A Note from Parishioner Peter Dennison | |
Dear St. Paul's,
St. Paul’s is a special, even important place.
It was important when Pam and I moved here in 1985 when it was the only church in the area to conform with the “new” Book of Common Prayer’s emphasis on Sunday Eucharist. It was important for our family, holding our sons in junior choir and as acolytes, sending one to South Africa, and blessing the marriage of the other to his husband in an early ceremony.
But its value is even greater in the life of our region and the wider church. At times attendance and income has dipped, as when St. Paul’s held strong against the racism of private white academies during Massive Resistance, and again during and after a prolonged interim period in the early 2000s. Today the parish thrives. We celebrated our centennial with a visit from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori who urged us to Be Bold. A few short years later Presiding Bishop Michael Curry brought a message of healing and strength in the aftermath of August 2017. Our ministry to UVA, our founding reason for being, has grown and become stronger. Almost continuously St. Paul’s supports candidates for ordained ministry and has a unique program of shepherding newly ordained priests in their vocation. We host and share numerous lay ministries such as IMPACT, Habitat, Child Health Partnership, and PACEM. Our vision for the care and growth of our physical plant will allow deeper contributions to the Charlottesville and University communities.
Church is one of the last multigenerational experiences in life. We are pleased to support the life and ministries of St. Paul’s, reaching to “give until it feels good.” We are fortunate to be held in the embrace of this special parish.
– Peter
| | Sunday, October 4, at St. Paul's | | Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost | |
8 a.m. – Holy Eucharist in the Chapel
9:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. – Nursery Care (infants through pre-K)
10 a.m. – Holy Eucharist with Parish Choir (also accessible via Zoom)
11:15 a.m. – Common Hour for Formation, Fellowship, and Service (parish hall)
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Adults: Stewardship, Capital Campaign, and Building Updates
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Youth: Exploring the Sacraments (middle and high school)
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Children: Rejection in the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46) – Weaving Boondoggle Keychains (grades K-2 and grades 3+)
6:30 p.m. – Choral Evensong with the Zephyrus Early Music Ensemble (details below)
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The Zephyrus Early Music Ensemble (directed by Megan Sharp) will sing Choral Evensong – with music from Richard Ayleward, Philippe de Monte, and Gerald Near – for this Sunday's 6:30 p.m. service. Evensong is a form of Evening Prayer that draws from the medieval Latin offices of Vespers and Compline. This service is unique to churches of the Anglican Communion and has remained unchanged for centuries. Most of the service is sung by the choir to special choral settings of the liturgy.
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Friday, October 2, 6 p.m. – Thin Places: Exploring Sacred Space (details below)
Monday, October 5 - Friday, October 9, 8 a.m. – Weekday Virtual Morning Prayer
Monday, October 5, 4 p.m. – Virtual Lectionary Discussion Group
Monday, October 5, 6 p.m. – IMPACT House Meeting (details below)
Monday, October 5, 8 p.m. – Compline (chancel)
Tuesday, October 6, 12:15 p.m. – Holy Eucharist (chapel)
Wednesday, October 7 – Thank God It's Wednesday!
- 4:15 p.m. – Junior Choir Rehearsal (grades 3-8)
- 4:45 p.m. – Primary Choir Rehearsal (grades K-2)
- 4:45 p.m. – Drop-in Playdate (infants through pre-K with their caregivers)
- 5:30 p.m. – St. Francis Day Evening Prayer & Blessing of the Animals (details below)
- 6:00 p.m. – Community Dinner (parish hall)
- 6:15 p.m. – Wee Music Time (2-year-olds through pre-K)
- 6:15 p.m. – Crafts and activities (grades K and up)
- 6:15 p.m. – Adventures with Dice (blue room - details below)
- 7:00 p.m. – Parish Choir Rehearsal (parish hall)
Thursday, October 8, 7:30 a.m. – Drop-in Bible Study
Saturday, October 10, 5 p.m. – IMPACT House Meeting (details below)
Sunday, October 11 – Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost & Coat Drive Ingathering (worship at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., and 6:30 p.m.)
