News

Dear Friends, I need to tell you a story I recently lived. You may know that I like to work on cars and I’d like to think everything I touch, I can fix. I frequently invite our children to let me repair their cars as a way of saving them some money on costly repairs. …

Dear Friends, I was chosen as your pastor just about six months ago. Here’s what I love about FPC and Woodburn. You have chosen a great team for me to work with on Session. There is Johanna with her love of Jesus that started as a young girl; Nancy with her love of the Captain …

Dear Friends, Independence Day is upon us: The Fourth of July. It’s a day you probably know well and one that you anticipate with pleasure. Here are some interesting facts about the nation’s birthday you may not know about. FACT ONE: Americans began observing the Fourth of July as early as 1777, but Congress didn’t …

Dear Friends, As I drive through Woodburn, I notice all the construction work going on. (Is there any missing it?) We must turn left to get on northbound I-5. Surveyors have marked where new sidewalks would go on Newberg Highway. Now those sidewalks and gutters are in place. They are paving the highway at night …

Dear Friends, I am continuing on the subject of resiliency that I introduced last month. We live in the time in-between or the now but not yet. What I mean by that is that we live after Jesus physically lived on this earth and before he physically returns again. Bible scholars have called this the …

Dear Friends, We have been travelling through the 40 days of Lent. With the final days of Lent now in front of us, Jesus will face his most difficult hours in going to the cross and dying. So for a few moments, I want to focus our attention on what Jesus shows in these final …

Dear Friends, Greetings to you! We have arrived. And you have given us a very warm welcome. Thank you! You have done a great job in preparing the place for our arrival. On the first day, I hit the ground running in order to moderate Session that evening. You will find me asking questions about …

Jan 20th Session Meeting Highlights   Session discussed and agreed on the following committee assignments: Mission – Marcy Sterling Property – Walt Mangerich, Mark Sterling & Bill Anderson Congregational Life – Nancy Hankins & Johanna Samson Outreach –  Joanne Hanson Worship – Sally Klein Membership Caring – Johanna Samson Mark Sterling is appointed Session president. …

Dec 16th Session Meeting Highlights  Session agreed to install the new Session members during the January 18, 2015 service, two days before the January 20 Session meeting.  The pulpit supply guest that Sunday is the Rev. Dennis Dusek.  Nancy Hankins, Sally Klein, and Mark Sterling will be installed.  Session committees will be organized at the …

Nov. 18th Session Meeting Highlights   A motion was passed to approve the 3/4 time pastor position description as prepared by Walt. It will now be sent to the Presbytery  Committee on Ministry who will solicit applicants.  Our mission statement will be placed on our website.  It was agreed that session will serve as the …

October 21st Session Meeting Highlights We need a meeting of the congregation to elect three session members to the class of 2018, the 2015 congregation members to the nominating committee, and one person to the Support and Endowment Management Committee.  A motion was passed for the special meeting of the congregation to be on November …

September 16th Session Meeting Highlights We received a letter from Presbytery of the Cascades informing us that on September 4, 2014, the Board of Trustees approved our request for an easement to the City of Woodburn for our mural on the south side of the church building. The easement has been sent to Marion County …

August Session Meeting Highlights The financial review has been completed by Harley Piper and Evelyn White.  A copy is on file in the office. A gentleman who lives in Woodburn is presently a youth pastor at a Portland area Presbyterian Church.  He is interested in serving the youth of our church.  Session decided to explore …

Pastor Search By Walt Mangerich, Member of Session So, now that Pastor Morelli has retired, where are we in the process of calling a new pastor?  Finding a new full-time pastor requires a process that takes awhile.  Even though some of us have been through the process before, we need to review our method, and …

Thank you for a wonderful time on Sunday.  I appreciate all that you did for my family on that day.  I want to thank Jackie and Hannah for all the attention to detail and for working with Julie and the congregational life committee and all the others that made it a special event. I know …

Jackie reminds me that I have served the Woodburn church for seven years come this September. She knows this because we came when Hannah started first grade and this fall Hannah will begin her 8th grade year.   Put another way, we have seen Hannah play in church the  ¼ size cello, the ½ cello, the …

The newsletters have been inconsistent.  One reason is the lack of a newsletter editor after the loss of Dave Haugh to format and edit the newsletter- I thought we would have another ‘quarterly’ newsletter.   But then Laura Harryman came to church. Laura just happens to have been the administrative assistant for the Presbyterian Church in …

You may have noticed that you have not received a newsletter for two months.  You also may have noticed that this newsletter is listed as a threemonth newsletter .  You may be wondering why. NO we are not doing a quarterly newsletter, but this was just a case of “doing one more thing and then …

Pastor: David Morelli Editor: Joanne Hanson In recent years we have trimmed our house with Christmas lights when my son can come from Seattle.  It is usually before Thanksgiving and before our “Hanging of the Greens” at the church.  But this year with the late Thanksgiving he came the same weekend we were having our party …

Pastor: David Morelli Editor: Dave Haugh In November when leaves change colors and fall to the ground, and the air grows crisp, and the stars seems brighter in the autumn sky, I know that Thanksgiving is approaching.  It is this time of year I bring a book off the shelf that Jackie was given.  It …

Pastor: David Morelli Editor: Dave Haugh It seems that before I write the October pastor’s page I look at the ones I have written the years before.   I find a common theme. The first theme goes like this.  I have just returned from the Lectionary Retreat at Mt. Angel that I have attended for the …

Pastor: David Morelli Editor: Dave Haugh So our friend and newsletter editor is trying to get out of town and move to California.  As you have read or will read one of his obstacles is putting everything into a 160 cubic foot trailer. As he was sharing with us his woes at the men’s lunch …

Pastor: David Morelli Editor: Dave Haugh We are soon to be on our vacation to see the grand old USA, visiting some our most famous national parks, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde. As I reflect on the birthday of our country, recent stories in the news that tell us about the …

Pastor: David Morelli Editor: Dave Haugh Easter was early this year. An early Easter seems to confuse my internal clock. A late Easter seems to work with my secular side of life. The coast during spring break (spring break was during Holy Week), March Madness (NCAA Basketball Tournament), then the Master’s golf tournament and then …