From the Pastor When does the Christian year begin? No, it is not the same as the calendar, it is not Jan 1st. It is the first Sunday of Advent. December 3rd marks the official first Sunday of Advent this year and is the beginning of new Christian year. Why? Because we begin our annual… Read More »

From the Pastor Just a simple thought to remember… God loves you. Thank you St Paul’s, for honoring me as your pastor on October 8th. I was truly humbled by the gathering to-gether for the reception, the kind words in cards, the special gifts. Thank you are the best words I can say! Yours in… Read More »

Just a simple thought to remember… God loves you. Sincerely, Pastor Donna Listening for your voice. On October 1, 2, and 12 at four house gatherings, we want to hear your voice. What keeps you up at night? Tell us about why you are troubled. We will listen. And the problems to which we give… Read More »

If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are? TS Eliot Dear Friends, at a meeting last night talking about readiness at St. Paul’s, Jeff popped out with a varia-tion on the TS Eliot quote: “if you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you… Read More »

August 1, 2023 The temperature is to be 104° today!. That is not sim-mering, enjoyable summer heat. It’s sweltering. How do we cope with it? We, who have air conditioning hunker down. Retreat inside. Walk the dog early in the morning so he won’t burn his paws on the sizzling sidewalks in the heat of… Read More »

From the Pastor Not just mercy; Jesus preached justice August 1, 2023 The temperature is to be 104° today!. That is not sim-mering, enjoyable summer heat. It’s sweltering. How do we cope with it? We, who have air conditioning hunker down. Retreat inside. Walk the dog early in the morning so he won’t burn his… Read More »

From the Pastor Summertime … a time for dreaming of possibilities. George asked, “Louise, do you want to go upstairs and see what’s there? “Sure.” As she climbed the stairs and turned the corner to look into the gym at St. Paul’s UMC, “This is really fun,” she said. “But, you haven’t seen the rest!… Read More »

Dear Friends, When Columba set sail in 563 AD (nearly 1,500 years ago), he was fleeing; putting distance between himself and religious lead-ers in Ireland who wanted him punished. His crime: obtaining a valuable copy of the Vulgate (the Latin translation of the New Testament) without their permission and then copying it. Colum-ba’s exile backfired.… Read More »

Dear Friends, Scott and I are on vacation in May, but it is also a pilgrimage. We are traveling to Eng-land where we will visit the London sites of Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, then to Oxford where John and brother Charles met weekly with other Christians at their “Holy Club.” We will visit Iona, an… Read More »

Dear Friends, When the unexpected arrives, what do we do? Do we face it head-on, find solutions? St. Paul’s has faced this in many ways. Our congregation, once very large, has shrunk, a toll from the changing character of the neighborhood plus the city’s growth was farther away, and the challenge of leadership changes within… Read More »