St. Paul Epistle

Volume 02, Issue 3
March 2002

Dear Disciples of the Crucified and Risen One:

Once again it is time for us to walk with Jesus through the historical events of our Christian faith. The experiences of Holy Week and Easter offer to all of us who relive these events the greatest gifts that God has to offer us - hope and new life in the death and resurrection of Jesus!

Holy Week begins with the contradictory moods of Palm/Passion Sunday - the wild cheering and waving of palm branches by the hopeful crowds ... the gradual deserting of Jesus by all in the events that lead to the cross ... the pain and horror of death and the joy and new life of resurrection. Special services remember these events:

March 23/24, Palm Sunday - Worship with Palms at 5:30 p.m./8, 9:15 and 10:30 a.m.

March 28, Maundy Thursday - Worship at St. Paul at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., traditional Maundy Thursday services of worship with Holy Communion and the Stripping of the Altar.

March 29, Good Friday - Community Tre Ore service here at St. Paul Lutheran Church from 12-3 p.m. This service is sponsored by congregations in our community including St. Paul and Grace Lutheran, Trinity Episcopal, First United Methodist, First Presbyterian and First Congregational Churches and will be broadcast in its entirety over WATZ AM. - Evening Tenebrae worship at St. Paul at 7:00 p.m. (A service of Darkness)

We move, then, from the darkness of Good Friday to the light of Easter with services of hope and resurrection joy:

March 30, Holy Saturday - An Easter Vigil service of watching and preparing at St. Paul at 5:30 p.m. Please note that this service will NOT BE an Easter service of resurrection, but a Vigil during which the readings and hymns all point forward to Easter Sunday morning - the Easter decorations will be put in place during this service. A special part of this service will be the dedication of the new stained glass in the Chapel along with the Historical Cabinet which will be dedicated to the memory of loved ones.

March 31, Easter Sunday - Easter Sunday Communion Celebrations at 8, 9:15 and 10:30 a.m.

The season of Easter lasts for a week of Sundays ... seven Sundays in all ... the celebration of resurrection to eternal life too awesome an undertaking for just one Sunday. So the season of Easter begins this year on March 31 and runs through May 12 - each Sunday a mini-celebration of the Easter message of hope and new life brought by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

May God's gracious Spirit surround you and hold you as you relive these great events in the life of our faith through the worship of this community of faith.

Grace and Peace to you,

Rev. Dan Deutsch, Pastor

Pastoral Ramblings

A monthly (or seasonal ... or occasional, as the case may be) rambling of thoughts ... thanks ... things coming up ... things to think about, etc.

Lenten reminder - Please note the remaining mid-week services of observance for this season of Lent:

March 6, Lent III - "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" - Worship at St. Paul at 11:00 a.m. followed by lunch (all invited). - Worship at Grace at 7:00 p.m.

March 13, Lent IV - "Forgive Us Our Trespasses..." - Worship at St. Paul at 11:00 a.m. followed by lunch (all invited). - Worship at Grace at 7:00 p.m.

March 20, Lent V - "Lead Us Not into Temptation...Deliver from Evil" - Worship at St. Paul at 11:00 a.m. followed by lunch (all invited). - Worship at Grace at 7:00 p.m.

Holy Week - This is the week that all of creation was once again set right with its Creator. This is the most sacred, most awe-inspiring week of the entire year. It is the week of Palms and Passion, of Death and Resurrection. Please note the times and places of special times for us this week to walk with Jesus as He takes our place at the cross and makes us one with God again.

Good Friday to Easter Prayer Vigil - Certainly the period of Good Friday to Easter is a good time for a congregation to be in continuous prayer as we contemplate our Lord's activity on our behalf. We have done this for the past two years, utilizing our new prayer room. Those who participated all expressed excitement about this new venture and the joy and fulfillment it brought to their faith. So we are once again offering the opportunity to spend an hour alone with your Lord in prayer. On the Kiosk (bulletin board) in the entrance to church you will find a sign-up sheet with times from the end of our Good Friday evening worship (8:00 p.m.) until just prior (5:00 p.m.) to the start of the Easter Vigil service on Saturday evening. These time periods will be in one hour increments and we are looking for two people to fill each time slot. There will be devotional and prayer material available for you and suggested directions for spending this time alone with the Lord. Please call me if you have any questions.

Update on Retirement - please see the letter included in this newsletter and information posted on one of our bulletin boards at the entrance to church.

Hospital calls - If you or a loved one is going to be in the hospital for surgery, tests, etc., please call the church office to let us know. We will add you to the published prayer list in the bulletin (if you wish) so that others can join in prayers for you. Also let the church office know if you would like to be called on for prayer while you are at the hospital. Thanks for helping us out with this important ministry.

Come and Grow With Us is the theme for three 90-minute sessions for new and prospective members that will take place here at St. Paul. You are invited and encouraged to attend if you have recently joined St. Paul by transfer from another Lutheran Congregation or are thinking about becoming a member in the future or simply enjoy worshiping here and want to explore the possibilities of membership. We will spend time getting to know one another, reviewing basic beliefs of the Christian Church from a Lutheran perspective and talking about ways in which we can be actively involved in growing as disciples of Jesus Christ through the mission and ministry of our congregation. The three sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings this coming month - March 6, 13 and 20 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. We will meet in the lounge. Please call the church office by March 4th if you wish to take part in this class or if you have any questions.

Stephen Ministry - It's your ministry! It is an important way we at St. Paul care for one another. If you are going through a difficult time, consider having a Stephen Minister. If you know someone else who is facing difficulties, suggest that they request Stephen Ministry. Stephen Ministry belongs to all of us!

