February

Transitioning from Green to White to Purple...

Lent comes early this year so we have been Epiphany green in January, will have the white of Transfiguration on February 7 and then Ash Wednesday begins purple on February 10. All in a matter of days.

On Wednesday, February 3, the Preschool is having a fundraising spaghetti supper at 6:00 pm in Trinity Hall. An opportunity for a great meal and lots of fun with the children as we all enjoy their singing. Come out and support the preschool. Proceeds from the meal provide scholarships whereas donations from the bake sale support the playground renovations.

Shrove Tuesday is February 9 when we will have our traditional pancake supper, with sausage and applesauce. Typically, on Shrove Tuesday, also called Fat Tuesday, households used up the fatty foods and cooking fat which would not be consumed during the forty days of Lent. Come out at 6 pm to enjoy the pancakes (regular and chocolate chip) and prepare for Lent.

Wednesday, February 10 is Ash Wednesday and we will have worship services, including the imposition of ashes, at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm.

Then on Friday, February 12 the Valentine's Day Big Band Bash will take place at 7:00 pm in Trinity Hall. Come and enjoy the sounds of the Durham Jazz Orchestra, an 18 piece band plus vocalists. All ages will enjoy the music from the big-band era and the dance floor will be open if you are so inclined. Please bring some sweet or salty dessert treats to share with others.

Throughout Lent, there will be Wednesday Night suppers at 6:00 pm and Lenten devotions at 7:00 pm worship services. On Fridays at noon during Lent, Rev. Lorrel Strom-Jensen will be offering meditations on the Stations of the Cross in our sanctuary.

On Sunday, February 21 at 3:00 pm, we will have a presentation of War Room. Come join us for this powerful movie on the power of prayer -- popcorn included.

Advent to Christmas

Advent Wednesdays -- We know Advent as a time of anticipation and preparation for the emergence of God in the world in the person of Jesus Christ. To help us prepare, we are having beautiful Advent Wednesday evening candlelight services starting at 7:00 pm. Our services will be Marty Haugen's Holden Evening Prayer with a couple musical pieces during communion from Haugen's Creation Mass. The service is preceded by a 6:00 pm supper which you are all welcome to attend. Services are on December 2, 9, and 16.

Advent Celebration: Musicians of St. Paul's -- On Friday, December 11 at 7:00 pm, please come to support the St. Paul's Senior Choir and Bell choir to celebrate this season of Advent with J. S. Bach's Cantata, Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62, and other advent music! With instrumentalists and vocal soloists from the Durham area, this concert is sure to get you in the spirit of Advent.

Christmas Pageant Rehearsals have been happening for several weeks in anticipation of our annual Christmas Pageant on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 pm, followed by our traditional lasagna supper. We hope to see you there for this joyful event and wonderful fellowship. We thank Jody Timmins for her leadership in this year's Pageant.

Christmas Eve Worship Schedule (all services celebrate Holy Communion)

• 5:00 pm Family Service
• 7:00 pm Candlelight Service with Handbells participating
• 10:00 pm Candlelight Service with the Senior Choir participating

Sunday, December 27 worship will be a service of Lessons and Carols with Holy Communion.

The Church Office will be closed from December 25 through January 3. Blessings to you and yours!

Reformation Tour

St. Paul's Reformation Tour to Germany in 2016

You are invited on an 11 day tour to Germany. 

We will learn about Luther’s life and ministry as we visit key Lutheran sites including Erfurt, Eisenach, Wittenberg and Eisleben. Music lovers will enjoy the Bach Motet concert in Leipzig and a special after-hours concert in the Bach House in Eisenach. Dates are May 22 - June 1, 2016.  Abbreviated itinerary is as follows:

• May 22: Depart on overnight flights to Frankfurt, Germany
• May 23: Mainz - afternoon is free or join a guided tour of Mainz, including the Gutenberg Museum
• May 24: Worms, Eisenach - Reformation Monument, Diet of Worms plaque
• May 25: Erfurt, Mühlhausen - walking tour of Erfurt including St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Severin’s 
• May 26: Eisenach - Wartburg Castle, Tour of Eisenach including St. George’s Church, the Luther House and the Luther Monument, ending with a special after-hours wine and music reception at the Bach House
• May 27: Eisleben, Leipzig – Eisleben, where Luther began and ended his life; Motet concert at St. Thomas’ Church
• May 28: Wittenberg, Leipzig – Lutherhalle, the Town Church of St. Mary’s, Castle Church and the Cranach courtyard, free afternoon followed by a Wittenberg English Ministry Saturday service.
• May 29: Leipzig – optional service (in German) with tour of Leipzig
• May 30: Dresden – Baroque cathedral “Church of Our Lady in Dresden, tour of Semper Opera, Semper Gallery, Zwinger Palace and Bruehl’s Terrace
• May 31: Torgau, Spreewald – Hartenfels Castle and Katharina von Bora’s grave, guided boat tour on a traditional barge
• June 1: transfer to Berlin Airport to return to the USA

Detailed information is available at this website. Brochures are also available in the foyer on the sign-up table. Contact Morris or Pat Casper if you have questions or are interested in signing up for the trip. There are still a few vacancies for our tour.

