A prayer for New Year's Eve

What a year this has been! So many things have happened. Some of them have been wonderful; others very sad. In all of this our Lord has been with us, guiding, healing, comforting, and rejoicing. Thanks be to God for God's continual presence with us. Now we are on the threshold to a new tomorrow. We don't know what it will hold for us. In all of what is to come, our Lord will be with us. Guiding, healing, comforting, and rejoicing with us. Thank you, Lord, for your steadfast love and presence. Amen.

- Ministry Matters

December 31 @ St. Paul's UMC: Prayers

Joys:

+  Diane McKnight gives thanks for the elevator at the Meridian that was repaired.

+  Sandra Jordan is thankful for the beautiful seasonal decorations at St. Paul's.

+  Pastor Charles & Belinda would like to extend their thanks to the congregation for the many thoughtful remembrances during the Christmas season. They feel blessed to have such a caring church family with whom to share this faith journey.

+  We celebrate this week's birthdays: Don Berlin, Eric Franz, Melanie Muckle, & Gary Smith.

+  We are blessed by those who served this week: Amy Abshire (fellowship), Belinda Alkula (videographer), Pastor Charles (Zoom host), Pat Cleaveland (fellowship),   Louise Cook (piano), Tim Cook (soloist/adult class), Ben Glancy (liturgist), Etta Levitt (Zoom usher), Claudia Mills (message), Hyeji Park (piano), and Jim Vander Vorste (greeter).

Concerns:

+   Belinda Alkula asks for prayers for Paul Weindel in Oregon who is facing surgery.

+   We are praying for Gary Smith who is in the hospital.

+  Claudia Mills lifts up Ben Glancy who returns to college in Indiana and all who are traveling this week.

+   Sandra Jordan asks for prayers for her friend, Sally, who is facing end-of-life care.

+  We join with people around the world in continuing to pray for peace throughout the Holy Land.

December 31 @ St. Paul's UMC: Announcements

+ Ladies Lunch Bunch will meet on Thursday, January 4, at 11:45 a.m. at The Huckleberry (700 Main Street, Louisville). Please R.S.V.P. by January 2 to Louise Cook (louisecook916@gmail.com / 303-859-9327).

+ Gary Smith’s 90th birthday is January 5. You can send cards to the Smith's house: 22 Scott Drive North, Broomfield, CO 80020.

+ Undecorating the sanctuary will be undertaken next Saturday, January 6, at 9:00 a.m.

+ Breakfast Fellowship will meet on Saturday, January 13, at 8:00 a.m. at Le Peep (2525 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, next to McGuckin’s hardware). All are welcome!

+ New! Free Community Yoga Class at St. Paul’s Beginning January 20, St. Paul’s will offer a FREE community yoga class on Saturdays from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. in Franz Hall. The class will be coordinated by Rebecca Glancy and taught by Jovanka Jones. The program will be supported by funds remaining from the Heart of SOBO grant. See more details in the January Epistle. Help spread the word! Details are on the church website at this link.

+ Belinda and Pastor Charles would like to thank the   congregation for the thoughtful Christmas remembrances. They are grateful for such a caring faith community with which to share this journey.

December 31 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

The magi are on the move

Tim Cook offers a solo

Ben Glancy stepped in as liturgist

Claudia Mills offered today's message

We love fellowship time!

 First Sunday of Christmas / Seventh Day of Christmas

(Link to today's service)

Today’s Meditation Verse: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth.”  —Psalm 8:9

Welcome...Claudia Mills

Prelude...Hyeji Park

*Call to Worship...Rebecca Glancy

The new year is nearly upon us. There are promises yet to be fulfilled.

Very soon, we will burst into a new season of grace, free once more to commit to joy, excitement, love, and forgiveness. We are lucky to see each day and each year as a cup overflowing.

Praise God for the blessing of a heart that always struggles to renew! We are blessed to meet this season with a spirit that has learned from the past and yet yearns toward the future. We are thankful.

