Lutheran Church of Our Savior
Grow stronger in faith through worship, deeper through learning, warmer through fellowship and broader through service to our neighbors...
This is Christ's Church.
There is a place for you here.
We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person -- questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God's work in Christ's name for the life of the world.
Lutheran Church of Our Savior
A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
12 Franklin Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050
Phone 516-767-0603
Website lutheranchurchportwashington.com
email lcosoffice@optimum.net
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lutheranpw/
Church Office Hours
The Church Office will be open on Monday, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9 am and 3 pm.
Church Office - Sue Waiter
Pastor - Roger Berner
Director of Music - Federico Teti
Custodian - Marvin Mora
Facilities Use Coordinator - Linda Murphy
Worship
There's a place for everyone at Our Savior to be involved and make new friends through small group ministries, fellowship events, and committees for the congregation's life and mission. Membership is voluntary and personal.
Persons join when they express the desire to affiliate. Adults may join formally the congregation by either a letter of membership transfer from another Christian congregation or by adult Confirmation.
The sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated with this understanding: that the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are truly present in, with, and under the bread and wine; and, that the penitent receive the full forgiveness of all their sins. All baptized Christians who, in good conscience, can receive with this understanding are invited to partake.
Baptisms and weddings are conducted as needed. A church wedding requires a couple to spend a period of time preparing for marriage in consultation with the pastor.
An elevator and access ramp are available for entering and exiting the building. Refreshments are usually served after worship on Sunday. In warmer weather, the church is air-conditioned for your comfort.
Phone 516-767-0603
Website lutheranchurchportwashington.com
email lcosoffice@optimum.net
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lutheranpw/
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Christmas
Godspeed Pastor Roger Berner
This time of year is usually marked by mums in the planters and piles of leaves on our lawns, marking the advent of autumn! At our church home this month, we have decorations heralding a change of our own - a lawn sign wishing Godspeed to our Interim Pastor, Roger Berner, as he prepares to make his way back to Maryland, and a well-deserved retirement that has been postponed… just a few times.
It surely represents all the thanks we can summon for guiding us through these last two transition years and an equal measure of best wishes! Just like those lawn signs and drive-by parties that we saw sprout up during the pandemic, it is a fun way to celebrate this church family’s important life event!
Be sure to drive by every chance you get, honk your horn once or twice, and come wish Pastor Berner Godspeed in person at worship and coffee hour on Sunday, December 17.
Denise DePalma & Linda Murphy
Current and Incoming Church Council PresidentsPastor Roger Berner
Our Interim Pastor I grew up on the Great Plains, in the fifth largest (14,007 people) metropolitan area in South Dakota – Watertown. We lived on the edge of “town”, and had a huge garden – or was it a small farm? We had a tractor and a plow to turn the soil over in the spring. My father ordered 1,000 tomato plants and 3,000 cabbage plants from Georgia every spring. We also grew carrots, onions, cucumbers, squash, corn, beans, peas, beets, and potatoes. The entire garden was surrounded by hundreds of peonies.
I enjoyed planting the corn and potatoes, because I did that with my father. He dug the hole and I threw in a few kernels of corn or some old smelly potatoes cut up with “eyes” sticking out. I did not enjoy weeding the garden. In fact, the weeds usually won out toward the end of the summer, but the harvest was nonetheless bountiful and delicious. Growing up, I never tasted sweet corn that was more than 15 minutes old. My father picked the corn, I husked it, my mother cooked it, and we all ate it together. My father would also take me with him to seine for minnows, or to go fishing and hunting. While driving, my father quizzed me on what crop was growing in each field we passed. He would point to the right or left and I would say: corn, wheat, barley, flax, soy beans or rye. The most difficult to distinguish were wheat and oats – they look so much alike. My favorite crop was flax (linen is made from flax, as is the fine paper used for Bibles), because when it was in bloom it looked like a blue sea.
Joseph and Mary must have taught Jesus about agriculture because his parables were filled with images of “the farm” – mustard, sheep, grapes, goats, mint, wolves, wheat, doves, barley, dogs, olives, cows, and lilies. My mother, Sunday School teachers, pastors, and professors taught me the parables of Jesus; but I came to understand his parables through what my father taught me in the garden and the fields.
I studied history at St. Olaf College in Minnesota and continued on at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. While at seminary I organized a “summer internship” outside of Phoenix, doing youth work and going door to door, inviting people to “Come and See!” the new mission church. I also served as “the Vicar” at Zion Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York for my official internship. Those two places were very different, but both were filled with amazing, wonderful, and faithful members who were also my teachers.
I was ordained in January at my home congregation in South Dakota. It was -27 degrees (-69 degrees wind chill factor), and no one even suggested postponing the service. St. John Mark Lutheran Church in Homestead (Pittsburgh), PA had called me as their Pastor, and I served there for 9 years. Then Trinity Lutheran Church in North Bethesda, MD called me, where I served for 28 years until October 2018. Both were places of faith, hope, love, and great joy for me. After a year of retirement, the Interim Bishop of New York asked if I would serve as the Interim Pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Pleasantville, NY – a delightful experience to share the good news of Christ in Westchester County with a wonderful congregation, even through the challenges and learning opportunities of a pandemic.
