St. Paul's Monthly
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June 2020 St. Paul’s Monthly Newsletter 5501 Main at Binz/Bissonnet • Houston, TX 77004 /stpaulshouston 713-528-0527 | www.stpaulshouston.org @stpaulshouston Pastor’s Message Worship at St. Paul’s Amid COVID-19 Concerns Every time you cross my mind, I Thanks to the many members who Small changes may be made to the break out in exclamations of thanks to responded to a survey conducted in late content and organization of this page, God. Each exclamation is a trigger to April about St. Paul’s online worship. as circumstances change. prayer. I find myself praying for you To the extent possible, these results Presentation Changes with a glad heart. I am so pleased that have guided several changes to the way Since the church has transitioned you have continued on in this with us, worship is presented and made accessi- to worship online only, the methods of believing and proclaiming God’s ble online. These responses also helped presentation have continued to change, Message, from the day you heard it guide the Re-Gathering Task Force though the liturgy remains a constant. right up to the present. There has determine priorities as did guidance Responding to those who miss the never been the slightest doubt in my from the local medical community. mind that the God who started this beloved sanctuary yet do not like to great work in you would keep at it and Easier Access to Online Worship see it empty, services are moving from bring it to a flourishing finish on the An overlay to the website has made home recordings to one-person-at-a- very day Christ Jesus appears. it easier to get to the online streaming time recordings within the sanctuary, — Philippians 1:3-6 (The Message) page. From the homepage, simply click though not from traditional locations. What an amazing season this has on “Worship Online,” which is one of Thanks to much additional been! Whenever I think about all that the only four choices, and takes you to behind-the-scenes work by Audio/ we as a family and a church have been www.stpaulshouston.org/live-stream. Visual Specialist and Digital Archivist through, like Paul to the Philippians, I Near the top of that page are the Tim Leatherwood and Organ Scholar find myself praying with a glad heart. choices of watching the service on live- Ben Kerswell, music will continue to We have pivoted so much in the way stream or YouTube. The same service be presented in a variety of ways — we worship, do is relayed at the same time through recordings from previous services, outreach, care for both means. Both options are provided virtual choirs compiled digitally, solo- others, and you to accommodate those for whom the ists and small ensembles. continue to be the YouTube service is more stable. (You Future? church. I am grate- also can subscribe to St. Paul’s YouTube While plans are being made to ful to Tim and his channel and go direct to it at any time.) gradually re-open all activities at or A/V team for Also near the top of that page are related to St. Paul’s, the Re-Gathering countless hours in buttons to access the worship bulletin Task Force has determined that to have editing worship and children’s activity bulletins, make “worship as St. Paul’s worships,” open services together and to Ben for the prayer requests, register attendance, Sunday morning services will be in the virtual choirs. I am grateful to all of and give online. last phase. That will allow full partici- you who have made our first year St. Also on the Online Worship Page pation by all, complete with congrega- Paul’s such a good experience. Below those buttons are suggested tional singing. I am also grateful for the ministry of ways to engage in worship while prac- Other opportunities for online this church. The scripture goes on to ticing social distancing; the service and worship and prayer are expanding to say how we trust in the God who has sermon archive, including Wednes- include Evening Prayer, Compline, started a great work in you. That day messages; information about the and spiritual practice. Plans to conduct means were not finished, you don’t upcoming Sunday services, including the sacraments of baptism and holy have to look far to see the work ahead the Lectionary readings illuminated by communion are being formulated and of us. We still have work to do in our art; “Words from our Pastors,” which may begin soon. church, our community and in the are the weekly messages emailed on And it is anticipated that after world — keep up the good work! Fridays and as needed, and COVID- in-person worship is again possible, Peace, 19 updates. The page concludes with many of the approaches that have Jeff information about music at St. Paul’s made online worship a robust experi- Rev. Dr. Jeff McDonald, Senior Pastor and the