St. Paul's Episcopal Church
301 E. Stuart Street, Fort Collins, CO 80525
Phone: 970-482-2668
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A Note from Our Priest-in-Charge
Greetings Friends at St. Paul’s,
It has been almost a month since I joined up with this loving faith community, and I want to convey my warmest thanks to all of you who have gone out of your way to welcome me, “show me the ropes”, and provide me with an orientation to the various ministries and people of this parish. You have shown me a most gracious hospitality and I find myself deeply grateful that God has brought us together for a time such as this.
I am steadily working towards getting to know you through coffee hour conversations, reading your wonderfully curated history, participating in a variety of ministry meetings and even sharing a meal or coffee with some of you. It will take a while to complete this “joining” endeavor as we enter the first year of discovery in the 3-year Priest in Charge Process.
One of the first ministry meetings I was able to participate in was the Worship Team of St. Paul’s. This is a dedicated team of people who have committed to lending their prayer and energy to create, evaluate and guide the worship of this faith community.
At this first meeting I invited the worship team members to begin to evaluate our worship based on the following 4 criteria. Is worship at St. Paul’s…
-participatory (people are more engaged the more they are able to participate)
-accessible (especially those new to the Episcopal Church)
-welcoming to ALL people
-a joy-filled experience of the love of God
I also invited the Worship Team members to take on a homework assignment: to visit a church service that was not Episcopalian on a Sunday morning. The intent of the assignment was for team members to experience what it feels like to be an outsider in worship, with the hope is that this experience might help us become more aware of how our own worship may or may not be welcoming to an outsider or new person. Team members will be sharing their experiences at our next worship meeting and we shall see if those visits prompt us to see our own worship service with new eyes.
In an effort to more closely align our own worship with the criteria listed above a few changes have been made to our services with a few more to come. One of the mantras you might hear me repeat often is “Clarity is Kindness” so in an effort to be kind I want to provide some clarity on the purpose behind these worship changes.
New Bulletin format (accessible & welcoming)
Collect for Purity said together (participatory)
New Eucharistic Prayer from Enriching Our Worship (inclusivity & theology)
Highlighting prayers of the people (flow of the service)
Omission of confession for season before Advent (timing)
Lighting candles for Prayers of the People (participatory)
No change we make is necessarily permanent and all will be evaluated. We invite you to share your feedback about these changes with members of the Worship Team. The members are: Gray Currier, Laurie Gudim, Elaine Hild, Sioux Icenhower, Tim Johnson, Weltha McGraw, Becky Sheller, Felicia SmithGraybeal, Mike Werner and Kay Williams.
Do our Sunday morning services feed your spirit? Do they draw you closer into communion with God and neighbor? Do they inspire you to be further transformed by this great love of which we are a part? That is my hope and prayer as we journey this road together. May God guide us as we work to make it so.
Many blessings,
Felicia+
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Outdoor Worship
(Mass on the Grass)
and Ministry Fair
Next Sunday, September 8, 8:30 am
There will be one service only on that day!
Summer comes to an end soon, and we at St. Paul's have a lot to celebrate.
On September 8 we'll have a celebratory outdoor worship service on the patio behind the Fellowship Hall. Following this will be a
Potluck and Ministry Fair.
Each ministry at St. Paul's will be represented, and you'll have a chance to talk with people who serve the church and the larger community through these teams. There will be the chance for more information and to volunteer.
Mark your calendars so you don't miss this. We always have a lot of fun!
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Rainbows
. . . is the theme!! Come dressed in something colorful.
Dave Matthews will be taking pictures!
For our potluck please bring something bright. For example watermelon would go in the red section and carrots in the orange section. Be creative and help us make a joy-full display! A sign-up sheet for the potluck will be in the Fellowship Hall. Any questions about the potluck please email
Judy
or call
970-223-4080.
Thanks,
Judy
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The Nappie Project Was a Great Success!
