St. Paul s United Methodist Church. This Sunday, June 17, th Sunday After Pentecost Father s Day

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1 St. Paul s United Methodist Church June 13, 2018 Questions or corrections? Please call the Office (209) or contact a member of staff: Pastors Jason Thornton pastor@stpaulsmanteca.org Lisa Brown pastorlisabrown@gmail.com Office Manager Kim Borges office@stpaulsmanteca.org Choral Director Anne Talcott a.talcott@yahoo.com Mission Bells Director Lisa Traughber lisabell@tupc.org Organist/Accompanist Angela Sonner angiesonner@gmail.com Custodian Mary Santos Trustees Chairperson Jay Holmes elmogul@aol.com Lay Leader Kit Oase kitoase@yahoo.com Office Hours: Monday Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This Sunday, June 17, th Sunday After Pentecost Father s Day MIssio Dei Psalm 20; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Join us in the fellowship Hall following worship for coffee and refreshments hosted by Social Concerns & Endowment Committees A NOTE FROM THE MEMORIAL GARDEN TASK FORCE There are two designated boxes for the return of Memorial Garden Questionnaires. One is located in the Narthex in the area below where the name tags are hung. The other has been placed on the kitchen counter as you enter the Fellowship Hall. (Copies of the form are also available in those locations for anyone who did not receive one.) Additionally, questionnaires can be returned to the Memorial Committee s box located in the Church Office. The congregation s input is very important. Thank you for taking time to express your opinion on this project.

2 KIDS ZONE SUNDAY MORNINGS Intentional faith development for children preschool age through 3 rd grade. JUNE 17 th : The Golden Rule Jesus taught us a special rule. We call it The Golden Rule because it is very important. How do you want to be treated? How do you treat others? SUMMER CHURCH CAMP 2018 Informational Meeting for Campers and Parents of 3 rd through 9 th Graders Sunday, June 17 th Fireside 11:30 am SEEKING HEAD USHER We are in need of one more head usher. If you would like to serve in this area, please contact Bev Casby (phone, or katyangel27@comcast.net or phone ).

3 Online Registration for VBS has been suspended. If interested in participating or volunteering, please see Pastor Lisa PLEASE NOTE: We still need Bible Story Tellers! Centering Prayer Friday Mornings 8am to 9am Fireside Room Ways to Deepen Our Relationship with God Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

4 What does Jesus have to say about church? Sermon Notes for What is Church? Delivered June 10, 2018 Jesus only spoke of church in one gospel, the gospel of Matthew, and then only twice. The word that Jesus used, and which we translate as church, was the Greek word EKKLESIA. 1 Matthew 16:18 (NRS) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (EKKLESIA), and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 18:17 (NRS) If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church (EKKLESIA); and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church (EKKLESIA), let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. In Jesus mind, and the mind of the Greeks, an EKKLESIA was a gathering of people who had been called forth. In the Greek context, an EKKLESIA would have been a gathering of citizens called forth by the government to vote or called forth to go into battle. In Jesus mind, and in the Christian context, the EKKLESIA the church is the gathering of people who have been called forth by God. In fact, a literal translation of EKKLESIA is The Called. This imagery could bring us back again to the scene of God walking in the cool of the evening breeze in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8), calling out to Adam and Eve to join God for Sabbath rest. Adam and Eve hid. It is the EKKLESIA the church who does not hide, but answers God s call. It is the EKKLESIA the church who seeks God out. It is the EKKLESIA the church who lives according to God s will. Whenever we respond to God s call to gather to share our Sabbath with God; to seek God s presence; to be merciful to others as God is merciful; we are the Church. In responding to God s call; gathering together to share Sabbath rest; being the hands and feet of Christ in our community, we create a holy time, a holy place, and we become a holy people set apart for God to be present with us. As we gather on our Sabbath at St. Paul s, we are blessed by our Church building which has been designed to help us set aside our attention to be focused upon seeking God: Our building where we worship is called a sanctuary, because it is designed to help us remain focused on God and holy during our worship. In other words, it is designed to help us maintain our sanctification. The sanctuary is divided into three sections by height. The Nave the lowest level represents the world. The congregation the church sits (lives) in the world. The stained glass tells the story of God s people from creation, the fall, the formation of Israel, the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, to the foundation of the new heaven and new earth. The color of the slate stone covering the floor and the color of the pews is blue. Blue represents the waters of our Baptism. It is Through our Baptism we are initiated into Christ's holy church, where our story is woven into the tapestry of the stories of God s people which surround us in stained glass. Through our Baptism we are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation in history. 1 Jesus spoke Aramaic as his primary language. But since Judea and Galilee had been ruled by Greeks and did business with Greeks for several hundred years, some scholars argue that Jesus was at least bilingual and also spoke some Greek. JESUS AND GOSPEL TRADITIONS IN BILINGUAL CONTEXT: A STUDY IN THE INTERDIRECTIONALITY OF LAN- GUAGE. By Sang ll Lee. BZNW, 186. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, DID JESUS SPEAK GREEK? THE EMERGING EVIDENCE OF GREEK DOMINANCE IN FIRST-CENTURY PALESTINE. By G. Scott Gleaves. Pp. xxvi, 214, Eugene, OR. Pickwick, 2015, $ NRS - New Revised Standard Version

