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Weekly News for June 6, 2021
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Worship for Sunday, June 6, 2021
9:00 & 10:30 AM in-person in the Sanctuary
Drop-in Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
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Pastors' Weekly Message: From Pastor Pat
Several years ago, I I defied the odds and took the bold step of calling in to my favorite radio station, hoping to be lucky caller number ten. Imagine my surprise when I found out I was, and had won two tickets to some dinner event, which I have long since forgotten. Before this, I always talked myself out of doing this, convincing myself I didn’t have a chance. But daring to try just once proved that the odds are dramatically improved if you just make the effort. I couldn’t have won by wishing it so. I had to call in.
On Sunday May 30, 2021 we launched a brand new sermon series entitled “Called In.”
Each Sunday an invitation will be extended for you to “call in,” not to a radio station, but into yourself. Call into your inner being and see what opportunities await for healing, release, and renewal. Our spiritual journey is in essence our responding to invitation after invitation to dial inwards. This is risky business, because sometimes we may not find what we hoped. Other times we may find what we hoped not to discover. But unless we take the chance and call in, we will never know how God is waiting to answer.
My radio victory would have all been for naught had no one answered. The good news is that if we are willing to accept the invitation to “call in,” God will always answer.
So get those dialing fingers ready, and let’s call in.
-- Pastor Pat
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It's time to restock the Hunger Ministry pantry! Please see the newly revised list of requested items at stpaulsk.org/service/hunger-ministry or in the Narthex with the shopping bags.
Please help feed our hungry neighbors in 20895 by donating any of the requested items, or by packing a bag full! Food donations may be dropped in the bins in the Narthex on Sunday or during office hours.
If you prefer to make a financial contribution, please donate at stpaulsk.org/giving, or by check made out to St. Paul's UMC with "Hunger Ministry" on the memo line.
Our Hunger Ministry coordinators are working on plans to hold in-person food distribution starting in September! Volunteers can contact Dawn Ely ([email protected]) or the church office to get involved. Thank you!!
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Sunday, June 6
During the 10:30 worship service, Dr. Meg Baker will share a children's message in the Sanctuary, then pre-registered children rising-grade-3 and younger will be escorted to the Parlor for our new summer children’s programming. Due to lack of interest from parents and volunteers in pursuing a Sunday School structure for the summer, St. Paul's will instead offer childcare featuring community service opportunities, as well as playtime and crafts.
This week the children will learn about the Smart Sacks program that provides food for hungry school kids, and will help pack the sacks that are distributed to families in our area.
Please note that nursery care is still available at 9:00 and 10:30. Please email Meg ([email protected]) to register for a spot in the nursery at 9:00.
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On May 28, Montgomery County officials lifted covid-related restrictions while allowing for institutions to establish their own protocols. Our Re-Entering Well team approved Pastor Pat’s proposal for updating our rules, and setting a schedule to review policies. Summary information is below; the full version is available at stpaulsk.org/connection-during-covid19 and will be in the June issue of the Epistle.
For all worship services:
Now until August 31, 2021
- All pews are available
- All attendees and participants continue to wear masks
- No congregational singing
- Offering plates remain positioned at Sanctuary exits
Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2021
- No masks required (but all are welcome to continue wearing masks)
- Return of pew materials
- Communion will continue to use all-in-one element packs
- Greetings will continue to be non-contact, and masks and sanitizer will be offered.
The Re-Entering team will revisit the issue of singing each month and review the latest scientific recommendations. A number of other issues will be re-assessed on August 31.
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The last Youth meetings before summer break are June 6 (Middle High) and June 13 (Senior High), 4:00-5:30 PM. We’ll have fun, games, and popsicles in the yard outside the Fellowship Hall! Be sure to sign up for the SPY emails - go to stpaulsk.org/community/youth to join the list!
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now-June 13
John & Christina Livengood and big sister Juniper recently welcomed baby boy Bryant Christopher Livengood! Because Bryant arrived a little earlier than expected, Mom, Dad, and Grandmom would be grateful for some help with dinners. Please sign up at Meal Train: https://mealtrain.com/72gywm. Dates are available from now through June 13.
Of note: there is an adult in the home with celiac so meals need to be gluten free or include a clearly-labeled gluten free option.
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Greetings beloved. Though not officially, and perhaps not according to the weather, summer is right around the corner! With that St. Paul's will embrace the opportunity to do some things a little differently.
So from June 1 - August 31, 2021 you can look forward to:
● Summer office hours of 10am - 1pm (Mon.-Thurs.)
● Daily Breath will be on Wednesdays only at 9am
● Open seating in the sanctuary, but still masking and providing contact information
● Clergy will not be robing for our summer services.
Worship will still be at 9am and 10:30am with live streaming at 10:30am.
Announcements about summer programming have already been or will be shared through the Epistle and weekly emails. Let's take this time to step back and reconnect to why we worship. So thank you for journeying with us through the few summer adjustments.
~Pastor Pat
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We can’t get “back to normal” without our volunteers! Welcome Ministry, Summer Sunday Child Care, Sunday Office Volunteers, Card Ministry, and the Worship Livestream Team are all welcoming new and returning volunteers! Contact the office for more info: [email protected].
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Wednesdays
4:00-5:00 PM
For some of us, it's been many years since we attended a Confirmation Class (if we did at all). We've decided to extend this "refresher course" for adults, held over Zoom. You may attend on a regular or drop-in basis. We'll dig into the basic tenets of the Christian faith and our understanding of the church, including a look at doctrine, theology, church history, stewardship, and principles of Bible study. To sign up, visit stpaulsk.org/community/adult-education or contact Meg Baker with questions ([email protected], 301-933-7933 ext 104).
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cards available each Sunday
Our Card Ministry volunteers have placed pre-addressed, pre-stamped cards at the Welcome Desk. Stop by on Sunday to pick up one - or more! - to send. You can simply sign your name or write a note. If you would like to do more to support the Card Ministry, consider being part of the team that writes the addresses from our Congregational Care list onto the envelopes! Contact Meg Baker ([email protected]) to learn more.
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Ongoing Activities - Click on each heading to learn more.
Prayerwaves: Wednesdays, 10am - During this time of Prayer over the Air Waves, we pray together over the phone. Call 425-436-6326 at 9:55 each Wednesday morning. When prompted for the “access code," type in 774042 followed by #.
Prayer Request Form: If you have a joy or concern, you can share it confidentially with St. Paul's ministers or share with the entire Prayer Team using our online prayer form.
Lydia Circle Meeting: Every other Friday, 1:30 pm - Lydia Circle women are gathering via Zoom. We invite any woman interested in joining us to contact leader Susan Schwarz at [email protected] or call 301-339-8242.
Wilderness Trail Sign-Ups: Wilderness Trail allows youth to contemplate faith and God's creation while backpacking the Appalachian Trail. There are only a few youth spots! Camperships are available. Contact Micah with questions: [email protected]
Stephen Ministry: Trained lay-people provide comfort to those who need a listening ear as they navigate life challenges like birth and death, job changes, divorce, illness, or depression and stress. Contact Pastor Kate ([email protected]) to learn more.
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Scripture for June 6, 2021
1 Kings 19:1-15
1Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
11He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.”
(New Revised Standard Version)
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