 Welcome Pastor Ron McCallum!
The Rev. Ron McCallum is the newly Called pastor of First Lutheran
Church. He begins here February 1 and will keep his door
open. Please come in and say hello.
Pastor
Ron McCallum was born, raised, and educated in Michigan. He attended
Central
Michigan University and received a BS in Education degree, graduating
in 1972.
That is the same year he married his wife, Karen, also a graduate of
CMU. For
the next 7 years Pastor Ron taught special education in Breckenridge,
Michigan.
During that time their first two sons, Kyle and Michael were born.
In 1979, Pastor Ron enrolled in
seminary at the
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA. He returned to
Michigan in
1981 – 82 to do his internship at Trinity Lutheran Church, Grand
Rapids.
Following graduation, Pastor Ron started serving St. Luke Lutheran
Church,
Stevensville, MI. In Stevensville, Ron and Karen welcomed youngest son
Douglas
into the family. After a successful building program and 7 years in
Stevensville, Ron and Karen moved west, to a limited call on the Navajo
Reservation.
The Navajo position was not well
funded, and after 2
years, the McCallum family headed north to Alaska. Ron was called to
Shishmaref,
AK to serve in the farthest north ELCA congregation located in
Shishmaref, a
Native Alaskan village facing Siberia on the Chukchi Sea. Four years
later Ron
answered the call to Trinity Lutheran Church, Dillingham, AK. While in
Dillingham, former FLC pastor Ron Martinson was elected Bishop of the
Alaska
Synod.
After four years in Dillingham,
Karen decided to
pursue a Master’s in Deaf Education at Lewis and Clark College in
Portland. So
the family was on the move again, this time to the Portland area. Ron
was able
to receive the call of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Cornelius, OR, where
they lived
for 6 years. After Cornelius, they were both excited to be chosen to
serve with
the ELCA overseas. Two years were spent in West Africa, in Burkina Faso
and
Senegal. After two years, they returned to the Portland area.
Haiti
Earthquake Relief
About
3 million lives (1/3 of Haiti's population) are affected by the 7.0
earthquake
that struck Tuesday. It is already one
of the poorest countries in the world. ELCA Disaster Response is
already
working to provide emergency food, water, shelter and medical
supplies. Financial gifts are urgently needed and will
be used entirely (100%) for immediate relief and ongoing recovery in
Haiti.
Shrove Tuesday
Pancake Feed
At FIRST from 5-7pm on Tuesday,
February 16.
This fun pancake and ham dinner marks the end of the Epiphany
season. Donations will be split between the Knappa and Astoria
Food Banks. We thank the Knappa ladies for hosting this.
40-60ish
Event is Saturday, February 20, 5:00pm.
Meet
at the Wine Cellar, 1004 Marine Drive.
At 6:00pm we will participate in a Cooking Demonstration and dinner at
Baked Alaska. The cost is $30
(inclusive). Please sign up at the Welcome Center and put 40-60 event
on the memo line of checks. This will be fun and a
delicious meal! Marian may be contacted
regarding questions.
Senior
Sneak Day is Monday, February 22.
Please meet at the
church at 10:30am and plan to return around 2:00pm. The cost is
$25 inclusive. Please sign up at the Welcome Center and put
Senior Sneak on the memo line of
checks. Marian may be contacted regarding
questions.
Important Upcoming Dates
February
7..........................................................................
Souper
Bowl Sunday
February
7...................................... Youth
Super Bowl Party at Johnstons, 3:00pm
February
16............................................. Shrove
Tuesday Pancake Feed, 5-7pm
February
17 ......................................................... Ash
Wednesday, Lent begins
February
20...................................................................40-60ish
Event, 5:00pm
February 22
..................................................Senior Sneak Day,
10:30am - 2pm
Thursday Morning Prayer Breakfast
Formerly
the Men's breakfast and Bible study, Prayer Breakfast resumes this
Thursday with a study on
"New Creation in Christ." Women and men
are invited to come for a
simple breakfast at 7:15am, fellowship, study, and prayers for the
world,
community, church, families and individuals. We
finish by 8:30am.
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First
Lutheran Church in Astoria, Oregon is affiliated with the Evangelical
Lutheran Chruches in America - visit the web site at