Weekly News & Events
Lopez Island
Orcas Island
Lopez Island
Worship Services
September 20 – 17th Sunday after Pentecost
Season of Creation week 3
Sunday worship meets in person at 9:00 a.m. at Center Church, 312 Davis Bay Road.
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
Goodbye Party for Madelyn & Dennis Busse - Sunday September 20th after worship
Please help us celebrate the next chapter in Madelyn & Dennis’ journey as they move to Madison, Wisconsin! Join us after Sunday worship for a send-off in style, with mimosas - bring a favorite memory or story to share with them as we say “goodbye for now”. We will also give them a sending blessing on Sunday September 27th in worship, so join us for one or both!
Wednesday 9:30 a.m. Bible Study via Zoom, Becky Moore host. We welcome anyone to join us for Bible Study on ZOOM each Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. We take time to study the scriptures for the coming Sunday (with occasional special studies). Feel free to drop in any week when you have an hour! This month we are learning and discussing Jesus’ lineage and the women in his family. It is fascinating stuff and Becky Moore is leading us well.
Wednesday 12 noon, Emmanuel Church on Orcas Island–Music series throughout the summer. See Coming Events.
Church Birthdays & Anniversaries
9/26 Rachel Brewer
Please let us know if we can add you to our prayer, email or special day list.
Lutheran Disaster Response: Nepal Flooding Relief
Communities in Nepal are facing catastrophic loss after deadly, devastating floodwaters swept through the Himalayas. Many have died, homes have been destroyed and entire communities are struggling to access basic necessities. Lutheran Disaster Response has long standing relationships with partners throughout Nepal. With your help we can support emergency and long-term relief efforts today and in the days ahead. Give Today
El Camino Families: We learned from Pr. Zulma at El Camino De Emaús that two congregants are in ICE detention, and their families are needing financial assistance. Contributions may be made to Lutheran Church in the San Juans, memo line: “El Camino Families”.
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
The sacred stories of our tradition carry a wide variety of lessons, examples and a fair amount of grumbling. This week’s texts from the lectionary are no exception. What do we make of not only Jonah’s frustrations and the laborers complaining, aren’t they just asking for fairness? To have their work honored? Well this week’s stories remind us that God’s ways are not always our ways. The freedom of following God means that sometimes we may need to change or amend our own ways. God longs to be connected to creation, and shows us that a way will always be found, even extravagantly. Could it be that the more uncomfortable we become with the reckless love of God, the closer we are to understanding the meaning of grace?
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.
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
Interfaith Climate Retreat – October 2nd from 11a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Grace Church on Lopez Island is partnering with Madrona Institute to host an ecumenical climate change workshop on Saturday, October 2. This is a perfect day long workshop to attend during the ecumenical Season of Creation in the Episcopal and Lutheran churches! Learn more and register here: https://luma.com/oww19oqf
“Return to the Earth” October Webinar Series
Dr. Nia To Go There, an Indigenous storyteller, poet, and retired university professor, will guide us through her webinar series entitled “A Return To The Earth.” Nia is an award-winning educator whose warm, interactive teaching style weaves music, art, and poetry into the material. Nia's primary focus is Native spirituality and healing. The webinar series will occur on Monday evenings, October 5, 12, 19, and 26. All the details, including a link to register can be found here:
https://lopezisland.friendsmeeting.org/special-events/
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 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.
Weekly update for PNW Synod of the ELCA is available here.
Prayers
Our Prayers – September
Healing: Rich Barker, Bill Lowe (friend of Samantha Bryner), Barbara S., Helena (granddaughter of Craig & Krispi), Dave Staehlin, Christine, Janet, Lilly, Michelle Jennings for healing & strength.
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.
Requests for Sunday Prayers can also be made via the Contact Form.
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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