The CALLER ST. PAUL S LUTHERAN CHURCH. I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord Psalm 122:1

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1 ST. PAUL S LUTHERAN CHURCH The CALLER Our Mission: Empowering others with the Good News of Jesus Christ: Making Connections, Enriching Faith, Nourishing Lives, and Demonstrating love in God s Name February 2015 at St. Paul s Morning Prayer Tuesdays at 7:00 am. Bible Study at 10 a.m. Tuesdays Feb. 3, 10, 17 Thursdays at 7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal Sat. Feb. 7 & 21 9:00 Men s Club Breakfast & Bible Study all men are welcome! Wed. Feb. 4 10:00 Comforters meet in the Parish Hall to make blankets, lap robes and prayer shawls. Brown bag lunch with Pr. Steve Tues. Feb. 10 7:00 Council 7:00:00 Eggertsville Community Org. Thurs. Feb. 12 Noon Retired Folks Mardi Gras Lunch and celebration full details inside! Lenten Wednesdays 12:10 For the Life of the World simple soup lunch and discussion Could you make soup for one of these meals? Please call the Church Office or sign up in the back narthex. Remember if you re scheduling a meeting or an event, check the planning calendar on the board by the offices to make sure space is available! Or call or the Church Office: ( or office@stpaulseggertsville.org) Worship at St. Paul s I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord Psalm 122:1 Feb. 1 4th Sunday after Epiphany - Pr Steve 9:00 Sacred Conversations Feb. 8 5th Sunday after Epiphany - Pr. Steve 9:00 Sacred Conversations Feb. 15 The Transfiguration Pr. Steve 9:00 Sacred Conversations Feb. 18 Ash Wednesday 12:10 For the Life of the World Lunch, conversation, Ashes & Holy Communion 7:00 p.m. Traditional Service with Ashes & Holy Communion Feb. 22 1st Sunday in Lent - Pr. Steve 9:00 Sacred Conversations Nursery Care is available at the 10:00 worship time. An usher can direct you to the Nursery if you need this service. St. Paul s is a congregation of the Niagara Frontier Conference of the Upstate New York Synod Of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

2 P AGE 2 F EBRUARY 2015 From Pastor Steve Friends and Members of St. Paul s, Happy Lenting! Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 18th. And yes, we will do our traditional Ash Wednesday services, but the Lenten focus after that will look a bit different. And I m very excited for that! Actually starting February 8th during Sacred Conversations at 9am on Sundays, we will launch the video and discussion series: For the Life of the World - Letters to the Exiles. This will be an 8-week series that will touch on subjects like: what is our salvation for?, love, wonder, God s economy, church, wisdom and more. We will repeat most of the series around a Wednesday lunch session each week at 12:10pm. Soup will be provided, but you can bring your own sandwich (or protein shake!) Wednesday nights, we will gather in partnership with Lutheran Campus Ministry and St. John Lutheran on Main St in Amherst to go through the series as well. We will meet up there and begin with dinner. Why? Because it s Lent and people seem to still like to add things to their spiritual patterns and disciplines during Lent. But even more importantly, it s hard being a follower of Christ on a daily basis. This series and the time spent in reflection moving through it will be a blessing to help answer those hard questions about why and what and how do we live out our faith in this Jesus who we follow right up to a cross. So in review: 9am Sunday starting February 8th - Wednesdays at 12:10pm and 6pm (meal included at St. John) starting February 25th. You won t regret the time. It will challenge you and bless you all at once. And if you hate it, I ll give you your money back. You can see more details at Be well. Be blessed. Still in One Peace, ps

3 T HE CALLER P AGE 3 In our Congregational Family February 2015 Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come. Henri Nouwen Take a moment to look around St. Paul s it is changing! There are a lot visitors, many of who are becoming new members. Pastor Steve s outreach, sermons, and enthusiastic style have blessed us. People are spreading the word. It is an exciting time for our church. Take a moment to introduce yourself to someone you have not met member or non-member. Please make our visitors feel welcome and offer peace. God bless, Scott Fierle Pray for the Church! every day at 3:16 p.m. Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth and peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in need, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen THANKS: To Tom Mogle who has faithfully been picking up and delivering the collected food to the Resurrection Pantry every month! Your work has been appreciated by us and by the people who need that food! And THANKS to the Israel Family who has volunteered to take over this responsibility! From Mildred Mahoney I want to thank my St. Paul s friends for the poinsettia plant delivered to me at Beechwood by Jane Woodward From NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) Thank you for your hospitality giving NAMI Buffalo a room for our monthly educational meetings, support group monthly meetings and Family-to-Family classes. You are truly an immense help to us. Marcy Rose, President From Carol & Frank McMenamin (among those who got dug out from Snowvember ) It s impossible to express all the gratitude that is in our hearts. Thank you very much! God bless you for your kindness. From Marilynn & Ralph Fenske (on our prayer list; friends of the Venators) Love to all of you who have prayed for Ralph and me. Ralph puts his prayer shawl around his shoulders and I read at night when I can t sleep and mine is perfect for arms holding books. From Cathy Pera (friend of Judi Gersic) I an sending you a deep and heatfelt thank you for the beautiful prayer shawl. I had one I took to every chemo treatment, so I packed the one from you and sent it to my sister who is struggling with the recent loss of both our parents and a severely disabled spouse. She treasures it. So double thank you! From the Family we helped through the Girl Scout Troop at Christmas I wanted to let the congregation know that I received a thank you card from the family that we helped out at Christmas time. The Mom wrote: There are not enough words to express my thanks. I appreciate everything you have done. Thank you for giving our children a Christmas. God bless

4 Youth & Sunday School Corner SUNDAY SCHOOL Sunday School is off and running for the new year! Come and check out the great stories. Our curriculum is called SPARK and it s geared to the readings each week in worship to spark interest and to spark faith! Come down and check out the bulletin board in the classroom. We ve learned about loving God and our neighbor and God who has each one of us and the whole world in his hands! YOUTH STUFF watch your for news on events, and mark you calendars because Youth Sunday is coming April 19!! Adult Ed Opportunities: Sacred Conversations Sundays at 9 a.m. with informal Communion following. New Series Coming: - Starting February 8th, we will begin a very exciting video and discussion series as part of Sacred Conversations at 9am on Sundays. We will repeat the series on Wednesdays at12pm in Lent. It's called "Letters to the Exiles: For the Life of the World." You can check out clips atwww.letterstotheexiles.comand get more details. Save the time and we'll see you there! Men s Club 9:00 Saturdays 2/7 and 2/21 Men of the congregation meet for Bible Study and breakfast. Tuesday Bible Study Feb. 3, 10, 17 at 10:00 Spiritual Gifts. Anyone available in the morning is welcome! St. Pauli s Brewers Beer-brewing & Bible study for men. TBA CROSS TRAINING (aka Confirmation Class) February 2015 Soup er Bowl! Did you vote? Look for the results in the Sunday Bulletin & next month in the Caller! Pastor Steve kicked off our study of the 10 Commandments by talking to us about all the rules in our lives. Dave & Judi have us read in the Bible & Catechism & we talk about news stories like what s happening in France & cartoons like Jeffy from Family Circus wanting to recite God s Top Ten - we're a busy class! Care Team Saturday, Feb. 14, 10-Noon in the Fellowship Room. Valentine s Day seems to be a great time to talk about feelings and how to deal with them. We ll be sharing feelings, conversation hearts and a really neat book titled In My Heart. From the Parish Register Died: Into your hands, merciful Savior Kipp L. Crickard Please call the Church Office ( ) or mary@stpaulseggertsville.org If you re planning to come!

5 FILE OF LIFE What is it? Do I need it? On Thursday, Jan. 8 Rosemary Collins from Hospice, Buffalo came to talk to the Retired Folks about this program that helps people organize their most important medical information for quick retrieval in case of emergency. The information is written on a card which is then placed in a zip-lock bag, tagged with the File of Life sticker or magnet and attached to the door of your refrigerator so in the event you have a medical emergency, there s no need to run to different cupboards or cabinets to find your medications, or to different drawers or files for the contact info for your health care proxy it s all there in one place on one card! Rosemary also stressed the importance of keeping these documents up to date. During the month of February, we re making these File of Life cards, stickers and magnets available to the congregation, friends and neighbors. There will be a display in the back narthex where you can pick up the materials, take them home, fill them in, and put them on your fridge door where they re easily visible! And if there s more than one person in the household, each should have his or her own form and baggie. (You can label the baggies with a sharpie marker.) Rosemary also stressed the need for Health Care proxies for anyone over age 18 in the household, making their wishes known in case of accident or severe illness that would make them unable to respond. MARDI GRAS! Retired Folks are invited to a Mardi Gras luncheon and party on Thursday, Feb. 12 beginning at Noon! The menu will include Jambolaya (a la Rosemond Johnson!) with Kings Cake, Fastnachts and Hot Cross Buns for dessert. Masks, beads and coins will be available for all!

6 F EBRUARY 2015 ebay News from Sara Gallagher February 2014 My last report was for the December 2014 issue of the Caller. Stopped putting things up for sale in mid-december and items sold since are: a photograph of a 1930 s wedding couple a group of Christmas cross-stitch pattern books a book Malaysian Cooking As of the Caller deadline for this February issue I am just starting to get some listings up to begin our 2015 sales. I have some items on hand and am still looking for the cool things you have in your closet, attic, basement, garage Still Looking for Packing Materials! If you are one who orders on-line and has packages shipped to your home, please bring me any bubble wrap, foam pieces and boxes that you don t want to keep. I can make good use of all those things. Worship Schedule Sunday Mornings: 9:00 Sacred Conversa ons followed by informal Communion Daily Prayer: 7:00 a.m. Tuesdays Who Are Prayer Shawls for?? People in the congregation, friends, coworkers, family people who are sick, home-bound, grieving, going through difficult times anyone who needs to know they are wrapped in prayer! And if you know someone who needs a prayer shawl, we have them! Speak with Marilyn Emerson or Jean Brundage and they ll help you choose one for the need! Looking forward to continuing this into 2015 with your support. Thank you so much. Contact me by at SaraJG@aol.com, find me at church, or call When Should You Call the Church Office? To arrange for a Baptism To schedule a wedding date and pre-marital counseling sessions Anytime you or a family member is in the hospital (including having a baby!) If there is a death in the family If you move or change your phone number (we have to pay the post office for returned mail!) Do you get our Updates? Every week (and sometimes more often!) an update goes out from the Church Office to remind you of coming events, and to inform you of things in the life of the congregation that happen between Sundays. If you re not on the list receiving these and you would like to be, just contact the Church Office with your address and let Mary know you want to be added. We need your permission to add your to the list. When you need to talk with a Pastor... When there s a situation you think we need to know about...

7 T HE CALLER F EBRUARY 2015 Reaching Beyond St. Paul s Food for February is PANCAKE MIX Thanks for all the Mac & Cheese (200 boxes!!!) in Dec. And gently used bedding and household linens are needed for the Threads of Hope Linens Pantry. Making an IMPACT! Don't be fooled by the shift in the 9 am service - there are still plenty of things going on at St. Paul's to impact the community around us! Throughout Jan. you've heard about the 31 Days of Compassion - many of you have been following and contributing to our Facebook discussion around the ways that we have seen or been the face of compassion in the world. We've also had some awesome discussion on Sunday mornings with our Sacred Conversations time, replacing the 9 am service. (We meet in the Fellowship Room behind the Sanctuary. If you haven't already come to check it out, I would highly recommend it!) In February we'll be once again collecting food items for the Backpack Program in the Amherst district This is something we started in the fall to help families in Amherst who struggle to put food on the table over the weekends, so we collect breakfast, lunch and dinner non-perishables to put into backpacks for students to take home on the weekends. We're hoping to expand this to Windermere too, so bring all the food (or financial donations) that you can throughout the month of Feb. A few more upcoming items: Before the next Haiti trip we'll be blessing the Banner that many hands went into creating and which Linda Schunak has been furiously stitching together, before it goes to Grace School. Thanks to everyone who was a part of that! For those who have had an interest in volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, we want to make this a monthly opportunity, partnering with Zion Lutheran Church in Clarence Center. Stay tuned for details each month, and sign-up on the bulletin board! During Lent, the Evangelism and Outreach committee thought it a good time to focus our energies on outreach to Grace school in Ile a Vache, Haiti. We ll offer opportunities to "adopt a child" by providing tuition for the student. More information will be discussed in church and be available on the bulletin board. We're off to an exciting 2015! Hope to have you be a part of some, a few or all of these exciting opportunities this month! Thanks to everyone for all that you do as a part of the ministries here! GIVE IT UP FOR LENT Have you decided what you re giving up for Lent this year? Be grateful you have the luxury of being able to eliminate something from your regular food intake, when 800 million people around the world don t have enough to eat. That s 1 in 8 people globally. ELCA World Hunger gives over $18 million to feed those people, as well as to seek sustainable solutions for the roots of poverty and hunger. Its Domestic Hunger Grants distributed over $800,000 last year to 384 projects in the US. Lent is an opportune time to focus on the hungry, and the ELCA has resources to help. On the ELCA website, enter Lent or World Hunger into the search box, and you ll find many useful items coin banks, calendars to walk you through the 40 days, posters, bulletin inserts many of them free, even shipping! Your congregations gifts to the wider church make this possible. Thank you! Make this Lent a time to give it up for the hungry. We are church together for the sake of the world. God s Work. Our Hands. We are church together for the sake of the world. God s Work. Our Hands. Dash s Receipts = Cash! Please continue to save your Dash s register tapes and place them in the collection box in the back narthex. They provide a source of extra income which enables the Niagara Lutheran Health System Guild to enrich the lives of the residents at the NLHS facilities. They really do add up!

8 St. Paul s Lutheran Church 4007 Main Street Eggertsville NY Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit #3595 Buffalo New York ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Coming in March Morning Prayer Tuesdays at 7:00 am. Bible Study Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Wed. March 4 10:00 Comforters/Prayer Shawl meet in the Parish Hall pot-luck lunch with Pr. Steve Wednesdays 12:10 for lunch and conversation Thurs. Mar. 12 Noon Retired Folks meet for a brown bag lunch bring a sandwich, beverage & dessert will be provided Tues. March 10 7:00 Council 7:00 Eggertsville Community Org. Sun. March 22 our annual SPAGHETTI DINNER watch for more details in the March CALLER! St. Paul s Evangelical Lutheran Church Our Mission: Empowering others with the Good News of Jesus Christ: Making Connections, Enriching Faith, Nourishing Lives, and Demonstrating love in God s Name Pastor: The Rev. Steve Biegner ( cell) Editor: Mary E. Wolf Assemblers: Dorothy Menth, Marilyn Emerson, Betty Arbogast, Dolores Shearer, Marion Schwertz, Marilynn Speich, Norma Stevenson, Joyce Chace, Joan Maefs Telephone: (716) Fax: (716) office@stpaulseggertsville.org Web: