Pastoral Care Office Hours at St. Paul's are Monday-Thursday 8 AM to 2 PM

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1 St. Paul's Messenger an electronic communication of St. Paul's Lutheran Church We are a spiritual community called to know, love, and serve God as ambassadors of Christ in the world. GPS: 1244 St Paul's Church Rd. Pennsburg, PA Mailing Address: PO BOX 47, Red Hill, PA website: Pastoral Care Office Hours at St. Paul's are Monday-Thursday 8 AM to 2 PM If you desire a pastoral call or visit please contact the church office at You will be connected to the Pastor or the Pastoral Assistant In the case of a pastoral emergency during or after office hours please call Pastor Jim Heckman at NEW WORSHIP SCHEDULE - Beginning THIS SUNDAY as follows: There will be an 8:00AM Traditional Worship Service with Holy Communion There will be a 9:30AM Family Centered Worship Service with Holy Communion. Every Second Sunday there will be ONE "Unity Service" at 9:30AM with fellowship time following the service. Sunday Church School will take place at 8:30AM on Sundays, beginning on January 15th - as will our Adult Education time, with the exception of the Fellowship Sunday - when there is no educational time in order for us to all share time together as a family of faith. Everyone is welcome to attend either service - and we appreciate your patience as we work through the transition which this involves. January 13, 2017 Worship is the most profound witness we make in the world about our Lord Jesus Christ This Sunday Service of Carols and Lessons Scripture lessons for January 15, Corinthians 1:1-9 BRIDGE PASTOR'S MESSAGE WHAT'S ON PASTOR'S MIND? Change is upon us. I am very aware that there is a level of anxiety regarding the new worship schedule. Change will do that to us, but change can also bring about good things. Think of the change to indoor plumbing or how about the telephone? How many of us now feel helpless if we don't have our cell phones with us at all times. Just think it was only 10 years ago that the Apple smart phone Pastor Jim standing in the Jordan River at the southern Baptismal site - June 2016

2 Help Wanted: St Paul's IT Committee is looking for help. We need 2-3 volunteers who can be available to help with small office John 1:29-42 Happenings in our Community of Faith IN OUR PRAYERS Clara Castorina Collin Enright Nancy Grim Elaine Hockenberger Jennifer Hull Stacia Jewell Brenda Koder Fred Martin Betty Treffinger Rev. William Vanderslice Amy Walter Herb Wolf Lara Wood UPCOMING EVENTS: Junior and Senior youth groups Meet Tonight at 7PM in Fellowship Hall. We will have games including Orange! Memorize one of the bible verses below & where the verse is found. Share what you believe the verse means. You are not required to memorize the verse, but those that do earn a prize from the prize basket. Bring a friend and come ready for some fellowship fun! Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. - Proverbs 14:29 For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. - James 1:20 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; - James 1:19 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. - Proverbs 15:1 Be Sure to Pick Up Your Annual Giving Statements - they are all in a box in the narthex, sorted alphabetically. Those not picked up by January 22nd will be mailed out on the 23rd. Thank you for your support. was introduced. While change can cause stress it can also lead to some fascinating new things. One thing I would like to change is the way we talk about St. Paul's. I have been told that it is "an old congregation". Now that can mean at least two things. First, it could mean that the church is old which is true - established in It could also mean secondly, that the majority of the congregation are older folks. While this may also be true to an extent I don't think it is helpful to think of it that way. If old churches simply think about ministering to the old members then the ultimate future for the church is what befalls all us us when we get older - we die. Now that is not to say that we don't care for those folks, in fact they are an important part of our ministry. However, if we focus primarily on the seniors then we will ultimately die - there are a number of clear examples of that right here in Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod. So if we are not going to think of ourselves as the "old congregation" what would be another option? How about a "multigenerational congregation"? After all, isn't that what the church is supposed to be - one generation passing the faith along to the next? What it does mean is that while we, the older members are teaching the newer members that both groups will have to learn some new things. I was reminded of this the last time we visited our grandson. New Years' Eve night Linda and I babysat for James while his parents went out to enjoy the evening. One of the things we did was to watch the movie "Frozen". Now I know this film has been out for a number of years and is very popular but Linda and I had never seen it because we hadn't had a reason to see it before. Now we did and it was wonderful. It also got me thinking about all the other "children's" movies which were popular before which we can share with James, like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Music and liturgies are only two of the places where we can share and learn from each other. If St. Paul's is going to continue to be a vital and living church into the future than we MUST be eagerly anticipating new "grand-children" into the faith. We have much to share and they need have much to learn. See you in Church! Pastor Jim January 15th - 9:00AM - Worship Team Bread: Lori Rothenberger - Altar Set Up: Sandy Landis 8:00 Ushers: Ron Rodenberger & George Bonekemper 8:00 Worship Assistant: Karen Creghan 9:30 Ushers: Carol Elias & Aric Kressly 9:30 Worship Assistant: Donna Gerhart Counters: Sandy Bergey, Donald & Mildred Dulin

