Q: How do I contact the church, or the staff?
A: Church Contact Information
B: Church Mailing address:
St. Paul Lutheran Church
P.O. Box 637
Jefferson, MD 21755
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Q: How are active and inactive St. Paul members determined?
A: Per our constitution a St. Paul member fits into
one of four categories; Baptized, Confirmed, Voting and Associate.
They are defined in the following:
Baptized members are those persons who
have been received by the Sacrament of Holy Baptism in this congregation,
or, having been previously baptized in the name of the Triune God, have been
received by certificate of transfer from other Lutheran congregations or by
affirmation of faith.
Confirmed members are baptized persons
who have been confirmed in this congregation, those who have been received
by adult baptism or by transfer as confirmed members from other Lutheran
congregations, or baptized persons received by affirmation of faith.
Voting members are confirmed
members. Such confirmed members, during the current or preceding
calendar year, shall have communed in this congregation and shall have made
a contribution of record to this congregation.
Associate members are persons holding
membership in other Christian congregations who wish to retain such
membership but desire to participate in the life and mission of this
congregation, or persons who wish to retain a relationship with this
congregation while being members of other congregations. They have all
the privileges and duties of membership except voting rights and eligibility
for elected offices or membership on the Congregation Council of this
congregation.
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Q: What are Pastor Office Hours?
A: They are:
| Tuesday |
10:00AM - 1:00PM |
| Wednesday |
10:00AM - 1:00PM |
| Thursday |
6:00PM - 9:00PM |
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Q: What are the Church Secretaries Office Hours?
A: They are:
| Monday |
11:00AM - 12:30AM |
1:00PM - 4:00PM |
| Tuesday |
10:00AM - 12:00PM |
12:30PM - 3:00PM |
| Wednesday |
10:00AM - 3:00PM |
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| Thursday |
10:00AM - 12:00PM |
12:30PM - 3:00PM |
| Friday |
11:00AM - 12:30AM |
1:00PM - 4:00PM |
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Q: What is the St. Paul Prayer Chain?
A: We currently have a Prayer Chain at St Paul.
Julia Hanes receives a phone call about a prayer concern or joy.
She has a list of people on the chain. She calls the first person,
who calls the next etc. Each one calls one. If you would
like to participate in this ministry, please call her to have your name
added. If you have any ideas of how we may enhance our prayer ministry
at St. Paul, please call Julia as well.
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Q: What is the Community Baby
Sitting program and who can use it?
A: Community
babysitting is a ministry of the youth of St. Paul. Community
babysitting occurs every 3rd Saturday of the month from 6:30-9:000PM in the
Parish House. Parents drop off their children at the Parish House and
enjoy an evening out with babysitting provided by the youth free of charge.
This is a very popular ministry with the community, so parents are asked to
call the church office ahead of time
to sign up their child(ren) 301-473-8626.
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Q: What are Cabin Fever trips at St. Paul?
A: These are trips held the second Wednesday of
the month and are open to anyone who is interested in a
short day trip. We typically take the church van to various location in the
visiting interesting sites, museums, etc. We usually stop somewhere for
a quick lunch and return to the church by 2PM. Contact the church
office if you're interested.
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Q: What are the Knit Wits?
A: The Knit Wits are a group of people that get
together every Thursday night from 7:00-8:30PM in the Faith Room of the church
and work on various knitting
projects. Recently, we finished 4 knitted afghans for families in need.
Currently, we are making knitted prayer; shawls, stoles, afghans, and hats for
those in need, graduates, new babies, etc... Come join us - all are
welcome! And learn to knit if you don't know how! For more
information contact Audrey
or the church
office.
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Q: What is Martha's table?
A: Martha's table is the St. Paul Dinner
Ministry named from the bible story of Mary and Martha entertaining
Jesus. It’s an evening of good food and conversation open to everyone.
