This Week at

St. Paul's Lutheran Church-Lionville

August 10, 2025

"Grow in Faith, Serve with Love, Invite into Fellowship"

Outdoor Service - August 24

On Sunday, August 24 at 9:30 am we will celebrate another wonderful outdoor service, weather permitting. Please dress appropriately for the heat or if it happens to be chilly. You might also want to bring some sunscreen and a lawn chair. (We will also roll out some chairs in case you forget one.)

The service will be followed by an ice cream social - all are welcome and no registration required!

If your family likes to play outdoor games, bring your favorite one along. This is always such a delightful event that it would be a great opportunity to invite a friend, neighbor or family member to worship that day! Please note that for those who regularly watch our livestream, due to the complications of offering the livestream outdoors, this will not be offered on this date. 

Sunday School Registration

One of the most enduring and important gifts you can give a child is faith. To know that you are loved and special to God, so much so that Jesus died and rose from the dead for you, is the basic foundation of our faith. For most children, this faith grows through a Christian Education program like Sunday School!

Last year we had a fantastic Sunday School year and we're looking forward to this year being even better! You can learn more about the program and see this year's calendar at StPaulsLionville.org/sundayschool. We would ask everyone to register so the teachers can be well prepared and so we know about any special needs or allergies. You can register online here or there are also paper copies available in the narthex. This could be for your children, grandchildren or any family members or friends who would like to attend! 

We want this gift of faith for every child we can bless! Filling out the registration form will help us be well prepared for the fall classrooms, so please do so as soon as possible. (Ages are potty trained through fifth grade.) If you have any questions, feel free to contact PastorStuart@StPaulsLionville.org or 610-804-1740 or our Sunday School Coordinator, Ginny Graham at vgg333@aol.com or or (610) 329-7437.

"The Anxious Generation" Book Club for Parents with Young Children

I want to make sure you are aware of an important opportunity coming up this fall that is being offered by our Family Ministry Team.

As someone who spends a lot of time with older youth, I can attest to the truthfulness that the number of teens who are dealing with anxiety, depression, and a host of other mental struggles is skyrocketing. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, has written an excellent book called The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. This fall, we are encouraging parents with YOUNGER children to read this book and take part in a monthly group book study, so that you can start to think through these challenges before the pressures land to give your kids a smartphone. What Haidt proposes is very counter-cultural, and we want to create a parents' group that can support each other (and whose kids can support each other) when faced with those pressures.

We are having an introductory get-together on Sunday, September 14 at 5:00pm at St. Paul's, after Rejoicing Spirits worship, which is a great way to worship with younger kids, if you've never done it! Child care will be provided. Following sessions will be held every second Sunday afternoon, alternating between St. Paul's and St. Matthew's. Book copies will be available at a discounted price or may be purchased from Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, or any other bookseller.

Please sign up here if you are planning to come to the September 14th info session, and let us know if you will need child care so that we can plan accordingly. I truly hope that you will give serious thought to being part of this important conversation.

In Christ,

Craig Miller, Director of Youth and Family Ministries

Rise Against Hunger Meal Packaging Event

St. Matthew's and St. Paul’s are hosting a Rise Against Hunger meal packaging event on Sunday, October 19. According to our liaisons at Rise Against Hunger, our packaging event is the second largest community event in our region. Last year, over 360 volunteers came together to package more than 60,000 meals that we purchased. We have purchased and packaged more than 150,000 meals over the past 3 years!

While we will kick off planning for the 2025 event around Labor Day, we need 3-4 people to help send emails to local businesses and groups to find co-sponsors for the event (seeking financial contributions and also groups of people interested in packaging meals). We also need help in applying for grants from local grocery stores, insurance companies and banks. We have all of the form emails and attachments to easily copy and paste to assist in this task, and the involvement is on your own time and schedule. Many hands make light work! We appreciate any assistance in combatting food insecurity. 

Please contact Troy Sisum at (610) 724-7357 or tdsisum1@yahoo.com if you are available to help. He will coordinate with interested individuals to help get started.  

Drive Out Hunger Golf Outing

Calling all golfers! Join us for St. Matthew's Second Annual Drive Out Hunger golf outing, REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Thursday, September 18 at Kimberton Golf Club. Registration will be at 7:00 am with the Shot Gun at 8:00 am.

This year's event will benefit Grace Crossing Food Pantry, Coatesville Youth and Women's Alliance (CYWA), and the Chester County Food Bank. Open to all St. Matthew's and St. Paul's members and their friends & families! There will also be live music, raffle prizes, Mulligans and hole sponsors.

Cost is $125 per golfer (including BBQ lunch), or $20 just for lunch. Children under 10 eat free.

Registration Instructions:

Step 1: To register to Golf or for just the lunch, please fill out this Google form  and hit "Submit."

Step 2: To pay for your registration, go the giving page at the St. Matthew's Church website... click the link here: https://stmatthews-church.org/give  Once you're there, click "Give Online Now," select "Golf Event Fundraiser" from the drop-down menu, and pay.

If you have any questions, contact Patrick Miller: pjmill98@yahoo.com or 610-291-3002.

Youth Ministry News

For the most up-to-date event information and signup links,

go online to the Youth Ministry web page at StPaulsLionville.org/youth.

WE'RE HAVING A POOL PARTY! On Sunday, August 24, all youth going into the sixth through twelfth grades are invited to join us for a pool party from 1:00 to 3:30 pm at the Hummerstons' home, 32 Heron Hill Drive in Downingtown (near Marsh Creek State Park). Bring a munchie or dessert to share with the group; drinks and pizza will be provided. Sign up here to save your spot: August 24th Youth Pool Party.

OUR SECOND ANNUAL YOUTH KICKOFF LOCK-IN will be held Saturday evening, September 6 through Sunday morning, September 7 at St. Paul's! All sixth through twelfth graders (including friends) are invited to spend an overnight in the church building playing games, doing activities, eating food, and just generally getting to know more about each other. The event starts at 6:00 pm Saturday evening and ends with us leading worship at St. Paul's on Sunday morning, where our ASP participants will share stories from their trip to West Virginia this summer. Come late or leave early if you need to (with parental permission). Sign up here to avoid missing out on the excitement: September Youth Kickoff Lock-In.

HIGH SCHOOL OASIS RESUMES ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the St. Paul's Youth Room. Come welcome our rising 9th graders to this opportunity to relax, chill out, and decompress from the stresses of school, activities, and other pressures of life. No heavy discussions or deep Bible studies; just a chance to breathe. Advance sign-up isn't required, either; just show up! As with most of our youth events, friends are welcome, too.

YOUTH EVENTS COMING IN SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER: Watch for information on a ropes course/teambuilding event, a canoe trip, a fall festival, and more!

July Pave the Way Parking Lot Update

To learn more about this project and be part of God leading us forward, check out StPaulsLionville.org/parkinglot.

Project Finances as of 07/22/25:

Pledges: $99,265

Funds Received: $85,635

The drawing to the left shows our parking lot with a little over 100 spots.

• Each red car represents $1,000 in pledges.
• Each green car represents $1,000 in received funds.
• As the parking lot fills up with cars, we get closer to our goal of $100,000.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church

104 S. Village Avenue

Exton, PA 19341

Phone: 610-363-6264

Email: Office@StPaulsLionville.org

Website: www.StPaulsLionville.org

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