Bishops urged to perceive God’s ‘new thing’

On the eve of a nail-bitingly tense U.S. presidential election, Council of Bishops President Tracy S. Malone reminded her fellow bishops that God’s deliverance is a theme that runs throughout Scripture.

She also spoke of how she sees God’s deliverance already at work as The United Methodist Church begins anew after years of internal rancor over the status of LGBTQ people.

“The United Methodist Church is moving forward choosing the pathway of love,” Malone said Nov. 4 in her first presidential address to the bishops. “And it is this love that we embody and multiply and witness in our communities and in the world.”

Some 100 active and retired bishops gathered this week at the United Methodist-related Epworth by the Sea Conference Center to discuss the denomination’s future and role in the world.

Read more at this link.

This week @ St. Paul's UMC

Monday: 

9:00 AM, Office Hours

Tuesday: 

9:00 AM, Office Hours 

Wednesday:

9:00 AM, Office Hours 

10:00 AM, Zoom Fellowship

7:30 PM, Choir Practice

    

Thursday:  

9:00 AM, Office Hours

11:45 AM, Ladies Lunch Bunch

Saturday:   

6:00 AM, BBKC Prayer Time

8:00 AM, Breakfast Fellowship

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost 

8:00 AM, Bell practice

8:45 AM, Study class

10:15 AM, Worship 

11:15 AM, Fellowship

12:30 AM, BBKC 

Scripture lessons for November 10

We come to the halfway point of November and the next-to-last Sunday of the liturgical year next week and we turn to Mark 12:38-44 and Psalm 127 for our lessons.

Pray for discernment

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of Your people who call upon You, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

For this season, we encourage you to pray this litany every day. 

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under Your care. 

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

And finally, teach our people to rely on Your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve You faithfully in our generation and honor Your holy Name. For Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Amen.

- All prayers are taken from The Book of Common Prayer

Happy All Brackets' Day!

Happy All Brackets' Day! Find out who's in, who's out, whether there will be a printed Saintly Scorecard this year (YES!), and pre-order all your Lent Madness 2025 resources while supplies last! 

Read more at this link.

November 3 @ St. Paul's UMC: Prayers

Joys: 

+Suzanne is blessed to have her cousin, Gail, visiting from Texas.

+We are blessed to have Rev. Dan & Bets Daniels and their daughter, Gay and her husband with us today.

+We give thanks for this week's birthdays: Sandy Bainbridge and Karlene Ferguson.

+We give thanks for those participating today: Amy Abshire (liturgist/communion), Belinda Alkula (video), Steve Bainbridge (greeter), Lylah Bishop (acolyte), Pat Cleaveland (fellowship), Tim Cook (class), Rev. Dan Daniels (preaching), Etta Levitt (Zoom usher), Kathy Lloyd (Zoom host), Myrle Myers (fellowship), Suzanne Polacek (bells), Luca Pompilio (piano), and Chris Wahl (All Saints bell).

Concerns: 

+Katherine Richardson asks for prayers for Chris who is preparing to deploy with his aviation unit. 

+Larry Esposito lifts up Jim who is transitioning to assisted living arrangements.

+Michele asks for prayers as she prepares for some medical treatments.

+Kathy Lloyd lifts up Myrle who broke her arm and is having surgery this week.

+Louise asks for prayer as she and three friends travel this coming week.

+We join with people in Spain grieving this day following last week's devastating flooding.

+We continue to pray for those in the midst of conflict in Ukraine & Russia, Gaza & Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, and wherever else God's people might be in distress.       

November 3 @ St. Paul's UMC: Announcements

 

+Ladies Lunch Bunch will meet on Thursday, November 7, at 11:45 a.m. at Old Santa Fe Mexican Grille (592 McCaslin Blvd., Louisville). Please RSVP by Tuesday to Robin Berlin.

+Breakfast Fellowship will meet on Saturday, November 9, at 8:00 a.m. at Home Cookin’ Café (328 S. McCaslin Blvd., Louisville). No reservations necessary. All are welcome!

+The Fun Finance Folks ask you to prayerfully consider your 2025 pledge. The link to the Google pledge form is in Tuesday’s News You Can Use and the November Epistle (e-version). Paper forms are available at the back of the sanctuary for those who prefer them. You only need to complete the Google form if you are making changes to your previous pledge or are making a new pledge for 2025. Please be sure to have your paper pledge card returned to the church office or offering plate by next Sunday, November 10. Please contact Martha Batch if you have any questions.