3 support tasks and the website. With many hands it will be very light work. Please contact the church office to volunteer. Seeking a Sexton: The details of this position can be found by clicking this link. If you know someone who may be interested, please share the link. Thank you. Confirmation Classes Meets: in fellowship hall at 4PM on February 12 - March 12 - April 23 & May 14 Space Summit: Will be held on January 15 at 11AM following the second service. This meeting is for Sunday School teachers and groups who have items stored on the ground floor (UPCCC) to discuss storage and space needs. Annual Meeting Reports and Financials are due to the church office from all ministries, groups and committees. Please and drop off a hard copy of the reports and please drop off copies of bank statements if applicable. Lutheran Chicks: Will meet on January 16th at 12:30PM in the Library. Lunch Bunch: Will not meet in February. The Annual Meeting Will be held February 12th during our time of fellowship in the hall following our service. Please plan to attend. OUR FULL CALENDAR Click Here to view our complete calendar of upcoming events on our website! There is plenty to do here at St. Paul's and we try to schedule and post 6 months in advance when possible. Electronic Giving VOICES FOR THE VANDERSLICE FAMILY Please join Christ's Lutheran Church, 700 E. Pennsylvania Avenue. Oreland, PA 19075, FEBRUARY 4 AT 6 PM as they host a fundraising event to benefit the Vanderslice family in covering the costs of Pastor Bill's lukemia treatment. The concert will feature the music of Sheridan Seyfried & Ya-Jhu Yang; Analog Groove; CLC Chancel Choir and Tuesday's Child. There will be refreshments and a bake sale as well as a free will offering collection. ALL proceeds go to help the Vanderslices as they continue treatment for Bill. TICKETS $15 each and may be purchased in advance or at the door. For info or with questions call Amy ext 7 or bigkitten7aol.com or Elise eliseseyf@yahoo.com REFORMATION 500 CELEBRATION marks the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Lutheran/Reformation tradition when Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis to the church door at Wittenberg. This year we are joining with six other churches which trace their history back to that act of Martin Luther by joining together to remember and celebrate this historic and life changing event. The participating churches are St. Mark Lutheran, Pennsburg; St. John Lutheran, Sumneytown; Palm Schwenkfelder, Palm; Pennsburg UCC, Pennsburg; New Goshenhoppen UCC, East Greenville; Frieden's UCC, Sumneytown; and of course, us - St. Paul's, Red Hill. There are five events planned. Put them on your calendar and plan to participate in them all. Event One - The Service of Christian Unity celebrated at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Pennsburg on Sunday, January 15th at 2:00 PM. The preacher will be Rev. Robert Roncase, Sr. Pastor of St. Philip Meri Catholic Church in Pennsburg. Event Two - Day of Service hosted here at St. Paul's Lutheran on February 11th from 12:30 to 3:30 PM. There will be a brief time of worship followed by a several service projects including a project for Stop Hunger Now which will be the packaging of 10,000 meals for distribution around the world. Up to 50 volunteers are needed for this alone. There are also a number of other service projects which are available. We need folks to sign up for which project you would like to participate in by going to february/ If you need help signing up, Pastor Jim will be available after church or any time in the office to help you go on line. Event Three - An Ascension Day Service at Palm Schwenkfelder Church being May 25th at 6:00 PM with hot air balloon rides. Event Four - Community worship at New Goshenhoppen Park on Sunday, August 27th at 10:30 AM including some special music. Event Five - Our closing Celebration will be on Reformation Sunday, October 29th at 3:00 PM at St. John Lutheran, Sumneytown. UPCCC IS SELLING CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES from Lehigh Sweets - Please help out by ordering some for your sweetheart! Each box of Double dipped strawberries sells for $20. Checks Payable to UPCCC. Call Kirsten or Sandy at ext 125 with questions. ORDERS DUE: Wednesday, February 1st PICK UP YOUR ORDER: Monday, February 13 from 12-5PM

4 Electronic Giving - St. Paul's offers electronic giving to automate your regular weekly offering. Electronic giving offers convenience for individual congregation members and provides much-needed donation consistency for our congregation. Direct Debit Giving is used to transfer funds automatically from your checking or savings account to the church's bank account. Credit and Debit Card Giving (Discover, MasterCard and Visa) allows you to make offerings automatically on a pre-determined schedule using a credit or debit card. Online Giving allows you to go to at any time to set up an automatic donation plan, change your donation plan, make a one-time donation, or view your online donation history. in the auditorium NAME OF PERSON ORDERING: Phone Number: Address: Quantity & Type Milk Chocolate Dark Chocolate White Chocolate Variety Box TOTAL BOXES ORDERED TOTAL DUE X $20 Each Paid By: Check # or Cash Date As you contemplate future contributions, please consider electronic giving. If you have additional questions or need assistance, please contact Vanco Services at As always, the church staff is available and happy to assist as well. THIS WEEK AT ST. PAUL'S Sunday 15th Traditional Communion Service 8:00AM Sunday School & Adult Education 8:30AM Family Centered Communion Service 9:30AM Space Summit Meeting for groups with storage 11:00AM Scouts in Fellowship Hall 1:00PM Reformation Event at St. Marks (Pennsburg) 2:00PM NA Monday 16th Lutheran Chicks 12:30PM Cub Committee Meeting 6:30PM Cemetery Committee Meeting 7:00PM Tuesday 17th Robotics 7:00PM Wednesday 18th Pennsburg Manor Service 10:00AM AA Saturday 21st Women's Pennsburg Diner 8:30AM Robotics 9:00AM Sunday 22nd Traditional Communion Service 8:00AM

5 Sunday School & Adult Education 8:30AM Family Centered Communion Service 9:30AM NA