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Ascension Sunday

June 1, 2025

8am spoken Eucharist

10:30am Choral Eucharist

10:30am will be

live streamed on FaceBook

Luke 24, 50 - 53

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,  and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, your only Son was taken into the heavens and in your presence intercedes for us. Receive us and our prayers for all the world, and in the end bring everything into your glory, through Jesus Christ, our Sovereign and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

June is Pride Month

Sunday, we will bless and hang the new Pride Flag!

from the Pastor...

I love stopping in our neighborhood bagel shop on Sunday mornings. There, at 7am, the bagels are coming out of the oven, hot, fresh, smelling so wonderful and anyone with any doubt about the goodness of the bagels quickly changes their mind.

And there we are, in this wonderful diversity that is Teaneck - police officers picking up orders for the station house; Modern orthodox picking up their order for their Oneg Shabbat; me, who the staff is never quite sure what to call me, although they seem to acknowledge I must be something; one of the workers will give me an extra bagel, or round out my order, or ask for a blessing. There we are, young, old, Black, White, Brown, Asian, all knowing that this is a safe place, a place where you are greeted warmly, and given exactly what you came for.

I see St. Paul Church as this kind of a place. Newcomers are surprised, I think, and relieved, that this place is one where you can bring your questions, your doubts, your faith, your anger, your joy, and know that this is a safe place. We welcome people of all faiths and no faith; we welcome people whose first language isn’t English, and with technology and Google Translate we communicate. We welcome skeptics - God can handle our wrestling - but all agreeing that coming here, we will be fed with exactly what we came for.

It is a basis of our humanity; we’re all seeking, we are all wondering, we all are searching for truth.

St. Paul is a place, firmly grounded on our understanding of God’s love for all through Jesus Christ, where the conversation, the journey begins.

Come and see!

Pastor Patt+

**Please note:  I will NEVER ask members of the congregation, or contacts for money via email.  I will NEVER ask anyone to send me gift cards or email me cash because of a personal emergency, or a pastoral concern.  **

Translator ear buds are available! If you would like to hear worship in your native language, you need to download the app -

AICOOL Market from the APP Store. Ask a greeter for an earbud.

Weekly Worship opportunities

Prayer:Tuesday evenings (except the second Tuesday of the month) from 7 to 8 PM

Morning prayer Wednesday , 9:00 AM, on ZOOM.

Help Wanted

Grace Lutheran/Teaneck is looking for an organist. The position is 10-15 hours/week, at a salary of $15,600.  

Please contact:

Pastor Peggy Niederer

Grace Lutheran Church

1200 River Rd

Teaneck, N J 07666

201-403-4341 (text/phone)

We Pray...



for Dotty Roth and her family as they mourn the death of her son, Eddie

for Rob

for Glenn

for the Cooper family

for our local and national elected officials

we pray for our country

for SNAP and all cuts threatened with the proposed federal government budget

We cannot end hunger without God’s help. And so we pray. When we pray, God hears our cries. Which is why we are asking you to pray today.

Members of Congress are currently considering proposals that would cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 20 percent, the largest single reduction of domestic food assistance ever enacted.

SNAP is our country’s most important anti-hunger program. Each month, 42 million Americans depend on SNAP to help them afford groceries – of which 40 percent are children.

Please email your members of Congress and let them know you are praying they protect SNAP.

Individual Confession and Forgiveness, Saturdays by Appointment.

pastorstpaulteaneck@gmail.com

COUNCIL CORNER

At its meeting held on May 13, the Church Council:

Received Pastor Report which highlighted worship attendance statistics from 4/13—5/11 and pastoral calls and visits, noting the participation of children at the Easter Vigil and contacting borough officials about obtaining permission for a legal parking spot in front of the church for the pastor.

Discussed a proposal for a preschool/nursery school; the matter to be reviewed further by the Church Council’s Executive Committee in order to begin the process of preparing an agreement. Received President Elizabeth Lowe report which highlighted activities in which she participated the past month including an update on Drive to’25 activities.

• Received the Treasurer’s Report and Financial Secretary’s Report and reviewed expenses and income through May 11.

Received reports and updates from the Communications Director,

Music Director, and Property Manager. The Communications Director reported that the eblast will be on hiatus during the months of July and August. The Music Director reported that space is being used by

two music teachers whose students plan to participate in our worship services in return for this favor. The Property Manager reported on various accomplishments for the past month and upcoming work plans along with several recommendations concerning various doors and windows needing repair or replacement.