Leaves are changing colors...

It's Fall at St. Paul's...

We always have a very busy October and this year is no exception. 
Our Oktoberfest on Wednesday night, Oct 14 was absolutely the best! Over 130 people enjoyed great German foods, a lesson and tasting of Lefse, and wonderful music from the "Rusty Pipes" band from Croasdaile Village. Nothing like a great Lutheran German festival to ring in the fall!

Our Pumpkin Patch is up and in full swing -- stop by to pick up your very best pumpkins from very little ones to huge ones, we also have gourds available. Hours are Sunday through Friday, 12:00 noon until 8 pm and Saturdays 9 am until 6:30 pm.

Full Rooms -- Our committees, group meetings, and social ministries are all back up and running which make the building very busy; as well as 9 Girl Scout patrols and 5 Cub Scout patrols, and several self-help organizations and German classes for children. We appreciate having so many people use our building and help us care for it.

Saturday, October 24 we will have our annual Yard Sale indoors in Trinity Hall -- still requesting lots of things to sell. They can be brought to Trinity Hall at any time, 9-5 Monday through Friday are open hours. The Sale begins at 7 am and runs until 1 pm.

Friday, October 30 is our Trunk or Treat event. We will have a hot dog supper, a magic show, and enjoy the Trunk or Treating on our Pickett side parking lot. People are invited to come, decorate their car trunks and hand out goodies from there. Please consider bringing some salty or sweet treats to share with others at the hot dog supper. The popcorn machine will be going most of the night. You are invited!

The Bartlett Theater group has been rehearsing in one of our fellowship halls the month of October. They are new to the area and will be performing The Glass Menagerie at the PSI Theater in the Durham Arts Council in downtown Durham in November. You can check their website bartletttheater.org for details.

The Gretchen Wilson Organ Concert will be held on Sunday, November 1 at 4:00 pm in the sanctuary. The recital will feature organ works based on chorales from all liturgical seasons, performed by Jacqueline Nappi, Susan Beschorner, and Tom Kraska. 

The Katherine Circle is collecting food items for Forgotten Soldier packages for soldiers. Service members who are currently deployed in countries overseas will be able to receive the items with the hope it will inspire and encourage each recipient during their separation from loved ones and friends. Items such as individual packets of snacks, jerky, drink mixes, breakfast bars, ramen noodles, trail mix, etc. are welcome.

Lutherans Got Talent -- Prepare ye for the third annual Lutherans Got Talent on Saturday, November 14 at 7 pm. Talents of both the mainstream and absurd will be performed by Lutherans of all ages and levels of skill. Visual arts will also be on display. Join us at 6:30 pm for a potluck dessert bar and then sit back, relax and enjoy the show at 7 pm. Still accepting talents -- sign up in the foyer! All are welcome!

Fall is almost here...

In September, we bring ourselves back to a busier lifestyle. The vacations of the summer are past and school has begun. Along with that comes our returning activities and groups.

Sunday School -- The Spark Sunday School curriculum for our children, is a unique rotation setting. Each week they have music (led by Jackie Nappi, our Minister of Music), an opening, and then will rotate to different areas of creative learning to explore the stories. These areas can be: cooking, reading, a craft session, puppetry, video, or other original idea. Children are divided into two groups: pre-K and grade 1 and those in Grades 2-3-4. Topics being covered this fall include: Creation, Daniel and the Lions Den, and Advent and Christmas.
     Children in Grades 5-7: This class will begin with "Baptized We Live" and then move into Bible Study using the Echo series.
     Senior High youth will be studying a recap of confirmation and reviewing the Affirmation of Baptism service to begin the year and then will be moving into the study of Bible lessons, followed by a review of Lutheran Questions Lutheran Answers by Martin Marty.
     Adults will be meeting in the upstairs Whitesell Hall with a full list of adult leaders throughout the fall. Come and join the discussions, coffee provided.

Music Returns. The Senior choir has begun their rehearsals, meeting on Wednesday evenings at 7:15 pm. The Handbell Choir meets on Wednesdays at 6:30-7:15 pm. The Children's choir meets on Sunday mornings at 9:45-10:00 am downstairs.

