December 4, 2025 l ISSUE 49

Sunday service

at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Morning Adult Formation Conversations

Join us every Sunday

from 9:30 - 10:15 a.m.

in the Parish Hall

as we listen to God's Holy Word

and discuss how it impacts our personal lives.

9:30a.m. in the Parish Hall

Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

James 5:8

UPCOMING SCRIPTURE READINGS

SUNDAY LEADERS

A Note From Fr. Jeff

Our Old Testament Scripture readings these four Sundays of Advent are taken from the Book of Isaiah, one of the major Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The Book is a profound collection of prophecies that cover a vast range of themes, including judgment, restoration, and the future Messiah.

Our readings for Advent are rich with hope, comfort, and restoration. It's what we are focusing on in our Adult Formation gatherings at 9:30 on Sunday mornings. I hope you are participating, or planning to join us. 

Our St. Paul's 2025 Advent journey will take us Through the Wilderness to find Healing for a Weary World

This Advent, I invite you into a season of sacred reflection and prophetic imagination centered on four visions of Isaiah. Each of these visions arises from the pain and longing of God’s people – realities that echo our own struggles with fear, division, and injustice today. Our Sunday morning Adult Formation time will encourage those who participate to courageously name the brokenness around and within us; explore what it means to embody prophetic love and courage in today’s world; and dream of a world made whole – and begin to walk toward it.

The four 50-minute sessions will be based on the Old Testament reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A), that will be read later at our morning liturgy. 

Adult Formation will begin promptly at 9:30a.m. in our Parish Hall. Please try to arrive a few minutes early so that our conversations and discussions can begin on time.

Session 2, December 7th, will focus on Justice, The Only Way to Peace (Isaiah 11:1-10) – Drawing on Isaiah’s vision of a Spirit-led leader who brings justice for the oppressed and peace for all creation, this session will encourage us to discern how God’s justice and peace might take root in your own lives and that of our community.

Session 3, December 14th, will focus on Far from Home (Isaiah 35:1–10) – Isaiah 35 speaks to a people in exile who believed the only way home was a long, impassable road around the desert’s perimeter—but the prophet offers a surprising vision: a blooming highway straight through the wilderness, back to their scattered loved ones and back to God. We will reflect on our own seasons of wilderness and loss, while also considering the real-life journeys of those who cross deserts today in search of safety and home.

Session 4, December 21st, will focus on Choosing Vision Over Fear (Isaiah 7:10–16) – This session will invite us to reflect on the temptations we all face when fear takes hold – especially the temptation to trust in power, comfort, or status quo solutions instead of God’s deeper call to justice and peace. We will explore how to root our decisions not in fear and scarcity, but in God’s larger vision of healing, wholeness, and collective flourishing.

Join in

on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m.

before our service.

May we each encounter special blessings during this Advent Season as we engage in these special opportunities to enliven our faith and bring us closer to Christ's manger on Christmas Day

As I sat at home on Saturday morning watching the snow come down, and then turn to rain, and as the temperatures moved up and down, I felt mystified as to how it would all turn out overnight and into Sunday morning. Would the streets and sidewalks be iced over creating hazardous conditions for getting out and driving or would it all melt and dry up. Who can predict the weather? Certainly not me. But I had faith. The sidewalks around church got cleared by our tenant on Saturday afternoon, and the streets seemed to dry overnight, so icy conditions weren't the problem they could have been. Thanks be to God!

But in the future, during the winter season, I want to have a plan for communicating if the Sunday service would be cancelled. I believe our best tool for communication is our weekly electronic newsletter. We distribute it on Thursday mornings and a quick reminder again on Saturday mornings. Going forward, if a service is going to be cancelled it will be communicated no later no later than 8:00am on Sunday morning, hopefully sooner than that. Either our Saturday brief newsletter will indicate the cancellation, or it will come to you as a separate electronic announcement, again, no later than 8:00am on Sunday morning. Always check your email please, before heading to church if you are unsure of the weather conditions. I want everyone to be safe, especially during this winter season!  

A special thanks to Justin Vitale, Melissa Ketcherside, and Angela Breeher for coordinating our "Care Bag" event last Sunday, and to all those who generously donated items and cash donations to make the activity a huge success! You are all truly God's special angels! We'll all be anxious to hear your encounter stories with those you share the bags with.  

The Episcopal Church Women Board invites all women of the Diocese of Missouri to gather once again for “Another Conversation with Our Bishop,” featuring The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson, 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.

In 2020, the ECW met with Bishop Deon shortly after he began his ministry as bishop. Now, nearly five years later, we come together again to reflect on what has happened since that first conversation, what’s in the works, and how women continue to help shape the future of our diocese.

Grab your favorite snack or beverage and join us for this relaxed discussion and Q&A session. We know life can be hectic—especially at 5:30 p.m.—so join when you can. Whether you stay for a few minutes or the full conversation, we hope you’ll leave feeling loved, heard, and renewed in our shared fellowship.

For more information, contact Susan Goen at susangoen@sbcglobal.net