S.P.A.R.K.  (St. Paul Church’s Announcements to Read and Know)   June 2023

Dear friends,

In last month’s newsletter I wrote about my obligations to you as pastor according to my call document. This month I outline things I do around the church which are not listed in my call document. Here are some of my ancillary duties in no particular order. I’m sure I’ve left some out, as there are too many of them to mention.

• Conduct chapel for the preschool students on Wednesday for the 4s and Thursday for the 3s.
• Participate in preschool functions and activities such as open house, end-of-year program, Christmas program, Jog-a-thon, family mixers, recess, meet-and-greet with the parents during pickup and drop-off, and daily visits to the classroom when school is in session.
• Attend weekly evening board meetings such as the elder’s meeting on the first Tuesday of the month, council meeting on the third Thursday of the month, board of education meeting on the second Tuesday of the month, as well as meetings for the board of outreach and children, youth and family ministry.
• Organize, plan, and lead events and activities for the youth of the church such as the LCMS National Youth Gathering, family camp at Camp Lutherwood Oregon, winter retreats, summer Bible at the beach trips, and mini camps.
• Attend the senior saints’ luncheons on Wednesdays when time permits.
• Conduct daily walk-around checks of the campus for anything out of the ordinary such as unsecured buildings, fallen trees after storms, vandalism, abandoned vehicles and other items, suspicious persons (yes, all these things have happened since I’ve been here and continue to occur.)
• Assist the office manager in solving technology problems such as internet outages, computer hangups; light facility maintenance such as changing batteries and adjusting clocks, smoke detectors, light bulbs, and the occasional “cleanup on isle four” kinds of things.
• Assist the office manager in receiving deliveries from UPS, FedEx, et al. Sometimes these items require multiple hands to bring into the education building, or a dolly.
• Receive visitors (scheduled and unscheduled) for various reasons including tours of the sanctuary, cemetery, sales pitches, facility rental, facility maintenance, looking for a new church, just need to talk to a minister—you name it.
• Friday morning and afternoon devotions (20 min. each) with the 6^th through 8^th grade students of the Firm Foundations Academy Northwest.
• Participate in church events such as Oktoberfest, Easter egg hunt, live nativity, and other official activities for the community in which my involvement is expected.
• Attend monthly circuit meetings with the other LCMS pastors in the area on the second Tuesday of the month. These are all-day meetings consisting of worship, Bible or Lutheran Confessions study, a book or commentary study, and collegial sharing of how things are going in the ministry, spiritual encouragement, praying for one another, and so forth.

I would like to talk a little more about the campus. I am on campus five days a week anywhere from eight to ten hours a day, sometimes longer if there are evening meetings. My office faces the east parking lot, and I have a good view of the grove from the library windows and balcony. On any day, a good portion of my time is spent monitoring the dozens of vehicles that drive through from Roy Rogers, people wandering through (usually with dogs) kids using the playground after school hours, people visiting relatives in the cemetery, parking lot sales transactions, people parking for hours while they talk on the phone or nap, and people wandering into the deep parts of the grove, sometimes not emerging for long periods of time. I have a good set of binoculars to watch what’s going on, but sometimes I can’t always see past the trees. When it involves teens or preteens, and I can’t see what they’re doing, I walk out and tell them they are being watched—always. Just letting them know this makes them leave. More than once, Tim Grace and I have observed preteen boys riding through campus on their bikes and skateboards, checking doorknobs on buildings to see where they might get in and do whatever. I am very surprised that in 14 years I haven’t found someone camped out in the grove or squatting in the parsonage basement which unintentionally gets left unlocked at least once a year. All this is to say that as your pastor, I am happy to be the main eyes and ears of the property you love and care for so much. Jennifer, in the office, also observes much of the same activity I do, but from a different angle as her office window faces the west parking lot.

Next month I will show you what goes into putting together the two Sunday worship services we use here at St. Paul. God bless you, and may you have a Spirit-filled month of June during this season of Pentecost.

Pastor Don  

Greetings in Christ Jesus

Welcome to summer.  I pray that it will be a special time for you.  The seniors will meet through June and then in July and August only on the second Wednesday.

 This month I will share some thoughts on Ageism.  Each day is another day in our lifetime.  As we enter the latter stages, we realize time is getting shorter for our time on earth.  Research finds that negative stereotypes can affect our wellbeing.  Perhaps you hear jokes about hearing loss or memory problems.  Comments can be harmful.  Older folks need more contact with others.  Older people need the ABC’s of successful aging:  Attitude, Balance, and Connection.  Our Senior Saints ministry offers this to our members.  At Senior Saints one can find fellowship, and above all God’s Word for meaningful living.  Psalm 92:14. They will bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.  Psalm 71:18. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake the, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation.

May God bless us all are we grow older!

A Joyful Summer,

Pastor Rich

Greetings Folks,

 Good old Summer Time!    If you travel this summer and worship, bring back your Bulletin.  Pastor Rich likes to see what is happening elsewhere. 

How about some summer humor to keep healthy.

• Do fish go on vacation? No they stay in school.

• Why do oysters keep their pearls? Because they are shellfish!

• What do frogs like in summer?

• What’s gray, has four legs, and a trunk? A mouse on vacation.

• How can you tell the ocean is friendly? It waves.

• Why do fish swim in saltwater? Because pepper makes them sneeze.

• What did the dirt say to the rain? If you keep this up my name will be mud.

• My uncle named his dogs Timex and Rolex. They’re his watch dogs.

Enough for now.

Love from Your Basset Hound

S.P.A.R.K.  (St. Paul Church’s Announcements to Read and Know)  May 2023

Dear friends,

I’m excited about the ministry of our church! There’s lots of good conversation going on amongst our volunteers concerning the things we are doing in our community, and opportunities for change to carry out our ministry in the best way possible. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming months as we bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This month’s article is the first in a series I will be writing to help you learn more about the pastoral ministry here at St. Paul. I hope these articles will be informative and a pleasure to read. While I haven’t figured out everything I’m going to write about, the following are some of my initial thoughts:

• What I am called to do
• Ancillary duties
• What goes into putting together a Sunday worship service
• What goes into preparing a sermon
• Continuing education and sabbatical
• Why my family and I don’t live in the parsonage
• How I work with my colleagues and the district
• My relations with Sherwood pastors of other denominations

Regarding my call, these are the things you have called me to do at St. Paul Lutheran Church:

• Administer to you the Word of God in its full truth and purity as contained in the Bible and as set forth in the Lutheran Confessions (Book of Concord)
• Administer to you the holy sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper
• To demonstrate to you the mind and spirit of Christ as I serve you, and equip you for Christ’s mission to save the lost
• To equip and enable you to serve one another and those outside the fellowship of this congregation
• To aid, counsel, and guide you; to visit the sick and the dying; to warn and firmly reprimand the indifferent and the erring; to support you as you extend the ministry to others
• To see to the instruction of the catechumens, both children and adults, in the Word and thus prepare them for communicant membership in the church
• To guide you in applying the divinely ordained discipline of the church according to the Word of God and to assist you in practicing the forgiven life with one another
• To promote and guide the mission activity of the congregation as it relates to the local community and to endeavors of the Synod and the Northwest District
• To serve as a resource and guide you as we participate in the ministry of Christian education, and to train parents to teach the Christian faith to their children
• To assist you in adopting administrative policies and procedures that will help you carry out the mission of a Christian congregation
• To serve you as an example of Christian conduct; to endeavor earnestly to live in Christian unity with you, my colleagues, and our sister congregations in the Synod; and do everything possible for the building up of the church

Next month, I will talk about the things I do in addition to the above which are not in my call, but do them anyways out of love, interest, and necessity.

The Lord bless you and keep you,

Pastor Don

Where are you on your journey in this life?  On the first Easter evening two disciples were walking to Emmaus.  Jesus joined them.  At first they didn’t recognize Him.  He explained the Scriptures to them.  They later recognized Him and said how their hearts burned within them when He shared the Word. 

Do you have a Burning heart?  We live in an insane world.  Insane means shocking, outrageous, madness.  We can survive and be sane. We can be kind, generous, and loving.  Why?  Because Jesus is not only Risen, but He is Alive! Because He lives, I too am alive forever.  How do I do this?  I make Jesus a priority in my life.  I pray.  I meditate on the Word of God.  I love others.  I fellowships and worship with others.  May Jesus give us all burning hearts! 

Want to experience a prayer style worship? On Wednesdays at 1:30 pm all are invited The Senior Center Chapel for a different way to worship through prayer.

May Jesus walk with you on your Easter Journey!

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Rich

Time for Bingo your friendly Basset Hound…

Greetings folks,

I am looking forward to summer temperatures.  Rabbits are more active and fun to chase.  That is the reason for Basset Hounds.  They give us a hard time by hiding in holes, while we give them a hard time by chasing them.  The Senior Center is a busy place with a number of different activities happening here. 

Hope to sniff you sometime.  Come see me.

 Time for smiles?  Here are some to keep you healthy.

What did the beach say to the tide when it came in?  Long time no sea!

What did the ocean say to the shore?  Nothing it just waved.

Why did the fish blush?  Because it saw the ocean’s bottom!

Why don’t fish play basketball?  They are afraid of nets.

Which fish are the most expensive?  Goldfish

What do you find in the middle of the ocean?  The letter e

What does the sun drink out of? Sun glasses

 In summer when do you go on red and stop on green?  When you’re eating a watermelon. 

That’s all, time to chase a rabbit.

Love from Bingo, your friendly Basset Hound.