St.

Paul United Methodist

Church
From Pastor Nathan

Aug 2016

One of the hardest things for a

pastor to do is to come to the realization
that their continued service at a church is
the main cause for the financial distress
their church is feeling. That difficult realization that if the church that you love so
dearly didnt have to compensate you
with a salary, pension, and insurance, then
the ministries of the church would have a
greater chance of flourishing. Whats
even harder is that it then becomes that
pastors responsibility to help the church
and the Bishop to decide what the best
way is for the church to continue in their
important work of making disciples of
Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world, knowing full well that there are
some options that could let the pastor
stay at the church and some options that
would require the pastor to leave the
church.
That is, unfortunately, the circumstance that we at St. Paul United
Methodist Church find ourselves in at this
point in our history. I love this church
and its individual members too much to
continue on our current path that will
ultimately lead to us running out of funds
before we have an opportunity to rebuild
our relationships within the church and
outside of the church. Along with this, I
realize that until these relationships have
the time to heal that St. Paul will not be
able to grow in its ministries.
Therefore, we are beginning the
discernment process for St. Paul to decide what we should do in the future to
give the church the time it needs to rebuild.

This process will begin on August 21 during Sunday worship. During

this time our District Superintendent
and former member, Roger Grimmet,
will be attending worship with us and
sharing the possibilities for what could
be coming for our future. There are
multiple possibilities that Roger is going to be sharing for what we could do
in the coming years, and these possibilites can take many different forms.

However, this is an important

topic that all of us need to participate
in. So, after Roger has presented the
possibilities we will open up for a time
for any member of the congregation to
ask questions of Roger about these
options and where we are headed in
the future. In order for this time to be
as productive as possible, our discussion will be centered around five
guidelines and one rule that all of us at
St. Paul and Rev. Grimmett will be held
to in order that we may have a successful conversation.

The first guideline we will be

working under is that this is to be a
discussion about the future, not
the present or the past. This discussion
has to be focused on what we are going to do to continue into the future,
because once we begin discussing the
circumstances that have brought us to
this point instead of where we are going then that will be the focus. There
have been opportunities to discuss the
past, but in order for us now to move
into the future then that needs to be
our focus.
(continued on next page)

St. Paul United

Methodist Church
618-372-3255
Office Hours
Tues, Thur, Fri 9:00-1:00

Thank You cards

Dear St. Paul Family,
Thank you for the basket of colorful spring
flowers and the prayers during our difficult
time with the loss of
my mom.
God Bless,
Steve, Michelle, Jacob,
Rachel Ritzhaupt

The Ater Family would

like to thank our
church family for the
support we gave them
through our prayers
and donations following
their house fire. They
would appreciate prayers as they continue to
deal with all the issues
of living in a hotel for
four months with their
two children. Cadence
(4th grade) and Cale
(1st grade) are members of Pioneer Club.
Phyllis Graham

Page 2

St. Paul United Methodist Church

The next four guidelines will be coming from

the multi-cultural discussion guidelines from the District Martin Luther King event this past January. First
from this list is to use I statements. Too many
times in our lives we try to speak for others or we try
to project our own fears and worries by saying statements such as some of us feel or many people
here think that or Ive talked to many people and
we believe that. In order for our discussion to be
truly fruitful we need to instead use I statements for
two reasons. First, we need to own our own feelings.
We each need to speak for ourselves in order to truly
express what each of us as individuals is thinking.

Second, we need to allow the opportunity for

everyone to use their own voice and to be heard on
their own. So, our challenge is to make sure our statements and questions begin with I feel we should be
doing, I believe we need to work towards,
Im wondering why.

The third of our guidelines (second of the

MLK discussion) is No Interrupting. This is about
more than the manners we were all taught as children,
this also has to do with how we all represent different
personalities, specifically introvert and extrovert. Extroverted people, like myself, are very good at thinking
about what they are going to say as they are saying it.
We find it very easy to talk and to interrupt in order
to make sure our voice is heard. On the other hand,
introverted people, like Deacon Amy, need time to
think about what they are going to say before they say
it. They need time to process their thoughts and are
not very likely to interrupt. Therefore, it is very easy
for them to be left behind during a conversation.
So, in order to make sure that everyone has
the opportunity to speak their mind and to have the
time to figure out what they are going to say, we will
be working with a microphone as our tool to avoid
interruptions. I will have the microphone and be acting
as the moderator. If you want to talk, get my attention
and you will be able to speak. This also means there
will be moments of silence to allow for everyone to
process what is being said before they speak. This last
part will also help us in fulfilling the next guideline.

