St. Paul's E-News January 8th - Happy New Year!


St. Paul's Episcopal Church


Inclusive-Loving-Generous


www.stpaulwilkesboro.org

336.667.4231
office@stpaulwilkesboro.org

Happy New Year!


“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Here we are, on the eighth day of a brand New Year! While I am not a big one for resolutions, I do like to think that the New Year begins with a blank canvas just waiting for us to decide how we want to fill it.

 

As we give thanks for the gift of a fresh new year spreading out before us, I want to share a blessing that I have shared before, but I think it deserves another telling! It is John O’ Donohue’s prayer for A New Beginning—enjoy!

 

In the out of the way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never seem to wander,

The beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

 

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

 

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

 

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plentitude opening before you.

 

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life’s desire.

 

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

 

Grace and Peace,

 

Mother Stephanie

**Please note that neither Mother Stephanie or St. Paul's will ever send out an e-mail or text communication requesting money, gift cards, etc. They are happening on a regular basis! If you receive any suspicious communications like this, please ignore and delete these communications. Contact the Parish Office at any time with questions or concerns regarding possible scams.**

Upcoming Closings!


The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, January 19th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.


Upcoming

Sunday Service:


The First Sunday after the Epiphany


Sunday, January 11th


8:30 in the Chapel

10:30 in the Church


Looking Ahead to a New Year!


Watch this space for upcoming events.


  • The Annual Meeting


  • The Jeremiah Bible Study


  • The Bishop's visit and more!

Financial Review


We will offer a more detailed review of St. Paul’s financial results for 2025 as well as the Budget for 2026 on Wednesday, January 14. We will meet in the Parish Hall at 6PM. 


This meeting is intended to provide more details than are normally presented at the Annual Meeting which will be held the following Sunday.


Drew Mayberry, Departing Treasurer

ECW in January


Please note the corrected date below of Monday, January 12th at Noon for the ECW meeting this month. All are welcome!

From your Creation Stewardship Ministry...


Keep Your Plastic Bags Coming!


Distributed in 2025:


Tier 1:  Total 75

   Hospitality House Boone (50)

   Hospitality House Wilkes (25)


Tier 2:  Total 74

    Catherine Barber Memorial 

       Shelter (37)

    Justice Program (37)


Tier 3:  Total 76

His Light Ministries (19)

    5th Street Ministries Statesville (19)

    Safe Harbor Hickory (19)

    Friendship House Waynesville (19)

 

Since starting in 2017:

Completed: 788

Distributed:   778

Demo:        1

On Hand:     10

 

2026 Goal: 226


Thanks for bringing your grocery bags!

More Worship and Study Opportunities at St. Paul's:


~Centering Prayer meets every Tuesday in the Parish Office Conference Room starting at 1:30.

Scam Alert!


We continue to urge any recipients of questionable e-mails or texts to PLEASE DISREGARD these communications and contact the Parish Office with any concerns or questions regarding the validity of e-mail or text communications. Do not reply to these communications or provide any personal information.

Scripture for Upcoming Sunday Service:


Sunday, January 11th

The First Sunday after Epiphany

8:30 in the Chapel

10:30 Church



The First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9


The Response: Psalm 29


The Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43


The Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17



Processional Hymn: #76 On Jordan's Bank, the Baptist's Cry

Sequence Hymn: #767 Baptized in Water

Recessional Hymn: #448 O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High (verses 1-3 and 6)



The First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching.


Thus says God, the Lord,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the Lord, that is my name;

my glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to idols.

See, the former things have come to pass,

and new things I now declare;

before they spring forth,

I tell you of them.



The Response: Psalm 29

Afferte Domino

Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *

worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;

the God of glory thunders; *

the Lord is upon the mighty waters.

The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *

the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *

and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;

the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *

and strips the forests bare.

And in the temple of the Lord *

all are crying, "Glory!"

The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *

the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.

The Lord shall give strength to his people; *

the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.



The Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43

Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”



The Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Prayer List


Please remember in your prayers: All who are ill or unemployed and those who are on our prayer list.


Short-term

The Albanil Family, Jamie Tate, Rose Andrews

 

Long-term

Cade Gibbs, Ray Call, Shane Jenkins, Kaye Hall, Dot Beamon, Da'Shon Horton, Ken Asel, Steve Jackson, Doug Rhodes


Armed Forces

Let us pray for the safety of all our troops, especially John Craine, Micah Duerk, Faith Lankford, Cole Griffith, Jason Westmeyer, and all others who serve throughout the world.

 

Please send to the church office the addresses of troops with connections to

office@stpaulwilkesboro.org, especially those abroad.

Prayer Requests


To make a prayer request:


  • E-mail the Parish Office at office@stpaulwilkesboro.org, or call the Parish Office at (336)-667-4231. The Parish Office is open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 to 3:30.


  • Scan the QR code below to be taken directly to our Prayer Request Form.


  • Visit our website here and find the "Prayer List Request" under the "About St. Paul's" section.

A Note on Prayer Requests


Bulletins are printed on Thursday mornings and requests submitted after that time will not be in the printed bulletin for that week, but they may still be spoken. 


Prayer requests received by noon on Wednesday will be included in the weekly e-newsletter.


Our short-term prayer list will be cleared at the beginning of each month, unless a request has been sent to the office to keep an individual on the short-term prayer list.


Our long-term prayer list will be cleared every three months, unless a request has been sent to the office to keep an individual on the long-term list.

Serving St. Paul's in

January

Altar Guild

4 

Laurie Love, Kendall Forester, Reba Whittington


11

Mike Southwell, Mary Southwell



18 One Bread One Body One Spirit at 9:30 in the Church

Pam Mayberry, Drew Mayberry


24

Sharon Greene, Bonnie Merritt


Readers


4 

Laurie Love, Robin Shumate


11

Edward Southwell, Denise Sturdivant




18 One Bread One Body One Spirit at 9:30 in the Church

Nancy Scroggs


24

Edward Southwell, Linda Schneider

Acolytes


4 

David Shupe, Linda Schneider


11

Julie Koch, Matthew Minick




18 One Bread One Body One Spirit at 9:30 in the Church

Drew Mayberry, Robin Shumate


24

Mark Williams, Keyonii Staley

Ushers




4 

Bill Harris, Ryan Minick


11

Jeff Beard, Ron Myers



18 One Bread One Body One Spirit at 9:30 in the Church

Bob Houghton


24

John Harwell, David McNeill

January 8th - Ann Willardson

January 10th - Claudia Eller-Tobey

January 12th - Erin Southwell

January 13th - Jennifer Nardini

January 14th - Marilyn Payne

January 14th - Russ Ferree

No anniversaries this week.

Stay Connected to St. Paul's!


Use the St. Paul's Youtube Channel link to tune in to live services, as well as to watch previously recorded services.

Use the St. Paul's Website link to access our website anytime. Please contact the Parish Office if you would like to add to, or edit our website information.

Use the St. Paul's Vestry link to directly access Vestry Meeting Minutes.

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