St. Paul's E-News April 25

E-News April 25, 2024 - Abiding in God

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Inclusive-Loving-Generous

www.stpaulwilkesboro.org

336.667.4231

office@stpaulwilkesboro.org

Abiding in God

“Jesus said to his disciples, ’I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.’”

It all begins with the vine. For Jesus, the vine is the metaphor for community and how community thrives when it is connected to and through God’s love. And we also hear about pruning the vine.

This seems easy to understand if not so easy to always do, but it is complex!

So, what does it mean to abide? To abide in God’s love as Jesus does means to be in a living, thriving, relationship.

Abiding is not a practice of duty or obligation; it is not even service done out of duty or obligation.

The faith that abides is a living, breathing thing that we do; that we inhabit. It reminds me somewhat of the old saying, “Do the right thing even when no one is looking.” But in the case of abiding in God, we try to “do the right thing” (be loving, compassionate, forgiving and courageous) because our hearts and minds can do no other.

Loving service to one another and to our neighbor flows from us like breath or perspiration. We forgive, we offer generosity, we bury our pride and our need to control because the best part of ourselves is the God we’ve allowed to grow inside of us. Our lives become vibrant with the act of living and doing love. And if we fail to be a person or people of generosity and/or love, because God is always gracious, we get a chance to try again.

Abiding isn’t an imitation of letting God flow from our lives any more than a fish imitates water or a bird imitates the air. As a branch we do not imitate the vine, God becomes the very atmosphere in which we live and move and have our being, giving us the strength and courage to be fruit of the vine; we become inseparable from that which gives us life and growth.

“Abide in me,” Jesus says, “as I abide in you.” This is a promise that no matter what happens, God is with us, and Jesus has shown us the way. That no matter what happens, Jesus goes before us because and teaches us to hold on to one another. It’s the promise that no matter what happens, even our largest failures or sorrows, if we are abiding in the vine, God can shine healing light right through us and we can help each other be made whole. This is precisely what we witness Jesus doing time and time and time again. Not magic or even miracle, just God’s life burning in him so brightly that all darkness was cast away.

And God does not prune us as a punishment, God allows our lives to teach what in us is whole and true and from the vine versus those habits and horrors onto which we cling but that drain the very life and love right out of us.

As we ponder these things in advance of Sunday, I offer this from a prayer again from Steve Garnaas-Holmes in Unfolding Light:

Loving God, Vinegrower of Life,

I bring to mind with gratitude those ways you bear fruit in me,

where your grace blossoms into blessing.

Receive my thanks.

Wise vinedresser, show me what in me does not bear fruit,

what impedes the flow of your grace in me:

fears and resentments, desires, habits and attachments

that do not bear the fruit of your love,

dead branches that no longer serve you.

Help me see.

God of mercy, prune me with your grace.

Help me release all that does not bear fruit,

and let go of what diminishes your love in me.

Help me repent.

God of peace, help me trust your spirit flowing in me,

blossoming forth with your glory,

bearing the fruit of your presence.

Help me love. Amen.

Abiding in Love,

Mother Stephanie

Upcoming Service

April 28, 2024

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

8:30 in the Chapel

10:30 in the Church

You're Invited!

Welcome to "Newcomers!"

If you have joined in the life and worship of St. Paul's sometime in the last year, we invite you to lunch for some fellowship and to hear your hopes for being part of a faith community.

We will also talk about how to go deeper in fellowship, ministry and community.

Please join us:

After the 10:30 service

Sunday, May 5th

in the Parish House

(Your Vestry and Rector are your Hosts)

Enjoy Food, Fellowship, and an Invitation to Deeper Connection...

Please RSVP to the Parish Administrator, Robyn, at 336-667-4231 or office@stpaulwilkesboro.org

If we do not have your current contact information to send an invitation and/or you would like to be added to our directory, please use the link above to contact the Parish Administrator

We hope to see you there!

NEW DATE!

Parlier House Town Hall

Rescheduled to Wednesday, May 8th at 6:00 P.M (a light meal provided)

We hope to see you there in person so that we can have share our ideas with the gathered faith community.

If you are traveling and not able to be there in person, you are welcome to send your thoughts to the Rector and Vestry and we will add your input to what is shared.

Please join us in the Parish House on our rescheduled date of Wednesday, May 8th so that we can hear your important input and feedback on current possibilities before the Vestry makes a final decision.

Stay tuned for an upcoming e-news with more information regarding this important discussion.

We hope to see you there!

Cleaning Out Closets

Spring is a wonderful time to clean out those closets and donate to those in need.

Our Crisis Assistance Clothing Ministry is in need of the following items:

Men’s clothing, shorts and shirts, sizes L & XL

Ladies clothing for summer, especially sizes L & XL

Shoes, all sizes welcome

Items for donation can be dropped off ?Please drop off at church office or C

ontact Ruth Harris for assistance. 336-984-9690.

May ECW Meeting

When Tornadoes Strike!

We are including some of the photos of the tornado damage for all of you because we know how much St. Paul's and its beautiful campus are rightfully beloved.

But we must also claim our deep thanksgiving that the damage, though serious, was minimal and we are now back to our regular operating schedule.

Our campus has mostly been cleared of the downed trees and insurance adjusters are coming even as you read this. All will be well.

As promised, some photos of the aftermath. Upsetting yes, but again, it could have been much worse! We were very fortunate!

With Thanksgiving:

A Legacy Gift

from

The Reverend Deacon Susan Whittington

We were deeply moved and thankful this week when St. Paul's received a very generous bequest from the estate of our beloved, late Deacon, The Reverend Susan Whittington.

