December 2024 Messenger

Click HERE to download and view a copy of our monthly newsletter the Messenger, with going-ons around the parish, general announcements and calendar of events.

FROM THE RECTOR

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

It is hard to believe I’m having to write an Advent reflection, it truly feels like 2024 just started, and yet, we’re now at the end of it!

Consider the Christmas story from Luke’s Gospel: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Instead of just reading this Gospel reading or hearing it on Christmas Eve, I want you to place yourself in the reading. Imagine what Joseph and Mary must have felt like to have to travel for the census, especially with Mary being pregnant. Imagine what the arduous journey must have been like. Consider what Mary must have thought to be carrying the Son of God only to find there was no room for them at the inn? How do you think the shepherds felt to first of all—see the angels, but then to go and find the Son of God in a manager, just as they were told? It is too easy, I think, to become complacent or even jaded about the Christmas story—as we hear it every year. I invite you this Advent to place yourself in the footsteps of those who were there, and see what new perspective you may find.

May Christ the Sun of Righteousness scatter the darkness from our paths,

Fr. Garland
512-808-7477 rector@stpaulsbythelake.org

September 2024 Messenger

St. Paul’s Family,

Every parish I have served goes through what we call the “summer slump” where attendance and giving is down because of vacation and other summer plans. Please, if possible, get caught up with your pledge as soon as possible, or consider moving to online giving during the summer.

If you’re having a financial difficulty, please let me know, as I have funds available to help. All financial assistance is confidential. You may call me 512- 808-7477 or email me at rector@stpaulsbythelake.org.

Finally, a reminder, to please notify me if you have a medical emergency or if you go into the hospital. Part of my ministry is being able to help you during those times, even if it is the middle of the night!

Fr. Garland
512-808-7477 rector@stpaulsbythelake.org

August 2024 Messenger

St. Paul’s Family,

Since the beginning of the year, the vestry has continued to focus on a few focus areas: required maintenance and enhancements for our building and property, continuing to streamline and modernize our administration, and maintaining financial discipline.

Led by our Junior Warden, we have continued to work through an ever-evolving prioritized list of maintenance projects for our building. This includes many visible and invisible projects, including recent emergency plaster repairs in the back of the Nave, gutter repair and cleaning, quieting the squeaky stairs to the choir loft and in front of the Lady Chapel altar, and many others. We are so blessed to have our next door neighbor, Mike, who has done much of this with incredible quality. We were also able to acquire some very gently used new choir chairs and chairs for the table in the rector’s office used each week for the book studies.

Additionally, you might have noticed that we’ve recently started some enhancements and refreshing of the Parish Hall, as that has become our primary space for coffee hour, gatherings and events. This includes the recent installation of kitchen cabinets and serving tables. We will continue to look for cost-effective ways to enhance that space to improve usability and maintenance, and making it an inviting space particularly for visitors checking us out.

We also continue to make progress in our ongoing efforts to modernize and streamline our processes at St. Paul’s. This includes the recent work for some clean-up to our parish membership files aligned with new national guidelines, finishing implementation of QuickBooks, and the hiring of Laura Nordell as our Parish Administrator. We look forward to continued improvements across our administrative processes.

And finally, as we head into our fall season, please do consider ways you can spend some time helping our ministries and outreach here at St. Paul’s. Whether it’s hosting a coffee hour, helping out Altar Guild once a month, or using your skills on a project, we would love to help you find a place to use your time and talents! It is a blessing that we have been seeing a steady stream of visitors the past few months, and we’d love your help and participation in welcoming them. In that spirit, special thanks to Celeste Kendall who volunteered earlier this year to take over the Animeals relationship. They are planning a great neighborhood event Oct. 5, so stay tuned for more info on that!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to any of us.

Koji Torihara, Senior Warden

June-July 2024 Messenger

Click HERE to download and view a copy of our monthly newsletter the Messenger, with going-ons around the parish, general announcements and calendar of events.

FROM THE RECTOR

 St. Paul’s Family,

I am thrilled to announce that we have hired Laura Nordell as our parish administrator! Laura’s email address is parishadmin@stpaulsbythelake.org.

Please let me take this moment to ask all of you to be mindful of staff/vestry members on Sunday mornings. Everyone is here to worship God on Sundays, and I ask that you allow staff and vestry members to do so, without being bothered with church business, unless it is an emergency. Please feel free to contact them by email, but allow them to be present fully on Sunday to worship.

Koji Torihara, Senior Warden – seniorwarden@stpaulsbythelake.org

Jared Magill, Junior Warden – juniorwarden@stpaulsbythelake.org

Tina Kemp, Finance Chair – finance@stpaulsbythelake.org

Laura Nordell, Parish Administrator – parishadmin@stpaulsbythelake.org

Mark Law, Organist & Choirmaster – music@stpaulsbythelake.org

 I will be taking my remaining vacation time July 7-23. Father Mark Tusken, retired from St. Mark’s in Geneva, IL, will be the supply priest for those two Sundays. There will not be weekday masses whilst I am gone.

As I mentioned last month, to be considered and active member of St. Paul’s, the following conditions must be met: 1) You must be a baptized communicant of the parish. That is to say, if you were baptized somewhere else, we need to transfer your letter here to St. Paul’s. 2) You must have received Eucharist (at St. Paul’s) at least three times within the year. 3) All communicants of this Church who for the previous year have been faithful in corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, and have been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God, are to be considered communicants in good standing. These are all canon law requirements which cannot be modified or changed, except by General Convention.

Fr. Garland
512-808-7477 / rector@stpaulsbythelake.org

March 2024 Messenger

Click HERE to download and view a copy of our monthly newsletter the Messenger, with going-ons around the parish, general announcements and calendar of events.

St. Paul’s Family,

This year, Easter falls on one of the earlier days it can occur. For those who want to know, the earliest possible date for Easter is March 22, which won’t happen again until 2285. We should make full use of Lent to examine our lives, seek forgiveness, and draw closer with God. If we make full use of our time during Lent to do this, we find that Easter holds a great deal more meaning to us, rather than just a more celebratory Sunday than others.

I will be the first to acknowledge that during Lent, our lives remain the same. It is easy to continue to get lost in the busy-ness of the world, and just note that we’re still in Lent. In fact, we can get so caught up in life, we tend to neglect our spiritual life altogether. I urge you, with the remaining time we have in Lent to spend more time with God, to see where your secret faults are and how best to address them. Lent can be a very powerful time of renewal of our faith if we allow time for the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Sometimes it’s the little things that can sneak up on us. In my own experience, I have found that if I look back at some of my personal wants/desires, they are fueled by things that are profoundly out of order with my spiritual life. Pride, gluttony, sloth, and other deadly sins can easily sneak in to our lives, even when we think we have the very best intentions. It is hard, at times, for us to see how we may go astray or how we have gone astray by our desire to do good. It is only when we really examine these desires that we can be certain that they are for the truly good intentions that we have or perhaps for some other intention we weren’t aware of when we started out.

I pray that as you start to draw closer to God, that this Easter will greet you with the full power of forgiveness and resurrection that it brings, that all may truly know the power of Jesus Christ over our sins.

Fr. Garland
rector@stpaulsbythelake.org | 512-808-7477

February 2024 Messenger

Click HERE to download and view a copy of our monthly newsletter the Messenger, with going-ons around the parish, general announcements and calendar of events.

St. Paul’s Family,

As we enter into February, we are rapidly approaching Lent. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14. Please consider this a gentle reminder that although February 14 is also the feast of St. Valentine, it is replaced by the one of two major fasts—Ash Wednesday. There is no dispensation for Valentine’s Day—so hold off on the dinner and chocolate until Thursday! Like last year, we will offer two masses for Ash Wednesday. There will be 12:00 noon Mass with imposition of ashes but no homily. This service is geared towards those who may want to come in on their lunch break from work. The 7:00 pm service will be Eucharist with homily and imposition of ashes. If you are home bound and would like me to bring ashes to you, please let me know!

Starting on Friday, February 16 and going through March 22, there will be Stations of the Cross followed by Benediction at 7:00 pm in the Church. This year, the feast of St. Matthias the Apostle occurs on Saturday, February 24, and Mass will be held at 10:00 am in the Lady Chapel.

Fr. Garland
512-808-7477 / rector@stpaulsbythelake.org

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