Weekly News & Events
Lopez Island
Lopez Island
Worship Services
August 16 – 12th Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday worship meets in person at 9:00 a.m. at Center Church, 312 Davis Bay Road. Dennis Conrad Preaching - Pastor Emma away.
Live Online worship via Zoom at 11:00 a.m. Connection directions sent via email or contact the church email. Consult the online Weekly Worship Bulletin.
This Week's Events
Announcements
Saint Francis Catholic Mass: Sunday, August 16th @ 4:30 p.m. (See Announcements.)
Wednesday 9:30 a.m. Bible Study via Zoom, Becky Moore host.
Wednesday 12 noon, Emmanuel Church on Orcas Island–Music series throughout the summer. See Coming Events.
Church Birthdays
8/20 Pete Christensen
Saint Francis Catholic Mass: Sunday, August 16th @ 4:30 p.m.
This Sunday August 16th at 4:30pm: Saint Francis will host their First Mass ever on their own church property, presided over by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, Catholic Archbishop of Seattle.
The Catholics of Lopez Island have been blessed with GREAT ecumenical friendships with other Protestant Christians on the Island since the building of Center Church back in the pioneer days. Since then, we have held Mass in literally everyone else’s church on the island- but our own. Our community has been growing in recent years, and diversified dramatically, and it’s time to look toward the future. This event on August 16th is another step towards that dream of our forefathers and foremothers in the faith, and a hope for our children and those who will come after us.
Aware of the differences that transcend our personal power to overcome, we invite all our non-Catholic brothers and sisters, Christian or otherwise, to come forward for a prayer blessing with Archbishop at Communion time, in prayer for the day that we may all share together in the Table of the Lord both on earth and in heaven! Your presence that day would mean so much to all of us! We want, and the Lord Jesus commands us, to continue our friendship with each and every Christian and person of goodwill in the islands!
We extend special thanks to Lopez Community Church and Pastor Adam and the Elders there for allowing us the use of LCC hall for this event in case of inclement weather for the reception to follow (and for the restrooms!!). We plan to have the Mass outside rain or shine, so please BYO lawn chair and poncho/umbrella/tent! We look forward to seeing you there! Please RSVP to Sr. Maria Juan Anderson, RSM, @ sr.mariajuan@stfrancissji.org.
Note About Zoom Service & Microphones: We are continuing to experiment with our amplified service at Friday Harbor which is also our Zoom service. We are hoping this new configuration of microphones will help those both in the space and those on Zoom to better hear the service! We are grateful to Rowan our sound tech for their assistance with this project! We appreciate your patience as we ensure all is in working order over the next few weeks!
Caution: Someone is impersonating Pastor Emma’s and Pastor Abby’s (St. David’s Episcopal) email. Be careful when responding to emails from them, especially when asking for ‘help to purchase gifts for “staff.”‘ The tip-off (aside for asking for financial help) is the email address: frrev0591@gmail.com. There may be no salutation, just a “Good morning,.” so be sure to double check the return address before you respond. If in doubt, contact them directly by phone.
Pastor's Note
This Sunday’s strange story of the Cannanite woman isn’t always easy to hear, but sometimes getting help isn’t either. Let us encounter this story more deeply of a woman seeking for her daughter and stubbornly refusing to be turned away. May her persistence remind us of all who seek crumbs from the tables of the world also deserve to be fed. May there be enough for all.
Coming Events
Our transition groups have been hard at work across our branches, sharing in meetings and making room in their summer travel and visitor schedules! With all the moving pieces your Transition Facilitator Erik Samuelson and I have discerned that a slower schedule for all will benefit LCSJI during this process. We agreed that we will both stay on through the end of the year (and beyond) if helpful in the transition process. This will give us ALL some breathing room as we keep figuring out our way forward. May we continue to hold one another gently and ask the spirit to keep guiding us as we work together for the future of the Lutheran Church in the San Juan Islands.
Please take a moment to read our new Reconciling in Christ Statement – updated 2026.
As a Reconciling in Christ Congregation, we are committed to racial equity and, just as Christ welcomed all people unconditionally, we welcome people of all races, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, ages, cultures, languages, abilities, and political views. We seek to be a diverse ELCA community rooted in God’s gracious love.
