1. No in-house worship this Sunday, December 13. A prerecorded worship will be available on our YouTube channel this Sunday by 8:00 a.m. Pastor Ioanwill be delivering a message based on Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11. Below is a devotion based on that Scripture.
“This week we are drawn deeply into biblical texts that call us to radical compassion. A radical “com” “passio” which means, “suffering with.” We are called to suffer with the world. Some days it can feel like there is more suffering to go around than we can comprehend, let alone enter into. But God promises us that God’s love is always there. God’s love is an infinite source in which to root ourselves like oak trees, and through which to transform our anguish into a robe of justice. We can learn to be present to suffering; our own, other peoples’ and all that is engulfing our worlds. In doing so, always remember in community that we are indeed bound into each other; we are not alone.” – Mary Hess
2. Virtual Sunday Bible Study: We gather virtually through Zoom at 9:15 am. We 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/j/89973259796?pwd=ODNtTTlCZjd2ZHNyUHNRS1oyV0hYQT09
Meeting ID: 899 7325 9796
Passcode: 1120
Dial-In by Phone:
+1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 899 7325 9796
Passcode: 1120
3. 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.
4. Virtual Advent Wednesday Devotion and Prayer: St. Paul is continuing its Advent tradition of a weekly 7:00 p.m. Wednesday worship by doing so virtually. It is a time for music, candle lighting, Scripture reading, short devotion and prayer. We 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/86409476014?pwd=UThlcXk0Snc4NnNCOG4rZVJrOGE4QT09
Meeting ID: 864 0947 6014
Password: 1120
Dial-In by Phone:
+1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 864 0947 6014
Passcode: 11208.
If you missed last Wednesday’s devotion, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfFee3mQ284&t=12s
5. Virtual Christmas Choir Concerts – We know that this Christmastide is feeling different with gathering around computer screens instead of in pews. We all must both love our neighbor and intentionally attend to our own spiritual needs. For those of us who are spiritually uplifted through music, we want to encourage you to try out these two virtual concert opportunities:
St. Paul has made our 2009 Christmas Cantata available on our YouTube channel. Please visit:
https://youtu.be/LcYGhN0AY64
The National Lutheran Choir Christmas Festival comes to audiences free in a virtual, multi-media format on December 11. The Incarnation: For the Healing of the World brings music from around the globe announcing the birth of Christ with messages of peace and joy that nothing – not even a pandemic – can take away.
Friday, December 11, 2020 – 8pm (CST) This online presentation is FREE for all. Please visit::
https://nlca.com/christmas2020
6. Christmas Eve Services – Pre-Recorded Traditional Service available on Youtube at 3:00 p.m. Christmas Eve. Outdoor Candle Light Hymn Sing of Carols and Lessons at 5:30 p.m. We will be able to sing carols as a congregation in-person at the outdoor hymn sing, but masks will be needed by all attending. More information about safety protocols for the outdoor Christmas Eve service will be coming Dec 18.
7. St. Paul Congregation – If you would like to make a monetary gift to the Pastor for Christmas, please drop it off to one of the following options:
-To Dan Nielsen at American State Bank via the drive up. Please put it in an envelope to Dan’s attention.
-Put the envelope in Dan Nielsen’s mail box at the church
-Put the envelope in the lock-box outside of the church office.
-To Dalene in the church office
Please give your gift by December 23rd. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
8. Pastor Ioan is available for one-one-one conversation and in-home communion. Please feel free to reach out to him. pastorioan@stpaullutheranchurch.net or 626-419-6331.
9. Furniture Ministry – We are lifting up our St. Paul Furniture Ministry this holiday season for financial donations. Your donation will help buy a higher quality of furniture at auction and keep furniture safely stored till needed. It is a long-standing ministry of St. Paul to help hurting families when they need help making a house feel like their home for themselves and more so their family. Make your checks payable to St. Paul Lutheran Church with “Furniture Ministry” in the memo line. Thank you!
Church office phone: 515-462-4270
Church office email: Office@stpaullutheranchurch.net
Pastor Ioan Ittu: 626-419-6331
Pastor Ioan email: Pastorioan@stpaullutheranchurch.net