St. Paul s United Methodist Church August 24, 2016 Questions or corrections? Please call the Office (209) 823-7154 or contact a member of staff: Pastors Lisa Brown lisabrown@stpaulsmanteca.org Mark Wharff markwharff@stpaulsmanteca.org Office Manager Kim Borges office@stpaulsmanteca.org Chancel Choir Director Ed Clark mus2direct@yahoo.com Mission Bells Director Lisa Traughber lisabell@tupc.org Organist/Accompanist Angela Sonner angiesonner@gmail.com Custodian Mary Santos thecleanersos@comcast.net Trustees Chairperson Joel Groskopf trustees@stpaulsmanteca.org Website www.stpaulsmanteca.org Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/stpaulsmanteca Office Hours: Monday Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This Sunday, August 28 10:00 a.m. Worship Service Rules for Breaking the Rules Luke 13:10-17 Post-Worship Coffee Fellowship Hosted by the Staff-Parish Relations Committee Special Disaster Relief Offering Look for this special Disaster Relief Offering envelope in your Worship Program this Sunday, August 28. Offering receipts will go to the California-Nevada Disaster Response Fund to assist those affected by the Clayton Fire in Lake County, and to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to help those recovering from flooding in Louisiana. Thank you for responding with extravagant generosity.
Dear Friends, For several years it has been my privilege to serve St. Paul s as your Choir Director and Music Leader. As most of you know, I have also been directing the choir at Zion Christian Reformed Church in Ripon during this same period. That has been possible because the choirs of the two churches have been scheduled (most of the time) to sing on different Sundays, and rehearsals are on different days of the week. Recently, the Ripon church asked me to consider directing the Zion choir more often for Sunday morning services, but a decision to accept their offer would constitute a significant scheduling conflict. After much thoughtful prayer and consideration I have decided to accept the Zion proposal. In doing so, I recognize that it will no longer be possible for me to effectively serve both churches, and so I must regretfully tender my resignation to St. Paul s effective the end of August, 2016. My last Sunday in worship with you will be Sunday, August 28. These years of working with the choir and musicians of St. Paul s have been a great source of joy to me. Dear and true friendships have been made and continue to be a source of encouragement and support. I will always treasure the relationships and memories that have made these years so wonderful. You will always have a special place in my heart. I am especially grateful for the support and kindness shown to me by the pastors, staff and leadership of this genuinely gracious congregation. You will always have my respect and prayers for your continuing ministry in Manteca and beyond. Most sincerely, Ed Clark Ed would like to direct St. Paul s Chancel Choir one last time in Worship, so we are inviting all former and future Choir Members to convene in the Chancel Sunday morning at 9:00 o clock to polish up the anthem, Joyful, Joyful, Sing Praise by Jay Althouse. The Staff-Parish Relations Committee will be hosting Coffee Fellowship following Worship, and we will celebrate Ed s time of ministry among us and send him into the next chapter of his life with our prayers for God s blessings. The Staff-Parish Relations Committee is pleased to announce that Linda Ray will serve as Interim Chancel Choir Director, beginning September 1. More information will be available soon regarding an informal gathering for choir members and the fall rehearsal schedule.
At Kids Zone, we will finish up with our August lesson from the Book of Ruth. Our children, preschool age through 5 th grade, will bake bread together as they learn how Ruth took care of Naomi by gleaning the barley fields for their daily food. Ruth demonstrated goodness when she showed love to Naomi beyond what would be considered normal or expected. The children will leave from worship with Pastor Lisa after a Moment For The Child In Us All. We will gather in our Fellowship Hall for an age appropriate lesson and activities. All of our youngsters are welcome! United Methodist Women Harvest Luncheon September 1st at 10:00 AM in the Fireside Room We return from our summer break with our Annual Harvest Luncheon. Please bring a salad. Coffee and dessert will be provided by the Executive Board. The meeting will begin at 10:00 AM and the program and lunch will begin at 11:00. Our program will feature Bea Lingenfelter speaking with us about the Reconciling/Inclusive Church Journey. All are welcome to join us!
Holy Roamers September Outing Assyrian Cultural Center of Bet-Nahrain in Ceres Either September 10th or 11th (Contact Darryl Shaw to vote your date preference at 209-689-9008 or email: dadshaw@me.com) Hours: 11:00 to 7:00pm (late afternoon on Saturday or after church on Sunday) Transportation: Drive or carpool to Ceres Tickets are $14.00 in advance or $17.00 at the door International Folkloric Dances Excellent Assyrian Food Fabulous Bake Shop Assyrian Teas and Coffees MISSION BELLS HANDBELL ENSEMBLE COME RING WITH US! Do you read music and want to try something NEW? Join Mission Bells where we giggle, laugh, make music, pray, share and give it all to God too! Mission Bells meet each Thursday, from 6:00-7:00 PM and ring in worship about once per month through May or June. We ring in the community as an outreach a few times as well. It all begins on September 1, in the music room. Come give a listen and pick up a bell, you just might not want to put it down! Call Lisa Traughber at (209) 918-1990.
For more information, contact Stephen Parsons Upcoming Intentional Faith Development Opportunities Tuesday Morning Study Group Beginning Tuesday, September 6 10:00 a.m. Fireside Room Violence Divine is an eight-session DVD-based program featuring John Dominic Crossan, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at De Paul University, generally acknowledged to be the premier historical Jesus scholar in the world. He has written twenty books including Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, Who Killed Jesus? And The Birth of Christianity. A Roman Catholic monk for nineteen years and a priest for twelve years, Crossan is a former co-chair of the Jesus Seminar and chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature. Sunday Morning Bible Study Beginning Sunday, September 11 9:00 a.m. Church Library Join us on Sunday, September 11 at 9:00 a.m. in the Church Library for a six-week study of John: The Gospel of Light and Life by Adam Hamilton. The Gospel of John is the most deeply spiritual of the four gospels and includes some of the loftiest and most loved verses in all the Bible. Through video, reading, conversation and discussion we will learn and understand why John is unique among the Gospels and what John tells us about Jesus. All are welcome. Books are available for $10.00 in the Church Office. For more information about the Tuesday Morning Study Group, please contact Jeanne Pollard. For more information about the Sunday Morning Bible Study, please contact Bea
Reconciling/Inclusive Church Journey Thanks to all who attended our gathering after Worship on Sunday, July 17. We had a wonderful sharing of information and good discussion. The next step in our spiritual journey in this process is to have representatives of the Reconciling/Inclusive Church committee meet with all church committees, groups, and gatherings to share information and respond to questions or concerns. We will be contacting leaders of all the groups in the next few weeks to find a good time when these discussions might occur. Our timeline for these discussions is September and October. If you have questions now or wish for more information about the reconciling/inclusive church process, please speak to any of the Steering Committee members: Lisa Goodwin, Kit Oase, Marge Patzer-Hall, Bea Lingenfelter, Andrew Price, Mark Wharff and Lisa Brown. Stephen Ministers Summer - vacations, family gatherings, swimming pools, picnics. The lazy, hazy days of summer are here. Stephen Ministers know that life's changes and challenges don't take a summer vacation. Do you need someone to listen, to encourage, to provide that drink of cool water of comfort from a caring Stephen Minister? God doesn't take a vacation either. If you or some you know could benefit from the care of a Stephen Minister, contact the church office or any Stephen Leader: Bea Lingenfelter, Kit Oase, Marlene Colby or Pat Silva.