Dear Friends in Christ:
You are welcome here, every Sunday at 11 am!
St. Paul’s is a lively gathering of God’s people around the Gospel-centered promise of grace, a “Reconciling in Christ” congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in NW Washington, DC.
St. Paul’s is a gospel centered gathering of God’s people, focused on living thankfully in light of God’s gracious love, gathered in prayer for the world, and actively working for justice and peace locally and globally. Join us for worship this Sunday and often!
PLEASE NOTE THAT WORSHIP SERVICES HAVE BEEN CANCELED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PODCASTS OF SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE here
To join our mailing list, please click HERE.
Simply Giving: Click Below
CONTACT INFORMATION
| Phone | 202-966-5489 |
| office@stpaulslutherandc.com | |
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Address
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4900 Connecticut Ave. N.W. We are located between Ellicott & Everett Streets NW, between Murch Elementary School and the Fire Station.
 St. Paul's Podcasts available online! |
From Pastor Walker's Desk:
"I always thank my God for you because of the grace God has given you in Christ Jesus."
(1 Cor. 1:4)
How are you doing? No, really, how are you doing? I know that the days are running together, some days I am hopeful and other days I am anxious. This global pandemic is a lot to handle. Maybe you need to vent, to scream or voice an opinion. I know I do sometimes and so I talk to my friends and a friend that serves as my pastor.
As pastor of St. Paul's, I would like to hear from you, get to know you, help with any anxiety or trouble you may be having. I know I just got here, and I am figuring out what it means to be a pastor in the time of this global pandemic, and I know we are not alone. I know for sure that God is in this with us. And even in this knowledge we need human contact and while physical distancing is what we must do for now, there is nothing that says we can't talk and see each other by ZOOM and other means. So, here is what I purpose:
On Wednesday, May 27, I will spend from 11: 00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Zoom to listen, to have conversation, to laugh, to pray. There will be a waiting room and time and private conversation if you like. Here is the information to join: meeting ID 819 2659 3511 password: 075684
I would also like to purpose times to meet with other groups at St. Paul's. I will be meeting with the people on my Call Committee next week.
I would like to setup time to meet with those who live alone, with children and teens and all the groups of the congregation eventually. This is the way that I will get to know the congregation that I cannot be with physically. I am available to schedule Facetime or Facebook Messenger visits with children for 15-20 minutes.
I hope you will take advantage of some of these opportunities as we continue to be the church, pastor and people while we are physically a part.
Be safe, be well, be blessed,
Pastor Andrea
PS - Remember to send your pictures and your six-word story.
Link to Southeastern Synod ELCA webinar: click here.
Link to St. Paul's You Tube page here - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!
" For more information from the DC Metro Synod on Coronavirus, please click HERE.
For up to date information in the District of Columbia: dchealth.dc.gov/coronavirus
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Send Us Your Selfies and Family Photos!
We are still hanging your pics in the Church's Chancel, so you can "be" in church, even though you can't be in church! We will continue to do this as long as we can't be together physically! Send your selfies to Lisa Wackler!
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You have this, because God has YOU.
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Online Sunday School at St. Paul's  Because of our need to do things remotely, another impact that we've seen on Sundays is the suspension of Sunday School. Ms. Tammy and your teachers are missing you very much and look forward to the day when they can see you again in person! For the next three weeks, St. Paul's is offering online Sunday School which follows our current lectionary. Each week Sunday School families will receive a link to a video lesson and links to activity pages and coloring sheets. These links are sent out via email, so if you haven't received the lessons, and would like to, please email Lisa Wackler.
