 On February 21, Carol Anne Nolte ,
teacher, mentor, Representative to the Ecumenical Council, avid fly fisher, baker and Pastor of St. Andrew's for over 23 years, lost her battle with pancreatic cancer and went to join our Lord. Her memorial
service was held at three o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, February 26th, and was attended by more than 200 people.
Even though the seating was a little snug, and serving the Eucharist to four times
the number of people who usually attend church here bordered on the acrobatic, St. Andrew's was a fitting venue to pay
respects to a woman who virtually built our facilities, and who will soon have her name permanently attached to the
fellowship hall -- probably sometime after Easter, when we can sing happy "Alleluia" songs at the dedication.
If there can be said to be an advantage to a prolonged illness such as cancer, it would be
that it gives one the time to plan every detail of her own memorial service.
Pastor Carol selected texts from Phillipians and The Revelation, which were read by Bill Burrows
and Gordon Chavis; and for the Gospel reading, the choice was easy: John 21:1-12A; "Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing.' They said to him,
'We will go with you." The Gospel and Sermon were given by Pastor Nancy Winder, who ordained Pastor Carol in 1982.
 Remembrances were made by Glen Nolte, John Johnson, Elsie Atkinson (in a statement read by Pastor Ruth Sievert),
Agnes McClain (in a statement read by Fran Burnford), and Bishop Dean Nelson. Nada Ronning, friend of Pastor Carol's for 35 years, gave a truly
moving recital of the Holden Prayer.
Twenty songs and hymns were sung by the
St. Andrew's choir, soloists John Johnson and Tom Kelley, an additional choir of So Cal ELCA clergy
and those in attendance, all under the direction of Yatidi Fitzgerald. (WTG! It was so very amazing!)
Additional music was provided by Beverly Hansen and longtime friends of St. Andrew's, Tricia Lowe and family,
Tita Valeriano and Nabil Azzam. A slide show of bits of Pastor Carol's life was presented by Jay Kenney.
 A catered dinner followed, with pies, appropriately enough, for dessert. Extra tables from St. Bede's Episcopal Church were brought by Etta Alexander and family to handle the crowd.
It was great to have the future Nolte Fellowship Hall filled to capacity with her family, friends and colleagues!
Many thanks to all those who helped out with this service despite our deep sense of loss and grief. There were
more than a few remarks by the visiting clergy friends of Pastor Carol about how much they appreciated our efforts and the beauty
of the service. The list of everyone who helped would pretty much be the contents of St. Andrew's directory. Well done, everybody,
in honoring a life dedicated to the service of our Lord!
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