Announcements
Summer Worship Schedule
This summer we will stay with two worship services, at 8:30 and 11:00 am. The 8:30 worship will be using “Now the Feast and Celebration” worship books, and the 11:00 will continue to use the Setting Five booklets from the ELW. The 8:30 worship will be in-person only, the 11:00 service will be in-person, live-streamed, and recorded. This will take effect on June 4 and continue through August. All Sunday School classes are on break and will resume in September.
Young In Spirit
● Baseball game, Sunday, June 25 at 5:05 pm. Syracuse Mets vs. Durham Bulls. Price is $15.00 per ticket. Contact Dean or Marcia Redman for information.
Thursday Bible Study is on break for the summer. See you in September!
Come meet the bees and harvest honey!
On June 11 after each service, you’re invited to Trinity Hall to look out at St. Paul’s two beehives. Bill Gresham, Theresa Oertel, and Tina Bessias will answer all your questions. If the weather is good, we’ll show you how to approach the hives safely and observe the comings and goings of these new and numerous members of the congregation! After the 11:00 service, we’ll begin the honey harvest. Stop by briefly or settle in to lend a hand. We’ll be glad to show you how to remove cappings from honey cells and spin the extractor! All ages are welcome.
The Growing thru Grief meetings continue each week at St. Paul’s. Meetings are on Tuesday, with registration at 4:00 pm. First time attendees must show proof of Covid vaccination and booster(s). Masks are encouraged. We ask people to come at 4; the program begins at 4:30, and all will end by 6.
Growing thru Grief is a coalition of area religious and civic organizations to offer support and education to those grieving the loss of a loved one. Please contact admin@growingthrugrief.org if you have any questions.
Wheeler Book Reading and Q&A
Retired ELCA pastor, the Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Wheeler, long-time friend and colleague of the NC Synod's Racial Justice Network, will be in NC in June to share his story and discuss his newly-published book. He will offer a Book Reading and Q&A at St. Paul's, Durham, on Saturday, June 10, at 2:00 p.m. He will share his experience as a Black pastor in a majority-White denomination in hopes of helping us all to grow in love and justice together, freeing us from the evil of White supremacy. If you want to help the ELCA become a more just and inclusive church, if you want to celebrate Pastor Wheeler's gift to this church, or if you simply want to honor his courage in sharing his story, please come. Order US: The Resurrection of American Terror from Amazon or Barnes&Noble.
Ordination of former Vicar, Mac Mullins:
“By the grace of God, Vr. Mac Mullins has been called as Pastor in Residency to St. Paul Lutheran Church Quad Cities in Davenport, IA. The residency program at St. Paul is a two-year term call in which new pastors receive one-on-one mentoring, professional development, and the chance to work in a large, established church at the beginning of their ministry. Vr. Mac’s ordination will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 11:00 am at St. Paul’s Durham. All members and friends of St. Paul’s Durham are invited to attend and celebrate with Mac at the Ordination service as well as the Luncheon Reception following. If you would like to view the service live, on-line, here is the link: https://vimeo.com/event/3455855 The link to watch any services or special events which have been recorded is: https://vimeo.com/stpaulsdurham then choose the service date or event you wish to watch.
Ordination of James Dahl
James graduated from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary with an MDiv, on May 11, 2023. His call is to Saint Luke Lutheran Church in Taylorsville NC which he will begin on July 1, 2023. James’ Ordination will take place at St. Paul’s on Saturday, July 16 at 11:00 am with a reception to follow. All are invited!
PASTA for PARKTOWN!!
Help Stock the St. Paul’s Shelf at Parktown Food Hub!
Please continue to add a package – or two – of dry pasta to your shopping cart to support this important community ministry and keep the St. Paul’s Pasta Shelf well stocked. The Women’s Connection Group is leading this initiative to support the Parktown Food Hub, a ministry of South Durham Connections, led by Pastor Sharon Schulze. St. Paul’s Shelf - dry boxed pasta – spaghetti, macaroni, ziti, penne, etc. (NOT: kits or dinner, nor canned pasta entrees).
St. Paul's Readers
The book club encourages all to set some sort of reading goal to achieve over the next few months. If you are interested in what we are reading this fall, here are our selections:
▸ September 21 – Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, translation by Edith Grossman
▸ October 19 – Judas by Amos Oz (novel)
▸ November 16 - Horse by Geraldine Brooks
We hope to finalize our books for 2024 by the end of October and welcome suggestions at any time. Please consider joining us for any or all our meetings. We strive to be full of thought as well as thoughtful readers. Contact Katherine Trexler with any questions.
St. Paul's In-Person Worship Guidelines
• Here is a listing of the Sign-Up Genius links we are presently using to accomplish our many needed tasks. Please fill in as you are able. You can bookmark these sites to make it easier to return to them.
WORSHIP: In-Person, Live Streamed, Recorded
In celebrating the beauty and strength created through diversity, we welcome, value, and include all of God's children regardless of race, culture, age, sexual orientation, gender expression, ability, appearance, or citizenship. St. Paul's is committed to racial equity.
"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ."
1 Corinthians 12:12
We have a live link to our Sunday morning Worship Service which begins at 11:00 AM.
Click HERE and you will be taken to the live feed on our Vimeo Link.
VIDEOS at St. Paul's Lutheran Church -- This link will take you to our VIMEO page and you may select any Sunday or special worship service, as well as an assortment of other videos related to St. Paul's, anytime.
Worship with us in person on Sundays at 8:30 and 11:00 am. On Sundays, we are using "Now the Feast and Celebration" at 8:30 am and Setting Five of the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book at 11:00 am. The 8:30 service will be in-person only, the 11:00 am will be in-person, live-streamed (information below) and recorded for our Vimeo channel.
St. Paul's Mission Statement: "The mission of St. Paul's Lutheran Church as a part of the family of God is to share God in Christ with the world by equipping one another through worship, learning, witness, service, and support."
"Let us begin by acknowledging the land upon which we gather today. This land has been playground and campground for many generations of people, including the Lumbee, Skaruhreh/Tuscarora, Cheraw, Catawba, Occaneechi, and Shakori Nations. Its waterways were their highways, its flora and fauna their banquet table, its starry skies their canvas upon which their stories were painted. They cared for this land, and we remember their lives here with gratitude. We give thanks for all Indigenous peoples who continue to care for this land and to call it their home." -- Vicar Amanda Spangler
Response
Lutheran Disaster Response brings God’s hope, healing and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world.
Here is the LINK to their webpage which offers the opportunity to make a donation, search their blog, or just get updates on ongoing situations.