—Before the Amen, Maria I. Tirabasi & Maren C. Tirabasi

*Hymn...“Joy to the World” (UMH #246)

Dialog for New Year’s Eve (based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-13)... Rebecca Glancy 

For everything there is a season.  And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.

A time to break down, and a time  to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh.

A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

God has made everything suitable for its time. God has put a sense of past and future into our minds.

God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before Him. Whatever God does endures forever.

—Rev. Thomas Weitzel, on Liturgies by TLW

Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations

Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer...Claudia Mills

First Gospel Lesson: Luke 14: 28-32...Rebecca Glancy

Special Music...Tim Cook and Louise Cook / “Labor of Love” by Andrew Peterson

Second Gospel Lesson: Matthew 6: 25-34...Rebecca Glancy

This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

Sermon...Claudia Mills / “Looking Toward the New Year: Lessons from a Frog, a Toad, an Ant, a Grasshopper – and (Most of All) Jesus”

*Hymn...“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (UMH #140)

*Words for the Journey...Claudia Mills

Postlude...Hyeji Park

Devotional for the Seventh Day of Christmas

1 Timothy 16:13-16 (Phillip’s New Testament) “I charge thee in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Jesus Christ, which under Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession. That thou keep this commandment without spot, and unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, Which in due time he shall show, that is blessed and Prince only, the King of kings and Lord of lord.”

 

There have always been the haves and the have-nots. When Paul wrote the words I quoted above, he changed the narrative from what was expected of kings and their subjects. In his time, kings had the power of life and death over those in their realms; knowing your place was important, as it could keep you alive and out of the king’s line of sight! What Paul did was take the role of king out of the hands of the emperor or other power figure and restore it to the rightful King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the one we know as Jesus. In doing this, Paul showed that it is to God that our true allegiance is due and from God alone can our life be held in trust and in love. When Jesus is our sovereign, we find ourselves in service to the one who offers us life in abundance and not someone who holds our devotion in an arbitrary balance. When we say Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we are saying that we are no longer in service to things or people that will deny our worth or which will fade with our passing. We are saying that our worth is sacred for all time because our king is eternal!

— Pastor Charles

Last Sunday of 2023!

Join us Sunday for worship at 10:15 a.m. in person or online here for a New Year's Eve (morning) service led by Claudia Mills. This is a NEW Zoom link that launched last week. 

Preview Sunday's bulletin here.

Devotional for the Sixth Day of Christmas

Ephesians 2:19-22 (NRSV-Updated)“So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone; in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”

I spent one summer in the late 1970s working as a construction laborer in Largo, Florida. Day after day, I followed the directions of the carpenters, plumbers, brick layers, electricians, and others in building the new wing of the high school I had once attended. I wasn’t involved in any way in anything concerning the construction project beyond the most menial of tasks. The last time I was back in Florida, I drove by my old school and stopped for a look at what I had helped build. I don’t doubt that the architect, the contractors, and master workers all could justifiably claim to have a greater hand in building that school, but so could I, humble laborer that I was. As with any project of human design, what I bring to the effort of building my faith is of little consequence if Jesus is not at the forefront, the cornerstone of the project. If we start with the desire to build in service to God, then our part, as humble laborers, will bring about a beautiful result that will be pleasing to our God. 

— Pastor Charles

Reflective Review of the Past Year:

 
Reflective Review of the Past Year: An Ignatian Annual Examen

St. Ignatius Loyola's Examen is an opportunity for peaceful daily reflective prayer. It invites us to find the movement of God in our life. The following is a reflective review of the past year.

Before you begin, identify some major markers of your year, such as those on the church calendar or events in your life to orient yourself to the full 12-month time period.

The Examen is simply a set of introspective prompts for you to follow or adapt to your own character and spirit. Begin with a pause and a slow, deep breath or two; become aware that you are in the presence of the Holy.

As I review the past 12 months, from a year ago through to the present moment - What am I especially grateful for this year?

An event that took place

Courage that I mustered

Love and support I received

I ask for the light to know God and to know myself as God sees me.