+A memorial gathering to celebrate the life of Jerry Cantril will be held at BJ’s in Boulder (29th Street Mall) on November 14 at 6:00 p.m. All are welcome. Please RSVP to Myrle Myers.

+The DEADLINE for the Church Conference reports is Friday, November 15.

+Hanging of the Greens will be Wednesday, November 27, at 5:00 p.m. Pizza and salad will be provided. Please RSVP to Amy Abshire or Martha Batch if you can attend. We need a head count for ordering pizza. We’re looking forward to a wonderful Advent season!

+For the past five and a half years, Pastor Charles has developed and maintained the St. Paul's social media presence. With his departure, volunteers are needed to take responsibility for one or more of these platforms until a new pastor is appointed and can consider taking over this ministry. If no volunteer steps forward for the interim, all activity will be suspended at the end of November. That means there will be no Zoom meetings, no blog posts, and no videos of worship services posted to YouTube during St. Paul's transition period. Contact Rebecca in the church office if you are willing to fill in and take responsibility for one of these ministries during our transition period. Learn more at this link.

November 3 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

All Saints Sunday communion

Amy Abshire is today's liturgist

Rev. Dan Daniels is today's preacher

Celebrating fellowship!

All Saints Sunday 

(link to today's worship service)

Today’s Meditation Verse: “This is the Lord, for whom we have waited; let’s be glad and rejoice in God’s salvation!” —Isaiah 25:9b (CEB)

Welcome...Pastor Charles

Prelude...Luca Pompilio / “D’unJardin Clair” by Lili Boulanger

*Call to Worship...Amy Abshire

Leader: In all our weakness and strength, with our youth-filled spirits and aging bodies, People: We come to be Your people, O God. Leader: Strong in faith and eager with questions, singing our praise and whispering our prayers, People: We come to be Your people, O God. Leader: Filled with saintly determination yet mindful of our human limitations, People: We come to be Your people, O God. Leader: Made strong in Your endless love for us, we know ourselves to be yours. People: We come to be Your people, O God. Leader: May we truly become Your people today. People: Amen 

—from “All Saints Day (Year B),” posted on Seasons Online

*Hymn...“How Great Thou Art” (UMH #77)

Litany of Intercession for the Upcoming Election...Amy Abshire

L: Holy and loving God, the mystery of elections and civics and citizenship is upon us. We understand that our loyalties, our citizenship, and our priorities are shared between heaven and earth, between here and there, even between our will and Yours. You taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and we despair at how that is to be. P: But we try. We promise. And we will keep trying.

L: Help us not to join the legions of the cynical or the purveyors of division or the arrogance of “my way or the highway.” P: Help us in our love for freedom to produce the delight of freedom. Help us in the exercise of our citizenship to produce the delight of a great citizenship.

L: Despite the inevitability of winners and losers, help us neither to be sore losers nor sore winners. Hold before us the wisdom of Solomon, to yearn to know right from wrong and choose the right. P: God of all nations, we rejoice in signs of hope around Your good creation. We know that there are pitfalls and potholes along the way; let us rejoice in courage and perseverance. We dwell in Your ancient promise that we can run and not be weary, walk and not faint, as we journey toward being the people and nations You will us to be.

L: From north to south and east to west, from red state to blue, from one “ism” to another, we choose to believe that Christ is greater than any failure, any weakness, any pitfall or pothole, any candidate, election, or plan. P: With that boldness we live our citizenship, one foot in heaven, one firmly on earth. Amen.

—from World in Prayer, a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist (Lodi, California)

Choral Anthem...“Sine Nomine” by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The congregation is invited to join in the final verse, v6 of #711.

Community prayer concerns and celebrations                                      Pastoral Prayer...Pastor Charles

Scripture Lessons: Psalm 119:1-2, 7-8 and Mark 12:28-34...Rev. Dan Daniels

Sermon...Rev. Dan Daniels / “Witness” 

Communion / Remembering the Saints / The Lord’s Prayer 

*Hymn...“Rejoice in God’s Saints” (UMH #708)

*Words for the Journey...Pastor Charles

Postlude...Luca Pompilio / “For All The Saints”

Pray for direction from God

Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with Thy most gracious favor, and further us with Thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

For this season, we encourage you to pray this litany every day. 

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under Your care. 

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

And finally, teach our people to rely on Your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve You faithfully in our generation and honor Your holy Name. For Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Amen.

