Present & Pliable.....

Revive, Renew, & Reach

Hey St. Paul’s Family!

As a kid, I grew up on Constellation Drive in Great Falls, Virginia.  Don’t google it.  Our family home was knocked down and someone stuck a McMansion on the property.  Even with the house gone, I remember the neighborhood.  I remember faces and names, what we laughed at, who liked canoeing, skiing, or who raced go-karts, and how parents looked after us.  I think we can agree that we get to know people well when we spend time together.  I believe God is at work in our relationships. Even on Constellation Drive.

 I have been praying about the renewal of our congregation and the neighboring vision of our church.  How is it that we can engage our neighbors near home and in our church and community.  I met with and old friend, Rev. Ray Altman.  Ray has experience around these ideas of communities of faith, engaging people where they are, and discovering unique gifts that God has given.  I told him about our church, how we welcome, and who the church is.  He asked our church to be part of a neighboring group.  I asked our education team to “come & see” what may be fruitful about these ideas.

John Wesley, the Anglican priest who is the founder of the Methodist movement, has a famous quote, “The world is my parish!” He goes on to say that wherever he finds himself is the place where he is to be in ministry. I think of this quote often. This is my slice of the world. It is the place where I lay my head, where I come to for respite, and where my family calls home. Also, this is my parish.

As your pastor, my call to neighbor, (a verb) is a call to claim ministry as something I do in the place I live, not just inside church. This is what the Good Neighbor Experiment is all about. Through a combination of spiritual practices, neighboring practices, and advocating for neighboring within our church, (a good place to start the experiment) we hope this experiment will provide new expressions of what it means to be a follower of Christ. In a world where fewer people are going to church, neighboring is a perfect way to bring the love of God into the world.

This will be our church wide Lenten study.   As we explore “Come Walk With Me” during Lent, we will also offer a Monday evening class to “come & see”.

Classes begin Sunday, 6 March 2022 @ 5:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall.  These are not church growth programs; it is about relationships, abundance, and joy.  If you want to know more about the Good Neighboring Experiment, check out https://neighboringmovement.org/ if you have any questions, please call the church office, 830-895-2212.

Peace, Pastor Glenn

The Pastor will be in Israel from February 8 - 21

Pastoral care emergencies - please call Judy Philips at 719-469-8915 and Rev. Paul Harris is available for Hospital visits and pastoral care emergencies.

NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8th @ 1:30 P.M., in the parlor!

All women of the church are invited.  The program will be presented by Lynette Wedig and Marylin Davis reporting on their attendance (in person and via Zoom) at the Texas United Women’s Legislative Event, 2022 held in Austin.  This annual meeting is hosted by Texas Impact, a 501(c)4 organization composed of people of faith working for justice.  At the meeting, attendees are provided information on various public policy issues.  Be sure to hear Lynette and Marylin summarize these presentations. 

The Methodist Men's group led by Jerry Peebles, will meet Wednesday, February 16, at 9:00a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.  Please come if you are able and stay for coffee with Lois Shaw at 10:00a.m.

Coffee With The Pastor Lois

The pastor will be in Israel this month, so Lois Shaw will be hosting coffee time Wednesday, February 16 at 10:00 in the parlor.   There is no agenda, just a time of welcome and hospitality.
Open to the congregation & would love for those who are new or returning
to come and enjoy.

I hope you all enjoyed the Advent and Christmas music. The singers and bell ringers added musical sparkle to the season. As the last note and ring die away it’s easy to say “What now?” Well, we are already planning for wonderful things during the Lenten and Easter season.

Here’s are just a few things that will be happening even before that season begins. Chancel Choir and the Chancel Bell Choir are meeting and preparing some weekly and future music.

It is nice that the Chancel choir has added some voices to what was our Covid Quartet.

Coming soon we will have special music and a concert on Sunday February 13^th. Mr. Chuck Crain;
a member of the Pressley’s Country Jubilee in Branson will provide special music during the Sunday morning service and a concert at 3 pm in our sanctuary. A love offering will be taken at the door. You can see performances by him on You tube, or just look him up. Tell all your friends about this special event. For more information, check the announcements on the website.

Our Palm Sunday cantata is a work by Pepper Choplin entitled “Come Walk With Me”. Though it is in the beginning stages, this Sunday is already looking to be something incredible. Holy week will continue to be celebrated with music and the word culminating with Easter Sunday.

If you wish to join either of our music organizations, you are welcome to come sing or “ding” with either or both organizations. Bells meet Monday afternoons at 2:30, singers on Wednesdays at 5:30 pm. If you would like to sing just the Cantata music, come at 6:30 on Wednesday evening.