Be Present in Body, Mind, and Soul. This

means that instead of focusing on your next question,
make sure you are focused on the question and answer that is being given in the moment. Truly listen to
what everyone is saying before you focus on what you
want to say. Truly concentrate your whole self in what
is being said so that you can truly listen to what God is
calling our church to do and be.
The final guideline from the MLK event is
confidentiality. It is absolutely essential that everybody be able to share their true feelings with the congregation without fearing backlash. The problem is
that many believe that confidentiality means not discussing what takes place in our conversation with people who are not involved in the conversation. However, it is more than that. Confidentiality means not discussing what is said during our conversation after the
conversation is over except with the person who said
a specific statement during the conversation. What is
said in the sanctuary during the discussion time needs
to stay in the sanctuary when worship is over.
Finally, I wish to share with you a rule that I
institute whenever there is going to be a difficult discussion: Anyone, at any time, for any reason
may request a moment of prayer. It is essential
that we remember that everything we discuss, every
decision we make, and every action we do must be in
the name of the Triune God. Prayer is that essential
element that helps our discussion to stay focused or
to refocus on what God wants from us as opposed to
what we want.

These five guidelines and one rule will be crucial as we listen to each other, listen to what Rev.
Grimmett has to say, and work together in the coming
months to discern Gods plan for our future. Through
this, we will be able to give a concise plan for the future to the Cabinet as they discern the needs of the
entire Annual Conference. Throughout this process
that we will begin on August 21st we will plot a new
path that God is leading us towards; a path that will
lead us to fulfill our mission as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Page 3

Pioneer Club
First meeting of the school year

When: Monday, September 12, 2016Place St. Paul

Time-after school until 5:00 pm

(very flexible starting time)

For whom: All children ages PreK-6th grade

Thank you
for the financial
Pioneer
Clubsupport we are receiving from donations placed in our Sunday
morning worship service offering. Much appreciated and a blessing to this ministry.
Thanks

Phyllis Graham

Have You Noticed?

New L.E.D. light bulbs in the sanctuary and Upper
Wesley
Old tables removed from Upper Wesley and new
white ones in place
Did you know who did all the prep and clean up
for our food table during the two days at the Independence in the Park and also worked both
days
Chuck, Karen and Sam Porter gave many hours of
service. On behalf of our church family, we say Thank
you, Thank you and Thank you!
A side note-Sam was home visiting his parents and
blessed us with his time and help. Rudy (Sams brother) and Sam grew up in this church and spent many
hours with Ms Amy in the nursery. What a blessing to
have one of our own return to help us!! Thanks Sam!

Phyllis Graham

St. Paul United Methodist

Church Scholarship Fund
Yes, our Sunday morning attendance is very low,
and yes we are stressed financially. However, our
church family continues to be a blessing to our
membership and to our community.
Sunday, July 10th, the scholarship committee
(Tom Graham, Barbara Miller, and Phyllis Graham)
had a meeting for the purpose of presenting scholarships to the following:

Juliet Wooldridge

Connor Robinson

Emily Bachman

Ashley Oertel

Ethan Klaffer

Erin Laubscher

Graham Bachman
Dakota Duvall
Each one received a $500 one time scholarship. The
only requirement was to be connected to the St.
Paul Church through a family member or church
employee. This scholarship fund stands alone and is
not connected to our general budget. Individuals
donate money to be placed in this account, and the
church treasurer invested the money in an account
drawing 6 percent interest. The last time scholarships were presented from this fund was in 2013,
and the Ashton Scholarship in not part of the St.
Paul United Methodist Church Scholarship Fund.

Tom Graham

VBS-Shoeman Water Project

(Final Total) Due to help from our church
family and the community, our final shoe
total was 250 pairs of shoes donated to
this ministry. I found a wonderful group of
people wo work with in all aspects of
their ministry.
Phyllis Graham

St. Paul United Methodist Church

Page 4

Thank You Cards (continued)

To the members of St. Paul United Methodist Church,
Thank you so much for awarding me with one of your
$500 scholarships. This scholarship will be a big help in
my final year of school and help lessen the burden of
any debt that I will have after school.
Thank you again, and may God bless you all.
Ethan Klaffer

Thank you for the scholarship money. I truly

appreciate your help in furthering my education.
Yours truly,

Connor Robinson
Dear St. Paul United Methodist Church Family,
Thank you so much for the scholarship. You are helping to make my dreams a reality. I am truly blessed to
have such a loving & caring community that surrounds
me. I promise you that I will work very hard & eventually give something back to others, both as a nurse and
possibly a scholarship to a future student like myself.
Thank you,
Ashley

Thank you so much for the scholarship! I will forever be grateful! Much love and many blessings!
Juliet Wooldridge
P.S. The money went towards a loan which helps
so much!

Congratulations
Congratulations to Wendy Krause
and Ron Parres on the birth of
Wendys new granddaughter,
Benett Amick.
Parents: Lisa & Matt Amick.

Congratulations to Joyce and

Bob Handling on their
50th Wedding Anniversary.
They were married on
July 9, 1966.

With Sympathy
Our Condolences to

Brenda Kelly and family

on the death of her father.

St. Paul United Methodist

Church

401 N. Main St
PO Box 457
Brighton, IL 62012

Phone: 618-372-3255
E-mail:
stpaul.unitedmethodistchurch
@gmail.com

Home Missions-Robings Manor

Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 2:00 pm, our church
family will be hosting the August birthday party
for the residents. Karen Porter has volunteered
to share a few words with the residents, and we
will be serving Dairy Queen ice cream cake.
Help is needed to serve the residents.
Phyllis Graham

Website:
Stpaulbrighton.
weebly.com