Worship. Serve. Grow.

Announcements for Sunday, Apr 17

CELEBRATING THE MINISTRY OF THE REV. LOIS REARDIN:  We would like to invite parishioners to contribute towards a gift for Lois in recognition of her 17 years of ministry at St. Paul’s by writing a check to St. Paul’s and indicating “Gift for Lois” on the memo line.  We will continue to accept contributions through the month of April, and will make a presentation at a later service.

NEWCOMER CLASS: There will be a Newcomer class for all who are interested in learning about St. Paul’s.  It will meet on 3 consecutive Tuesday evenings, April 19, April 26, and May 3, in the youth wing, 7:00–8:15 p.m.  The classes will be led by Father George, while other clergy and ministry leaders will come in to share information about the many opportunities in which to participate.  For more information, contact Frank and Anne Laney, annewlaney@gmail.com or 919-460-0835.

Spring Grounds Workday:  Join your fellow parishioners on April 30th at 8:30 a.m. to spread mulch, prune plants, and tidy up the grounds of St. Paul’s.  There will be a variety of jobs available – spreading mulch, weeding, pruning, and planting.  Please bring a water bottle, gloves, rake, pruning shears, and a wheelbarrow, if you have one.  Contact Julia Rudy jbrudy@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

30 Hour Famine-APRIL 29 & 30: Our youth group and confirmation class is going hungry to help save kids’ lives.  Every $35 we raise can help feed and care for a child for month!

WHAT:  We’re learning about hunger, raising funds to fight it through World Vision, and then going without food for 30 hours to understand what millions face every day.

WHY:  Because we don’t want to be onlookers while nearly 8,000 kids are dying every day from hunger-related causes. We’re choosing to stand up and make hunger our fight.

WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR 30 HOURS? Fasting (starting at school at 12:30) + Games + Friends + Service + God.  You can help by sponsoring a youth.  Contact Leah Dail (leah.dail@stpaulscary.org) for more information.

ADULT EDUCATION FORUMS:  There will not be a forum today or next Sunday.  Between services today, all are invited to visit the Ministry Fair in the parish hall and learn about some of St. Paul’s many ministries.
On April 24th, you are encouraged to attend the vestry’s Parish Update in the sanctuary between services.

CENTERING PRAYER GROUP – BOOK STUDY: On Fridays at 9 a.m. in the library at Cary Presbyterian Church, (across the hill from St. Paul’s, 614 Griffis Street) the Centering Prayer group is studying Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most.  This is the last book written by Marcus Borg.  We welcome everyone.  For more information, contact Martha Waters, 919-302-5912, or martha.wtrs@gmail.com.

TRANSPORTATION NEEDS: St. Paul’s has a longstanding tradition of providing transportation to those in need.  Care and Share helps with coordinating transportation to both appointments and Sunday Services.  Currently, we have need of transportation to and from the 9:00 am service. If you are able to help, please contact: Kittied45@gmail.com or melonie.wigley@att.net

PHYSICIANS, NURSES, EMS RESPONDERS:  Our Clergy requests knowing medical persons who would be willing to respond to apparent medical emergencies on Sundays, only during church services and adult ed. offerings.  If you are willing to respond, please send your name and the time of the church service you normally attend to Margie Best at mwbest@bellsouth.net.  The ushers will be given the list of names so that they know who to enlist help from in a need.  Thank you.

ASP Spring Chore Day:  The youth who are attending this year’s Appalachia Service Project trip to Tennessee are ready to tackle your spring projects!  We have designated Saturday, May 7th as our Spring Chore Day, from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.  Our crews of youth and adults are ready to complete any jobs needed such as weeding, mulch, window cleaning, car washing, and general yard cleanup.  We bring tools and supplies, hoping to help you check something off of your list.  If you are interested in having a team assigned to your home, please contact Stephanie and Brad Hirschy at shirschy@yahoo.com or 919-234-2923.  We will contact you to schedule a time and review additional details.  Your support of St. Paul’s youth and their annual participation with the Appalachia Service Project is greatly appreciated.

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE, MAY 15th: Help the children pack. We have opportunity to help plant “seeds” in the children by helping them to pack meals for stop hunger now.  Donations to support this event will be welcomed (if we surpass the goal, funds will be carried over to the next SHN event)–donations can be made at our registration link.  To register, go to http://events.stophungernow.org/stpaulscary and please note “adult helper” where the registration indicates “affiliation”–this helps us separate the adult helpers from the children and their parents.  If you have any questions, please contact Glenda Swann at swann.glenda@gmail.com or Christine Ingram at christine.ingram@stpaulscary.org.

Parish Quarterly Meeting:  Please join your fellow parishioners for the parish quarterly meeting, Sunday April 24 between the 9:00 am and 11:15 am services.  Children’s, Music, Outreach, and Youth ministry members will give the parish a brief overview of their recent ministry work.  Mark your calendar to hear the good things happening at St. Paul’s.

