1. Three ways to show gratitude for your blessings: 1) buy chocolate and nuts from CRISP; 2) Fill our shopping cart with food for Matura Food Pantry. You can bring your donation any time and place in the cart. Donations are taken to Matura after the first Sunday of the month; 3) Give to the Pool of Siloam. Just this month we helped a man just out of the hospital with his utilities, and helped a single mom with rent. Remember, your financial gift to the Pool of Siloam is doubled!
2. No in-house worship this Sunday, November 29. A prerecorded worship will be available on our YouTube channel this Sunday by 8:00 a.m. Pastor Ioan will be delivering a message based on Mark 13:24-37. Below is a devotion based on that Scripture.
“Thanksgiving was yesterday, today is Black Friday, and Advent begins on Sunday. Soon we will be preparing to celebrate once again Jesus’ arrival among us. Jesus’ words are a warning for us to keep awake to the miracle of God’s love for us—to pay attention to the fact that God’s promise of a Savor has been fulfilled for us when we are tempted to fill our days and hours too full. We are warned to keep alert when the world would seek to motivate us to spend too much time and money on things that do not last. Jesus’ encouragement in the season of Advent is to stay connected to the community of faith, to hear once again the angel’s words to a reluctant Joseph that it’s OK that Mary is pregnant, to see Elizabeth’s pregnant belly jump in greeting when Mary arrives, to taste the food shared with those on the road to Bethlehem to pay taxes, to smell the stable as Mary and Joseph stumble in and touch the hand of God—all of this, if you stay awake and alert!” – Marie AK Anderson
3. Virtual Sunday Worship Until Further Notice. Due to a rise in COVID cases in the County and around the State, the Council has decided that upcoming Sunday worship will be virtual until further notice. Prerecorded worship will be available on our YouTube channel to watch at your convenience starting each Sundays at 8:00 a.m. This decision was made in consultation with our Re-Entry Taskforce and our Worship Committee and is in line with our previously established guidelines for potential increased cases in the county to a positivity rate or 15% or greater.
4. Virtual Advent Wednesday Devotion and Prayer: St. Paul will continue its Advent tradition of a weekly 7:00 p.m. Wednesday worship but do so virtually. It will be a time for music, candle lighting, Scripture reading, short devotion and prayer. We will gather together through the computer or phone program called Zoom. This will allow us to end each time together with a check-in and prayer. To access Zoom on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. click the link below and enter the required Meeting ID number and the Passcode. Or call by phone the below number and then follow the prompts to dial the required Meeting ID number and the Passcode number.
Zoom Advent Wednesday
Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 864 0947 6014
Password: 1120
Dial-In by Phone:
+1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 864 0947 6014
Passcode: 1120
4. Virtual Sunday Bible Study: On Nov. 29th we will be restarting Sunday morning Bible Study at 9:15 a.m. We will gather virtually through Zoom. We will discuss the Scripture passage that the sermon for that Sunday focused on. In the sermon you hear one particular interpretation. In Bible Study we will use questions to approach the passage in a discussion style. We welcome insights into Scripture passage that you’ve gleaned in you over the years and more immediate feelings and thoughts that came to you that day. All are welcome to join in the discussion or listen.
To access Zoom on Sundays at 9:15 a.m. click the link below and enter the required Meeting ID number and the Passcode. Or call by phone the below number and then follow the prompts to dial the required Meeting ID number and the Passcode number.
Zoom Sunday Bible Study Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/
Meeting ID: 899 7325 9796
Passcode: 1120
Dial-In by Phone:
+1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 899 7325 9796
Passcode: 1120
7. Virtual Sunday School: We miss having the joy of our kids at church and we know families are under strain with navigating a Covid world as well. During the Advent and Christmas season we will be adding kid-focused lessons to our Sunday prerecorded YouTube worship. Directly following our regular worship, you can stay tuned or call the kids over and have a short time for worship dedicated to our pre-school to early/middle elementary age kids.
8. Virtual Semi-Annual Meeting: Because of the difficulties Covid has caused to our ability to physically gather, the council has decided to make the information that we would have given the congregation available in writing and through a brief Youtube video. The meeting was not going to have any business to vote on and was going to be purely informational. Giving the congregation a financial update will be the main topic. President Dan Neilsen will comment on administrative and financial matters, and Pastor Ioan Ittu will give a ministry update. If any questions come up for you, please feel free to contact Pastor Ioan or Dan.
9. Pastor Ioan is available for one-one-one conversation and in-home communion. Please feel free to reach out to him. pastorioan@
Church office phone: 515-462-4270
Church office email: Office@stpaullutheranchurch.net
Pastor Ioan Ittu: 626-419-6331
Pastor Ioan email: Pastorioan@stpaullutheranchurch.net