Youth group and all three church families helped
to wrap 4 “filled to the brim” car loads of diapers for the food bank. Diapers are in great demand, and struggling families go to great lengths to sparingly use this resource. We all worked hard and had fun, helping to equip young families with something so important to their daily lives!
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A Thank You
Dear St. Paul’s family,
Thank you so much for your help with our joint Nappie Project fundraiser and wrap session. Your contributions of money and the hard work of your members, especially your youth and Jacki Petrino, were essential to today’s success. We raised approximately $1700 in addition to the diapers, wipes, and diaper cream contributed by people in our congregations. I know I look forward to our next joint project to help children in our community. -- Margaret Wick & the Nappie Project Committee
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Habitat for Humanity and the Theology of the Hammer
Millard Fuller, who in 1969 started what would later become Habitat for Humanity, wrote in 2008 about his "Theology of the Hammer". He wrote, in part:
"The Theology of the Hammer is the understanding that our Christian faith mandates that we do more than just talk about faith and sing about love. We must put faith and love into action to make them real, to make them come alive for people. True faith must be acted out.
"The Theology of the Hammer means that we work hard until a house for a needy family is built or renovated. It means continuing to love and having concern that is shown to the family to ensure success as a new homeowner.
"This theology is also about bringing a wide diversity of people, churches, schools, businesses and other organizations together to build and renovate houses and establish viable, dynamic communities. It acknowledges that our political, philosophical and theological differences exist, but we can all find common ground using the hammer as an instrument of God’s Love."
We at St Paul’s are privileged to work alongside our partners from Trinity Lutheran and Mary of Magdala on the multi-faith homes going up at Harmony Cottages, Fort Collins. Absolutely no experience is needed, and all tools and guidance are provided. You will learn a lot, make new friends, and go home tired but with a real feeling of accomplishment. If this sounds like your kind of Theology of the Hammer, please email Gray at
[email protected]
or call him at 970-962-4057, and he’ll give you more information and/or help you get signed up. Our next Build Days are Saturdays: September 7
th
, October 12
th
, November 9
th
, and December 7
th
. Do it now, please. Openings are limited. Come once, and we think you’ll want to come again!
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Please help with our FFH rotation!
St. Paul's needs 4 volunteers for the week of September 8th
FFH keeps families together and safe, reduces their time in homelessness, and supports them with dignity. Their experience results in fewer disruptions – for both parents and children – to education, medical care, and family, peer, and work life. FFH works! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!
3 cooks are needed on: Saturday, 9/14
1 evening host on: Wednesday, 9/11
If you have any questions about these volunteer opportunities, please call or email
Marianne Lutton
or call 970-214-9806. To sign up, go
HERE
If you have any troubles doing this, let Marianne Lutton know and she will sign up for you!
A paper signup will also be on the St. Paul's bulletin board next Sunday. If you choose to fill out the paper signup, please let me know, as there can be conflicts between the online signup and the paper signup. THANKS!
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Saturday, September 28 in Old Town Square from 11 am - 3 pm
Explore what peace means to you
…. and to others in our community, our nation, and the world.
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EfM Starts September 5
Terry Birdsong and I are SO looking forward to beginning a new year of EfM with new and returning participants. The books have arrived -- always an event to celebrate.
If you have been considering joining this loving, small faith-sharing group, and learning a lot about the Bible, Church history and contemporary theology, but you have been put off by the cost,
a scholarship has become available
and needs to be used. Email
Laurie
or call her at 970-556-3111.
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Our Joint Eco-Justice Team Presents September Adult Forums on Climate Change
Sundays 9:00-10:10 a.m. in the Sun Room
Sept. 8th- Climate Change, Simple-Serious-Solvable & Spiritual
CSU Professor of Atmospheric Science Scott Denning will bring his engaging message on the nature of the climate issue. His presentation will give us all a good foundation on the science behind many of the extreme weather events around the world. In addition, he will add some of his thoughts on why this is also an important spiritual matter. There will be a question and answer session to follow his talk.