Where have I felt true joy this year?

What troubled me this year?

What has challenged me? 

Where and when did I find an opportunity for renewal and pause?

Have I noticed God's presence in any of this?

In light of my review, what is my response to the God of my life?

As I look ahead, to the coming months what comes to mind?

With what spirit do I want to enter the next few months, the next year?

I ask for God's presence and grace, for this spirit, as I enter the next year. Amen.

Adapted by Debra Mooney, Ph.D. from the Center for Mission and Identity at Xavier University's Daily Examen. Posted on JesuitResource.org.

Devotional for the Fifth Day of Christmas

John 1:26-30 (1599 Geneva Bible) “John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there is one among you, whom ye know not. He it is that cometh after me, which was before me, whose shoe latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John did baptize. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold that Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

 

Back in August of this year, I attended a workshop in Cody, Wyoming, learning how to write the Lamb of God icon. Each of the participants learned how to do each step of the process, from preparing the surface to mixing the egg tempera paint and applying gold leaf. The end product was both artistic and spiritual, bringing together my humble efforts in an act of devotion to the One we call the Lamb of God. The humility of the lamb, draped over the shoulders of Jesus, and that of Jesus in the role of humble shepherd is present. In every prayer uttered before, during, and after each step in the process, I found myself surrendering myself and embracing the act of drawing closer to my Lord. We Christians sometimes get wrapped up in how we think religion, church, or faith should look or be expressed. What I discovered in that workshop was that the more I saw my actions as an expression of my love of God, the more I was able to be carried in the embrace of the love that surpasses all understanding. 

— Pastor Charles

St. Paul's UMC Year-in-review

January's Sew What @ the Polaceks

Pentecost Sunday @ St. Paul's

Sharing with our neighbors at EFAA

Cristian Schlick offers his presentation

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

January: January 1 is on a Sunday; Alexander Muckle memorial service; Sew What, Ladies Lunch Bunch, and Breakfast Fellowship kick off the New Year.

February: 2024 Lenten Devotional (online and printed version);     Rupali Hoffman shares with the congregation; Sew What, Ladies Lunch Bunch, and Breakfast Fellowship.

March: Response to Fairview H.S. Knight's Closet needs; Second anniversary of the shooting at King Soopers; Bell quintet shares during worship; We respond to an appeal from EFAA; Sew What, Ladies Lunch Bunch, and Breakfast Fellowship.

April: Nell Grindstaff, Myrle Myers, and Jerry Cantril join St. Paul's; Easter celebration with BBKC; Sew What, Ladies Lunch Bunch, and Breakfast Fellowship (back at Le Peep); Toni Adevu and Selma Adevu from Ghana visit St. Paul's.

May: Music Celebration Sunday; Ladies Lunch Bunch, and Breakfast Fellowship;    Pentecost Sunday.

June: Trinity Sunday; Sew What gathers at the church; Annual Conference in Colorado Springs; Ladies Lunch Bunch and Breakfast Fellowship; Summer Book Group resumes; Rev. Dan Daniels preaches.

July: We start our fifth year with Pastor Charles & Belinda; Summer sermon series from Stories That Sneak Up on You; Hank Troy & Wende Harston; Ladies Lunch Bunch and Breakfast Fellowship; Ice Cream social. 

August: Pastor Charles takes renewal leave; Rev. Dan Daniels celebrates communion; Worship service messages by Sandy Bainbridge, Angela Baker, Larry Esposito, and Claudia Mills; Jerry Beaber memorial service.

September: Rev. Janeen Hill leads worship; Ladies Lunch Bunch, Sew What, and Breakfast Fellowship; Fall church potluck; Tim Cook starts class on orthodoxy; 474.8 lbs. of food taken to EFAA; Donations of soup and crackers taken to Knight's Closet at Fairview High School; Donna Wasson celebration of life.