Babies and Baptism - The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is a special event in the lives of the child, the family, the godparents and the church. In order to help us better understand what God is doing through the Sacrament, we continue to hold regular 1-hour classes led by trained teachers. These classes include a video, a review of the service of Holy Baptism and an opportunity to ask questions about this Sacrament. Parents and godparents are both invited to come to these meetings. Most of us who look forward to having a baby spend time in various kinds of birthing classes or parent-to-be classes to help us prepare for the event. The church also needs to prepare us for the event of new birth through the waters of Holy Baptism. If you are expecting a child in the coming months or have recently given birth, you are asked to call the church office to sign-up for one of the following classes being offered during the coming months: March 10 or May 12. All classes will meet during the SS hour (9:15-10:15 a.m.) in the library on the 2nd floor of the educational building. These dates will continue to be published in the weekly bulletins and the newsletter.

Prayer Chapel - Our prayer chapel is open for your use anytime that the church is open - and that includes the normal church office hours of 8-4 p.m. weekdays, 6:30-9 p.m. Mon-Thursday evenings while there are other activities scheduled at St. Paul. Please feel free to take advantage of these times. There are resources available there for times of private prayer and meditation.

Communion Schedule - We continue to celebrate the Sacrament every weekend at alternating services. The 8:00 a.m. Sunday service offers the opportunity to receive the Sacrament weekly at a formal, liturgical service. It is also offered at the 5:30 p.m. and 9:15 a.m. services on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month and at the 10:30 a.m. service on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month and at all services on the 5th Sunday of any month. This information is published each week in our bulletin and in the Saturday edition of the Alpena News. Please feel free to call if you have any questions.

Easter Vigil - This 5:30 p.m. service on March 30 will also include some baptisms and the dedication to the memory of loved ones both the new stained glass in the Chapel and the Historical Cabinet outside of the Chapel. All are invited to this special service.

God's richest blessings to each of you as we look forward to participating in another Holy Week and then experiencing the joy of Resurrection!

PASTORAL ACTS

On February 9, 2002 GABRIEL TRUMAN, son of Jeffrey and Kendra (Kelley) Truman was baptized with sponsors Ivan and Barbara Sumerix.

Altar Care will be polishing silver and doing general cleaning on March 19 at 9:30 a.m. Come have a cup of coffee and help us. Thank you.

The Spring Gathering of the North West Lower Michigan Synodical Women of the ELCA will be Saturday, April 27, 2002. It will be held at the Zion Lutheran Church in Cadillac, Michigan. The theme will be "Caring for Yourself, So You Can Care for Others." Registration and morning coffee will be at 9:30 a.m. and the closing litany at 2:15 p.m. We will be gathering: Personal care items, paper products, large diapers, cleaning products (i.e. bleach, bathroom cleaner) and blankets for the OASIS (shelter) in Cadillac. Registration forms are due by April 17 and are available at the church office. The registration fee is $10.00.

Thank you so very much to all the people who helped put on the Potato Pancake Supper at our church. Also to the members who donated. Thank you for the many laughs and good fellowship we all had. It was all greatly appreciated! Sharon Padden, Jan Halleck, Jim & Doreen Kriniak

The Action for L.S.S.M. Spring meeting will be here at St. Paul on May 4. The Action needs list includes the following items: Baby Supplies (layettes, single items such as diapers lotions, pins, baby clothes, etc), Personal Care Items (toiletries, Kleenex, towels), Bingo Prizes such as small boxes of food, personal items and jewelry. Boxes for these articles will be in the usher's room and in the dining room.

 We are looking for Sunday school teachers for next year for several grades. Please feel free to stop anytime to observe the different classes. If you are interested in more information please contact Joanne Gallagher or Andrea Dutcher or any other Sunday school teacher.

Dishes are piling up again in the buffer room. Please pick up your cake pans, pie plates, and casseroles so you have them available the next time you want them.

March 1, 2002

Dear Friends:

I wrote in one of the paragraphs in a letter to you last June, "Mary Lou and I have spent considerable time in prayer and discussion of the present demands of both our jobs that keep us going in different directions. We would like to spend more time together working at something that would involve fewer demands on our energies, give us time to work together and, yet, be doing something worthwhile..."

We have spent time these past months exploring various opportunities for service both here and abroad and have recently accepted volunteer staff positions through Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in the mountains of the state of Washington. We have committed for a year of service beginning August 1 this year as part of the Holden Village full-time staff.

Holden Village is a year-round ecumenical Christian retreat center rooted in the Lutheran tradition. It is in the Northern Cascade Mountains and attracts over 7,000 people each year for "renewal through worship, study, work, recreation, celebration and conversation." The retreat center is accessible only by boat and a 12-mile bus ride up into the mountains. We will not be serving at the retreat center itself, but, rather as their link to the outside world at their Bed and Breakfast facility located near the town of Chelan at the end of 55-mile long Lake Chelan.

I have posted some descriptions from their Web site (www.holdenvillage.org/) on a bulletin board in the entrance to church so that you can see where we are going and what it looks like there. It is an excellent place for adults and families to vacation and escape the day-to-day pressures of the world in which we live.

My last Sunday at St. Paul will be July 7 (until we return and I get the opportunity to fill in some time). We will be leaving for Holden Village that week with stops along the way in Wisconsin and Colorado to see children and grandchildren.

We continue to be thankful for your gracious support and prayers as we have struggled with our various health problems and what we think would be best for the future of St. Paul and for us. We would be happy to share with you at any time both our excitement and our fears about this coming year. God's continued blessings to each of you.

Rev. Dan Deutsch, Pastor
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