__________________________ Confirmation Update Our Confirmands have now finished their coursework for the year. For our second year students, that means they've completed 100 classes on a variety of topics: Christianity, Luther and the Reformation, Lutheran Belief, the Small Catechism, the Old and New Testaments, Jesus, and Difficult Questions of Faith. They have approached these studies with interest, humor, and faithfulness. We are very proud of them! After careful deliberation, Pastor Andrea and I have decided to postpone the rite of Affirmation of Baptism until Reformation Sunday: October 25th, 2020. While we will miss having Confirmation at Pentecost, it is our sincere desire to give the second-year Confirmands a chance to publicly affirm their Baptism in front of the congregation. Hopefully by October we can see that become reality. And while we have had to cancel the upcoming Confirmation Retreat (scheduled for May 15th-17th), we do plan on lifting up the Confirmands on Pentecost, even if we won't officially confirm them until October. Please continue to keep these kids and their families in your prayers. They have worked incredibly hard, and have taken these latest disappointments with grace. If anyone has questions about the Confirmation Program, please contact Lisa Wackler. StLuthRefA SLRA is the combined Youth Group of St. Paul's, Luther Place, Reformation, and Augustana Lutheran Churches. As part of our "Stirred and Spurred" theme this year, our monthly meetings have focused on the fruits of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5: 22-23: "By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." Our most recent meeting focused on "Faithfulness: Standing Strong When Things Are Not." To see the home study guide for this lesson, please click HERE. We are also starting the planning stages of next summer's ELCA National Youth Gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 29th--July 3rd, 2021. The National Youth Gathering is for high school students (rising 9th grade--just graduated). Contact Lisa Wackler if you think you'd like to attend the Gathering, and for more information about how YOU can stay connected with SLRA during this time of social-distancing! __________________________ Now accepting College Scholarship Applications! As you know, St. Paul's has a college scholarship fund and we are now accepting applications! So, if you have a daughter or son attending college this fall, and are in need of financial assistance, we would like to hear from them by June 15th. Please have them contact Pastor Walker in writing (by email or letter) stating briefly where they plan to attend school, when, and a brief reason why they need this scholarship. Your family financial data is not necessary, just basic reasons. Priority will be given to students beginning their first year but we may consider those starting their second, third or fourth year. Please contact Pastor Andrea if you have any questions. ___________________________ Worship Assistants It's never too early to think about ways that you can serve the church when we can gather again! Complete a survey to let us know your interest by clicking HERE. ___________________________  Daily Devotions for April, May and June Available through the church office.  If you are interested in receiving one of the following Daily Devotions booklets, please let the office know and we will mail one out to you.
Call the office (202.966.5489) or email Joy Belew with your request. Please specify which one you would like mailed to you - we have limited supplies of each. ___________________________ Prime Time Center Canceled Until Further Notice. We will be providing updates as we know them. If you would be interested in reaching out to Prime Time attendees to see how they're doing, please let Lisa or Joy know! ___________________________
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Prayer Shawl Ministry Virtual Meeting!
Please join the zoom meeting (information below) for our remote shawl ministry meeting. You can join via video or just audio and if you have any questions about using zoom please feel free to reach out to Amy at 301-602-4729 or amy.mbaumgardner@yahoo.com - we can do a test run in advance.
What a great time to learn to knit or crochet as well! Or maybe you are interested in the quilts that Carol Wake has been doing for world relief efforts. We have teachers available for 1x1 or group sessions - feel free to have a friend sign up with you! We are also researching the best online free videos. We can get you supplies so please don't let that get in your way.
Our shawl ministry gifts are SO warmly received - it is a very rewarding way to serve.
Please know we will "quarantine" all work created during the crisis and follow CDC guidelines for safety of recipients.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89614546223?pwd=RDdiTVFPVmFNZUlGRFRvQnpPNUdmUT09
Meeting ID: 896 1454 6223
Password: 776491
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Youth Choir Practice on Hold Until Further Notice
If you wish to join the youth choir or would like more information, please contact director Marcia Perez .
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Adult Sunday School study of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Adult Sunday School will meet virtually Sundays from 10 am to 11 am via zoom. We'll continue studying the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, a lay Irish author who came to public attention around the time of the second world war. He fell away from faith as a young adult but later went on to give radio broadcasts and to write dozens of works of both fiction and non-fiction with Christian themes.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis gives his view and defense of the basic tenets of Christianity, regardless of denomination.