Now I have begun a new adventure of faith in Christ Jesus – getting to know and love the people of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Port Washington. I trust that we will laugh and cry, work and play, sing and pray together during this “in between” time for LCOS, as we continue to trust in God’s grace and mercy to lead us into a future of Spirit-led ministry.
Paper & Personal Care Pantry
Pray for the Peace of Israel and Palestine
Pray for the Peace of Israel and Palestine
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The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem was built between 1893 and 1898. It houses Lutheran congregations that worship in Arabic, German, Danish, and English. It serves as the headquarters of the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, the Arabic-speaking (Palestinian) Church of Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. The LCOR has a congregation of around 3,000 members.
Sally Ibrahim Azar was ordained as the first female Pastor in the Holy Land on January 22, 2023. She is now the Pastor of the Church’s English-speaking congregation.
The church was built on land given by Sultan Abdülhamid of the Ottoman Empire. In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II made a trip to Jerusalem to personally dedicate the new church. For the dedication of the church, the Kaiser entered the city on horseback through two specially made ceremonial arches, one a gift of the Ottoman Empire and one a gift from the local Jewish community. The church was dedicated on Reformation Day, 1898. The church tower (one of the tallest structures in the Old City) is open to the public and offers a spectacular view of the city.
Augusta Victoria Hospital began its ministry in East Jerusalem, which was part of the Kingdom of Jordan, to serve the medical needs of Palestinian refugees in 1950. Operating from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) is a health care institution of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) primarily serving the Palestinian population.
AVH is one of six specialized hospitals in the East Jerusalem Hospital Network, which has contributed to the development of the Palestinian health care system and the education of healthcare workers and specialists. The hospital provides specialty care for Palestinians from across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with services including a cancer center, a dialysis unit, a pediatric center, and a bone marrow transplant unit. It is the sole remaining specialized-care hospital located in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. With 120 in-patient beds, it is the only radiation therapy facility serving 4.5 million Palestinians.
Lutheran World Relief
Will you help in Ukraine, Libya, and Morocco?
And people in 32 other countries?In the days and weeks after a human or natural disaster, Lutheran World Relief is on the ground helping to meet people’s immediate needs. In the following months and years we are dedicated to working with them so they can rebuild better and stronger than before.
Send your gift: click the box below;
or by calling 1-800-597-5972;or by check to: Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21297-1061.
Lutheran World Relief is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
Your gift is tax deductible.CLICK TO GIVE TO LWR Lutheran World Relief
Ukrainian War Victims Need YOU Food, clothing and shelter.
These three basic needs are crucial for an individual's well-being and potential growth. Unfortunately, the world's poorest suffer most acutely, since they have the fewest resources to prepare for a crisis and to rebuild afterward. Lutheran World Relief is in a unique position to reach highly vulnerable families whose immediate needs may not be met by other responders following an emergency.
With nearly 75 years of demonstrated expertise helping to transform some of the hardest-to-reach places in the developing world, Lutheran World Relief is an innovative, trusted international nongovernmental organization (INGO) committed to those otherwise cut off from basic human services and opportunities.
When you make a donation, your gift will reach our poorest neighbors suffering from hunger and malnutrition right now. You can deliver lifesaving nutrient-rich food, clean water, safe shelter, school supplies, medical care and more for our neighbors in desperate need.
Send your gift to: www.lwr.org; or by calling 800-597-5972; or
or by check to: Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21297-1061.
Lutheran World Relief is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your gift is tax deductible.
Future Church - God's Love Made Real
Dear siblings in Christ,
Many have responded to the survey at Future Church: God's Love Made Real, sharing input and joining in the conversation. We continue to learn about our church, what is strong and good, and where we need to grow in Christ.
If you've already taken the survey, THANK YOU! Your voice helps us discern the future of our church. If you haven't, please take the survey and help us lean into what it means to create a world experiencing the difference God's grace and love in Christ make for all people and creation.
Watch for future listening session opportunities and how you can participate! We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Louise Johnson
Executive for Administration, Office of the Presiding Bishop2024 ELCA Youth Gathering
Every three years, thousands of high school youth and their adult leaders from across the ELCA gather for a week of faith formation known as the ELCA Youth Gathering. Through days spent in interactive learning, worship, Bible study, service and fellowship, young people grow in faith and are challenged and inspired to live their faith daily.
The 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans is scheduled for July 16-20, 2024, with pre-gathering events from the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the tAble July 13-16, and the ELCA Gathering for Young Adults (18-35), which will run concurrently with the ELCA Youth Gathering.
For more information about this exciting event, please email The Rev. John Hickey, Synod Champion for Metro NY, at pastorjohn@ourredeemerlutheran.church.