Sept. 15th-Trees, Water & People in Central America
This Fort Collins 21 year old non-profit with a strong community-based development model for helping people in Central America and U.S. Tribal Lands. They will send a staff member to describe what they and their partners are doing in relation to the climate change issue. This should allow for a whole new perspective on why many are being forced to flee that region due to unpredictable climate forces.
Sept. 22nd- The Fort Collins Climate Action Plan
Carolyn Conant of the Fort Collins Environmental Services Department will bring us up to date on what the Climate Action Plan is all about and how we are progressing as a city toward our climate action goals. She will help us understand ways we can contribute toward reducing our green house gas emissions and respond to questions.
Sept. 29th- Carbon Fee & Dividend and Other Climate Solutions
Trinity member, retired CSU Statistics Professor and Citizen's Climate Lobby volunteer Phil Chapman will give us some background and details on how a fee on fossil fuel extraction and dividend returned to citizens would be able to help bring down carbon emissions. This is an idea that has been proposed to the U.S. Congress and has gained bipartisan support. In addition, we will conclude the series of forums with a conversation on how we all can do our part to act to mitigate climate change.
Interested in these issues?
Please join
this group
, which is a subset of the Joint Social Justice Team. Both groups have members from St. Paul’s, Trinity, and Mary of Magdala. Our
next meeting is on Tuesday, August 27, at 5:30 pm
in the Fireside Room.
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Trinity Book Group
Because of Labor Day, the Trinity Book Group will meet on Monday, September 9th, at 9:30 a.m. in the Fireside Room to discuss the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, through the eyes of the pediatrician who was instrumental in revealing the poisoning of the city system:
What the Eyes Don’t See
by Mona Hanna-Attisha. Questions? Call Nadine Hunt at 825-3730.
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Colorado Haiti Project
GOOD NEWS For St. Paul's and for the Colorado Haiti Project
As most of us know, the Diocesan’s Colorado Haiti Project (CHP) is the local visualization and practice of our national Episcopal mission work in Haiti. Our mission is situated in the Petit Trou area of Haiti but serves as part of a national ministry. Each congregation in the Church is hopefully involved. St. Paul's Church has been so led for the last few years by Lawrence Baietti. With pride and assurance, he is proud to turn his Haiti project ministry over to
Anne Toerper,
long-time faithful St. Paul's member and Haiti ministry supporter. A personal word of appreciation to Anne would be nice.
Reminder
The annual tuition remains at $350 for each student and donations are welcome. Checks may be made to the Colorado Haiti Project or to St. Paul’s Church with the Colorado Haiti Project notation. More information, particularly regarding our involvement, to come.
Visit their website.
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Sunday Morning Coffee Preparation
We no longer have a designated person to cover making coffee for parishioners before the 8:00 a.m. service on the third Sundays of the month. Mary Jean Currier and Gray cover the first two Sundays, and Betsy and Joe Perna cover the fourth one. We no longer bring snacks, we just make the coffee, cut the Lutheran donuts (and set some of them out), and bring the cups out. Mary Jean and Betsy would be glad to train someone. Any interested person would greatly be appreciated.Contact Betsy Perna or Mary Jean Currier.
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Let Light Shine
Laurie Gudim writes for Speaking to the Soul at the Episcopal Cafe:
"The light of Christ is love. As we move into love we move into God. As you go out into the world today, remember to listen to where you are drawn through your compassion. Let Jesus Christ be alive within you, shining from your heart into the dark places of the world."
Read the full reflection
HERE
.
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Flowers
If you would like to provide flowers to honor or remember a loved one, there is a sign-up sheet on the St. Paul's bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.
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Felicia's email address
is
[email protected]
. If that address is associated with a previous rector in your emails, you'll have to go to your Contacts list to change it. Please do not open emails purporting to be from Felicia that are from other email addresses. THANKS
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Links to the Online Newsletters of Trinity Lutheran Church and the Mary of Magdala Ecumenical Catholic Community
What are our partners in ministry here up to? Go
HERE
for the Trinity Lutheran Church monthly newsletter, "Tidings". And
HERE
is Mary of Magdala's weekly bulletin.
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