Susan left a large gift to the Discretionary Fund and an even larger gift to augment the Endowments we already have.

Susan lived her vocation in a multitude of ways and even after death, her generosity to St. Paul's and the people of this community continues.

Recognizing St. Paul's in our wills is what we call "Planned Giving" and as always, Susan led by doing.

We encourage all of you to follow Susan's example and leave a legacy gift in your last will and testament and that is a primary way that your hopes for St. Paul's future can be met.

Thank you, Susan. As ever, well done good and faithful servant.

St. Paul’s and Step Ahead Awarded $10,000 Grant from The Episcopal Foundation of Western North Carolina!

St. Paul’s has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Episcopal Foundation of Western North Carolina to advance the mission of Step Ahead.

The Episcopal Foundation of Western North Carolina, an organization whose funding is fully independent of the Diocese of Western North Carolina and created specifically to involve more Lay persons in the work and mission of the Diocese, sponsors the Restoration Grant.

Mother Stephanie, along with some of the leaders of Step Ahead, Dave Greenwood, Maggie McCann, and Jenny Nelson, (Carol Canter is the ministry lead for both Assistance and Step Ahead—collectively, Crisis) collaborated on a grant application to the Foundation and had an opportunity to share the work and hope for Step Ahead with the Foundation members in person on the Tuesday after Holy Week.

Dave, Maggie, and Mother Stephanie answered questions from the Foundation members and the Foundation responded by saying that we, “presented a compelling proposal and the Foundation was excited about the future opportunities for Step Ahead in serving the Wilkes community.”

Even as Mother Stephanie, Dave, and Maggie were meeting with the members of the Foundation in Black Mountain, Jenny Nelson was busy at the same time in a training class for recipients of the Step Ahead program that is a collaboration with NCWorks.

This generous grant will allow Step Ahead to continue its good work with members of our community that are looking to improve their lives and gain the skills and tools needed to help them create a better life for themselves and those they love.

Poverty is often punished with fees, fines, and hurdles that can be impossible to overcome and Step Ahead strives to be that voice and place of support and dignity; a place where people are seen and heard and given the opportunity so often denied to those in the financial margins.

Thanks to this grant from the Foundation, along with your generous and continuing support, St. Paul’s and Step Ahead can participate in the good work of restoring hope and opportunity to those hungry for some good news.

An Empty Pantry

LOOKING FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS IN SUNDAY WORSHIP!

The photo above is not staged for effect, this has been the state our Little Food Pantry on multiple occasions over the last few months.

A faithful group of parishioners work hard to keep this pantry full, but it takes all of us to fill this Pantry, day by day, week by week, month by month so that we can help all of those in our community who are increasingly suffering from food insecurity.

It may not seem like much, but I have on several occasions been present as members of our wider community came to this as a resource for their next meal.

I am inviting all of you to bring can goods, peanut butter, and other food items to worship with you every Sunday.

We will collect your offering in a basket in the Commons and bring them to the altar for blessing as we present our oblations to God. And your offerings will flow right back out into our community, through the Little Pantry, filling this desperate need.

I know your generosity and your desire to make a difference--thank you in advance to your overwhelmingly abundant response to this important need,

Mother Stephanie

SLEEPING MATS

KEEP THOSE PLASTIC BAGS COMING

As of the end of March, the goal for 2024 is 26.3% complete!

March:

Completed - 19

Distributed - 18

YTD:

Completed - 60

Distributed - 59

Goal:

224 total in 2024

Please keep those grocery bags coming. The collection box is in the Commons.

Scripture for Upcoming Sunday Service

Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 28, 2024

The First Reading Acts 8:26-40

The Response Psalm 22:24-30

The Second Reading 1 John 4:7-21

The Gospel John 15:1-8

The First Reading Acts 8:26-40

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

and like a lamb silent before its shearer,

so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Response Psalm 23

Deus, Deus meus

My praise is of him in the great assembly; *

I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied,

and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *

"May your heart live for ever!"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *

and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

For kingship belongs to the Lord; *

he rules over the nations.

To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *

all who go down to the dust fall before him.

My soul shall live for him;

my descendants shall serve him; *

they shall be known as the Lord's for ever.

They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *

the saving deeds that he has done.

The Second Reading 1 John 4:7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

The Gospel John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Please remember in your prayers: All who are ill or unemployed and those who are on our prayer list.

Short-term

Pat Bumgarner, Dick Sloop, Buddy Forester, Jeff Crutchfield

Long-term

Bev Cook, Beckie Mullins, Chris Privette, Ridley Martin and Family, Dennis Johnson, Jacqui Quick, Craig Freas, Emily Asel, Hannah Gray, Mary Iva Gray, Don Dorsten, Aletha Johnson, Hannah Everson, Mike Orlando, Steve Jackson, Ryan Marlow, Dot Beamon, Ken Asel, Julius Parks & Family

Armed Forces

Let us pray for the safety of all our troops, especially John Craine, Micha Duerk, Faith Lankford, Cole Griffith, Zach Necessary, Jason Westmeyer, and all others who serve throughout the world.

Please send to the church office the addresses of troops with connections to

office@stpaulwilkesboro.org, especially those abroad.

Prayer Requests

Prayer requests can be made by using the app under "contact us" and then the "prayer request" tab, by emailing the office at office@stpaulwilkesboro.org, or calling the office during regular office hours.

Bulletins are printed on Thursday mornings and requests submitted after that time will not be in the printed bulletin for that week, but they may still be spoken. Prayer requests received by noon on Wednesday will be included in the weekly e-newsletter.