• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
news
 
St.
 
Paul’s
 
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHNOVEMBER 2009—VOLUME 34, ISSUE 9
Ready or Not, Here it Comes!
By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller
It's October 15, and I've seen the decorations already! Not Halloween; they wereout a month ago! Christmas decorations!! As we enter the month of November, webegin the busiest time of our calendar year. At St. Paul's we start the season bymaking a big deal out of All Saint's Sunday, November 1. We baptize some andwelcome others as "new members" to the parish. On November 20, "Silver Bells inthe City" will kick off the downtown shopping season for the greater Lansing com-munity. Silver Bells begins with an ever lengthening and more festive parade. Thisis followed by fireworks. Many churches, ours included, offer reminders that it's notall about buying and gifts: Christ is still the "Reason for the Season." At St. Paul'sour "Bells" will ring in the season and the Merrifield room will be festively deco-rated to be as welcoming as possible to the upwards of 250 people who will visitfor hot cocoa and cookies. This will be followed by Thanksgiving and "Black Fri-day." We all know how tired we are on the Monday morning following that week-end. Then the real fun begins. These activities create such a pace that by the timeChristmas afternoon arrives, there is a huge letdown just at the time we should bemost energized by the celebration of the new life that entered the world so longago.For those who want the season to hold more spiritual meaning and have it last pastDecember 25, consider some advance planning. That's the reason I offer this arti-cle and suggestion now. If you are dismayed at how tired you are at the end of
(Continued on page 12)
Community of Faith in a Circle of Friends
By Martie Repaskey, Sr. Warden
“Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you.” Matthew 18:20 
It’s the “stewardship time of year” again, only the people of St. Paul’s are doing it differently this time. We are engagedin a visioning process, attempting to discern just what our combined ministry should look like as we move into the future.How can we best express our gratitude for the abundance in our lives? How will we carry the Gospel forward, and whatdo we need in order to carry out our vision?In a three-hour event on September 20, we talked about our strengths, our dreams, and the realities of our community inChrist. Approximately 65 people participated in this time of good communication. Since then, we have begun meeting insmall groups to continue this dialogue with one another. Thus far, the discussions in these small groups have been lively
(Continued on page 12)
Church EventsNovember

1 - Baptisms

2 and 16 - 4Fs

4 - Diocesan Convention Re-cap

8 - Invitation Sunday

10 - B&PW

15 - Bishop Gibbs Visit,Rabbi Sasso Visit

16 - LAEP

17 - St. Elizabeth Guild

20 - Silver Bells

22 -
 Missa Brevis
Concert,Heifer Auction

25 - Harvest Home Dinnerand Thanksgiving Service
 
 
Page 2
Business andProfessionalWomen
By Barbara Richardson
Come join us November 10th as we cele-brate an early Thanksgiving with our fes-tive and scrumptious Thanksgiving Din-ner. We meet at 6 p.m. in the Hill Roomfor dinner followed by our own Ellie Doer-sam as our guest speaker. Please make adinner reservation with Debby Pierce byNovember 8th. Cost of dinner is $8. Allare welcome.
Mitten Tree
By The Rev. Deacon William Fineout
The Mitten Tree is in the cloister and await-ing your decorations. It needs to be fin-ished by November 8, which is earlier thanin past. We have moved the collectionfrom December to get warm clothing tokids before it gets too cold. Please donatehats, scarves, and/or mittens and gloves todecorate this year’s tree. We will be deliv-ering this year’s collection to the LoveCloset at Judson Memorial Church for chil-dren in the Head Start, WIC and ChristianService programs.
Diocesan Convention
By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller
By the time you read this, the Diocesan Convention will be over andmost of the actions voted upon will be in the process of implementation.The need to know what was voted upon and the implications of this voteare always important, so your Diocesan Convention Delegation will beavailable for information and questions on Wednesday, November 4,at 6 p.m., in the Merrifield room for a synopsis of the Convention and toanswer questions. Please consider attending.
Baptisms
By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller
By the time you read this, baptisms for theNovember 1 All Saints Day celebration,will probably already be planned. Knowhowever that the next assigned date isJanuary 10, which this year marks Jesus'baptism. If so inclined, please contact
Fr.Weller
or the Church office for more infor-mation or to schedule the Baptism.
The 4Fs Group Programs
By Nancy Sheldon
Usually meets the 2
nd
& 4
th
Mondays of each month. Exceptions noted*due to Town Hall conflict)

12:00 Eucharist, 12:30 Lunch ($4.00)

1:00 Bible Study (Steve Lange) 1:15-2:00 Program
Anyone is invited who has time in the middle of the day!This year, we will continue the study of the psalms for our Bible Study.