It's your opportunity to meet someone new or learn something you didn’t
know about an old friend while enjoying a cozy dinner in an atmosphere with
candles, decorations, and special lighting. The dinners typically occur
every other month from 6:30PM to 9PM, on the third Saturday, the same time as community baby sitting . See the calendar
for the next scheduled dinner. As for the dinner, entrees are provided
and everyone brings
a side dish to share, so it's a great opportunity to sample someone else's cooking
skills while sharing in conversation. Please contact the church office for more
information, and to register your children if your taking advantage of the
babysitting..
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Q: When was the St. Paul Constitution ratified and
and where would I find a copy?
A: Our current constitution was ratified on February
10, 2008 at the annual congregational meeting. A copy of the constitution
is available on line by clicking constitution.
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
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Q: How large is St. Paul and how many people typically
attend services?
A: St Paul total membership as of 2007 was about
531. In 2007 attendance averaged 90 at the 8:15AM service and 55
at the 10:45 service. The sanctuary will seat about 180 and the balcony
will seat about 50.
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Q: How often does St. Paul Offer Communion?
A: St Paul now offers communion weekly
at both worship services on Sunday mornings. The first service worshipers
receive communion by intinction. At this service worshipers come forward
down the center aisle to receive the bread near the front and dip it into
the chalice of wine or grape juice located near the side aisle. After
they are finished, the worshipers return via the side aisle. If you desire
to pray you may step aside and kneel at the altar rail for personal prayer.
At the second service worshipers receive communion at
the altar rail. Worshipers come forward to the altar rail to receive the
bread. An assistant comes with a common cup or individual cups for the
sharing of the wine. Grape juice is available at the table. After you receive
the Lord in this Sacrament, you may return to your seat at your own discretion.
It is not necessary to wait until the entire group of communicants at the
rail is finished, in order for you to leave. Or if you so choose,
you may linger at the altar rail to pray.
It is always very appropriate to sing as we commune.
One of the ways we offer our thanks to God for what God has done in Jesus
Christ is through song. Feel free to bring a hymnal forward with you as
you commune to sing the hymns.
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Q: What is a phone tree?
A: Phone Tree is a communications tool we use at St. Paul. It was a gift given to our congregation.
The Phone Tree is an automatic telephone dialing device that is used to make calls to
people within the congregation for important announcements or concerns.
For example, the Phone Tree is used to alert people of special changes
in schedule. The Phone Tree has on its memory base the names
& telephone numbers of people in our worshiping community. It
also has keyed in special groups within the congregation, i.e.. Church
council or choirs. It will have a BRIEF pre-recorded message that
will be sent to those within groups or to the whole church. These
messages will have the voice of the pastor or secretary. However, you will
not be able to speak to them as it is a recording. The message will immediately
be identified as a Phone Tree message for you.
Imagine how helpful it will be if a meeting or even worship has to be canceled
due to inclement weather. A feature of the Phone Tree is that the
machine will attempt to telephone the same number several times until contact
is made. This is helpful to assure that the message is heard. Communication is important in any organization, especially
a congregation. We hope that this new device will enhance communication
at St. Paul.
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Q: How do I provide inputs for
the newsletter?
A: If you're emailing your newsletter inputs,
please send them to newsletter@stpauljeff.org.
This allows the emailed newsletter inputs to be all collected in one email
box. With the use of guest editors this is much easier to manage.
This account will be checked by the newsletter editor just after the 15th
of the month. The editor will reply with a "thank you" to indicate
that they received your article. You may also place inputs in the
newsletter mailbox at the top of the back stairwell. This mailbox
is emptied on the 15th of each month. E copies of your articles are preferred
but not mandatory.
In general you should send your email articles as *.txt
files or just include them in an email. These are the easiest to
deal with. Not all word processors are compatible with each other,
but all accept text and allow cut and paste.
The newsletter account can be accessed by any St. Paul
guest editor who has web access and the password, it does not require the
installation of AOL software.
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Q: What is Girls Night out?