COFFEE HOUR MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS:  The Spring Mini Ministry Fair will be held in the parish hall during coffee hour today.  A few of the groups present at this fair will include: Altar Guild, Fellowship, Lectors, Memorial Garden, Ministry of Mothers Sharing, Refuge for Refugees, Senior Ministry, Urban Ministries, and the Women’s Study Group.  Don’t miss this opportunity to see what’s happening within our parish and beyond.

Next week there will be a Parish Quarterly Update in the church following the 9:00 service.  There will not be a formal coffee hour in the parish hall, but coffee will be served by the Vestry in the narthex before the meeting.

George and Cathy: A Picnic Contest:  Rev. George and Dr. Cathy are having a contest for the picnic!  Picnic Sunday is June 5, 2016 (it is George’s birthday, too).  The contest is collecting donations for either George or Cathy. The priest with the most donations collected by May 28 will have to wear either Red Sox gear (for George who doesn’t like the Red Sox) or Patriots Gear (for Cathy who REALLY doesn’t like the Patriots).  All funds collected go to the ministries and missions of St. Paul’s.  Donations are collected in jars in the parish hall each Sunday during Coffee Hour…find the table with the balloons and gear.  So far the priests are TIED at $30 each!!!  Let the games begin!  In the case of a tie on picnic Sunday, BOTH priests will wear their gear!

PRESCHOOL: Looking for fun this summer?  Please join St. Paul’s Preschool at Summer Fun Camp.  Week 1 will be Tuesday, May 31st – Friday, June 3rd, and Week 2 will be held Monday, June 6th – Thursday, June 9th from 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Summer Fun Camp is for children 2- 6 years old.  Applications and more information can be found on the Preschool page of the website.  Come join the fun!

GoDo Outreach Ministry:  Come join GoDo on Saturday, April 30th, as we help the Brown Bag Ministry prepare and serve lunches for the homeless and hungry.  For this particular event, we need 14 volunteers for about half a Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Brown Bag also accepts donations for migrant workers, specifically dried black beans, dried rice, men’s long sleeved dress shirts size S/M, baseball caps, and sunscreen.  If you are interested in participating and/or donating, please contact Joe Sechler at jssechler@gmail.com.  Please look for future GoDo events that will be announced throughout the year!

Children’s Ministries

  • Children’s Chapel will be held at the 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. services today. These sessions are for children ages 3 through 2nd  Please follow the children’s cross processional to the youth wing.
  • Communion Classes continue today. Participants–please meet Dr. Cathy in the back corner of the sanctuary immediately following the 9:00 a.m. service.
  • Please contribute to the Children’s Stewardship Basket as the children continue their collection toward our $2944 goal that will sponsor a children’s Stop Hunger Now Day on May 15, 2016. To date we have collected $2672.85.  We are so close to our goal!  If you and your children would like to participate in our Stop Hunger Now day event on May 15, 2016 from 10:15 – 11:15 a.m., registration is easy!  Go to http://events.stophungernow.org/StPaulsCary and sign up!  We are limited to 100 participants (children and adults) and spots are first come, first served–spaces are filling up quickly (75 spots are already filled)!  Children (ages 3 to 5th grade) must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at this event.
  • Heroes and Villains Vacation Bible School participant and volunteer registration forms are available in the narthex and the Ed. Bldg. Please join us for the daytime or evening sessions June 20-24, 2016.
  • Pre-EYC is spending the weekend on their annual retreat. Please pray for the children and adult chaperones as they enjoy all God’s Creations.

YOUTH

  • Sunday School: The lesson today is entitled “Prayer: Changing Hearts.” Middle School meets in the Youth Wing (go straight there, snacks are provided) and High School meets in Room 10.
  • Confirmation: Class will meet at the Center for Hope and Healing during the Education Hour. Rev. George will lead a second class on Holy Scripture.
  • EYC Today 5-7 pm: Regular EYC. Come join in our Episcopal Youth Community fun and fellowship. Dinner is served!
  • Small Group Discussions & Pie Eating, Tuesday April 19 6-7 pm: We enjoyed our Lenten Study time together so much, we’re going to continue meeting on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month. The format will be simple: eat dinner beforehand or bring it with you.  We will watch a short video and discuss how our faith informs different topics.  And we will eat pie!  Meet in Room 10 this time.

 REFUGE for REFUGEES:  Many of you have expressed an interest in meeting the Bariz family, our refugee family from Afghanistan/Pakistan.  They are eager to meet you as well to say “thank you” for all you have done for them.  Please come to a reception today, at 3:00 p.m. in the parish hall.  Cake, coffee, and lemonade will be provided.  If you would like to bring some finger foods as well, that would be great!  OK! Let’s PARTY!

DORCAS:  Thank you for your support of the toilet paper collection for Dorcas Ministry Food Pantry.  Our goal was to provide 200 rolls (which is 50 rolls per week for a month).  We actually collected 360 rolls on Sunday March 20th which is a more than a 7-week supply.  Our next collection won’t be until May 8th.

FAITH ON TAP: Join your fellow parishioners, both men and women, in sampling local establishments with more than 10 taps.  The next outing will be Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Tyler’s Tap Room, 1483 Beaver Creek Commons Drive, Apex, NC 27502.  Please contact Tyrus Cohan (228) 223-4558 or tcohan0117@gmail.com with any questions.