If you missed prior sessions please feel free to jump in and join any week. Someone will provide printed quotes from the chapters and lead the discussion each week, so reading the book ahead of time is not a requirement. We're excited to explore together!
All are welcome!
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MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLERS LOOKING FOR SERVICE HOURS: Please contact Lisa Wackler Community Service or SSL hours!
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Website Work for St. Paul's
We are planning for some web redesign and expansion. Please let us know what you would find useful on the congregation's website. What's missing? What do you use? If there is old and bad info, please continue to point us to that as well. But do talk to us! It makes our work better.
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New Benches for Portico Garden
We would like to thank both Lynn Adkins and Bruce Pihlstrom for their wonderful generosity in the purchase of the two new black steel memorial benches that were installed recently in the Portico garden. Not only do they look perfect in their setting, but the benches are also comfortable and functional. In fact, we are pleased to note that many visitors to St. Paul's have already been able to enjoy using the two benches.
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Donors Needed for Altar Flowers
Please contact Joy Belew to reserve a date. Thank you.
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TELLERS NEEDED!
We are looking for people interested in volunteering for this very important church function. It consists of a two member team that works on Sundays after church or Monday for about 1 or 2 hours collecting, counting and recording the offering. The teams are assigned a month at a time, usually 3 or 4 months a year (depending on how many teams we have). Sundays can be switched with other teams. Training and written instructions are provided. Please contact Paula Stewart 410-956-7117 or the church office to volunteer.
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Christ is Risen!
ALLELUIA!
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Sunday, May 24th, 2020:
Please click HERE for the service bulletin.
Please click HERE to access for the service podcast.
Please click HERE to see the service on YouTube.
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WEEKLY SCHEDULE AT ST. PAUL'S
While we are physically away from each other there are ways that we have decided to be church together during this time.
Mondays at 3 pm - Storytime with Pastor Andrea (for children) via Facebook Live. Friend her at Pastor Andrea Walker to listen in.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12 noon via Facebook Live - Prayers and devotions with Pastor Andrea. Friend her at Pastor Andrea Walker to participate.
Our exploration of the Lord's Prayer has been completed. Stay tuned for information about our next Wednesday night study!
Sunday mornings at 10 am Donna Hershey will lead Adult Bible Study via Zoom. Join Zoom Meeting here.
(Meeting ID: 780 8732 0735
Password: 145869)
Sundays (until further notice) Service of the Word will be available by Podcast on SoundCloud and video on YouTube. A link to a pdf of the Sunday bulletin will be available so you can participate from your home.
Saturday, June 6th - Food Pantry will be distributing pre-bagged food from 10 am-12 noon for those in need.
Please while you are listening to the podcast or participating in these opportunities, remember you can support the work being done at St. Paul's through online giving.
Let's continue to keep each other in prayer.
Pastor Andrea
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Still smiling, still standing, still carefully "social distancing" after more than two hours of rehearsing and recording on a recent Saturday:
Soprano section leaders Karen Brunn (left) & Marcia Perez (right) recorded five Eastertide solos and duets with us on April 25th for splicing in to pending service recordings. Karen & soprano Carol Beebe also supplied some initial solo recordings on zero notice in mid-March, as regular in-person church services were suspended for the pandemic. And other choir section leaders, choir members, & some instrumentalists from the congregation are also lined up to supply musical offerings to add to the future Service of the Word recordings that are our current Sunday worship. We are grateful for their help! Especially because generating & editing recordings with a small staff & not-quite-correct equipment makes these simplified services considerably more complicated and time-consuming to produce. Classic live Lutheran liturgies are usually about 60% music, so we look forward to the future Sundays when we can all interact in a full liturgy, with the choir (!), with communion, once again.
---Sonja Kahler & Matt Larson, music directors
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Miss Holy Week at St. Paul's?
Our Holy Week Services are Available on SoundCloud--click the links below!
Thursday, April 9th -Maundy Thursday
Bulletin and link to the podcast of the service:
.For bulletin, click HERE. For podcast, click HERE.
