WOMEN'S RETREAT
October 29 - October 30, 2010
Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo

SEEKING A SPIRITUAL BALANCE
Presented by: Sonja Hinderlie ~
Mount Carmel Ministries

 You will not want to miss this special retreat. Invite your mother, sister, daughter of friend to attend with you. Be ready for fun, fellowship, games, laughter and spiritual refreshment.

Questions please speak to committee members:
Kathryn Cox
Stephanie Hanson
Tracey Morris
Rikka Estenson
Sharon Nelson
363 SANDWICH MAKING
On the Second Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM we will be making sandwiches to fee the homeless in Minneapolis. If you would like to sign up to help, please contact Abby Peterson @763-498-6771 or the church office at 763-498-8311. We do need to know how many people will be coming so we have enough "sandwich fixings". We have enough fixings to make 150 sandwiches, if there are more people who would like to participate, we can make more than 150 sandwiches.

GUEST SPEAKERS NEEDED
We are looking for guest speakers for the 2010 - 2011 Confirmation year who would be willing to share a 5 - 15 minute faith story! If you are interested in the following topics, please contact Sharon Griffin at sharong@stma.k12.mn.us or 763-497-2462.

September 29, 2010: Someone who has a story to share about the importance of forgiveness and how forgiveness has played a role in their work or personal life

October 13: A nature lover, especially a hunter or fischer who will talk about a time they have been tempted and what the end results were from that temptation. It would be ideal if you can relate the story to some sort of nature experience.

WEB INSTALLER WANTED
We have a neat web page on the internet, but our guy who updates our monthly newsletter and forms is moving out of state by the end of September. According to him it only takes 5 - 10 minutes to update. If this is your area of expertise and would like to help us out, please call Sue Duley at 763-498-8938 (work) or 763-497-8463 (home) for more information.

SPONSOR A PRESCHOOLER - CHILDREN'S COUNTRY PRESCHOOL
Children's Country Preschool is proud to be an outreach program of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for 37 years. We offer an out-standing Christian preschool program and have a strong reputation in our community. As the year progresses, we continue to see a need for tuition assistance help from our families.

Last year we implemented a new program called "Sponsor a Preschooler. The way this program works is that any donations to this fund will be applied to our tuition assistance program. Parents will be able to apply for tuition assistance, and based on the amount of money we have in the fund and the number applying, we can offer a percentage of tuition assistance to our families in need.
The amount of tuition per year:
Two-Day Program - $945.00
Three-Day - $1070.00.

The preschool is a 501c3 non-profit organization which allows any donations to be tax deductible. A letterhead thank you, along with a surprise from a child, will be sent to each contributor. Think about this, pray about this and any help you can give will be very much appreciated. This will be an on-going program. Please make any donations to “Children’s Country Preschool” and in the memo section “Tuition assistance.” Place your donation either in the offering plate or mail to PO Box 8, Hanover, MN  55341. Thank you for your support!
TASK FORCE PURPOSE STATEMENT
A Task Force was commissioned by St. Paul's Church Council to investigate our relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Concerns with the direction and hierarchical structure of the church have manifested themselves over the years. The Task Force';s first step of action is to solicit information from you, the church membership here at St. Paul's. An information forum will be scheduled to help educate one another about the important issues facing the church. The Task Force members are: Scott Wentzel, Chris Wentzel, Wade Leistico, Bruce Duley, Lori Evans, Marc Cote, Meryl Barthel, and Abby Peterson.

BREAD BREAKERS FELLOWSHIP
Breadbreakers is a group that helps you to get better acquainted with other members of the congregation. Groups gather for dinner at various locations, favorite restaurants, the park or at different homes. Meals are planned and prepared by the group, this is a great time of fellowship and fun.

MUSCIANS WANTED!
Our groups are starting up again and we'd love to have you as part of one or more of them! See the Music Page for more information regarding Adult Choir, Bell Choir and Worship Team opportunities.

YOUTH TRIP 2010
All youth in grades 9 - 12 are welcome to come to The Summer Festival at Gustavus in St. Peter July 11- 15, go to www.summerfestivalmn.com for more information. If you are interested or want more information contact Tracey or Pastor Gorden at 763-498-8311.
SENIOR HIGH FELLOWSHIP - WEDNESDAYS 6:30PM
We invite all Senior High Youth (10 - 12 grade) to join us for fun, fellowship and lots of laughter. We meet every other Wednesday evening at 6:30PM in the youth room to share our highs and lows, talk about our faith and make lasting friendships. Please plan to join us and feel free to invite your friends as well. ALL ARE WELCOME! If you have any questions or if you just aren't sure if this is for you, please give us a call - Scott & Chris Wentzel 763-428-3733.
SUNDAY SCHOOL SUPPLIES
While doing your back to school shopping, Please keep Sunday School in mind, we could use Glue Sticks, Kleenex, Dixie Cups and children's Scissors.

