St Paul Lutheran Church, Jersey City, NJ

Bonhoeffer and spirituals

admin1 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:34:43 +0000

Every Wednesday in Lent, we gather at 7 pm for a liturgy of Holy Communion. This year, these Wednesday worship services center around the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian, author, and leader in the anti-Nazi Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer loved African-American spirituals as a musical expression of the faith, so these are the hymns we sing in our Wednesday liturgies. We are pleased to welcome Pr. Birgit Solano, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Weehauken, as our celebrant.

American Melting Pot March 7

admin1 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:45:17 +0000

Join us on Sunday, March 7, at 4 p.m. for a concert by our choir in residence, Schola Cantorum on Hudson, entitled American Melting Pot. Dr. Deborah Simpkin King, founder and director, will conduct a concert highlighting works by immigrants to America in a variety of genres, from spirituals to jazz to Broadway. Favorites include “Down to the River to Pray” and “it Ain’t Necessarily So.” The group will be joined by this season’s Cantorum Young Singers (CYS), the Wagner College Choir, directed by Dr. Roger Wesby. Tickets are only $15 in honor of Schola’s 15th anniversary season. Buy online or at the door, 440 Hoboken Avenue just off Five Corners.

Saints win Souper Bowl!

admin1 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:40:18 +0000

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.

Feed the hungry

admin1 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:32:38 +0000

The Sharing Place, St. Paul’s ministry to the needy in our neighborhood, sees nearly monthly increases in the number of people who come to us for bags of nutritious food. On the last two Saturdays of every month, we provide bags of groceries or, for the homeless, of ready-to-eat food, to nearly 700 households per month. You can help by donating to the Sharing Place or by volunteering to help distribute food. Contact the Sharing Place director to learn more.

Volunteers are needed to unload food from the Community Food Bank truck on Wednesday, February 17, and Thursday, February 25, at approximately 8:30 am each day.
Food distribution dates are February 20 and 27. Volunteers are needed as early as 6:30 am and as late as 2 pm, depending on need.

Contact the Sharing Place director, Santos Murillo, if you would like to volunteer.

Welcome Fr. Peter Hoyer

admin1 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:27:44 +0000

photo by Amanda Thompson Ragsdale

Pastor Jessica Lambert has begun her maternity leave. From this Sunday throughout Lent until Palm Sunday, March 28, the Rev. Fr. Peter Hoyer, retired (pictured left), will preside and preach at the Sunday liturgies. The Rev. Birgit Solano, pastor of Good Shepherd, Weehauken, will preside at Wednesday Lenten liturgies (7 pm, February 24-March 24). We pray for Pastor Jessica and her family (especially her new daughter) and look forward to welcoming her back on Palm Sunday.

A message to our email subscribers

admin1 — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:52:54 +0000

Once in a while you get a St. Paul email containing a post from months back – most recently, Pastor Jessica’s Pentecost letter. (And a good letter it was, too!) This is a glitch that neither we nor our tech guy know how to fix. We have recently discovered a pattern that should make this happen less often. In the meantime, we apologize for these occasional mistaken messages. We want you to look forward to receiving each of our emails!

Photos from a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat

admin1 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:26:17 +0000

Thanks to United Way of Hudson County and particularly its executive director, Daniel Altilio, the Sharing Place at St. Paul Lutheran Church was able to provide a fresh, hot Thanksgiving feast to over 250 of our needy neighbors on Thanksgiving Day. United Way donated all the food and provided the bulk of the volunteers. The Culinary Institute donated refrigerator space so that volunteers could cook on Wednesday rather than having to arrive at 2 am on Thanksgiving Day! Santos Murillo, Sharing Place director, recruited these good folks and made sure we were able to provide a tasty meal for our guests. Many church members dropped by to make sure our guests felt welcome. We’ll do this again next year!

Bible rap

admin1 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:38:50 +0000

Members of St. Paul Lutheran Church–children and adults–are learning the books of the Bible with a fun rap song introduced by Cindy Kuperus. Sunday School begins each week at 11:30, following the liturgy, with the entire congregation together, learning our Bible-book rap and enjoying a game where we see who can most quickly find a given Bible verse. Then we go to our regular age-specific classes for lessons and activities that last till 12:30. Join us to see how much fun learning the Bible can be!

Wednesday Evening Prayer

admin1 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:11:34 +0000

We worship not only on Sundays at 10 am but also every Wednesday. During Advent, we pray Holden Evening Prayer at 6 pm. Evening Prayer is a contemplative liturgy built around Psalms, Scripture readings, and song. Come experience the grace of God in this peaceful mid-week oasis.

Hungry neighbors give to world hunger

admin1 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:42:50 +0000

Since last year, patrons of the Sharing Place, St. Paul’s hunger ministry, have been donating from the little they have to help those even less fortunate. A “world hunger” can sits near the intake area, where clients can make a donation, though they are never asked to do so. We have received a letter from ELCA World Hunger thanking the Sharing Place for a donation of $329.50, three months’ worth of collections. The spirit of giving really does pervade the Sharing Place and all its people, from volunteers to clients.