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Friday, April 10th -Good Friday
Bulletin and link to the podcast of the service will be available on Friday.
For bulletin, click HERE. For podcast, click HERE.
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Saturday, April 11th -Holy Saturday
Bulletin and link to the podcast of the service will be available on Saturday afternoon.
For bulletin, click HERE. For podcast, click HERE.
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Sunday, April 12th -Easter Sunday
(Adult Sunday School will resume on April 19th)
Bulletin and link to the podcast of the service will be available on Sunday.
For bulletin, click HERE. For podcast, click HERE.
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Kids: Here's How You Can Share the Good News!
Thanks to Auden and her folks for sending us a photo of their beautiful crosses! Share the Good News of Jesus' resurrection with your neighborhood!
A beautiful cross done by Abby!
And these by Sofia and her family are terrific, and so colorful!
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Download and Color Your Own Stained Glass Cross HERE, and Hang it in Your Front Window or on Your Door!
Don't Forget to Send Us a Picture of it!
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ST. PAUL'S HAS CANCELED ALL ON-SITE WORSHIP SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
St. Paul's Podcasts available online!
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Regular Worship Times at St. Paul's
9:45 am--Sunday School
11:00 am--Service with Holy Communion
And don't forget! The church nursery is available in room 111 every Sunday during the 11 am worship service. Let us give you a break when you need it!
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FOOD PANTRY UPDATE
The Food Pantry at St. Paul's continues to serve the community on the first and third Saturdays of the month, from 10 am until 12 noon.
We've seen an increase in demand for our services, as we see the pandemic's effect on our local economy.
Here's how you can help:
Donate food. At this time, we are only accepting shelf-stable items. Consider donating any of the following:
- Hearty soups or stews
- Canned pasta dishes ( e.g., Chef Boyardee ravioli)
- Dried pasta
- Pasta sauce
- Rice
- Dried or canned beans
- Canned meats (tuna, chicken)--urgent need for this right now!
- Peanut butter
- Cereal or other breakfast grains (oatmeal, grits)
- Canned fruits or vegetables
- Boxed macaroni and cheese
- Granola and/or cereal bars
- Small "pop top" meals or single-serving sized items (e.g., tuna fish in pouches) for our homeless clientele
- Toilet paper
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Toothpaste
Donate paper grocery bags from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. We are trying to limit the amount of physical contact at the Food Pantry, so the bags are pre-packed. Bags with handles are preferred.
Donate money. To make a donation to the St. Paul's Food Pantry, please visit our donations page by clicking HERE.
If you have any questions about the St. Paul's Food Pantry, please contact Lisa Wackler.
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LITURGY and CHURCH MUSIC in this TIME of CORONAVIRUS
(with apologies to Gabriel García Márquez, Nobel Prize-winning author of the novel and film,
Love in the Time of Cholera)
It must be a little like how voiceover actors feel, as they and a few colleagues sit in recording studios with scripts on their laps, preparing integral but unseen parts of a screenplay that, with the magic of editing, will fit into the larger movie as it features live action and additional, visible characters.
As the church staff prepares this week to record the 10th service podcast since March 15th (3 Lent), we thought you might be interested to learn more about how these services are happening.
As in most weeks, Pastor crafts her sermon, Lisa writes the children's sermon, prayer petitions and announcements, Joy patiently produces the bulletin, and we choose and practice music.
Then at the end of the week, lately on Saturdays (but on multiple days during Holy Week), the five of us assemble at our now-regular stations in the chancel, keeping abundant physical "distance" and each using separate microphones throughout the service.
We can't see you, sing with you or shake your hands, but we know that you're out there waiting to follow along with the service.
We are grateful to be able to attend church, ourselves.
And we know, from checking the statistics available for each podcast, that listeners from other states and countries have been tuning in to St. Paul's for Holy Week and Eastertide:
from at least California, Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania; and from India, France, Colombia, and South Africa.
The Easter paraments and Alleluia banner are up, the paschal candle is standing in the center of the chancel, and photos of St. Paul's members who've sent in selfies are on display.
