“We, the people of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, believe God, our Father, has called us to follow Jesus Christ and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. We love, welcome and need everyone’s God-given talents and gifts. We are encouraged through daily prayer to live our faith as we serve each other and those in our community. We grow in faith through meaningful worship, the sacraments, and the study of God’s word.”
“Called by God our Father to follow Jesus Christ and be inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad name.” –Jarsolav Pelikan
We are true to our roots, our Lutheran heritage, and we are also open to the work of the Holy Spirit.
“We love, welcome and need everyone…”
Multigenerational means all in the same building but not in the same room or at the same table. Intergenerational focuses on LIFE TOGETHER.
All ages have a place at the table and are valued and valuable. No one group gets a priority. We aim to let all ages worship, study, pray, serve at age-appropriate levels. We know the older generations have a responsibility to train up the younger generations, but this cannot be done outside of the context of relationships. So we PRAY, PLAY, and SERVE together. Prayer partners, mission trip fundraisers that the church supports, service days together, kids playing in our services, serving as acolytes, children’s messages and kids remaining in service, all contribute to INTERGENERATIONAL LIFE.
“We love, welcome and need everyone’s God-given talents and gifts.”
By its very structure—being Lay Led—St. Paul’s does not exist without the work of its members. We believe everyone has something to contribute whether that is your prayers, your abilities, your time, your participation, your friendship, your finances…all contributions—big and small—honor God and let us participate in God’s kingdom work here on earth through this local church. Part of giving means being open to receiving. We share our needs so that the Church has the opportunity to serve us when we have need. A life of giving and serving necessarily includes receiving from those who are serving around us.
“We are encouraged through daily prayer to live our faith as we serve each other and those in our community. We grow in faith through meaningful worship, the sacraments, and the study of God’s word.”
Growth can be exciting and invigorating. It can mean discovering your place of service and giftedness. It can mean celebrating people coming to faith for the first time. It can mean hearing God to speak to you, learning to read scripture or pray in a way that draws you closer to God than you have ever been. It can also be difficult and challenging as we grow in our ability to forgive, in letting go of old habits that belong to our life before Christ or ways of thinking that are not guided by the Spirit. Growth can mean learning to have difficult conversations with others you love, and it can mean learning to say “no” when you might normally say “yes.” It might mean stopping something that is cherished and good for the new vision God is giving you. We are all growing—or aiming to grow. So we give one another grace and encouragement, love and support, and forgiveness when needed.
St. Paul’s is organized so that different boards made up of members from the congregation work in conjunction with the staff to do the work of the church.
Here is a breakdown of the boards and their responsibilities:
Executive Committee: Comprised of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary — works with the Pastor and other Board Chairs to oversee the work of the church.
Lay Ministry: Working with Music Director, the Lay Ministry oversees Sunday worship and special services throughout the year.
Outreach: This board plans our monthly service opportunities and coordinates our New Member welcome receptions known as “Fifth Sunday Fellowships.”
Education & Youth & Family: Working with Youth and Family Director, Education focuses on Sunday and Wednesday discipleship opportunities; Youth & Family board on events and activities for the church and community.