Received reports from Seminarian Wayne Olsen and Pastoral Associate Rev. Kasana Akridge in which they noted their activities during the past month. Wayne will begin his CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ, beginning May 27,

and listed his class schedule for the fall; Rev. Kasana had her interview with the NJ Synod Candidacy Committee and has been approved for ordination into the rostered ministry of the ELCA; she is continuing to serve as supply pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in White Plains, NY.

Received a report from the Social Ministries Team which noted that the monthly letter writing ministry would begin in May with the focus on Bread for the World letters to congressional representatives.

Reported that installation of the Church Council would be held on May 25 at the 10:30 a.m. service.

The next meeting of the Church Council will be Tuesday, June 10.

Submissions for the eBlast/

E Newsletter are due by 3 PM Tuesday.

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Lights out to protect migrating birds!

Spring Migration Dates

Full Spring Migration Period: March 1 – June 15

Turn off non-essential lights from 11 PM until 6 AM during critical migration periods.



Celebrating our 100th Anniversary

St. Paul recalls…

On November 10, 1950, St. Paul's celebrated its 25th anniversary with a dinner at the Swiss Chalet in Rochelle Park, NJ. The guest speaker was the Rev. Dr. Levering Tyson, President of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. The Quartet from King's Men of Columbia University provided music. Festival services (Matins at 8:00 a.m. and chief festival service at 11:00 a.m.) were held at the church on Sunday, November 12, 1950. The Children's Choir sang an anthem "Sabbath Bells" at the 8:00 a.m. service; at the 11:00 a.m. service, the  Rev. Dr. G. Elson Buff, editor of The Lutheran, delivered the sermon, and the choir's anthem was

"Send Out Thy Light." Silent prayer and the Dwyer Memorial Chimes comprised the Benediction.

Generosity

We started using ZOOM for meetings (and first for worship) in the early days of COVID-19; a way for us to gather in community when we couldn’t gather in person.  

Now, ZOOM has become invaluable to the church as we use it for Morning Prayer, and church meetings

Our subscription to ZOOM is !

$16.99/month - would you like to sponsor a month’s service?

Thank you in advance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Every month, we celebrate the birthdays that fall within the month. We thank God for YOU and every day that you share in the mission of Jesus Christ - to share the story of love and acceptance offered to all.  

On your birthday Sunday, we encourage you to make a birthday offering to the Church - there are designated envelopes near the front door (narthex) It’s a fun way to remember your special day, and to ‘gift’ the church in remembrance

FLOWER CHART If you would like to contribute flowers for our chancel, please add your name to the list posted across from the kitchen. Thank you!

We thank you for supporting St. Paul with your intentional and loving gifts, which you can make either in person at worship, through Tithley ( link on the church website),

or mail your offering to: St. Paul Lutheran Church 941 Slocum Ave Ridgefield, NJ 07657.

 Thank you for your generosity and being a part of transforming our world!

We are feeding and clothing our neighbors; in the past few months, we have fed over 1,000 people per month.

We can't do this ministry without your generous support!



St Paul Church's only financial source is YOU!

+ + +

The Pray Ground is ready. This is a space at the front of the Sanctuary for children and their parents to play.

Come and see!

Love in Action/

Social Ministry

The Pantry, under Patricia’s leadership, is committed to bringing food to people who are leery of coming into the building. While we will no longer publicly post information about our feeding programs, we are still feeding people.

Offering of Letters

We will be collecting letters this week and June 1.

Bell Ringers!

If you can count to four, you can ring handbells!

For information, stpaulmusicmiki@gmail.com

Come experience an exclusive circuit-style, full-body group fitness workout at Alpha Fit Club while we raise money for our neighbors in need! 

This 60-minute group fitness experience includes:

- Circuit-style training

- Strength & conditioning efforts

- A full-body workout 

Event Details:

Price: $30 per person

Date: Wednesday, June 18th

Time: 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Location: 35 Jefferson Avenue, Westwood, NJ 0767

Only 48 spots are available; reserve your spot now!

All the proceeds from this event will go directly towards Center for Food Action's mission to prevent food insecurity and homelessness in northern New Jersey. We hope to see you there! 

You might be Lutheran if:

• in response to someone jumping up and shouting "Praise the Lord!", you politely remind him or her that we don't do that around here.

Final Thought

Martyrs of Uganda, died 1886

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.



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