October: We welcome our new neighbors at Haven Ridge (in the former Mary Sandoe House); "Sin" book discussion begins; Celebration of life for Tom Bullock;   Ladies Lunch Bunch and Breakfast Fellowship; Dinner Circle gatherings; Visit by missionary Cristian Schlick.

November: All Saints Sunday; Time change; Repaving part of the parking lot; Autumn potluck fellowship; Wesley Foundation's     Friendsgiving; Pastor Janeen Hill preaches.

December: Fifth annual Advent/Christmas devotional; Ladies Lunch Bunch Christmas gathering; Hanging of the Greens; Church Conference; AED is installed; Donations to EFAA toy drive, Mitten Tree, and Fairview HS students; Sunday morning Christmas Eve service; Claudia Mills offers the message on the last Sunday of the year.

Devotional for the Fourth Day of Christmas

Mark 2:19-20 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) “Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding guests cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. But the time will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.’”

 

Over the years as a pastor and a Navy chaplain, I have officiated at forty-six weddings. I’ve conducted weddings on the beach, on live TV, and in churches large and small. I’ve seen brides come down the aisle adorned in splendor and adorned in the most common of attire. No matter the setting or the clothing, the bride is the center of attention. That is, until she stands by the one she has chosen. In that moment, both the bride and the groom (while retaining their individuality) come together to create something new. And that is simply a beautiful thing to witness.

— Pastor Charles

Wednesday check-in fun!

A fun time was had by all

 

A unique look

The last Wednesday Morning Check-in of 2023 took place this morning and what a wonderful time we all enjoyed. Pastor Charles sported his "beard bling" to add a festive flair to the proceedings!

Wednesday with the Wesleys

Father, our hearts we lift

Up to thy gracious throne,

And bless thee for the precious gift

Of thine incarnate Son;

The gift unspeakable

We thankfully receive,

And to the world thy goodness tell,

And to thy glory live.

Jesus, the holy child,

Doth by his birth declare,

That God and man are reconcil’d,

And one in him we are.

Salvation thro’ his name

To all mankind is given,

And loud his infant-cries proclaim

A peace ’twixt earth and heaven.

A peace on earth he brings,

Which never more shall end:

The Lord of hosts, the King of kings,

Declares himself our friend,

Assumes our flesh and blood,

That we his Sp’rit may gain,

The everlasting Son of God,

The mortal Son of man.

His kingdom from above

He doth to us impart,

And pure benevolence and love

O’erflow the faithful heart:

Chang’d in a moment we

The sweet attraction find,

With open arms of charity

Embracing all mankind.

O might they all receive

The new-born Prince of Peace,

And meekly in his Spirit live,

And in his love increase!

Till he convey us home,

Cry every soul aloud,

Come, thou desire of nations come,

And take us all to God.

~ Charles Wesley

Devotional for the Third Day of Christmas

John 15:1-5 (World English Bible) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

Jesus used many agricultural terms to describe the relationship between God and humanity and between Himself and those who sought God in their everyday lives. His use of True Vine to describe Himself provides us with the imagery that we can understand.

 

Knowledge of viniculture isn’t required to understand how Jesus uses this phrase. It doesn’t require a degree in botany to see that if the branch stays attached, the vine allows it to thrive and to bear fruit, while detaching from the vine leads to withering and death.

 

To remain connected to the True Vine is to remain connected to the source of life. To disconnect from this life leads to no life at all.

 

Stay connected to Jesus, the true vine, and bear fruit, the world will be glad you did!

— Pastor Charles

Devotional for the Second Day of Christmas

Revelation 22:16 (Young’s Literal Translation) “I, Jesus, did send my messenger to testify to you these things concerning the assemblies; I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star!”

 

If you’re an early riser or a night owl, you may be aware that some of the lights in the sky are brighter than others. In the Bible, both Satan and Jesus are described as Morning Star, but how can that be? How can both the Prince of Darkness and the Lord of Life have this moniker?

 

In the Hebrew texts, The Satan was used as a title of the one whose job it was to test humanity to see if faith was enough to keep a relationship with the Divine alive. Centuries later, Christians came to use the title in relation to the personification of evil.