Marsha McCoy-Sebesta

Thanks to the generous donation of flowers, the SPUMC Care Givers are continuing to deliver bouquets and birthday cards.  Visiting in person continues to be limited because of COVID but we are hopeful that we can increase the number of personal visits soon.  Our hope is that the home-bound will know that their Church family loves and cares for them.              

The first response in any ministry is to “do no harm.”  We currently have six people approved through the Safe Gatherings process.  If you serve in this church and serve vulnerable adults, children, or youth then part of our ministry is completing Safe Gatherings training which is helpful for understanding the responsibly of our volunteers.  The registration fee is covered by the church and there are three sessions that can all be completed online.
For more information, contact the church office or go online to register at https://safegatherings.com/.
For more information on Rio Texas Safe Steps and TRUSTed con Confianza policies and training links please go to www.riotexas.org/safestep.   

Prayer Requests from the People

As a reminder, prayer requests need to have the following information:

• First and Last Name of the person for whom we are praying
• Relation to the person submitting request
• Name of the person requesting the prayer

When using the online prayer request module, please put the person's Name (first and last) as the Prayer Title.
This will help us quickly determine if the request is new or an update on a previous request for that person.

Forty Days of Lent… There is significance to the 40 days of Lent, the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday (excluding Sundays). This is the period of Jesus ministry where we can explore what it may be like to “Come Walk With” Jesus. From the temptation to the cross.

March 2 is Ash Wednesday; we will begin a new project in prayer and reaching out with our church and the Kerrville community. Each day during Lent we will put a white cross at the front of the church. There will be a sign-up sheet available for those who would like to put a cross in the front yard.
If you are not physically able to do so, you may come to the church anytime during Lent to pray over the crosses. After all, prayer is what we do.

Here is our special service schedule for Lent:

• March 2 - Ash Wednesday – Services at both 9:30 am and 5:30 p.m.
• April 10 – Palm Sunday Cantata “Come Walk With Me” – 10:30 a.m.
• April 14 – Holy Thursday Service with Communion – 5:30 p.m.
• April 15 – Good Friday Taizé Service – 5:30 p.m.
• April 17 – Easter Sunday Flowering of the Cross Service – 10:30 a.m.

All services will be in our sanctuary.
All services will feature our full choir (except Ash Wednesday – 9:30 am service).

FEBRUARY ALTAR RAIL MISSION EMPHASIS      
Serving At: Open Heart Ministries
Home Country: United States of America, North America

The Rev. Anna Troy is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving as a Church and Community Worker as the Director of Open Heart Ministries of Harrison County in Clarksburg, West Virginia. She was commissioned in May 2016 and ordained in 2018.

Church and Community Worker missionaries respond to God’s call to ministry among the poor and disenfranchised in rural and urban areas throughout the United States. They work to change the social inequities of poverty, racial injustice, and domestic violence.

Anna is a native of Texas and an ordained deacon of the Rio Texas Annual Conference, having been consecrated in 2016. She has been preparing for mission service since she was a summer Mission Intern with Global Ministries in Cookson, Oklahoma in 2008. After graduation from Texas Lutheran University, with a Bachelor of Music degree in church music, she spent a little more than a year as a missionary with the Colegio Metodista in San Jose, Costa Rica. She then experienced a call to ministry and enrolled in seminary, earning a Master of Arts in Christian Service degree from Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas.

Anna has served as associate pastor of the First United Methodist Church, Boerne, Texas and as a case manager with the First Street Methodist Mission in Fort Worth. She has also worked as a bank teller.

“I have long felt that I was being prepared for something special over the years as I have been in ministry in a variety of ways. From my days as a camp counselor, to serving as a missionary in a different setting, to school, and during missionary candidacy—all have been integral in my faith journey. These experiences have shaped my relationship with God and humanity and my understanding of what I have been created to be, that is, a voice, an advocate for those ignored by our society, and to work with them to overcome the obstacles they face.”
Thank you for supporting this important mission!   

Mustard Seed Ministries

From our “Giving Away Christmas” offering on Christmas Eve, we delivered a generous check to Light on the Hill for food ministries. Our church has been volunteering with Mustard Seed weekly food distribution and the monthly MEGA pantry. Our donation helps to support these food ministries and serve hundreds of families living with food insecurity.
Thank you for volunteering and your generous donations!

Hill Country Youth Ranch

Hill Country Youth Ranch (HCYR) – We met with Tim Campbell from the HCYR to deliver a “Giving Away Christmas” donation.  If you would like to volunteer with the HCYR store in Ingram please contact the HCYR thrift store to visit with their volunteer coordinator.  Volunteering could be as simple as helping to fold & stamp bi-monthly newsletters (so yes, only 6 times a year) to mail to thousands of supporters.   The HCYR already have a team but could always use more hands to lighten the work. 

