutheran Church
Newsletter
February 2025
Saint Andrew Lutheran Church
600 Gansevoort Road (Hwy 32)
South Glens Falls, NY 12803
518/761-0917
sgfstandrew@live.com (office)
www.saint-andrewonline.org
Worship: 10:00 AM
A beacon to our community, actively and consistently proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ!
We are a
Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation.
All are welcome!
All may worship!
All are loved!
A Message from
Saint Andrew Lutheran Church
Dear Siblings in Christ,
Epiphany​​​​​​​​
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The full month of February is in the season of Epiphany this year (Ash Wednesday begins the first Wednesday of March, 2025). This gives us plenty of time to consider where we experience Jesus in ways that reveal who Jesus is in our day to day living...
Spoiler: this isn’t always predictable!
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Have you ever come up against a challenge to your faith in humanity, only to be surprised by some act of grace, or a reminder of some beautiful bit of joy which used to be the highlight of your day? How about being challenged by the church, writ large, especially when learning history, and coming to decide for yourself what sort of
Jesus you believe in?
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Some epiphanies are wonderful and some feel more like interventions! We’re not born into this world knowing everything, and no matter how many PhDs or how much life experience one person might earn, we never will know everything there is to know!
The world is vast and beyond ancient, and while we grow up being told where to expect to find God, what to do to connect with God, sometimes God surprises us by showing up in places, people, or activities we not only didn’t expect, but had not even looked!
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We might feel a bit silly sometimes when we discover how little we think of ourselves, our neighbors, and our God (not in regards to time, but related to possibility), but the season of Epiphany is focused on those places and people and activities where Jesus reveals a bit more of who he is and what this Incarnation business actually means to the world! It gives us a chance to take a story we think we know and turn it around, look at it from different angles and perspectives. What does it mean to those most unlike us to proclaim this Good News? How might that impact the way we receive it?
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I hope this February will surprise you and that we can together re-discover the joy of curiosity and wonder about the world and about all the ways we are different from each other. There is so much to explore and enjoy, so much to celebrate. Much to mourn and grieve, as well, once we learn to listen to the stories that have been hidden from us. But God did not give us a spirit of fear, to turn against one another.
God gave us all a spirit of adoption, to live together with this Earth as family!​​
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​​​​​May it be so!
Pastor Andrew Tobias Nelson
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Our Newsletter is called "The Beacon."
The Mission Statement of Saint Andrew proclaims our purpose: --
to be a Beacon to our community, actively and consistently
proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.
By proclaiming Christ through joyful praise, worship, and witness.
By providing a warm, caring, and nurturing religious environment
that allows us to respond to the spiritual and social
needs, concerns, and issues of our community.
By providing for the acceptance, care,
and consideration of people in their entirety.
By spreading the Word through living example and teaching.
By supporting and encouraging
responsibilities for the environment.
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As a member of Saint Andrew Lutheran Church,
may you be a beacon of
love, happiness, peace, and joy to all!​
Saint Andrew Newsletter --
"The Beacon"
Activities at Saint Andrew -- 2025
​​​Our Potluck Fellowship will
be celebrated on the first Sunday of every month.
Please contact Pat Miner or Tracy Hadsell
if you wish to donate food or beverages!
All are Welcome!
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The Fellowship Calendar is on the stairwell bulletin board.
Choose a partner and sign up for a Sunday!
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The new Flower Chart is on the narthex bulletin board.
Sign up for one or more Sundays!
Simply fill out the slip to indicate the dedication of the flowers.
Cost is $15 per Sunday.
Any questions, please contact Pat Miner!
Souper Bowl of Caring
Sunday, February 23, 2025 --
11:30 AM (durng Fellowship)
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As millions of people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl, we’re also tuning in to the needs of our neighbors. The Souper Bowl of Caring is about taking action to fight hungeder at the local level, ensuring that no one has to go without the food they need!
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There will be two buckets representing this year's two teams --
vs.
​the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles!!
Please generously donate your monies to the team of your choice!
Let’s TACKLE HUNGER!!!​​​​​
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Souper Bowl Annual Homemade Soup Competition!
11:30 AM (during Fellowship)
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As usual, volunteers are needed to make soups!
This year, Rita Navatka is heading up the Souper Bowl committee!
To volunteer, please add your name to the sign up sheet in the narthex!
The BEST SOUP will earn a prize!​
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If you have any questions please contact: --
Rita Navatka, Tracy Hadsell, or Pat Miner!​​​​​​​​​
​Saint Andrew
Benevolence -- 2024
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Saint Andrew continues to support
local non-profits!
This is a list of donations made in 2024: --
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ELCA World Hunger $522.75
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OPEN DOOR Mission $150
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Albany Damien House $150
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Christ Church Preschool $150
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Big Cross Elem. Snack Pak $150
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Regional Food Bank of NE NY $200
Food and personal care items for a local Food Pantry are donated through our Scouts --
David and Matthew Trombley!
For those interested in contributing
to this worthy effort, a collection basket
for these items is located in the narthex!
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May God bless you for your kindness
and your generosity!
"Extravagant Moments"
(exceeding the limits of reason or necessity)
"​Our prayers go out to all our brothers and sisters
affected by the California fires!
May God bless you and watch over you always!"
* Saint Andrew Lutheran Church *
If you have any moments that take your breath away please send a written description and/or a picture to Carole Glidden, Parish Coordinator.
Prayer for world peace
"Let peace fill our hearts, our world, and our universe.
Let us dream together, pray together, and work together
to build one world of peace and justice for all."
NOTE re the ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response (Ukraine)
The total amount collected thus far by Saint Andrew for Ukraine war victims was $2,275. For more info on how to donate, read on below...
URGENT --
Ukrainian Families Need You!
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Our neighbors in Ukraine are suffering and they need your love now.
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Many characterize this war as a
"humanitarian disaster."
Families are leaving behind everything they own and fleeing for their safety. They need immediate aid including food, water, shelter, clothing, and medical care.
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Your emergency gift will deliver urgent support and care, like critically needed items for families who fled their homes, and medicine and supplies for clinics.
Donations for Ukraine
The ELCA's Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying our companions in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, as well as such ecumenical partners as Lutheran World Federation and Church World Service, in their humanitarian responses to the crisis. These partners provide refugees with immediate support and supplies such as food, blankets, water, and hygiene kits.
Your gifts designated for “Eastern Europe Crisis Response” will be used entirely (100%) to provide support for victims of this war.
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YES, I want to help!
Please send your check to: -- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
ELCA Gifts Processing Center
P.O. Box 1809
Merrifield, VA 22116-8009
and write “Eastern Europe Crisis Response” on your check’s memo line.
NOTE: -- A generous donor within the ELCA has already pledged to match up to $50,000!
May God bless you for your generosity!
