On Sunday, April 15th, members of St. James heard Pastor David Knapp, of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Southwest Portland give the homily during the morning service. It was, in fact, his audition to be our next pastor. And response from the congregation was resounding. A Question & Answer session at Coffee Hour gave the opportunity for Pastor Knapp to introduce himself to the congregation. It was a serious but warm session of back and forth between Pastor and the group. There were some pauses, as he gave serious consideration to the questions, and humor sprinkled throughout the conversation. The following Sunday, the Congregation met to vote to call Pastor Knapp, and approve his salary package, which was approved by the Church Council. The vote was overwhelmingly positive, approving the call 68 yes votes to 1 no. The salary package was approved by a vote of hands. Tuesday following the Congregational meeting Pastor Knapp formally accepted the call. It was a joyous moment when he accepted. We are grateful to all involved in the process, especially the Call Committee and Interim Pastor Janet Parker, who has led the congregation through the long process.

A Message from the President:
Pastor David Knapp has accepted our call! Whoop, whoop!
After our Congregational meeting on April 22nd we called Pastor Knapp and reported the results of our vote. We then faxed the pertinent information to the Oregon Synod office telling them of our wish to call Pastor David. Pastors have thirty days to accept or reject a call. Our synod office is closed on Monday. On Tuesday, in the afternoon, Pastor Knapp emailed telling us he wanted to accept our call and be the next settled Pastor of St. James Lutheran Church. So, Pastor David took 30 hours of the thirty days allotted, but only because the Synod office was closed for the first 24 hours! He is excited to be joining us on July 16th after fulfilling commitments at his current church. Pastor Janet Parker will lead her final Sunday service on May 27th. We will have “supply” pastors for the month of June and half of July. St. James has a very bright future and we hope you are excited for the next chapter in the rich history of St. James Lutheran Church.
Carl Cottingham, Congregation President

A Note from Pastor David
God’s People of St. James:
On Tuesday, April 24th, I received the paperwork concerning your gracious Letter of Call to serve as pastor of St. James. I immediately signed it with a heart full of gratitude and expectation. Thank you for the honor of serving as your pastor. The month of May will be a time to say good bye to the beloved people of St. Luke after 26 years. I will then take a rest and join you in ministry on July 16th. I thank God for President Carl, your Call Committee and Council for their skillful leadership.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor David