July 16 @ St. Paul's UMC: Announcements

+“Eroding History” is a 26-minute documentary that shows the impact of sea level rise on two historically Black United Methodist churches on Deal Island in the Chesapeake Bay as well as a church graveyard that is in danger of washing away.   Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival has posted the documentary online (at this link) for free for a limited time.

+Jerry Beaber's memorial service will take place on August 26 @ 11:00 AM here at St. Paul's UMC.

+A ladies luncheon at the church is being planned to celebrate the life of Donna Wasson and her active participation in the life of the St. Paul's United Methodist Church family. Date of Luncheon: Tuesday, September 26, 2023, time TBA.    R.S.V.P. by Tuesday, September 19 to either Joan Cooper / 303-898-8034 or Belinda Alkula / 303-916-2349.

+Classes about John Wesley and The United Methodist Church — some of them free — are being offered online by the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History on its U.M. History Hub. “Local Church Historians School” is free. “Splits, Separations, and Reconciliations: Rooted in Wesleyan Grace” is $35.   See this link for a full list of classes and how much they cost.

July 16 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

Morning breaks at St. Paul's

 

Jim & Joey offer fellowship treats to one and all

Great time for fellowship!

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

(Video link for today's service)

Today’s Meditation Verse: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the One who is first over all creation....” —Colossians 1:15

Welcome...Pastor Charles

Prelude...Hyeji Park / “Here I Am to Worship,” arranged by Tim Hughes

*Call to Worship (Psalm 119:105-112, NKJV)...Joey Vander Vorste

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments. 

I am afflicted very much; revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me Your judgments. 

My life is continually in my hand, yet I do not forget Your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not strayed from Your precepts. 

Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end. 

*Hymn...“God, Whose Love is Reigning o’er Us” (UMH #100)

God Asks Us to...Open the Box...Joey Vander Vorste

Don’t limit my being; untie the ribbon. Don’t restrict my presence; remove the lid. Don’t be afraid to see what I am; let me sit in your hands. Don’t keep me quiet; let me use your voice. Don’t lead me in your ways; let me guide you in our journey. Don’t harden your hearts; let me grow in you and transform your life. Open the box you keep me in; let me open your life. —Reprinted by permission of the publisher from Before the Amen, Maren C. Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirabassi, eds. © 2007. The Pilgrim Press.

Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebration / Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer...Pastor Charles

Epistle Lesson: Romans 8:1-11...Joey Vander Vorste

Summer Music...Hyeji Park / “Crown Him with Many Crowns,”                 arranged by George J. Elvey

Gospel Lesson: Luke 15:4-10...Pastor Charles

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

Sermon...Pastor Charles / “A pocketful of change”

*Hymn...“Every Time I Feel the Spirit” (UMH #404)

*Words for the Journey...Pastor Charles

Postlude...Hyeji Park / “I Sing the Mighty Power of God,” from Gesangbuch der Herzogl

Worship with us!

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

Preview Sunday's bulletin here.

Old Otterbein 'digs' into history

For two non-consecutive days, June 26 and June 28, 2023, the ground of Old Otterbein United Methodist Church, Baltimore, MD, was scraped back, layer by layer, to reveal what time has hidden. This archeological dig, under the direction of Matt McKnight, Chief Archaeologist with the Maryland Historic Trust (MHT), occurred because the entire property is under easement with the MHT due to its historic nature.

Old Otterbein UMC is considered the Mother Church of the United Brethren in Christ strand of our denomination. The congregation was established in 1771, and the current sanctuary building dates to 1785—the oldest building on its original foundation in the City of Baltimore, and the oldest continuously used church in Baltimore. The first gathering of preachers was at this location in 1789, and one of the two founding Bishops for the denomination, Bishop Philip William Otterbein, served this congregation for 39 years until his death in 1813. While it was initially an independent congregation, it played a significant role in the establishment of the first American-born denomination.

Read more at this link.

Korean Methodists continue work for reunification

The Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula will be held in Seoul on Aug. 28-30 after being postponed for two years due to COVID-19. Immediately afterward, the Korean Methodist Church and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries will have the second mission consultation in Seoul Aug. 31-Sept. 2, to enhance the partnership and relationship between the two denominations. 

In April 2021, when the world was groaning under the weight of COVID-19, the Rev. Thomas Kim, director of Korean and Asian News at United Methodist Communications, interviewed Bishop Chungsuk Kim, senior pastor of Kwanglim Church of the Korean Methodist Church, one of the largest Methodist churches in the world, and former president of the Board of Global Ministries of the Korean Methodist Church. Bishop Kim discussed preparations at the time for the fourth Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula in 2021 and his thoughts on the Korean church and the worldwide Methodist connection in general. 

Read more at this link.

Wednesday Weeders at work

Don tends to the parking lot

Suzanne tackles the Gillaspie Drive entrance

Thanks to the faithful workers who turn out each Wednesday morning! Today, Don Fritschel and Suzanne Polacek were on site, tending to the weeds before the summer heat makes its presence felt.

Wednesday with the Wesleys

But we cannot be always intent upon business: Both our bodies and minds require some relaxation. We need intervals of diversion from business. It will be necessary to be very explicit upon this head, as it is a point which has been much misunderstood.

~ John Wesley (The More Excellent Way)