St. Paul Lutheran Church

Monthly Member Newsletter for May, 2012
• Pastor's Comments:

The Scriptures are filled with metaphors. Some of them reach across the centuries without a great deal of difficulty. For instance, St. Paul’s analogy that Jesus’s righteousness is accounted to us for our righteousness with God. We can imagine a loved one calls us up and says, “I was wondering if you would transfer some cash to my account until I get paid. I’m a little strapped right now.” So, since they are someone you love, you just go on-line or call the bank and transfer what is rightfully yours to be rightfully theirs. It is a simple economic metaphor that still makes things understandable to us. Some of the analogies from Scripture are not so easy for us to understand, for example, Jesus as our High Priest. In the ancient world most religions had a “go-between,” a priest, which acted on their behalf with a deity. Most of us aren’t used to this. As Christians, we simply go to our heavenly Father in a flash. We pray in our cars, or as we tie our shoes, and we never doubt for a moment that God hears us and cares for us. Yet, Jesus is our great High Priest. He is actually always acting as our Priest at the right hand of God which is why we can pray to our heavenly Father without ritual or ceremony of any kind. The ceremony and ritual that has ushered us before God in peace and grace has already occurred – that of the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is comforting and encouraging to know that God doesn’t count on us to make ourselves presentable to be accepted. Christ Jesus our Lord has done that already. He is our Priest that has done once for all time all that we need to trust in God completely. Pastor Denton White

• Sermon Recordings: Sunday sermons are being digitally recorded in audio format. They are available to members or anyone interested. Requests should be made by specifying the Sunday sermon date you want. Please send your requests to: Leo Magiera at Lmagiera@earthlink.net.

• May Potluck: Monday, May 14th , is our next St. Paul potluck. It will also be the last for “our potluck season” until September. Blessing and meal begins at 6:30 pm. Since the Sunday before is Mother's Day and mothers are known to make big dinners for families, it has been suggested that the ladies/mothers attending bring “their” favorite salad dish. The month of May is notoriously a hot month, so salads and bread would be a nice delightful fare, to go with the delightful ladies of our church. Just a few examples for ideas of a salad in case you don't have a favorite would be: chicken or shrimp salad, 7-layer salad, pasta salad, ambrosia salad, tuna salad, potato salad, waldorf salad, chef salad, taco salad or a nice fruit salad. Is your mouth watering yet?? If you don't want to make a salad, some kind of bread or a dessert would be great too.

• Eagle Scout Project: One of our members, Chase Sammons, is working on a leadership service project which will benefit the community. His Eagle Scout project is to organize and complete a “prayer garden” for use by church members and other folks from the surrounding community. Chase and several friends and church members showed up on Saturday, April 28th, to help with his project. It must be completed by May 5th.

 

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• Volunteer Reminder: We do enjoy having snacks available after the services. Please remember to sign up to bring some goodies to enjoy with coffee.

• Weekly Bible Study Schedule for St. Paul Church: No topic or Book of the Bible has been selected as of now, but all ideas are welcome. There is no identified start or stop date at present. Both topic and start date will be up to those interested members. Pastor does want to have a Bible study if folks are interested, but many travel during the summer months, so please let Pastor know your desires.

• Mystery BIO's:

Our first mystery couple met in High School. They previously resided in Bellbrook, Ohio, before moving to Pinehurst. They say what brought them here was the climate, location and golf. Their previous church affiliation before joining St. Paul was Our Savior Lutheran Church, Southern Pines. They are retired, but he previously worked in sales and she is a homemaker. Their hobbies are reading and golf. They have two sons, Mark (who resides in Granger, Indiana) and Matt (who lives in Weymouth, Massachusetts). Their grandchildren are Erik and Lindsey. When asked what their favorite place is to travel, they responded: EVERYWHERE. That's pretty nice!

Our second mystery couple met at their church in Ohio, which is where they lived after being married. The weather and, of course, golf brought them to Pinehurst. Previously, they were members at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Southern Pines. His job when working was being an electrical engineer, she was a nurse. Their hobbies are golf and woodworking for him, and reading for her. They have two doggies, one a mixed breed and one a miniature poodle. Their children are: Rick (Ohio), Susan (Florida), and John (Ohio). Their grandchildren are Kristin (Ohio), Alan (South Carolina), Melissa (Colorado) and Frank (Flordia).

Their favorite thing to do on vacations is “cruising.”

• Notes from your Church Council President:

 New Hymnals: It was decided by the Council that we ask the congreation to purchase our new hymnals for the church. We will need at least 80 hymnals to cover the present needs of the church. The cost is $25 per hymnal, which includes shipping. We have forms in the back of the church on the desk which can be used to order/purchase the hymnals.

 Flags: It was suggested that we obtain an American and Christian flag for the front of the church. We are looking into having the American Flag donated from Ft. Bragg and purchasing the Christian flag.

 Copy Machine: We are still looking to purchase or lease a new or used copy machine to replace our failing copier. If anyone has any ideas, please contact any member of your church council.

 Organ Fund: Please remember the challenge one of our members has made for the “Organ Fund.” Consider adding a few extra dollars to your weekly giving and designate it for the organ fund. I think we can make the $5,000 by the end of the year.

 Prayer Retreat: We have set the date. The retreat will be held September 15 and 16 at our St. Paul Church. Mark your calendars.

 Common Worship with St. James: It was suggested that we have a combined worship service with St. James at least once a quarter. We could select a special Sunday each quarter. Friendship Sunday is June 3rd, this could be a good first Sunday to begin. We will be talking to St. James to determine their interest.