- All prayers are taken from The Book of Common Prayer

Social Media stewards are needed

For the past five and a half years, Pastor Charles has developed and maintained St. Paul's social media presence. With his departure, volunteers are needed to take responsibility for one or more of these platforms until a new pastor is appointed and can consider taking over this ministry. If no volunteer steps forward for the interim, all activity will be suspended at the end of November. That means there will be no Zoom meetings, no blog posts, and no videos of worship services posted to YouTube during St. Paul's transition period. Contact Rebecca in the office (office@saintpaulsboulder.org) if you are willing to fill in and take responsibility for one of these ministries during our transition period: 

BLOG: Our blog, www.bolderstpauls.blogspot.com, has more than 238,000 page views. Additionally, we can note that there have been more than 4,000 posts since its launch in July 2019. In addition to serving as a bulletin board for St. Paul’s UMC activities and ministries, the blog posts have included information from the Boulder/Baseline Circuit churches, Colorado Front Range District, Mountain Sky Conference, Western Jurisdiction, UMC general boards and agencies, and much, much more. During Lent and during Advent / Christmas, devotional entries are posted on the blog. 

FACEBOOK: Our Facebook page continues to reach many in our community through ads, posts, and photos. We now show 581 page “likes” and we hope to continue to expand this number. During Advent / Christmas and during Lent, devotional entries are posted on our Facebook page. “Like” our page and share the good news of St. Paul's on our Facebook page, @Boulderstpauls.

FLICKR: Flickr, an online photo storage site, is the repository for photos of the ministries of St. Paul's UMC. Please visit to view the 2,500+ photos we have gathered. A click on the albums tab will show the pictures in distinct groupings such as Music Ministries, Missions, Outreach, Worship, and much more.

YOUTUBE: Our YouTube channel continues to increase its reach with fifty-eight subscribers and 561 videos. Thanks to Belinda Alkula, our weekly posts of the worship service have been an important outreach of the church. Each week, our worship service post has an average of thirty YouTube visits. Stop by our YouTube channel (St. Paul's United Methodist Church - Boulder, CO) for videos of sermons, music, and more from our worship services. We also have playlists with Wesleyan hymns, United Methodist history, and so much more.

WEBSITE: Our website, www.stpaulsboulder.com, has useful information for both guests and members alike. Our website contains a wealth of information, including an up-to-date calendar that illustrates the scheduled activities of our congregation and other events of interest.

ZOOM: We have continued to offer a hybrid worship service with a Zoom offering each week. Thanks to Kathy Lloyd, who serves as our Zoom host and Etta Levitt, who serves as our Zoom usher, we have been able to continue offering this option to people who are unable to be with us in person on Sunday mornings. We have averaged 5.7 viewers per week using Zoom. Additionally, each Wednesday morning, a 4-10 gather for coffee, tea, and fellowship. The Trustees also use this platform for their monthly meetings.

Time change tomorrow!

Join us Sunday for worship at 10:15 a.m. in person or online here. 

Preview Sunday's bulletin here. Rev. Dan Daniels will give the sermon. 

Sunday is All Saints Sunday, and we will celebrate communion at St. Paul's. If you are joining us from home, please provide yourself with bread or cracker (any type) and juice (any kind).

Pray for guidance

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

For this season, we encourage you to pray this litany every day. 

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under Your care. 

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

And finally, teach our people to rely on Your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve You faithfully in our generation and honor Your holy Name. For Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Amen.

- All prayers are taken from The Book of Common Prayer

Pray for these times of conflict

O God, You have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

For this season, we encourage you to pray this litany every day. 

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under Your care. 

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. Give grace to Your servants, O Lord. 

And finally, teach our people to rely on Your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve You faithfully in our generation and honor Your holy Name. For Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Amen.

- All prayers are taken from The Book of Common Prayer

Hymn for All Saints Day

Charles Wesley, 1759

1. Come, let us join our friends above

who have obtained the prize,

and on the eagle wings of love

to joys celestial rise.

Let saints on earth unite to sing

with those to glory gone,

for all the servants of our King

in earth and heaven are one.

2. One family we dwell in him,

one church above, beneath,

though now divided by the stream,

the narrow stream of death;

one army of the living God,

to his command we bow;

part of his host have crossed the flood,

and part are crossing now.

3. Ten thousand to their endless home

this solemn moment fly,

and we are to the margin come,

and we expect to die.

E'en now by faith we join our hands

with those that went before,

and greet the blood-besprinkled bands

on the eternal shore.

4. Our spirits too shall quickly join,

like theirs with glory crowned,

and shout to see our Captain's sign,

to hear his trumpet sound.

O that we now might grasp our Guide!

O that the word were given!

Come, Lord of Hosts, the waves divide,

and land us all in heaven.