Jane, Kyle and Eliza Schurter will be traveling to China in just a few weeks to bring home the newest addition to the family, Finnian Schurter!
St. Andrew Lutheran Church of Arvada has been an ardent supporter of the Schurter’s, and they thank everyone who has been part of the incredible journey that first brought Eliza into their lives, and now a son.
They are posting updates on Finnian on their family website and you can follow their journey at: www.schurterfamily.com
The rain held off and the donations came through for a wonderful St. Andrew yard sale on Saturday, May 15, 2010. Thank you to everyone to helped with preparation, everyone who donated items, who helped on sale day, and who came and bought some new treasures!
It was such a pleasure to see people find a bargain and to help them with items they wanted and needed. People came and bought a microwave… a TV… baby clothes… a chair… roller blades… a bicycle… books… a loveseat.
The proceeds, almost $1,000, will go primarily to the Chinese orphanage from whom the Schurter family is adopting their son. 25-percent will remain here to go toward seed money for roof repairs.
The Schurters are deeply grateful for all the support the St. Andrew family has shared. On their behalf, thank you.
St. Andrew marked Maundy Thursday with a Seder meal as part of commemorating Holy Week this year.
The Seder meal is a way to celebrate and remember the Passover night, when God rescued the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
Moses said, “You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, “What do you mean by this observance?” you shall say, “It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.” And the people bowed and worshiped. -Exodus 12:24-37
A big thank you to Karen Stine for all of the preparations, the Pardee family and Brian Hoffmeier for leading the meal, and all those who helped clean up.
What a year! Much of the year was spent in anticipation and planning of St. Andrew’s 50th anniversary celebration. Various committees met for months to plan for this memorable celebration. A feast was enjoyed by all followed by a humorous and sometimes tearful walk down memory lane with pictures, story telling and some guest appearances. A job well done to all involved. Thank you!
Along the way we also enjoyed some old traditions, such as the 
progressive supper starting at the home of you
rs truly. The gang then headed for the Stine’s home for salads and the main course, and we ended at the Hase’s for dessert and karaoke! It was a memorable night.
We also tried a new tradition in having a Seder supper held on Maundy Thursday. Forty-eight people enjoyed food, tradition, and lessons. It was so well received; expect a repeat in the year to come.
Other events to be
proud of included our annual vacation bible school where children from our congregation and the community came for a week of bible stories, songs, fellowship, and a fantastic game show where all came out a winner!
Another fun experience was the “Daughter” event. We donned our aprons (or our blue jeans), shared salads, sandwiches and stories about “the good old days.” T
hanks to Carol Bingham and all who helped organize this event.
St. Andrew has also taken steps to reach out and connect via the world wide web and increased use of email to our congregation members. We updated our website www.standrewarvada.org and created a web log (blog) www.standrewarvada.com. In the future we will continue to explore internet options including social media. (Are you on Facebook?)
The September anniversary celebration was great and now it’s time to focus on “what’s next.” What’s ahead to celebrate? In what other ways can we bring congregation members together in fellowship? How can we reach out and minister in our neighborhood? What can we look forward to in the coming year? What should we hope for and dream about for St. Andrew?
We continue to care for the church and each other and I encourage each and every one of you to participate some how in the coming year. We are always grateful for worship assistants. Come show the choir what you’ve got. Attend a Senior Saints event. Consider joining council or taking on the role of Financial Secretary. It takes all of us to keep this family known as St. Andrew thriving. Get involved, whatever that is.