Liberty State Park picnic September 12

Members and friends of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Jersey City, will kick off a new year of Christian education and other programming with a Rally Day picnic in Liberty State Park on Sunday, September 12. Join us for worship at 10 am, and then we’ll all pile into cars to the picnic area in the park. We’ll grill and share a potluck picnic. Bring a picnic dish to share if you can–or just come! We’ll have games for all ages. This is a great time to invite a friend or neighbor to St. Paul’s.

Women’s group Sept. 13

St. Paul’s women’s group meets monthly to discuss a book all have read. Join us on Monday, September 13, at 7 pm in the parish hall for a discussion of the novel Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle.

Photos from St. Paul Center for Caring dedication

We welcomed dignitaries and community members to the dedication of the St. Paul Center for Caring on June 18.  Special thanks to Beverly Savage, executive director of Hudson County CASA, for spearheading the event.

St. Paul Center for Caring dedication

We are honored to host U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, and other dignitaries on Friday, June 18, 10 am, to dedicate the St. Paul Center for Caring. A Community Development Block Grant and generous support from both the city and the county have made possible a major renovation of our community center/parish hall and church basement to host a variety of community service organizations. Chief among these is Hudson County CASA (court appointed special advocates), whose executive director, Beverly Savage, we have to thank for much of what has been accomplished. In addition to our own hunger ministry, the Sharing Place, we also host the Lutheran Home for Children, a ministry of Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey; several AA / NA groups, including one that has been meeting continuously for about 50 years; and various other community meetings and groups. All are welcome to join the dedication festivities Friday at 10 am in the parking lot.

Young people with (Holy) Spirit

Six baptized members of St. Paul Lutheran Church confirmed their commitment to Christ’s church by Affirmation of Baptism (what we used to call confirmation) on Pentecost, May 23. It was a wonderful Spirit-filled celebration highlighted by the premiere of a new setting of the liturgy written by our own Christopher Greene.  We are proud of our young people for their hard work in learning about the Bible and the church. We thank God for their faith and their presence among us. (Click on the images to enlarge.)

Photos from Pastor David’s ordination

On Sunday, May 17, David Swarganadan Rajah Achariam was ordained to the Holy Ministry of Word and Sacrament at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Pastor David will be the mission developer for the South Asian satellite congregation being established here.

The Rev. Roy Riley, Bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, presided at the ordination and Eucharist. The preacher was the Rev. Dr. Paul Rajashekar, Academic Dean of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Presenters were the Rev. Judith Spindt, assistant to the bishop, and the Rev. Fred Niederheiser, one of David’s mentors. Clergy and church members from around the synod attended, as well as members of St. Paul and David’s family and other supporters. Afterward, we all enjoyed a splendid Indian feast.

New Christians baptized at Easter

Mi’Kayla Bell, daughter of Brionna Bell, and Esther Ritter, daughter of Pr. Jessica Lambert and Nathan Ritter, were received into Christ’s church on the Vigil of Easter. We rejoice with these families for the lives of these beautiful babies and praise God for receiving them as God’s own.

Organ to be restored

We’ve just learned that our insurance will cover the damage done to our organ in the latest nor’easter. Repairs, estimated at $65,000, will begin this summer and should be done by fall. Thanks be to God!

South Asian ministry

We are reaching out to the large South Asian community in our neighborhood! In partnership with the New Jersey Synod, the ELCA Division of Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission, the Hudson County Cluster of ELCA churches, and private donors, we will be establishing a “satellite congregation” among the South Asian community that will meet and worship at St. Paul. David Achariam, the mission developer, is to be ordained on May 16. He will begin by building a neighborhood fellowship for businesspeople in our neighborhood. Watch this site for more information on this exciting ministry!

Saints win Souper Bowl!

No, this isn’t a typo. The saints of St. Paul Lutheran Church (simultaneously saints and sinners, as Martin Luther taught us) raised over $1,000 at our Souper Bowl Sunday event on February 7. Our confirmation class, in concert with thousands of Christian youth groups across the country, led us in making a generous offering as we shared a simple lunch of soup and bread. Every penny will go to disaster relief in Haiti through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

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