NEWS
WEEKLY UPDATE
April 28th, 2024
Spring Clean Up
We will have spring clean-up coming in the next couple weeks., please keep an eye out for an announcement on a date and time. This is a great opportunity to get the yard raked, weeds out, trimming tree branches, etc. We appreciate everyone that is able/willing to help out!
Congregational Care
If you or your loved one are going through a time of being homebound due to illness or mobility issues, we have friendly visitors who would love to visit you. What can you expect? Friendly conversation, work on a puzzle, play a card game, read a devotional and prayer. Call the office and let them know you would like more information and you will receive a call back from JillMarie Cassada or Deb Weber. Let us be part of your community.
Pastor Tori Retirement Celebration
Please join us on Sunday, May 5th, as we celebrate Pastor Tori’s retirement. Refreshments will be served in Fellowship Hall between services. We will have a card box and a special memento that will need all of your signatures and best wishes for her. Join us as we thank God for Pastor Tori’s ministry here at St. Paul’s and wish her and Ken the best as they begin this new chapter in their lives.
Last Week’s Worship Attendance
8:00am: 73
9:15am: 138
10:30am: 43
Online: 82
Total: 336
Last Week’s Offering:
Offering: $6,625
Online Giving: $5,833
Haiti Fund $1,691
Building: $80
Good Samaritan: $10
Total: $14,239
PASTOR'S MESSAGE
May 2024
I was a little frantic and everyone at the staff meeting helped me to settle down and settle into what would be my home for the next 5 + years. I needed some help that day, Pastor Luke and the entire staff were there for me on that day and over the years. As a matter of fact, we were there for each other, as we formed a tight team. While we are different people, we care deeply about each other, we all love God, and we all love St. Paul’s.
As time went on and I got to know the congregation of St. Paul’s, my love for all of you has grown with each passing day. We have been through some tough times (remembering the pandemic, the deaths of your loved ones, conflicting opinions) and some wonderful times (weddings, baptisms, confirmations, laughter, singing, Cajun boils, October fests, visiting you at the hospital or in your homes, sticking together through it all.) I cherish each one of those moments and I cherish each one of you.
I think you may remember that when Pastor Leon left, he sent you a letter, reminding you that he could not come back to do weddings, or funerals or baptism…and that if he did come back to visit or fill in, it would not be for a long time. I am letting you know that is the same for me as it is for every pastor. That is the hard part, yet I want to remind you that I am taking what you have meant to me, as I move forward into retirement with Ken. I will never forget you.
Ken and I are different and better people than we were when we arrived here 5 years ago, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your love and support have meant so very much. We continue to be in prayer for you and we’ll be excited to see who is the new pastor that God has selected for St. Paul’s.
I want to leave you with these important words from Winnie the Pooh…
How fortunate I am to have something, that makes saying goodbye, so hard.
With Love and prayer for God’s continued blessings of St. Paul’s,
Pastor Tori and Ken