A: This is an informal opportunity for women of the congregation
to get together monthly for conversation and food. Typically the
group meets at an area restaurant like Houlihans on the 3rd Friday of the month at
6:30PM. Check the calendar for the
day and location. All women are welcome, regardless
of age. Join us for casual dinner with lots of stories and laughter.
You might learn who used to wear white gloves and “stick-out
slips” to church as a little girl.
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Q. How do I get my information about a St. Paul ministry
or other item posted on the web?
A: If you provide written text about your
St. Paul ministry I'll turn it into a web page for your review. After
your review it will be posted on the www.StPaulJeff.org ministry pages.
If you have pictures or graphics to supplement your ministry's page great!
If not we can arrange to have some taken or created.
The web page can be an excellent place to inform others
both inside and outside our church about your ministry. Provide
your inputs to web@stpauljeff.org.
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Q. What does a St. Paul synod delegate do, and how
would I become one?
A: The Delaware-Maryland Synod, of which
St. Paul is a part, has a once a year assembly to perform the business
of the synod. At this meeting clergy and delegates, like yourself,
vote on numerous church governing issues like; synod objectives, and the synod
budget. As a delegate
you will get an advance packet from the synod indicating the issues that
will be discussed at the meeting. At the assembly you will be St.
Paul's voting voice on these issues along with representatives and clergy
of other congregations. Our congregation has positions
for two voting representatives. If you would like to participate
see Pastor Joe.
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Q. How do I get my birthday or anniversary listed
in the newsletter?
A: The information for the birthdays and
anniversaries listed in the newsletter comes from active members in the St. Paul Church membership
data base. If your birthday or anniversary isn't listed its most
likely because we don't have it or you're not active. Our membership records were lost
many years ago and we have been rebuilding them over the past few years.
If you haven't filled out and turned in a membership information form as
part of the 2000 or 1996 directories we probably don't have any information
about you beyond your name and address. To get your birthday
or anniversary included, simply supply it to the church office.
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Q: How do I provide Altar Flowers
for Sunday Morning Worship Services?
A: Anyone interested in placing flowers on the
altar to beautify our worship services can sign up on the flower chart
for 2000, which is posted on the bulletin board outside the former Primary
Sunday School Room. At this time, there are many Sundays still open
throughout the year. If you would like to do so but are not able
to get out to pick up flowers and get them to the church, you may call
Karen Summers at 301-473-4849 to arrange for flower delivery. Also,
more than one person or family may get together and place flowers on the
altar for the same Sunday. This way, the cost of the flowers can
be shared. If you are interested, please see Karen Summers
for more information.
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Q: When do I need to supply
a communion card?
A: Since our congregation
has been offering communion every Sunday, it is no longer necessary to
fill out the "Record of Communion" card every time you commune. Historically,
these cards have been used as a record of communion to verify your active
membership, indicating that you communed at least once a year. So,
if you have filled out a card for a Sunday in January, you do not need
to do so for the remainder of this calendar year.
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Q: What is Carl Nite?
A: The men of the congregation have been gathering
once a month at a selected restaurant to share dinner and conversation.
A great group has formed, but they are always looking for more. As
of this writing "Carl night" (named after former Pastor Ginny's husband, Carl)
happens on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Look for the location in
the bulletin or on the calendar.
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Q:What is the Delaware-Maryland Synod?
A: The Synod
we are part of:
A group of more than 94,000 Lutherans in 190 congregations
in two states
A group in mission, with one congregation under development
and two synodically authorized worshiping communities
Divided into 11 geographic groups call conferences
One of 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
One of eight synods of ELCA Mid-Atlantic Region 8
A Companion Synod to the Tampere Diocese (Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Finland), the Estonian Lutheran Church, and the Diocese in Mara
Region (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania)
Partner Synod to the Northern Great lakes Synod ELCA
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Q: What if I have a question
that's not listed here?
A: Email it to me web@stpauljeff.org
and I'll get an answer back to you as well as posting the question and
answer.
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