WRAPPER FUNDRAISER
Please save the following wrappers/pouches and bring them to the church office. Each wrapper/pouch means a donation to our Youth Group from Nabisco/Kraft.
11 oz. wrappers of - Capri Sun; Kool Aid; Honest Kids; Chips Ahoy; Nutter Butter; Oreo; Mallowmars; Fig Newtons; Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs and Oreo Cakesters
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
We will be starting up a Youth Commission of young people interested in planning youth activities. If you are interested in becoming involved in this exciting mission, please contact Tracey Morris at the church 763-498-8311. Your input and help is invaluable!

SEWERS ARE NEEDED
Do you need Community Service hours for school or NHS? We have LWR School Kit bags cut and are ready to be sewn. This is the perfect project for a beginner. If you are interested please contact Tracey Morris at the Church 763-498-8311.

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY
St. Paul's has a Prayer Shawl group that makes shawls for people who are dealing with illness, death, grief or other difficulties. If you know of someone who could benefit from a reminder of God's love and our prayers, please contact Helen in the Church office 763-498-8311 to arrange to have a shawl delivered.

These Shawls are a wonderful comfort and surround people with the Love of God and the love and prayers of St. Paul's.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the Prayer Shawl Ministry and you know how to crochet or knit, patterns and instructions are available in the church office. If you would like to be a part of this Ministry but don't know how to knit or crochet or aren't comfortable with where your skills are at, sometime in the upcoming months a class will be scheduled to teach people how to make Prayer Shawls. Watch the Communicator and Bulletin for further information.

If you would like to support this ministry but are not a needle arts person, we would gladly accept monetary donation toward the purchase of yarn, just specify that the donation is for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

RIDE SHARE IS UP AND RUNNING
If you or someone you know needs a ride to Church, we have volunteers willing to pick people up, bring them to church and bring them home again. Please contact the church office for more details 763-498-8311.
COMMUNITY CLOTHES CLOSET
St. Paul's has opened a clothing shelf to provide clothing items to local families in need. The clothing shelf will be open on Wednesdays - 10:00AM to 1:00PM. If you have any questions please contact Stephanie Hanson at 763-477-6496 or Helen in the Church office at 763-498-8311.

The Bell Choir is in need of a couple more ringers!! Participants do need to have some basic music-reading ability, but no other experience is necessary. If you would be interested in joining us, our rehearsals are Monday nights at 7:00PM, starting again January 19th. If you have any questions please contact Stacey at 952-955-1387.
CHURCH NURSERY
The Church Nursery is open during the 9:15 and 10:45am Worship Services. This nursery is located in the church basement Children's Country Preschool room. In order for this to happen we need many volunteers, adults and youth. There is a sign up in the folder that is passed around on Sundays or call Jill Johnson the Nursery Coordinator at 497-4209.
FAITH STORY / TESTIMONY
St. Paul's is wondering if anyone would like to share their faith story / testimony. These written stories would be published in the Communicator, bulletin or both. This is something the worship committee hopes many of you will be interested in. We are open to many different formats and stories: your testimony could be about a time that you felt God was there for you keeping you strong and keeping you going in a time of need. It could also be sharing about the time God came into your life, how God's presence affected you and what things in your life have been changed by recognizing God at work.

If you are interested in sharing your story please contact any member of the worship committee: Pastor Gorden, Stacy Lewandowski, Carolyn Isch, Sheryl Barthel, Lori Evans and Alex Joos. Each person's contact information can be found in your new directory.
EVANGELISM & SOCIAL ACTIVITIES TEAM
This team is looking for people interested in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ through programs, services and fun activities.

When hearing the word Evangelism, it might bring on a sense of unease or you may picture someone going door to door with a Bible in one hand and giving a personal testimony about what God has done in their life. This may be what some are called to do, BUT - Evangelism is so much more! Everyday and in hundreds of ways we spread the Good News of Jesus and it can be fun!

The following are some of the programs and activities that are starting to take place here at St. Paul's:

Ride Share Do you know someone who would love to attend church on Sunday mornings but has no way to get there? If this sounds like something you would be interested in being a part of and you would be willing to give someone a ride, call Marc Cote at 763-498-0036; Abby Peterson 763-498-0036 or the Church at
763-498-8311.

Bread Breakers The Bread Breakers gather as families and get to know one another on a personal level. For more information call the Church office at
763-498-8311.

Fellowship of Frolicking Believers Adult members of St. Paul's come and enjoy social activities. For more information call the Church office at 763-498-8311.