This Week at

St. Paul's Lutheran Church-Lionville

September 7, 2025

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

Grow in Faith: Prayer, Worship Series and Discussion Group

This fall, starting Sunday, September 14, St. Paul's will present a six-week worship series on prayer. You can learn more at StPaulsLionville.org/prayer with an introduction video! Additionally, to give you an opportunity to reflect more deeply on the Fall Worship Series and on the topic of prayer, one of the adult classes will focus on the texts and the message from the week before. This class will start on Sunday, September 21 at 9:15 am and will meet with Pastor Stuart in Room 207.

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!

We'll kick off Sunday School on Rally Day (Sunday, September 7) with a fun activity! They will begin in the church for some opening music and then move to the Sunday School area where they will be loading school supplies in the backpacks for Lutheran World Relief which will bless children around the world. 

If you have not already registered your child for Sunday School, we would ask everyone to do 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. (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.

Cradles to Crayons Collection

As you are doing the annual "my kid doesn't fit these summer clothes anymore" clean out, the Social Ministry Team is collecting gently used kids' clothing for Cradles to Crayons. Cradles to Crayons is in need of gently used clothing and shoes for babies through teens. Donated items cannot have school names (such as Lionville Elementary, East High School, etc). They are always in need of NEW packages of underwear and socks for kids and teens. 

In conjunction with kids' clothes, we are also collecting new and/or gently used coats for all ages to donate to Honey Brook Food Pantry for fall distribution. 

Donation boxes for both collections will be placed in the airlocks. Our donation period will run until Saturday, November 1. 

Thank you for your support of these local charities! 

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

This fall, our St. Paul's/St. Matthew's Family Ministry Team is offering a group book study around the New York Times bestseller "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness," written by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. This compelling book discusses the impacts that smartphones, social media, and other societal trends have had on our youth, and offers practical (but counter-cultural) ideas on how to establish important boundaries for younger children and adolescents. We are particularly encouraging parents with young kids to join us, so that you can think about these things before you experience the pressure to get a smartphone for your child.

Our get-togethers will be held once a month on the second Sunday from 5:00 to 6:00pm, alternating between churches. The first gathering will be an information and introductory session on Sunday, September 14 in the Fellowship Hall at St. Paul's; childcare will be provided. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at a reduced cost or can be bought at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, or other major book sellers.

If you are interested in attending the September 14 informational session, please sign up here or scan the QR code so that we make sure that we have adequate childcare in place. If you have any questions, you can contact Craig Miller at craigyouthmin@gmail.com, or 484-320-0785.

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!

We are still looking for a liaison from St. Paul's for this event who would be available to attend a few Zoom meetings leading up to the food packaging to ensure smooth coordination and communication between Rise Against Hunger and both St. Matthew's and St. Paul's. If you are able to help, please email Maureen.

Finally, if you would like to make a donation towards this event or assist in packaging this impressive number of meals, please sign up here.

Money Matters & Stewardship for Teens

On Thursday, September 25, Messiah Lutheran Church (46 W. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown) will host a session on Money Matters and Stewardship for Teens, sponsored by Thrivent Financial. The evening will kick off with pizza at 6:30 pm, followed by a one-hour presentation starting at 7:00 pm.

The special session will help teens (and parents!) learn to make wise financial decisions about:

• Banking & credit
• Credit scores
• College debt
• Time & resource management

The session is open to all teens and their parents - invite a friend! For more info, contact Bob McGonigle at (610) 986-2638 or bobmcgoningle167@gmail.com.

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.

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.

OUR NEXT GOOD WORKS YOUTH WORK DAY is scheduled for Saturday, September 27 from 8:15 am to 3:45 pm (meet at the Good Works warehouse in Coatesville). Come spend the day helping fix up homes for families who don't have the means to do it themselves. Anyone in eighth through twelfth grade is welcome to join us, including friends. Sign up here or scan the QR code by September 15 to participate: Sept. 27th Good Works Workday.

THE 6TH THROUGH 12TH GRADE YOUTH ARE GOING CANOEING on the Brandywine on Sunday, September 28! Meet at St. Paul's at noon to carpool to Northbrook Canoe Company, where we will spend a leisurely afternoon drifting down the river! Family cost is $25 for one youth, or $40 for two or more youth from the same household. Sign up here or scan the QR code to reserve your paddle: Sept. 28th Youth Canoe Trip.

THE FALL 2025 YOUTH CALENDAR IS NOW AVAILABLE on the Youth page of the church website. Events, dates, times, locations, and signup links may be found on the calendar; check it out to see what's happening for our Middle School (6th through 8th grade) and High School (9th through 12th grade) youth! Unless otherwise indicated, friends are always welcome to participate!

Drive Out Hunger Golf Outing

St. Matthew's Second Annual Drive Out Hunger golf outing will be held on Thursday, September 18 at Kimberton Golf Club. Registration will be at 7:00 am with the Shot Gun at 8:00 am. Cost is $125 per golfer (including BBQ lunch), or $20 just for lunch. Children under 10 eat free.

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.

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

and then click https://stmatthews-church.org/give to submit your payment.

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

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

Follow us: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube