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 March 2015 at St. Paul s Morning Prayer Tuesdays at 7:00 am. Bible Study at 10 a.m. Tuesdays Mar. 3, 10, 17 Thursdays at 7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal Sat. Mar. 7 & 21 9:00 Men s Club Breakfast & Bible Study all men are welcome! Wed. Mar. 4 10:00 Comforters meet in the Parish Hall to make blankets, lap robes and prayer shawls. Brown bag lunch with Pr. Steve Tues. Mar. 10 7:00 Council 6:00:00 Eggertsville Community Org. 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 Mar. 1 2nd Sunday in Lent - Pr Charles Biegner Mar. 8 3rd Sunday in Lent - Pr. Steve Mar. 15 4th Sunday in Lent Pr. Steve Mar. 22 5th Sunday in Lent - Intern Danny Sileo Mar. 29 Palm/Passion Sunday - Pr. Steve 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 M ARCH 2015 From Pastor Steve Friends and Members of St. Paul s, Lots of stuff going on for Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Be sure to mark your calendars and make time to observe this time together with the whole St. Paul s Family! Lenten Wednesdays (including Holy Week) 12:10 Soup lunch and discussion For the Life of the World at St. Paul s 6:00 Supper and discussion For the Life of the World St. John, Amherst Sundays For the Life of the World Holy Week: Palm/Passion Sunday For the Life of the World 10:00 Palm Procession, Passion Narrative, Holy Communion Maundy Thursday Good Friday Easter Day 6:00 Pot-Luck Supper (sign up in the back narthex) 7:00 Holy Communion & Stripping the Altar 2:00 Community Good Friday Service at St. Paul s 7:00 Tenebrae at St. Paul s 6:00 Sunrise Holy Communion 10:00 Festival Holy Communion Be well. Be blessed. Still in One Peace, ps

3 T HE CALLER P AGE 3 In our Congregational Family March 2015 "Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy." -- Pope Francis I find Lent a challenging time of the church year. What should I be doing; what should I not be doing. I always use it as a reflective time and follow closely the readings each Sunday and especially the sermons that Pastor Steve and guest pastors deliver each week. I encourage each of you to find you own Lenten journey and attend each service. The hymns may be different, if not uncomfortable, and the message is always thought provoking. The one thing I do know about Lent is that it is something to experience and participate in, in order to realize a joyous Easter. God bless, Scott Fierle Nominating Committee 2015 The following people were elected at our December Congregational Meeting to fill the 3 spots on the Nominating Committee: Bob Baus, Judi Gersic, Jeff Mols 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: From Mildred Mahoney I want to thank my St. Paul s friends for the beautiful altar flowers delivered to me at Beechwood. From Marilynn & Ralph Quance the poinsettia delivered by Sue Keppel was gorgeous and the Christmas Eve bulletin and calendar were also appreciated. Many thanks to Mary for the Lord s Supper and visit on a very busy day for her.

4 Youth & Sunday School Corner SUNDAY SCHOOL YOUTH STUFF YOUTH NIGHT Saturday, March 7 6:00-9:00 p.m. Plan to come! Plan to have a great time! watch your for news on events, and mark you calendars because Youth Sunday is April 19!! Adult Ed Opportunities: Sacred Conversations Sundays at 9 a.m. with informal Communion following. In March we will continue the video and discussion series as part of Sacred Conversations at 9am on Sundays, which is being repeated on Wednesdays at 12:10 here and evenings at St. John, Amherst. It's called "Letters to the Exiles: For the Life of the World." You can see clips at get more details. Save the time and we'll see you there! Men s Club 9:00 Saturdays 3/7 and 3/21 Men of the congregation meet for Bible Study and breakfast. Tuesday Bible Study Mar. 3, 10, 17 at 10:00 Anyone available in the morning is welcome! CROSS TRAINING (aka Confirmation Class) March 2015 Soup er Bowl Results! 164 cans of soup! AFC: 20 cans of beef soup NFC: 75 cans of chicken soup Commercials: 49 cans of tomato or cream of mushroom soup (+20 cans of soup not in any Souper Bowl categories) Pastor Steve did an intro to Baptism & Communion on 2/22. March is all about sacraments! Everybody Join Us 9:30am Saturday. March 21! Help Dave make Communion Bread for Palm Sunday & Easter (in the Kitchen) OR Help Judi strip the palms for Palm Sunday & learn how to make Palm Crosses (in the Confirmation Room) Hands Only CPR Hands-only CPR is a potentially lifesaving technique involving no mouth to mouth contact. It is best used in emergencies where someone has seen another person suddenly collapse. The hands-only technique increases the likelihood of surviving cardiac emergencies that occur outside medical settings. Watch for sign-up for the Hands-Only CPR class on March 22 after worship. St. Pauli s Brewers Beer-brewing & Bible study for men. TBA From the Parish Register Died: Into your hands, merciful Savior Wesley W. Bath David H. Warren + + +

5 Join Us Next Year! Do you enjoy spending time with your friends in a warm, comfortable setting? Do you enjoy delicious meals that you don t have to prepare and you don t have to clean up afterward? Do you like to spend an afternoon curled up in front of a roaring fire with a good book? And maybe a hot or cold drink? Do you like to take walks in the snow or go cross country skiing? Do you enjoy worshipping with friends in an intimate setting while looking out on God s beautiful world? If any or all of these activities appeal to you, then mark your calendar NOW the last weekend of January 2016 and plan to attend the St. Paul s retreat at LCLC. There were 25 of us at the Retreat Center this past January and we re all excited about returning next year. Many thanks go to Barb Walter for her cheerful, loving and enthusiastic leadership during the weekend. She sure knows how to plan a really fun weekend, filled with goodies and surprises. Hope you can join us next January! MARCH 22 Save the date for the Spaghetti Dinner! Our annual spaghetti dinner will be held the afternoon of March 22 nd. Volunteers needed adults to help set up, kids to serve, adults & kids to clean up and bakers to supply desserts. If you plan on taking the CPR class, plan on staying for the second seating at the dinner! Tickets go on sale Sunday, March 1 st and a sign-up sheet for volunteers will be posted. Hey! Look under there! Under where? Ha ha, you said underwear! The funniest joke ever when you were young, right? Unless your family was so poor they could not afford underwear. As my Lenten project this year, I have chosen to support Underwearness. This organization s mission is to help needy children with this basic clothing item. Often struggling parents can barely afford clothing, and they omit what can t be seen. I hope to collect enough underwear for 40 kids in the 40 days of Lent. Can you help? Can you ask just one other person to help? There is an appropriately adorned box(er) in the meeting area in which you may place BRAND NEW ON- LY (PLEASE!) children s underwear. Any size, any type, undershirts, underpants, boy or girls- any and all appreciated! Thank you for your support! Any questions, please contact Gail Singer at evansmom@roadrunner.com or

6 M ARCH 2015 ebay News from Sara Gallagher March 2015 First sales of 2015 are completed. Began selling in mid- January and am reporting sales up to mid-february. Vintage ceiling light fixture Set of 12 magnolia flower drawer knobs Three metal 2-drawer storage units these had been sitting in storage for years at church and were used to hold little film strip canisters back in the day. In 2014 ebay sales were $1, Total proceeds on hand is $3, We should all be proud. I m always glad to hear about what you might have for us to sell. Contact me by at SaraJG@aol.com, find me at church, or call Stay warm! 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! 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!) When you need to talk with a Pastor... 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 there s a situation you think we need to know about...

7 T HE CALLER M ARCH 2015 Reaching Beyond St. Paul s Food for March is PASTA & SAUCE Thanks for all the soup (164 cans!!!) in Jan. And gently used bedding and household linens are needed for the Threads of Hope Linens Pantry. Making an IMPACT! Impact is full of action! During January, Pastor Steve distributed TOPS gifts cards to the congregation, to fill places of need in the world as we see fit. It has been great to hear the stories and experiences that were shared as a part of this outreach ministry. I heard from several people that they were able to help individuals shortly after receiving the gift card, and have since replenished this as a way of always having a means to help others when the occasion arises. I shared my gift card with a gentleman in my neighborhood and have since gotten more gifts cards from the grocery store nearest me. Others used the gift cards to purchase food for the food pantry which ended up being of help to individuals in the Amherst school district. Every story I heard, the gift of gratitude to the giver was just as profound as the gift of food to the receiver. Thank you all for taking part in impacting the world! Let s keep this ball rolling! During Lent, our congregation will be collecting donations to Adopt-a-Student at Grace School in Ile a Vache, Haiti. Because all schools are private in Haiti, it is not always easy for students to obtain an education. Let s see how many students we are able to provide tuition for during Lent this year! Other opportunities coming up to get involved in include: Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, with Zion in Clarence Center on March 14, 9-3 We will always be collecting food for the Backpack ministry with Amherst School District. The list of needed items is available on the Impact Bulletin Board. This food is serving both the Middle School and Windemere Elementary If any of these opportunities pique your interest, contact our Community Impact Coordinator, Elisabeth Preisinger, for details: elisabeth@stpaulseggertsville.org Thinking outside the hemisphere When we are measuring snow in feet instead of inches, we don t think of drought. But, in the southern half of the world it is summer, and in Central America, cattle have died and crops have been completely diminished in a drought that is recorded as the region's worst dry period in the last 30 years. The drought has impacted more than 2.5 million people across the region. Three countries that are feeling deep impacts of this drought include El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, where crops are either completely depleted or prices for grains have increased so significantly that many families cannot afford to purchase them. The drought is causing concerns for food security and livelihoods. Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the ELCA, working with Lutheran World Federation, is assisting in early recovery and livelihood restoration through the installation of family gardens, farm plots, micro-irrigation systems and training workshops. Your congregations synod mission support helps do this work. Thank you! 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 April Morning Prayer Tuesdays at 7:00 am. Bible Study April 7, 14, 21 Maundy Thurs. April 2 6:00 Pot Luck Supper 7:00 Holy Communion & Stripping the Altar Good Friday April 3 2:00 Community Good Friday Worship 7:00 Tenebrae at St. Paul s Sat. Apr. 4 9:00 Men s Club Breakfast & Bible Study 9:30 TAG Easter Set-up Sun. April 5 EASTER DAY 6:00 Sunrise Holy Communion 10:00 Festival Holy Communion Wed. April 8 10:00 Comforters/Prayer Shawl meet in the Parish Hall (note change in date! April1 falls on Holy Week) Tues. Apr. 14 7:00 Council 7:00 Eggertsville Community Org. 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: