Welcome to Saint Paul’s!
St. Paul’s is a different kind of church. We’re not a large megachurch with a sound stage and a suped-up production machine, but we strive to be a church full of authentic followers of Jesus. No matter how you come to visit us, we pray you’ll find clear examples of God’s love, whether through us or through our ministries – but hopefully both!
You might be excited about finding a church to belong to, or you might be a bit fearful from bad church experiences in the past. Either way, if you are looking for a church that focuses on creating spiritual fruits, not religious nuts, then you have come to the right place!
As a Christian family of faith,
Saint Paul’s affirms God’s love by
transforming lives,
connecting generations,
impacting our community & world,
and
making disciples for Jesus Christ.
New Beginnings
August promises to be a wonderful month in the life of St. Paul’s, full of new beginnings and new life! On August 11th we’ll start the new school year by collecting supplies for Tools for Teaching, Blessing Backpacks and School Bags for all students and school staff. Tools for Teaching is in great need this year and we hope you’ll help this great organization that stocks school supplies for teachers and students.
In August we’ll confirm the remainder of our confirmands from Confirmation Camp and celebrate with them after church. Colin Elfring was confirmed on July 28th, and on August 18th we’ll confirm Celina Stafford, Layla Watson, and Dylan Watson. All four of our Confirmands participated in Confirmation Camp from July 21-24 with Zion United Methodist Church. There were a total of six youth participating, and each was given a confirmation sponsor from their local church to be their adult faith partner during this process and beyond.
The week following Confirmation Sunday, on August 25, we will baptize one of our children, Charlie Didia, as he has made the decision to accept Jesus Christ at a very young age and we are excited for what God has ahead of him in his life. Charlie’s parents are Amanda and Jon Didia, and Charlie is a graduate of our Christian School!
With all these new things starting, it’s easy to get excited about our ministry here at St. Paul’s. As the new school year begins, this is a time when many people decide to begin coming to church more regularly, so you may see some new faces among us! Whether they are returning friends, or completely new faces, this is a great time to welcome them and “love our neighbors as we love ourselves,” echoing Jesus’s command in Matthew 22:39.
Let’s be on the lookout for those who need a new friend or a warm smile as they come into our doors for what may be the first time. It can be intimidating to enter a new church, especially one where you are sure to be noticed, so let’s make it easy on them when they realize they’ve met a whole bunch of new friends!
With the Peace of Christ,
Robert
Happy Easter
Happy Easter! Easter Sunday was an amazing celebration and I was blessed to be able to share it with all of you during worship. Thanks to everyone who made Holy Week and Easter so great! From Palm Sunday to Good Friday, the Sunrise service, Breakfast, Easter Egg Hunt and the 10:30 service, I am blessed to be here among you!
Pentecost Sunday is June 9th, so we have the whole month of May to celebrate the resurrection as well as the end of school, the beginning of summer, and the return of our YMCA Summer camp on the grounds of St. Paul’s. We’re glad to have them back for another summer starting May 28th!
May will be a big month on another front, and I want to make sure everyone is in church on May 12th for a special Sunday. During worship I’ll be speaking about our Ministry to Children & Youth, specifically letting you know how the updated Florida Conference Children & Youth Protection Policy will affect St. Paul’s. This year, churches across Florida will be implementing the same updated Protection Policy in order to better protect and minister with their Children, Youth, and families. While some of the specifics will be a part of Children & Youth volunteer training, all of us in worship will learn the basics of the new policy so we can be prepared to create the best environment possible here at St. Paul’s. After all, it takes the whole church family to make sure our Children and Youth are growing their faith in a safe environment!
As summer begins, we will have many special opportunities, from overnight summer camp at Warren Willis, Confirmation Sundays and Day Camp, Annual Conference and more! I look forward to being with you through all of it as we affirm God’s love here at St. Paul’s UMC!
The Lord is Risen Indeed!
Robert
Lent: Tell the Story
Each Sunday in Lent, we’ve been examining a particular Disciple’s story in order to better see how we can be more faithful disciples. Each of “The Twelve,” as they’re sometimes called, weren’t superheroes but rather normal people like you and me. Their stories, while located in a certain time period, are still human stories. Like human beings around the world and across time, the original twelve disciples had many of the same issues that we have. Some of them may have come from broken families, and most would have experienced the loss of a parent by the time Jesus called them, among many other events and personal challenges in those turbulent 1st Century time. Even Jesus, with his God-in-man status, was not immune to the ebbs and flows of family fortune. Joseph, Jesus’s earthly “father,” is never mentioned after the birth story, leading many Bible scholars to conclude that he had passed away by the time Jesus began his ministry. Even Jesus would have felt the pangs of grief as he watched Joseph’s passing. All of them had stories, and God loved them. So, what’s your story?
The interaction we’ve been doing during worship this Lent is supposed to help you tell your faith story to others. What brought you to Jesus? What brought you to St. Paul’s? What Disciple do you personally identify with? Is there something in their story that connects with yours? Telling our story is vitally important in forming a healthy church, and joining together to hear how God has worked in someone else’s life is one of the greatest gifts we can give another person. This is essentially what happened in the early Methodist movement, and why it grew with such speed across England in the 18th Century. Fellow disciples, banding together in groups of 6-12 people to pray with each other, share each others’ stories, listen, and together answer the question, “How is it with your soul?”
This Lent, as we listen to the stories of these men who lived with Jesus long ago, let’s ask ourselves, “Is it my story too?”
Repent and believe,
Robert