5 The Altar the highest level, where candles and the light of Christ burns, represents heaven: the throne of God. The Father - the stained glass above the altar is arranged as shafts of light descending from above. This is the light of creation which comes from the mouth of God the Father. The Spirit - the light descends to reveal the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of Creation in the form of a dove. Jesus Christ the King - Angels trumpet to announce the enthronement of Christ the King. On either side, saints of the church from across ages bow together in worship. The risen Christ the LORD of re-creation stands looking back upon all creation, right on the verge of making his ultimate proclamation, See I am making all things new. The Chancel (the mid-section where the choir sits) is carpeted in red. The red carpeting helps us to remember that the way to heaven is through the blood of Christ. Standing in the Chancel where we offer the sacrament of Holy Communion, we stand where Jesus stood: standing on the edge of heaven to give His blood of redemption and His body the bread of heaven to those who live in the world. All of these elements of our sanctuary are designed to help us keep focused on God s CALL to us from the past, God s CALL in our present, and God s CALL from our future. To help us set aside our attention for God, to clear the way for God to give us his sanctifying grace through worship. This is the entire purpose of Church the gathering of people God has CALLED forth! God s holy Church is united through all space and time through God s Holy Spirit which binds us, nurtures us, empowers us with God s grace, and gives us hope. This power of God s called people through time is what the Apostle Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1. In this passage Paul refers to how the witness of God s called people found in the scriptures helps to inspire us in the present and gives us hope for the future. I invite you to read this passage and contemplate how God s holy church is united through time and gives us eternal hope.

6 Summer Reading Summer is the time to take a good book on vacation, to the beach, to the mountains, camping or just to your backyard. Starting June 17, United Methodist Women will place books from our library on some of the fellowship tables. Browse it and if it captures your attention, sign the card, leave it on the table and take the book with you to read. Just remember to bring it back at the end of summer, if not before, so someone else can enjoy it. "Two things you cannot do while reading a good book are worry about tomorrow and regret yesterday." Open House Sunday, July 1 from 1:00-4:00 to send Marge and Phil Hall off with our blessings and best wishes as they move to Sacramento. Open House will be at Al and Bea Lingenfelter's home, Summer Jam Sunday Evenings 6 to 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall Bring your voice, guitar, uke, drum set or flute as we enjoy nine weeks of learning contemporary praise music. There will be teaching/learning, a prayer and devotional - basically part educational and part worshipful. All ages are welcome!

7 Laughing with Jesus Some good thoughts for dear old Dad My dad was my best friend and greatest role model. He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend. Tiger Woods "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." Billy Graham Being a father has been, without a doubt, my greatest source of achievement, pride and inspiration. Fatherhood has taught me about unconditional love, reinforced the importance of giving back and taught me how to be a better person. Naveen Jain