Jan. 22, 2022

Dear Beloved St. Paul’s UMC and Wesley Foundation Family,

Grace and peace to you, my dear friends. As we move through this first month of 2022, we are discussing what it means to be United Methodist. This week we are examining the relationship between head, heart and hands, and discovering our particular heritage as Methodists: that we are head and heart and hand people! We hope you will join us tomorrow for worship, as we explore this idea in a deeper way.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow, January 23rd: 
9:00 AM
In-person Sunday School for children and adults

9:00 AM
In-person Service of Word and Table in the sanctuary

10:30 AM
Hybrid worship service in-person and livestreamed here.
*Please remember that since this service is filmed and live-streamed,
you or your family members may be on our worship recording,
which is streamed and archived on our YouTube channel.

11:30 AM
Discussion Group in-person and on Zoom
(join by clicking here, or use Meeting ID- 859 0584 5591 and Passcode- stpauls)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please remember that masks continue to be required inside our building at all times, regardless of vaccination status. Tomorrow there will be KN95 respirator masks (over the ear style) made available to everyone in attendance. We are urging you to wear an N95 or KN95 mask while in a large group in the building, as these have been recommended by the CDC as the most effective in helping us reduce the spread of respiratory droplets.

As we all navigate this chapter of the pandemic together, we want to invite you to be connected to one another in whatever way you can. So let us meet, make, and move with a determination to live out the love of the Gospel vertically and horizontally as head, heart, and hand people!

Grace|Peace,
Pastor Greg
Order of Worship
Prelude: “Aria” (Gerald Near)
Mary Bahnfleth and Cameron Dennis

Greeting
Rev. Greg Milinovich

Call to Worship 
One: Rejoice, people of God! This is the day the Lord has made!
All: We gather to renew our minds, to have new ideas, to reclaim the truth!
One: Let us gather in grace, and leave room for doubts and questions.
All: We gather to share in the unconditional love which is for every one of us!
One: Let us worship the triune God: Maker, Redeemer, and Sustainer:
All: let us worship with our heads and our hearts and our bodies!

Opening Hymn: “Maker, in Whom We Live” (UMH 88)

Gospel Lesson: John 3:11-23 (NRSV)
Rev. Becky McGee

Passing the Peace

Children’s Message
Virginia Loewen

Scripture: James 2:14-26 (NRSV)
Julia Briselli

Message: “We Are Head and Heart People”
Rev. Greg Milinovich

Pastoral Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Offering

Closing Hymn: “Praise the Source of Faith and Learning” (FWS 2004)

Benediction

Postlude: “I Woke up This Morning with My Mind on Jesus” (David Kidwell)
Mary Bahnfleth and Cameron Dennis
Discussion Questions:

  • The tension or spectrum of head and heart is a deeply human one. All of us are people of both head and heart. Where do you feel you lean in this relationship? How about our culture? Our Church?

  • The message today added a third dimension to this tension, suggesting that the Methodists have always tried to live into a faith of head, heart, and hands; a faith of mind, spirit and body. How might this be different from other faith traditions? How could we embody this part of our identity today?

  • Pastor Greg closed by talking about four essential elements for discernment: Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience (these are often referred to as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral). How could these four things help us in our practice of our faith? Do you see any practical applications for you, our church, or our denomination?
St. Paul's United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation
250 East College Avenue | State College, PA 16801 | 814-237-2163 | stpaulsc.org