 

Jesus, who claims this attribution for Himself, does not lead us astray. Instead, the Bright and Morning Star leads us through the light of his love to the source of life itself: God.

 

Whether we find ourselves in the midst of the dark night of the soul or the burning glare of yet another day, we can see Jesus, the bright and morning star, as our guide and our light—the light that will lead us to the path that will take us closer to our God. 

— Pastor Charles

This week @ St. Paul's UMC

 

Monday: CHRISTMAS DAY

Tuesday: 

9:00 AM, Office hours

Wednesday:  

9:00 AM, Office hours

10:00 AM, Zoom Fellowship

Thursday:  

9:00 AM, Office hours

Saturday: 

6:00 AM, BBKC prayer gathering 

First Sunday of Christmas

 8:45 AM, Adult class

10:15 AM, Worship - Claudia Mills

11:15 AM, Fellowship  

12:30 PM, BBKC   

Scripture lessons for December 31

Our worship service next Sunday will be led by Claudia Mills. Come, worship with us as we bring 2023 to a close and prepare to welcome the New Year.

A Prayer for Christmas Day

I Am There

Now God says to us

What He has already said to the earth as a whole

Through His grace-filled birth:

I am there. I am with you.

I am your life. I am your time.

I am the gloom of your daily routine. Why will you not hear it?

I weep your tears - pour yours out to me.

I am your joy.

Do not be afraid to be happy; ever since I wept, joy is the standard of living

That is really more suitable than the anxiety and grief of those who have no hope.

I am the blind alley of all your paths,

For when you no longer know how to go any farther,

Then you have reached me,

Though you are not aware of it.

I am in your anxiety, for I have shared it.

I am in the prison of your finiteness,

For my love has made me your prisoner.

I am in your death,

For today I began to die with you, because I was born,

And I have not let myself be spared any real part of this experience.

I am present in your needs;

I have suffered them and they are now transformed.

I am there.

I no longer go away from this world.

Even if you do not see me now, I am there.

My love is unconquerable.

I am there.

It is Christmas.

Light the Candles! They have more right to exist then all the darkness.

It is Christmas.

Christmas that lasts forever.

- Karl Rahner, S.J., "The Eternal Year"

Devotional for the First Day of Christmas

Luke 1:26-33 (Wycliffe Bible) “But in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth [to which the name Nazareth], to a maiden [to a virgin], wedded to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the maiden was Mary. And the angel entered to her, and said, Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed be thou among women. And when she had heard, she was troubled in his word, and thought what manner salutation this was. And the angel said to her, Dread thou not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Lo! thou shalt conceive in [the] womb, and shalt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. This shall be great [He shall be great], and he shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give to him the seat of David, his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob without end [and he shall reign in the house of Jacob into without end], and of his realm shall be no end.”

 

Jesus—the name has come to us from across the centuries, and with it, a lot of baggage. Going back to its origin, the name meant “YAHWEH is salvation.” Today, it is often used to express surprise or even dismay. I would offer on this Christmas Day that the salvation offered to us through Jesus is indeed a surprise. I would also suggest that to the dismay of some, that we can no longer live as though God does not care about us. Jesus is proof positive that love came down at Christmas.   

— Pastor Charles

Merry Christmas from Cristian Schlick

Dear Beloved,

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous Christmas and a New Year filled with love. 

Your commitment to our shared mission, and your compassionate journey alongside migrants, refugees, and all victims of forced displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean, is deeply appreciated.

May the guiding values of Jesus, the refugee baby, illuminate our path in the coming year.

Feliz Navidad! - Merry Christmas! - Feliz Natal! - Joyeux Noël! - Frohe Weihnachtsfest!

With heartfelt gratitude,

Cristian Schlick

Regional Migration Specialist, Global Migration

UMCOR

United Methodist Committee on Relief - 

General Board of Global Ministries / The United Methodist Church

Missionary - Adv. #3022314