Lay Ministry Schedule
/ Altar Guild /
This
Week At St. Paul's
/ Suggested
Readings
Consecration Sunday: A Huge Success!!!!
I
was deeply touched and grateful as I watched people come to the altar
and place their “Estimate of Giving” card in the basket last Sunday.
Each of us was asked to reflect on our blessings. We were reminded that
generosity is a transforming exercise. Indeed it is a privilege to give
back a portion of what God has so generously given us.
We reflected on what God was calling us to give back in the context of
community. How different this is than simply receiving a pledge card in
the mail and completing it in isolation. Surrounded by fellow believers
in the beauty of our church building, God moved peoples’ hearts.
Consecration Sunday was a huge success! We received 32 new pledges! Many
people increased their pledge amount. Overall, pledging increased nearly
20%! I am very, very thankful to all of you who responded! Personally, I
see this increase as an affirmation of my leadership and I am humbled
and grateful.
Those who were not able to be in church on Consecration Sunday have
received a pledge card and letter in the mail. Please make a pledge for
2008 by filling out your card and returning it to the church office. In
order to maintain our nearly 20% increase in pledges or even exceed it,
we need a pledge from everyone who hasn’t submitted one yet.
Thank you to the Stewardship Committee for all your hard work on
Consecration Sunday: Mark Danielson, Beth Faith, Mike French, Steve
Sutherland, Charlie Orsak, and Jack Birk. Special thanks to our guest
leader Stacy Abena who thoroughly enjoyed herself and Natalie Smith and
all the parish staff for their extra work.
The spirit is moving at St. Paul’s. God is at work in our midst,
touching lives and transforming hearts! Thank you for being so generous.
Peace,
Bill Van Oss
Statistical Report on Consecration Sunday Results
A total of 135 giving units (husbands and wives or single persons)
completed Estimate of Giving Cards this year.
A total of 106 of these giving units increased their financial
commitment above their last year’s amount.
A total of 132 giving units present to fill out Estimate of Giving Cards
on Consecration Sunday committed a total of $328,031.
Pledges prior to Consecration Sunday equaled $13,000.
Based on last year’s giving records, we can expect to receive $62,488
during the coming year from people who have consistent giving patterns
during the past twelve months but were not present for Consecration
Sunday.
Total pledges expected for 2008 are $403,519. This is a 19% increase
over last year.
Based on the average total of loose offerings during the past three
years, we can expect to receive $15,500 during the coming year from that
source.
Church income from non-donor sources such as interest, rentals, and fees
equals $124,308.
We’re so grateful for your continued help. . .
As
I write this, Autumn has arrived… and with it much cooler weather. We
walk outside to retrieve our mail and find ourselves buffeted around by
cold, biting winds off the lake. While we retreat to our warm and
inviting homes, the homeless seek protective shelter, the hungry seek
nutritious food, and the poor seek assistance in providing the bare
necessities of life.
We’ve had several families come in lately asking for help to pay their
water & gas bills from last winter. Just as we learned last year, the
drafty apartments so many people must call home require more fuel than
their AEOA or Salvation Army fuel assistance checks would cover. Unable
to pay their balance due last spring, their service was stopped – no
water & gas until it was paid. With two part-time jobs and small
children, they’ve made progress, but have been unable to complete
payment over the summer. They’re hopeful we’ll help, and they’re
grateful when we can.
We’ve also received calls from Family Advocates with the Head Start
Program. Children who participate in Head Start
are in households whose total income is either below or barely equal to
that designated by the federal government as ‘poverty level’ for a
family of their size. There is NO money for extras… and little money for
necessities. In late September, a Family Advocate called
asking for help for one of her families: a single mom head-of-household,
with 3 children under
the age of 5. Two,
thankfully, are in Head Start… and the 3rd, a 4-month old baby, had
recently been diagnosed by doctors in Duluth as having a prematurely
fused skull. They needed money for gas to travel to St. Paul for a 2nd
opinion and, most likely, surgery. United Way 2-1-1 had referred them to
us. A Head Start teacher agreed to loan her a car and we provided a
$75.00 fuel-only card. Gillette Children’s Hospital agreed to help with
part of the cost of lodging, and we helped with the rest. As it turned
out, they only needed to stay one night because the doctors at Gillette
determined the baby’s skull had not fused and surgery was not needed.
The gifts of car, fuel, and lodging turned a mother’s worst nightmare
into hope-filled dreams.
By the time this Messenger is printed, I’ll have had over 700 phone
conversations and/or visits with individuals requesting assistance this
year. Well over half of those have resulted in referrals to
agencies/organizations whose mission more closely matches their
circumstances. Most of the others have received whatever assistance St.
Paul’s has been able to offer – and their gratitude has been eloquent
and heartfelt. Recently we received a request from a woman living at
Safe Haven. Her Mental Health worker brought her to us, hoping we’d be
able to help her with lodging. ‘Marla’ had found an apartment which
provided the security she
needs, and Salvation Army had agreed to pay the deposit. She needed help
with the 1st month’s rent so she could use her Disability Income to
purchase those items we 
all
need when we make a move (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, food items
(‘staples’ like flour, sugar, spices, etc.). Most of the residents of
the shelter arrive with only the clothes on their backs… as bringing
much else is often dangerous, because it slows you down to be trudging
with suitcases, bags of bedding, etc. when you’re trying to escape from
an abusive relationship. After a morning of making calls to several area
churches, we were able to secure the funds to cover the 1st month’s rent
($383). When I called Safe Haven to share the news with her, tears of
joy were her grateful response.
These days we hear the economics of scarcity all around us… but here at
St. Paul’s, we thrive on abundance. An abundance of time – the time so
many people generously offer to do Christ’s work in the world. An
abundance of talent – the talents of everyone leading/participating in
small group ministries, those providing opportunities to our neighbors
through various programs, those serving on all the committees and/or in
our worship services, and so much more! Add to that an abundance of
treasure – treasure shared with victims of natural disasters, shared
with people who need assistance due to their current life circumstances,
shared with St. Paul’s to do the work the church is called to do in this
broken world of ours.
So… thank you! Many thanks to each of you who have provided donations
with which we’ve purchased $10 fuel-only cards for our young neighbors
who are employed in low-wage jobs and who need help getting there.
Please know how grateful we are to those of you who keep this ministry
and those who use it in your daily prayers. Thanks, also, to those of
you who have given us diapers and/or clothing when we’ve requested those
items on behalf of those in great need. And thank you to those of you
who keep this outreach ministry alive through your donations to the
Discretionary Fund for Outreach so that we can respond to appropriate
requests for assistance with rent, utility bills, transportation, health
care costs, and so much more.
The needs are many, and the resources are stretched thin. So if you can
help, please do! Making checks to St. Paul’s with “outreach
discretionary fund” on the memo line will assure the donation gets to
the right account and is included on your year-end statement for your
taxes. It is because of you -- through all of your generous donations of
time, talent, and treasure – that members of St. Paul’s and people
throughout the Duluth area have come to know this is a place where we
truly “seek and serve Christ in all persons.” Thanks be to God!
Barb Hauck,
Outreach Coordinator
Lakeshore Eucharist
Bill Van Oss will have a service of
Eucharist in the chapel at Lakeshore on
Wednesday, December 5th at 4:00 p.m. All are welcome!
There will be a service the first Wednesday of each month at 4:00 p.m.