George Venet, your Church Council President

• Prayer Requests: If you have a prayer request, put it in the pastor's mailbox or send it via email or call on his phone. Help your pastor care for you. Nothing is as powerful as prayer. Please keep Jim Roberts in your prayers and George Venet's brother, Bill, who recently suffered a stroke. Also please pray for the family of Larry Leslie of St. James (he was called by the Lord on March 19), Matt Sobel, a nephew of the Jensens, and also Patricia McCarthy.

• Pastoral Office Hours: Please call or email (dentonwhite61@nc.rr.com) Pastor for an appointment Monday through Friday if in need of pastoral assistance/guidance. You may request to be met at St. Paul Church or at your home.

• Ladies Bible Study/ “Eve Circle”: The Thursday women's Bible study group is called “Eve Circle.” We meet on the first and third Thursday of each month, beginning at 5:45 pm. We will do a Bible study on the first Thursday and a Service Project on the third Thursday. “Coffee with our Savior” will be used as our Bible Study plan, and then we'll go out for dinner afterwards. Our Service Projects (done on the third Thursday of the month) will vary, and we will bring our own dinner so we can continue to work on these projects the entire evening. Anyone is welcome to join us for one of both of these monthly get-togethers. (Shirley Wake/Louise Jensen)

• “Friends of St. Paul Name and Address List”: There is a copy of our present members and friends list on the desk in the back of church. Please review this list and mark any changes or corrections on it. From time to time, John Wake will make the changes/corrections and put new copies on the desk in church. (John Wake)

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• Birthdays in May: Pam Venet May 10th
• Anniversaries in May: Char and Leo Magiera May 8, 1965

Pam and George Venet May 21, 1966

Carol and John Schneider May 22, 1965

• Weekday Bible Study: St. James Church, Wednesdays from 6 to 7 pm.

• Prayer Ministry: St. James invites you to gather for prayer on Saturdays, 10:00 am.

• Organ Fund: Please keep in mind that we do have a fund in place to collect money for the replacement of our aging organ. Consider giving to this important fund to keep the beautiful music continuing to our Lord's glory. Folks have been generous in giving, but there's still lots more funding needed to upgrade our organ. And, keep in mind, we are challenged by one of our members to collect a total of $5,000 by the end of the year, and then they will match the $5,000. Such a deal !

• Choral Recruits: In line with providing beautiful music to our Lord's glory, our little “choir” is looking for new recruits. If you feel that you can hold a tune and would like to try us out, please join us Sundays at 8:30 am when we begin rehearsing before service. We really need new voices in all areas. (Contact Sondra Nelson or Karen Dickens)

• Food for Coalition: St. Paul donates cans of stew, vegetables and fruits to the Coalition in Southern Pines. Please place these items in the basket in the back of the church.

• Thrivent Financial News: Thrivent members...we are looking for a Thrivent Financial member to become a second “Congregational Advocate” for St. Paul. That person would help Louise Jensen (Lead Advocate) as needed with providing Thrivent Financial information to St. Paul and providing support, as needed, for any Thrivent Financial projects that involve St. Paul. You do need email access, since a lot of information is via email. If interested, please contact Louise Jensen or Henry Fuhrmann.

The Pines Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans invites ALL St. Paul members to a “coffee hour” on Sunday, May 20th, after our service. We will introduce Mr. Mark Trudeau, who replaces Cliff Huner, as the new Financial Representative in our area. We will also talk for a short time about the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Company and how it supports Congregations and Communities. Please plan on staying after the service for a short while and meet Mark and the Chapter's Board.

The Pines Chapter of Thrivent Financial is also a major sponsor for the annual MANNA! Race on Saturday, June 2nd, at the SCC (Sandhills Comm. College) facility. We will need many Thrivent members to help with this race. Please give consideration to helping if you get a call. This is a morning event, with the amount of time requested, depending on the “job” you are assigned.

Thanks, Henry Fuhrmann, President, Pines Chapter

• Our Giving of Time and Money: April, 2012

Average Sunday Attendance: 43

Offerings: $ 10,644, plus $86 in Thrivent Choice Funds for April, 2012

Total offerings YTD: $ 29,137, plus $743 in Thrivent Choice Dollars.

Our $5,000 Organ Fund Matching Challenge (4/1 – 12/31/12) garnered $570 in its first month. All told, we

have $2,527 in the Organ Fund.


Subscriptions have already been received for 18 of the new Lutheran Service Books (hymnals). Let's keep those orders coming, please.


Side note from Roger Jensen: Thanks to all for your prayers, concern and kind wishes related to my
recent medical procedure.

• Mystery Bio: If you care to participate, don't forget to pick up your “Mystery BIO” form on the desk in the back of the church. Then you can either slip it in my mailbox at church in a sealed envelope, or email me the information or call me at home (910) 295-6063, and I will include your BIO in one of the next monthly newsletters. Thanks, Karen Dickens. Email is: wolfandwife@embarqmail.com (that's a Q not a G in my email address).

• Newsletter Items: If you have any news/articles you want included in next month's newsletter, please advise me ASAP, or right after the last Sunday of the month. Karen Dickens (910) 295-6063.

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CONTACTS

Pastor Denton White: Home: (919) 577-9989 Cell: (919) 609-8687 Email: dentonwhite61@nc.rr.com

Mailing address: 808 Barneswyck Drive, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526

Music Director: Ms. Sondra Nelson (910) 692-6979



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• Our mystery folks for May are: Bio#1: Sandy and Jim Manninen

Bio #2: Pat and Dick Bock