St Paul Church

The church office is updating our family records and would like to ask for your help. The office does have many of the birthdays and anniversaries for our members and friends, but sometimes they are inaccurate or we do not have them at all. So, in an effort to update our records, there will be a form available for each family after the first of the year for you to fill out. This will include names, addresses, birth dates, anniversary dates, telephone numbers, email addresses, baptismal and military information. There will be a drop box on the table under the bulletin board where you can place the completed information. You may choose to do your entire family tree yourself or you can encourage your children, grandchildren, and extended family to complete the forms and return them to the church. The form will be printed in the newsletter and bulletins as well as placed on the church website. So please take the time to fill out this information to ensure that the church office has accurate information regarding your family.

The Junior Choir will begin rehearsals for their part of the Christmas Eve pageant on Sunday, December 7th at 6pm. There will also be practices December 14th at 22nd at 6pm. All 1st—6th graders are encouraged to participate . If you have any questions or concerns, please speak with Amy Meier. We look forward to a FULL loft!

The Christmas pageant committee has been hard at work finding a pageant for this year’s Christmas Eve Program. The committee could like to let you know when practices will be. The practice schedule is as follows:

• Sunday, December 7th—6pm—7:30pm
• Sunday, December 14th—6pm—7:30pm
• Monday, December 22nd—6pm—7:30pm

Your attendance at each practice will be very important, so please mark your calendars now. If you know you will be late or will not be able to be there for one of the practices, please let one of the following committee members know: Amy McKee, Vicki Thomas, Jenny Blocker, Kelly Roth.

The Youth Fellowship will meet on Sunday, November 23rd at 6:30pm to put the Christmas tree up in the fellowship hall. We will also meet December 14th after church for a light lunch and then bowling at Lakeside Lanes. On Saturday, December 20th, we will meet at 4pm to make cookie plates for our older members and friends of the church . We will deliver the cookies along w/ Christmas cheer and end the evening with a pizza party. Please bring 1 -2 dozen cookies for the cookies plates. We hope to see you there!

Monday, December 8th at 7pm

The Board of Christian Education met on Monday, November 3rd and discussed the following:

• Family Fall Celebration—general thoughts were that it was a good event
• Christmas Mission Project—see related article for further information
• St. Paul Store update—it was decided that with the change in our Sunday school program, that we would no longer
  use the St. Paul Store so the items that were left were given to Cassie Wymer for the Samaritan’s Purse boxes.
• Ornaments for Sunday School children—Ornaments have been ordered and will be given our on December 21st
• Salvation Army collection for December—this will be a general collection
• Sunday School Offerings—October—December 1st Sunday offerings will go toward the Christmas mission project as will the White Gift envelopes
• College Goodie Boxes—it was decided to send goodie boxes to our college students for finals week. April will pass around a clipboard during worship and Board of Christian Ed. will follow-up with this final details of the boxes.
• Christmas Eve—it was decided that we will provide refreshments after the 7:30pm Christmas Eve service. We will decide who will bring what at the next meeting.
• Advent Books—Pastor Dick made a request to purchase Advent calendars and coloring books for our children. Each Sunday school child will receive a coloring book and each Sunday school family will receive a calendar. The extras will be available in the narthex.

Giving is a special thing,
For giving is God’s way,
Not only just at Christmas time,
But each and every day.

Giving is a thoughtful thing.
We must not always take,
But give to others willingly.
Do it for Jesus’ sake.

As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Sunday School mission will be to reach out to families with ties to our congregation that may be in need of spiritual attention this Christmas season. The Geisemans have been identified as one of the families that will benefit from our mission.

How can you help? Place a monetary donation in the collection box located next to the Sunday School mission tree, select an angel ornament, write your family name on the ornament and hang the ornament on the tree. We are counting on you to help achieve our goal of filling the tree with angel ornaments. After Christmas you are able to pick up your ornament and take it home for your own tree.

Thank you for considering a donation to our Sunday School mission project!

We would like to thank all those that helped “spruce” up the church during our workday on November 1st. Thanks to Roger & Gladys Meinert and Jerry & Carol Olsen for continuing to put plastic over the windows. We certainly appreciate everything that has been done.

With the onset of winter, we would like to let you know that the church will now be locked until 8am each day. If you have an early morning need at the church, please talk with a Council member or the church office and arrangements can be made to have it opened earlier. And, beginning after Christmas, the north doors will be locked for the winter and will be opened once the snow is gone.

The Davis, Dakota and Rock City Red Cross Blood Drive will be held December 4th at Dakota High School from 2pm—6pm. Donors must be at least 17 years old and in good health, however, 16 year olds can donate, but need parental consent. For an appointment, please call Dorothy Schlueter at or Helen Schneeberger. Walk-ins are welcome!

November Meeting: Pat Smith was worship leader at the November 5th meeting of Women’s Fellowship. She presented Lesson 3 in the Bible Study series: “Jubilee—The Poor Hear the Good News.” Pat pointed out that Luke’s teachings are still “a pattern for today’s Christians.” The Lord’s Prayer covers our needs—physical and spiritual. A grateful prostitute was forgiven by Jesus, and told to “sin no more.”

December Meeting: The December meeting of Women’s Fellowship will be held Wednesday afternoon, December 3rd at 1:30 pm. Dorothy Schlueter will be worship leader, using a Christmas theme. Marlene Toelke will serve refreshments. St. Paul women are invited to share in Bible study and fellowship.

The new email address is not yet working. Please continue to use the old email address (stpaulucc [at] stateline-isp.com) for the time being. We apologize for the confusion and any inconvenience, and will let you know when the new address is working.