Scripture lessons for January 26

"Call of the first disciples" by Kim Ki-chang

The scripture lessons for this coming Sunday come to us from Matthew 4:12-23 and 1 Corinthians 1:10-18.

The UMW at St. Paul's

St. Paul's UMC has been recognized as being an active UMW unit by the Mountain Sky Conference UMW! The creativity of today's UMW is on display at St. Paul's!

To learn more about the work of the UMW in the Mountain Sky Conference, visit this link.

Nothing ordinary at St. Paul's

Flowers from Sandra Jordan

The library is a learning space!

Joey prepares for today's fellowship time

Alpha & Omega get us underway

The Season after the Epiphany is a season of Ordinary Time, which includes four to nine Sundays, depending on the date of Easter (seven weeks in 2020). It is called “ordinary” because its Sundays are given ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) after the Feast of Epiphany (January 6).

Here at St. Paul's, Sundays are anything but ordinary! This morning the choir shared "Peace Song (with "We Shall Overcome)" in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. for our anthem. Pastor Charles' sermon came from Isaiah 49:1-7.

Thanks this morning to: Belinda Alkula (Video), Jerry Beaber, Austin & Joan Cooper (Ushers), Jessica Bishop (Nursery), Wally Cleaveland (Saxophone), Sandi Cook (Counter), Tim Cook (Church school/trombone/counter), Lorie Courier (Accompanist), Ben Glancy & Josie Glancy (Microphone wranglers), Scott Glancy (Youth class), Rebecca Glancy (Liturgist), Sandra Jordan (Flowers), Ron Revier (Choir), Joey & Jim Vander Vorste (Fellowship), and Christopher Wahl (Alpha & Omega accompanist/Sound board).

Human Relations Sunday

The United Methodist Church is making a difference. The impact of 12.5 million United  Methodists in 136 countries is being felt around the world. ​While extending help and  serving abroad for the sake of the Great Commission is a real and important thing, so is  loving our neighbor at home. We are called to both. In the 1800’s there was a British missionary named Charles T. Studd. C.T. Studd spoke  words that have stuck with me: ​“The light that shines farthest shines brightest nearest home.” Human Relations Day is a powerful avenue to extend help and service to our local  communities. It is about getting out of our comfortable social circles and offering love and  care to those who need help in our neighborhoods and cities. It’s about walking with those who feel like everything in life is stacked against them. 

Think about how Jesus walked with those in the margins.    

• In Mark Jesus eats with a tax collector

• In Luke Jesus heals a woman from 12 years of hemorrhaging and calls her daughter 

Read these words in Luke:  ​"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the  blind. ​​And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be  repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." 

This is the spirit of Human Relations Day; helping those on the margins and offering a  message of hope. Let’s continue the ministry of Jesus with a united front through the Human Relations Day  Special Sunday. Together as a church, we participate in helping our communities and being a bright light at home. Will you support these objectives with me? Giving on Human Relations Day nurtures at-risk youth, strengthens communities’ self-improvement efforts, and advocates for the oppressed. Let’s become more comfortable with being outside our social circles than we are within  them. Let’s be more like Jesus, together, on Human Relations Day

Read more at this link.

“Wait… that’s Privilege?”

Determining what it means to be “privileged” is often a nuanced conversation; some privileges are more obvious to recognize, e.g. by race or gender. Other privileges, which we acquire though our education, socioeconomic class, or relationships with particular institutions, can be harder to identify. Privilege, “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people,” is intersectional, too. For example, you may have the privilege of being a white male but, if you identify as a member of the LGBTQIA community, you may face levels of oppression that heterosexual white males may not. Perhaps you have privileges of education and a higher socioeconomic status, but if you are mentally or physically differently-abled, you may find yourself facing various forms of microagressions others may not.

Read more at this link.

Laity Leadership Training

You are invited to attend training for church officers on Jan. 25 at 10:00 a.m. at Smoky Hill United Methodist Church in Centennial, Colorado. 

Leaders will be learning about their place on church boards and committees including Staff/Parish Relations Committee, Trustees, Finance, Single Board Governance team members, and Lay Leaders.

When: Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 10:00 AM to Noon

Register →

Where: 19491 E. Smoky Hill Road, Centennial, CO 80015

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Email: cusaglass@gmail.com

Contact: Susan Hora

Religious Freedom Day

We must continue to foster further cooperation among spiritual, religious, and ecumenical bodies for the protection of religious freedom and belief.