- Weekly Reflections -
In addition to preaching a weekly sermon, Pastor Emma sends out short weekly reflections that cover scripture, current events, church news, and other items of interest. Past reflections are available at Sermons and Reflections.
All Congregational Meeting – August 18 @ 5pm on Zoom
A note from Tim Jorve, Church Council President:
As you know, our three branches are currently in discernment, which will result in changes to our current pastoral structure. To facilitate the process for Lopez Island, they have completed their Ministry Site Profile (MSP) and proposed a call committee to look for a part-time pastor to meet the needs on Lopez Island. According to our constitution (C13.05), the call committee needs to be elected by the congregation, so your presence is important. The purpose of this meeting is to present a slate of candidates to serve as the call committee for Lopez Island only. All people below live on Lopez Island, are members, worship at the Lutheran church, and are willing to serve.
1. Ruth Fothergill
2. Corky Searls
3. Anne Hall
4. David Corbin
5. Jane Fuller
We will need a quorum of the entire congregation, so please be prompt at 5 pm. This will be the only item on the agenda, so it should not be lengthy. If you have any questions, please contact your local transition team representative for clarification, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the 18th via Zoom.
The link for the meeting is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4514194889?omn=82683167437
Blessings,
Tim Jorve
August 22nd – Lopez Lutheran Summer Picnic at Odlin Park. Our picnic is scheduled for 25 people on Saturday, August 22nd, from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Odlin picnic shelter. Please join us for this potluck picnic in the park! More information later.
Music at Emmanuel – Wednesdays @ 12:00pm during the summer!
Wednesday noon series. Admission is by free-will offering to benefit the Emmanuel music scholarship fund in support of Orcas Island students attending music camps. https://www.visitsanjuans.com/eventdetail/73344/music-at-emmanuel
Friday Harbor: Wild Church – August 25 @ 7:00pm Jackson Beach Park
Come experiment with Wild Church as we wonder & wonder along the shoreline with creation and our friends at Saint David’s Episcopal Church. Let nature share in our worship, adding in their own unique chorus welcoming the Summer Solstice! Please bring what you need to be comfortable, like a chair or blanket, sturdy shoes, water bottle or other materials for reflection.
Adding an event/announcement: Please forward your written listing to Corky Searls by Thursday for inclusion in that Sunday’s bulletin. For additional events, please write to the parish administrator Jonna at sanjuanlutherans@gmail.com to get your meeting or event added to the all-church calendar. Be sure to include all relevant information (who, what, when, where, why, how). Unless otherwise specified, announcements will be listed for one week and events will be listed weekly until the event date.
Weekly update for PNW Synod of the ELCA is available here.
Prayers
Our Prayers – August
Healing: Rich Barker, Bill Lowe (friend of Samantha Bryner), Barbara S., Helena (granddaughter of Craig & Krispi), Dave Staehlin, Christine, Janet, Lilly.
General/Support: George and family (brother of Lilly Handler), Ann Brewer (caring for parents), Jim (son-in-law of Joan & Gordon Eustis), Scott and Marie, Mary, Steven, Rachel (friend of Lilly Handler), Ryan, Andrew and Andrew’s son Tre’vion (healing).
Lopez Island Prayer Chain: We have now reconstituted our prayer chain. If you have a prayer request, please send it to Pastor Emma at pastoremmad@gmail.com and to Anne Hall at anneshall67@gmail.com and they will pass it on to the prayer chain. If you want to be on the prayer chain and haven’t yet contacted Anne Hall, please email her or call or text her at 360-298-0228.
For pastoral care needs, and to add requests for Sunday Prayers, please contact Pastor Emma: email pastoremmad@gmail.com
Also of Note
WRITING CHECKS: Checks to be deposited to the church’s bank account should be made payable to “Lutheran Church in the San Juans”. If you would like to designate your gift in any way, please note that in the memo line. Thank you! - From your Financial Secretary.
Email changes: Please contact Corky Searls to make changes to the email distribution list for these notes. Please also contact Jonna, the parish administrator so that address and email changes may be saved for the church directory.
Sunday Signup: Laura Evans has recreated the online sign-up sheet which covers multiple Sunday morning tasks. Here's the link:
Note: Mary Ann Cameron handles the worship assistant and readers schedule. Contact her at 425-361-9933 or maccameron@frontier.com
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