Weslayan Love Feast. ence will continue. Nicholas Moreno - North Shore Senior High School Saluting Our Graduates Alexandra (Alex) Mosby - Duschesne High School Although the COVID-19 pandemic took many of the Niels (Chris) Nielsen - Penn Foster High School joys from the usual celebrators of the high school gradua- Claire Orr - Montgomery High School tion milestone, St. Paul’s salutes their growth to this mile- stone and looks toward the future of this year’s graduates. William Perdue - St. John’s High School This year’s usual senior recognition Sunday morphed Mignon Perque - St. Agnes Academy into a reading of each senior’s names along with their Mindy Phan - Cypress Falls High School picture on the May17 live-streamed worship service. The Juliet Philpott - Alta Independent High School e-mailed Pastor’s Message on May 29 included a video Julianna Reeves - Bellaire High School salute from Tiffin Wilsford, Director of Youth Ministries, Elijah Rivera - Galena Park High School followed by videos of four of the seniors, who eloquently spoke of what their years at St. Paul’s, especially their youth Tom Roff - The Kinkaid School years, have meant to them. Ana-Sofia Ruiz - Memorial High School These still may be viewed on St. Paul’s YouTube channel Alexandra Saldana - Galena Park High School Following is a list of this year’s seniors along with the Avery Sanderlin - Dawson High School name of the school from which they have graduated: Dez’mon Scott - Cypress Falls High School Daniela Arena - Lamar Consolidated High School Andrew Smith - St. John’s High School Will Austin - Lamar High School Maddie Bender - Friendswood High School Ella Reagan Blewer - Kinder High School for the Perform- ing and Visual Arts Ariana Bonilla - Cypress Lakes High School Matana Boyle - Bellaire High School Whitney Clark - Lamar High School Melony Davis - Bellaire High School Ethan Duong - Cypress Falls High School Lindsey Ford - Cypress Falls High School Clean House, Garage = Taylor Frick - Magnolia High School Elizabeth Gutierrez - Cypress Falls High School Support Youth Missions Megan Hoffman - North Shore Senior High School St. Paul’s Youth can help you divest of items in your home — big or small — that you no longer want or need. Morgan Hoffman - North Shore Senior High School They will sell them for you online. That includes all the Brooke Humlicek - Friendswood High School steps leading up to the sale, such as taking photographs. Sam Irvin - St. Pius X High School They will remove the sold items from your property and Blake LeBlanc - Cypress Falls High School package and ship or deliver them, as needed. Proceeds from Ariadne Lopez - Galena Park High School your sales then become a tax-free donation for St. Paul’s Elaina Manalac - Episcopal High School Youth activities and service projects. Christian Martin - Cypress Lakes High School For details, please contact Tiffin via tiffin@stpaulshous ton.org or 713- 858-9113. Kaylee Mathews - Friendswood High School McKenna Miller - Kinder High School for the Performing Youth Venturing Outside Together and Visual Arts Youth groups will transition to small, in-person, Julie Moreno - Galena Park High School outdoor gatherings in mid-June, consistent with CDC Ivan Moreno - North Shore Senior High School guidelines. The schedule and locations will vary but may still Confirmation Rings include mid-week gatherings on Wednesdays, Tuesday Girls Youth leaders are visiting each of this year’s confirmands Bible Study, and Thursday Guys Bible Study. — from Katy to League City and most points between — to To ensure receiving the latest information, e-mail Tiffin deliver the confirmation rings normally presented after the Wilsford via [email protected], Oksana Schwak via in-person confirmation service. A live service is still being [email protected], or Kat Denton via kat@stpauls planned. houston.org. St. Paul’s Monthly • June 2020 • Page 2 • St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Houston • 713-528-0527 • www.stpaulshouston.org Meet Matt Perez, New Choral Scholars Director Succeeding Choral Scholars Director Eddie Quaid, whose retirement was Who to Contact to... announced last month, is Matthew (Matt) Perez. let the Church know of births, Perez also is a choral director at hospitalizations, illnesses, deaths Cypress-Falls High School from where six of the 2010-20 Choral Scholars were in the family or other concerns, drawn and where he directs five ensem- contact Nina Hall via nina@stpaul- bles. shouston.org or 713-528-0527x113. A 2012 graduate of Lamar Univer- update your membership sity with a Bachelor of Music Degree, emphasis on choral music, he will grad- records, including email address(es) uate this summer with a Master’s degree and telephone numbers, please in Choral Conducting from Michigan contact Rachel Wiggs via rachel@ State University.