| | Final Call for Coat Drive | | |
St. Paul’s is supporting Child Health Partnership by collecting 240 new coats for children across the Greater Charlottesville area. Please sign up to donate a coat today! If you would prefer to support the coat drive and Child Health Partnership with a cash donation, checks are welcome. Please make checks payable to St. Paul’s Memorial Church and write “Coat Drive” in the notes/memo section, or donate via Venmo (@StPaulsMemorialChurch) or PayPal.
| | St. Francis Day Blessing of the Animals | | |
Calling all creatures great and small! Parishioners, friends, neighbors, and pets are invited to gather in the church next Wednesday, October 7, at 5:30 p.m. for a brief, beautiful, and potentially chaotic service of prayer, music, and blessings for our beloved animals.
After the service, join us for dinner on the lawn, and an award ceremony honoring the best dressed pets! To participate in the contest simply bring your pet in their finest, funniest, or most delightfully ridiculous attire. Following dinner, children are invited to help make treats for our feathered friends in honor of St. Francis’ love for the birds.
Bring your dogs, cats, rabbits, reptiles, stuffed animals, or any critter special to you. Rumor has it a horse may even make an appearance! If your pet can’t join us, bring a photograph instead. Blessings will abound for all!
| | Thin Places: Exploring Sacred Space | |
Parishioners of all ages are invited to join a small group of University Fellowship students to explore how physical places shape our emotions, attention, relationships, and spiritual lives, through a series of “field trip” visits to different sacred spaces in the area. The first gathering will take place tomorrow, Friday, October 2, at 6 p.m. at St. Paul's Ivy.
Inspired by the Celtic Christian idea of "thin places," places where the boundary between the earthly and divine seems especially thin, the group will gather at St. Paul’s, Ivy to experience the space together and consider what makes a place feel beautiful, peaceful, meaningful, or sacred. The evening will include a brief introduction, time for quiet observation and reflection, small-group conversation, and a closing discussion about how architecture, light, sound, material, history, and landscape shape our experience of sacred space.
RSVPs are not required, but helpful! Please sign up here if you are planning to come.
| St. Paul's Parish Cookbook | |
St. Paul’s kids are helping to illustrate a parish cookbook as their fall service project and plan to make it available for purchase within the parish, with all proceeds going towards a ministry of their choosing. Please consider submitting a recipe to the cookbook! We welcome all recipes: family favorites, holiday traditions, potluck staples, everyday meals, beloved desserts, and anything else that has a story to tell.
Learn more about the project here, and submit your recipes here. For more information, contact Suzannah Spaar srspaar@gmail.com.
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IMPACT House Meetings – St. Paul’s is a long-time member of IMPACT, an interfaith network of 30 congregations who seek to encourage our local leaders to adopt policies in support of social justice in our community. You are invited to attend a "house meeting" before IMPACT's Annual Assembly (to be held on Monday, October 26, at 6:30 p.m. at Church of the Incarnation). IMPACT house meetings offer a great opportunity to share your reflections about current issues in our community and to learn how to become more involved with IMPACT. Meetings will be held on Monday, October 5, at 6 p.m. (at the home of John Frazee) and Saturday, October 10, at 5 p.m. (at the home of Bobbie Lafford).
RSVPs are not required, but helpful! Please contact Assistant Rector Caroline Carolin if you're planning to attend a house meeting, or if you have any questions about IMPACT: caroline.carolin@spmcuva.org.
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Stephen Ministry – Stephen Ministry is a lay ministry that has been providing one-to-one confidential Christian Care to members in our St. Paul’s community for over ten years. If you know of someone in our community who is experiencing one of life’s difficulties, please reach out to one of our Stephen Leaders: Jarrett Millard (434-760- 2814), Rebecca Morris (434-327-7281), or Tony Potter (434-964-7453).
