Episcopalians don't generally claim to be the one true church, the singular people who got it right for all time. We are usually content to trust that our way of following Jesus is a good way, among other good ways, by the grace of God to follow our Lord. At our best, this is a kind of trusting (even assured) humility: this is the way of life by which God has saved and is saving me. That can be true without claiming that this is the only way God saves people. At other times, though, it can threaten to be a sort of lassitude: because God may work in countless different ways to bring to completion the redemption of the world, we might hold back from full commitment to the way God is saving us.

But openness does not need to be an enemy of commitment. There are gifts in the particular that can only be fully experienced within a commitment to a certain way of being and loving. We know this already. There are joys in marriage that are different from the joys of dating, gifts in a vocation that are different from the gifts of a gig. In the Episcopal Church, we embody that commitment partially through the rite of Confirmation. Confirmation (or Reception, for those who have been confirmed in another tradition) is a mature affirmation of faith, before the Bishop as symbol of the church universal. It is also a sacramental commitment, not to the one true path to God for all time, but to embodying as fully as we can one way of following Jesus, and with one group of people trying to follow with us. That commitment and the sacramental aspect of it matters.

If you have not been confirmed, or if you have been confirmed elsewhere and the Episcopal Church has come to feel like your spiritual home, I invite you to come explore Confirmation with us. The Bishop will be with us on February 26 of 2023, and we'll run a confirmation/reception class from January 8 until he comes. The class will meet on Sundays over lunch after the 11:00 service every Sunday except January 29 (the Feast of Saint Paul and the Annual Meeting). All are welcome, especially those considering Confirmation, Reception, or a Reaffirmation of Faith. But since we'll be using a book and getting food, we do need you to sign up. Come if you want to know more about the Episcopal Church; come if you need a refresher of the basics; come if you've been around for a bit and are ready to deepen your commitment. (If it counts as a sweetener, those preparing for Confirmation or Reception are eligible to vote at the annual meeting.)

Eric+

You are invited to join Saint Paul’s parishioners, family, and friends on a mission trip this summer to Ecuador, June 7-17, 2023. Please prayerfully consider joining us as we reach out to people in need and serve as the hands of Christ.

An information sheet is available here. If you would like additional information about Quito, Ecuador, the mission work, and trip details, please contact Gene or Rose Helmich, or call 803-640-3405. The deadline to join the trip is January 31, 2023.

as of 12/7/2022

Offerings pledged this Week $12,981.00

Offerings received this Week $9,886.23

Operating Expenses to Date $824,254.58

Operating Income to Date $888,974.81

Please contact the Parish Office to update our files.