St Paul Lutheran Church, Jersey City, NJ

Wednesday prayers in August

admin1 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:03:00 +0000

We will continue to gather for prayer on Wednesday evenings in August. Pr. David Achariam will lead an informal liturgy of prayers and readings. All are welcome to join us on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. in the church.

Women’s group meets August 9

admin1 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:58:22 +0000

Our newly formed women’s group will have its next meeting on Monday, August 9, at 7 pm in the parish hall. The group is reading books and discussing them from a Christian standpoint. At the August meeting, we will discuss Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Come even if you haven’t read the book!

Sharing Place volunteers – note change!

admin1 — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:27:32 +0000

Some of the dates in our last post were incorrect. Many apologies if you planned around them! When we really need people with a good heart to help feed the hungry:

Thursday, July 22, 8:30 am to unload the food truck.
(These dates have not changed) Saturdays, July 24 and 31, from 6:30 am to about 1 pm to distribute food. You can carry boxes, make bags, or prepare sandwiches–there’s something for everyone!

Contact Santos Murillo, Sharing Place director to volunteer.

admin1 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:08:31 +0000

Worship Services

Sundays, 10 am: Holy Communion

Wednesdays, 7 pm: Evening Prayer, or Holy Communion during Advent (4 weeks before Christmas) and Lent (6 weeks leading up to Easter).

Who can attend worship at St. Paul?

We invite you to worship with us whether you are:

A Lutheran
A Christian from another church body
A person of faith of any religion
Not really much of a believer

At the altar for Holy Communion, we welcome all baptized Christians who believe that Christ is really present in the bread and wine.

Babies and children are especially welcome at St. Paul. Baptized children may receive Holy Communion, regardless of their age. We understand that little ones need to move around and sometimes make noise. When a child really needs a break, there’s a little area in the narthex at the back where parents can take them to find a soft toy and help them calm down.

What is worship like at St. Paul?

At St. Paul Lutheran Church, we worship in the historic liturgical tradition of the church catholic. That’s small-c catholic, meaning “universal”—we worship the way the church has worshipped for a long, long time. Our worship is centered around Word and Sacrament.

Word

We read the Bible because we believe it contains the Word of God. Most of the time we read three Bible lessons and sing a Psalm. We also sing and pray the Bible! Many of our hymns and our prayers come from the Bible. At St. Paul, we love to sing, and our wonderful organ and great acoustics makes singing God’s Word fun and rewarding.
Oh, and there’s a sermon, too! The sermon generally applies the Bible lessons of the day to our daily lives. Martin Luther said that proper preaching includes both Law, which shows us why we need God, and Gospel, which shows us God’s love freely given to fill our need. Sermons are usually 15-20 minutes long.

Sacrament

At the heart of our worship—and of our lives—is Baptism. In Baptism, we die to ourselves and are reborn in Christ. God accepts us as beloved children, even though we’re not worthy of such a great gift. Baptism is about what God does for us and to us and in us, not about what we believe or know or do. So Lutherans baptize infants as well as adults. If you would like to be baptized or have your child baptized, please contact the pastor.

At the heart of every Sunday service, as well as festivals such as Christmas, is Holy Communion. We believe that the bread and wine is “the body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you,” as the ministers say to each communicant. We leave the altar fed with God’s great love for us, forgiven our sins, and strengthened for a life of service to others.

admin1 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:45:36 +0000

God has a passion for justice. The people of St. Paul Lutheran Church follow the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19: 18, Matthew 22:39) by caring for the people in our neighborhood and by advocating for justice for all people on earth.

The Sharing Place is the largest food pantry in Hudson County.
We make facilities available to the Lutheran Home for Children and Alcoholics / Narcotics Anonymous groups.
We are expanding our community service through the St. Paul Center for Caring.
We pray at every worship service for peace and justice.

Photos from St. Paul Center for Caring dedication

admin1 — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:45:08 +0000

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Beverly Savage of Hudson County CASA, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise

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

admin1 — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:21:08 +0000

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

admin1 — Wed, 26 May 2010 22:19:36 +0000

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

admin1 — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:52:41 +0000

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

admin1 — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:39:26 +0000

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.