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Congratulations – Congrats to Anne Cressin, who was recently named by United Way of Greater Charlottesville as the 2026 Volunteer of the Year for her longstanding service to The Haven!
| | Holding each other's joys, sorrows, and concerns before God in prayer is a spiritual practice that characterizes our life together at St. Paul's. In our worship services we pray each other's prayers together. Outside of our time together many parishioners make it part of their daily lives to pray the prayers of the parish community. You are invited to participate in your own way. | |
Thanks be to God
for all the blessings of our lives, and for the faith, fellowship, and ministries of this parish community.
for the compassionate and faithful service of Deborah Healey as she steps back from her 12-year tenure as a Stephen Leader.
for the companionship of our pets, including all those to be blessed at our October 7 St. Francis Day celebration.
for the faithful generosity of the St. Paul’s parishioners and friends who support our life and ministries.
Your prayers are requested
by members and friends of St. Paul’s for David, Pierce, Bob, Helen, John & Virginia Ritchie, Marianne Story, Kathy & Brett Blizzard, C.W. & Bill, Emily Merkel, David Lee, N., Chuck, Mo Lowdon, Logan Strzepek, Karl, Joe Piorkowski, Jean, Whit Worman, Jimmy White, Hunter, Virgil Corbin, Barbara & Paul Estes, Fouad Fadil, Sarah Donaldson, Lynne, Elizabeth, Brant Hopper, Betsy, Dianne Sprouse Mills, Ann, Ed & Lila, Aimee & Jeff, Rhonda Corbin, Charlotte, Ken Moulton, Philip Pretzinger, Troost Parker, Winston & Marisa, Mark C., Mehmet Argon, John, Will Kennedy, Laura Duran Martinez, George Gilliam, Katherine & Thomas, David, Sally, Terence, Lee Allen, Jason Corbin, Jessreal, Helen Harris, Lucille Fillingame, Ruth and Adrian Harvey, the Shah family, Marjorie W., Tim Thomas, Nancy O'Brien, Adam Marrs, Ashley Marrs, Beth G., Lydia Engelhardt, Suzanne, Tony Piacentino, Joan Werner, C.H., Greg Alexander, Jeanette, Declan, Anna, Annie, Steve, Nancy Gilman, David Willey, Winnie, Nancy Mayer, Joe, Anne, Fred, Betty, Chrissie Crosby, Shane Cron, Ben Armistead, Linda A.
for St. Paul's this Pentecost season, that by the promised gift of the Holy Spirit we may be empowered to proclaim the Gospel with grace and power in word and deed.
for Rebecca Morris, to be commissioned as our newest Stephen Leader at the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, October 18, after serving two years as a Stephen Minister and completing twenty-five additional hours of leadership training.
for those preparing for marriage, including Emmanuel Ndour & Nellie Peyton (daughter of Betsy & Will Peyton), to be married at Shrine Mont on October 10; and Aidan Stoddart & Peyton Williams (our former Director of Children's & Youth Ministries), to be married at St. Luke's, Powhatan on October 10.
for Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, and for all our neighbors, including students, staff, faculty, and administrators.
for the clients of Child Health Partnership, including the 240 children for whom St. Paul's is collecting winter coats this month.
for our work with IMPACT, which unites us with neighbors of many faiths and backgrounds to advocate for a more just community.
for Trinity Church, Manassas, and St. Gabriel’s-San Gabriel’s, Leesburg, according to the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer.
for Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil, according to the Anglican Cycle of Prayer.
for the nation and the world, for an end to violence, hunger, injustice, and oppression.
We commend to God’s never-failing care
the faithful departed throughout the world, and all those known to God alone.
all those we love but see no more, including Thomas Richard Coolidge, Barbara Edlund, Ava Lowery, Robert Ogilvie, Andi Pleich, and Charles Trueheart.
Mary Crockett Martin and Sally Anna Evans, in whose loving memory this Sunday's flowers are given.
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