Nov. 2
 
- A visit to the Hindu Temple Bharatiya in Haslett at 955 HaslettRoad.
 

Nov. 16
 
- Rabbi Sandy Sasso, a well known author (especially of children’sbooks) and a co-rabbi with her husband in Indianapolis, IN, will be a guestat St Paul’s for two days. During this time, she will speak to the 4F’s groupabout talking to our children and grandchildren about God.
 

Dec. 7
 
- We will continue our tradition of an annual Christmas celebrationwith a special luncheon before a concert in the church. The Someko singersfrom Okemos High School will entertain us once again, and our own
MattNauss
(a member of this talented group) will be among them.
Heifer International
By The Rev. Deacon William Fineout
We continue our MDG 2009 project of “filling an ark” of animals forHeifer International. We will be taking up one more “noisy” collection onFamily Sunday. And on the second Sunday of November, at the coffeehour, we will auction off all the stuffed animals and a quilt decorated byour church children.We will continue to have the Heifer gift cards available. If you wouldlike to gift someone by donating in their honor to Heifer, you may do soand receive a greeting card to give to them explaining your gift. Theymake great birthday and Christmas gifts for that person who “has eve-rything” and a thoughtful and meaningful gift to anyone for any occa-sion. See
Deacon Bill
if you would like to purchase some of the Heifergift cards; the prices for the animals are posted in the Merrifield Room.Gift cards will be available during coffee hour.
 
 
Page 3
Harvest Home Dinner 
By Dr. Stephen R. Lange, Minister of Music
St. Paul’s annual Harvest Home Dinner (6 p.m.) and Thanks-giving service (7 p.m.) will be held on Wednesday, Novem-ber 25. The dinner, served and prepared by the EnglandChoristers and their parents with the guidance of
Debbyand Max Pierce
, is a fund raiser for the next England trip,scheduled for the summer of 2011. The Cherub Choir willsing an anthem for this service. Please feel welcome to bringfriends and family to the dinner and service. A sign-up sheetis available by the elevator outside the Merrifield Room.
Bishop Gibbs to Visit
By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller
On Sunday, November 15, Bishop Wendell N. GibbsJr., 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Michigan, will visit St.Paul's for his regularly scheduled pastoral visit. He willbe present for both services as preacher and cele-brant. The 10 a.m. service will be followed by a re-ception in the Merrifield Room. Please put this impor-tant date on your calendar and plan on being here.
 You’re Invited to “Invitation Sunday”
By John Nevin, Vestry Member
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hopeand a future.” 
Jeremiah 29:11During the past few weeks, many of us attended meetings in members’ homes or at the church to discuss the current andfuture ministries of St. Paul’s. At those meetings, several parishioners agreed to write prayers based on the many senti-ments expressed during these meetings. These prayers were shared with the congregation on October 25 and November1 during worship. We hope these prayers will serve as a reminder of all we have to be thankful for and for all we haveyet to accomplish to fulfill God’s vision for our ministries. We alsoheard testimonials from mem-bers about how St. Paul’s has inspired themand changed their lives.This open process of discussing our relationship with Christ and ideas abouthow St. Paul’s can do even more of His good work, will culminate on“Invitation Sunday,” on No-vember 8. On that day, the entire St. Paul’sfamily is invited to express our gratitude by returning to God a portion ofour blessings through our pledges to the many ministries that makeour parish a beacon of hope in our community. At both the 8 a.m. and 10a.m. services, during worship, pledge cards will be distributed for you to fill out. During the offering, you will have an op-portunity to bring completed pledge cards forward and to place them on the altar to be blessed. Because our pledgesare given out of a love for God and for the ministries of St. Paul’s, it is appropriate that we submit our pledges as an in-tegral part of our worship.Just as we did last year, the 10 a.m. service will be followed by a “Unity Brunch” where the entire congregation will cele-brate our united commitment to love and serve Christ.As we gather on November 8, let our hearts be open to God’s loving inspiration and may the results of our efforts be soextraordinary that all will see God’s hand at work in our ministries.
Mark your calendars and plan onattending “Invitation Sunday” and the “Unity Brunch” on November 8
.
St. Elizabeth Guild
By Debby Pierce, President
 
The November meeting of the St. Elizabeth Guild will be Tuesday, November 17 at 12:30 p.m. (please note that this aweek earlier than normal). We will be meeting at my home with a light lunch to be followed by a program and meeting.If you are interested in joining us, please call me at 394-4800 or 485-5446.This December Corporate Communion and Breakfast will be on Sunday, December 13 at St. Paul's. Communion Service at8 a.m. with breakfast following.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...