Other groups have returned -- Our WELCA Katherine Circle is back to meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am. The Women's Connection is back on the 2nd Monday at 7:15 pm. The Women's Bible Study meets on the 2nd Saturday at 9:00 am and the Thursday morning Bible Study meets at 10:30-11:45 am.

Young In Spirit has arranged their schedule for the rest of the year. Next activity is October 14, a trip to Cedar Creek Pottery in Creedmoor. Our SPAM (St. Paul's Adult Ministry) group is also planning game nights and working at the Community Café. The Youth are planning events and the younger youth are attending Building Youth Groups at Camp Agape in October.

The Youth who traveled to the National Youth Gathering in Detroit this July, spoke to the supper crowd on Wednesday night about their experiences. Even former Vicar Daniel, was face-timing from Malaysia! Their journey has been put on video and can be seen on our Vimeo site.

We have dedicated our newest garden and meditation area: The Journey: Brick Relief Plaza, located on the Pickett Road side of our campus. It encompasses "The Journey" a brick relief depicting people of all walks of life making the journey of their faith, a water feature, interesting plantings, and relaxing benches to welcome those who pause for reflection.

Concerts are also back -- next one is Sunday, September 27 at 7:00 pm featuring Beverly Biggs on harpsichord and Jacqueline Nappi on the Brombaugh organ. They will perform musical works from the late baroque and early classical periods. The program includes J. S. Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, a French suite by Louis Couperin, and other fun pieces for two keyboards.

We continue to reach out to others. Growing thru Grief is a coalition of churches and organizations that offer help for those who mourn, meeting weekly at St. Paul's. Interfaith Hospitality Network houses homeless families at the church for a week as part of a rotation of churches -- next week is September 27 - October 4. Small Groups have begun meeting for a six-week period as a time of fellowship and growing in faith.

September is full but the calendar for October may have it beat! We are looking forward to our Pumpkin Patch (begins Oct 10), Oktoberfest (Oct 14), and Indoor Yard Sale (Oct 24). Please join us at any time for any worship or event!

Our Youth are at the National Youth Gathering in Detroit!

Follow along with our Youth!

On Tuesday, July 14, bright and early in the morning, five of our youth and three adults packed a van and departed for the journey to Detroit, Michigan. The youth are spending four days exploring the foundations of their faith in the company of 30,000 other youth from around the country and the globe. What an incredibly unique and memorable experience for our youth -- and our adults. You can follow along with their experiences at this blog site:
     http://stpaulsdurhamyouth.blogspot.com

So far, they are trying to meet friends in all 50 states and are documenting that on the blog. We encourage you to pray for them, pray for safety and health, for open minds, and open hearts, and for the formation of our youth: Sarah Woolley, Erin Timmins, Greta Timmins, William Timmins, and Ryan Pusak.

New Art at St. Paul's

If you've entered Trinity Hall recently, you have surely seen a new work of art on the wall. It is the Last Supper, a mural icon in the Byzantine tradition created by George Bessias. George is an iconographer in Greece, and he came to the U.S. in April to exhibit thirty works of which the Last Supper was one, at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Durham. 

Summertime...

Yes, the heat is upon us -- summer is here! June brings our annual Vacation Bible School, this year the theme is EVEREST! So you can be sure that it will be cool in our building in more ways than one. The rooms are beginning to take on the look of snowy mountains as we prepare for a fun week, June 22-26, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm daily. Children will travel around from Base Camp to Cool Crafts, the Ice Wizard's Cave, Bible Adventures, Kid-Vid, and Recreation and Snack before returning to Base Camp for the Summit Celebration. You are invited to visit at any time. More importantly, we hope everyone will come to the closing worship and hot dog picnic on Friday, June 26 beginning at 12:00 noon. Closing worship will be in the sanctuary and the hot dog picnic in Trinity Hall, otherwise known that week as Base Camp. 

Summer does mean a few of our areas take a break -- Bible Studies, Choirs, and Sunday School all take a break in the summer. We continue with worship every Sunday at 8:30 am and 11:00 am. Committee meetings are held, but some of the other fellowship groups relax their schedule. Wednesday night suppers will be on the third Wednesday of the month (June 17, July 15, and August 19) until September when the first and third schedule returns. 

While we seem to be relaxing, it is quite the opposite. In the summer we have our Vacation Bible School which requires a minimum of 25 people to lead. We have Confirmation Camp Week at Camp Agape in July. We begin planning for the fall and the next Sunday School year. Budget planning begins. Building maintenance increases both inside and out, depending on the weather. 

Join us for worship, our committee meetings, our Wednesday suppers -- refresh yourself with the Holy Spirit as we seek to do the work of the Lord.