It you are interested in volunteering at the Ranch: call Tim Campbell at 830-367-6107 or email: tcampell@youth-ranch.org   

Christian Assistance Ministries (CAM) 

CAM provides food, clothing, and case management for the working poor and homeless in Kerrville.  They do fantastic ministry.  I know our church volunteers at CAM consistently.  During our Sunday service on 30 January, Pastor Glenn presented Dan Sebesta two checks from “Giving Away Christmas” and our communion rail offering as well.  Donations totaled 2,058.73.  If you are interested in volunteering at CAM, please contact Dan Sebesta at 830-257-4222.

Charities we support with financial contributions and/or volunteers!

• Light on the Hill
• Christian Assistance Ministry
• Hill Country Youth Ranch
• Doyle Center
• Kids Advocacy Place & Crisis Center Shelter
• Mission: Border Hope
• The Dietert Center (meals on wheels)

           The Doyle Center

Pastor Glenn Met with Lois Shaw & Bessy Fifer from the Doyle center to present a “Giving Away Christmas” check. Lois expressed appreciation for our generosity. Volunteer opportunities are also part of The Doyle Center and we encourage you to contact Lois Shaw at 830-257-4446.

VISIT YOUR LIBRARY

By: Rosalie Pinson

In the month of February, we in the United States, celebrate Presidents' Day. This year the Federal Holiday falls on Monday, February 21st.

Why not honor one of the Presidents by reading a book about him? Here at St. Paul's Library, there are several books in the collection on our nation's leaders.

Here is just a sample of the biographies, non-fiction, and other materials on the subject of our U. S. Presidents:

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates - Brian Kilmeade

Harry S. Truman - Margaret Truman

Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln - Judith St. George

Jacksonland (Pres. Andrew Jackson) - Steve Inskeep

No Ordinary Time (Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt) - Doris Goodwin

Reagan in His Own Hand; The Writings of Ronald Reagan

Herndon's Life of Lincoln - William Herndon

Bill Clinton - Nigel Hamilton

Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly

Rebel in Chief (Pres. George W. Bush) - Fred Barnes

George Washington - Willard Randall

Truman - David McCullough

Profiles in Courage - John F. Kennedy

The Blood of Abraham - Jimmy Carter

Baptism by Fire; 8 Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis - Mark Updegrave

Come visit your church library and check out a book about one of our U. S. Presidents.

Happy Presidents' Day ! Happy Reading !!

St. Paul's Library is staffed Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. until noon, and is open on Sunday mornings. If it is locked, please ask someone in the church office to open it for you.

Hi Everyone!

First, I want to say thank you for your understanding with my absence on Sunday. I also want to apologize that in my absence there was no one to run the A/V equipment as Skipper was also out of town. If anyone is interested in learning, please let me know. Thank you, Mary Ann, for turning on the sound equipment.

Speaking of equipment, as I said in last month’s article, the Tricaster has been approved to be upgraded/replaced. At this time, I am waiting on NELCO, the company who will install our equipment, to let me know they have received our deposit check and put us on their schedule to come install. Included in this project is a new streaming camera and controller. The expected time frame of this installation is within the next 2 months.

Trustees has also approved to have installed a replacement projector and screen for the front of the house and a new projector and screen above the A/V room for everyone up on the chancel area, so they don’t have to turn around to see the screen. This will be after the first project is completed and funds have been approved by the Admin Council and Endowment committee to move forward, so I am not sure the time-frame right now, but we are excited for the upgrades as I am sure everyone will be. Can’t wait to have sharper, clearer, more brilliant onscreen graphics and information. This should clear up a lot of visual issues from the congregation’s point of view.

I am also going to be working on a Technology office out in the Gray Building. I will be able to work on some of the computers and equipment that we have as well as keep my files in a better location at the church. With this change, I can schedule time to help people with any technology issues at the church if assistance is needed.

I am continuing to clean up and restore the website, but I need input from everyone who uses it – especially if you see an issue. What would you like to see on the website that is not there? What is there that I need to remove? What do I need to change?

Please feel free to email me directly at technology@spumctx.org with your suggestions. Or you can click on Email Web Admin under Contact Us while you are on the website.

Have a great week and see you Sunday!!!

Be Blessed!
Judy Phillips
Technology Coordinator

Online Giving!

This is a fast, easy and secure way to make contributions to the church. The website is partnered with PayPal to provide a secure checkout process and protect your information.
The link to the Giving Online form is found on the Home page of our website.  We are charged a small processing fee which you have the option to help us cover with your contribution. This is completely optional, however, please be aware if you choose not to help cover the processing fee, the amount that the church receives your contribution less the amount of the processing fees.
Example: a $20 contribution has a $0.91 processing fee. If you choose not to cover this, then what the church will receive is $19.09.

         No anniversaries for February