Not visible here are our microphones, standing farther back in the center aisle, to better record the prelude and postlude music on the gallery organ.
Pastor says a prayer, someone presses the "record" button, and the service begins.
With just the five of us to sing hymns, we are using mostly the softer stops on the front organ, while hoping that all of you listening at home will sing along.
Absent the choir and other musicians (whom we dearly miss, but who will not be able to safely gather to rehearse at church for some time), we have worked to add whatever musical variety we could: some of our kids' musical skills (euphonium and organ, so far), a soloist singing and recording four pages of the Easter-Vigil Exsultet at home (Thank you, Gail!), two soloists gamely hurrying in to church the evening March 30th, with no notice, to record four solos for Holy Week and Easter 2 (Thank you, Carol and Karen!), music from the big organ, and some family-ensemble music recorded at our house.
Maundy Thursday morning music: our son took this photo of us and our daughter recording "Slow Tears" by Rhonda Larson, a piece originally for alto flute, piano and synthesizer, but which works at least as well with C flute, piano and organ.
After the service ends-or at least the spoken sections and hymns in the current format-someone turns off the recording.
We may then record additional music at the church on either organ, with our own microphones.
Then Matt patiently edits the recording by patching in any additional music done earlier, adjusting volume levels, and making any other necessary small adjustments.
We hope that some of the familiar sounds from St. Paul's are providing some comfort and a feeling of continuity while worship as we all know and prefer it is suspended for everyone's safety.
-Sonja Kahler and Matt Larson, music directors
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FROM STEWARDSHIP...
Please get your intention cards into the office!
Please return your intention for giving to St. Paul's in 2020. This is an important opportunity to start the new year in a strong position, helping St. Paul's achieve a sustainable financial program. This is one of our top congregational priorities. Thanks to all who have returned their cards already. To date, we have received 50 forms.
NOTE: If you pledged online, please also take the time to fill out a paper intention form as well so we are able to have all of the information in one place. Thank you!
Questions may be directed to Mike Charlton or Rod Larson .
Intention Form - Click here
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ST PAUL'S PRIME TIME CENTER IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Click HERE for more information about the Prime Time Senior Center.
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TEXT MESSAGE FROM A VISITOR TO ST. PAUL'S
Recently we received an interesting text message about St. Paul's from a work friend and colleague of Matt's; he was one of the numerous visitors who attended the cantata service on November 24, Christ the King Sunday. With his permission, we quote it below.
But first, a little background. This friend trots the globe for Internet work. He loves classical music and will travel a distance to hear music that interests him. He and his family live in Loudoun County, VA.
On October 28th, 2018 he drove in to St. Paul's to hear the Reformation cantata service. He heard Pastor Omholt preach a quite ecumenical, next-to-last sermon at St. Paul's. On November 24th, 2019, the day after returning from a trip abroad, this friend once again drove in to St. Paul's to take in the music. A few days later he texted Matt:
"So I went to a funeral mass today in Pennsylvania. Boy, what a difference from St. Paul's. The way I explained it to my wife, at St. Paul's there was (for me) a palpable sense of community. The congregation, the musicians, the chorus, and the clergy all pray together as a family. At this Pennsylvania church, it was a priest and deacon and a singer (not sure of the title; in Judaism she would be called the cantor) all talking TO the mourners. Very aloof and cold compared to what I, a stranger and a non-Christian, felt at St. Paul's."
This friend visited St. Paul's in appreciation and anticipation of fine music, and he left additionally impressed by the participatory power of the liturgy. He will return again for music, and because he is now interested to hear our new pastor...
-Sonja Kahler & Matt Larson, music directors
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SAVE THE DATE!
Vacation Bible School: June 22nd--26th, 2020! More details to follow...
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Mar-Lu-Ridge
Summer Camp 2020
Please click HERE for an important message about the 2020 Summer Camp Season, or visit www.mar-lu-ridge.org for more information. _______________________________________________________________________
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