St. Paul’s United Church
Our Mission: Glorifying God through Worship, Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, and Serving Others in Christ’s name.
From the desk of Rev. Michelle…
Have you watched any of the Olympics this year? The Olympic committee has done a few truly unique things. From the parade of nations that sailed down the Seine to the Olympic flame that is not burning fuel, these games are proving to be unlike any other. So, what led the Paris 2024 committee to make these and other choices? Was it to highlight France’s creative spark? Did they want to be remembered as being different? Maybe it was just the pursuit of innovation? Perhaps, we are just witnessing the French culture of pushing boundaries. While these factors may have played a part, at the heart of these Olympics was the far less glamourous process of making an intentional decision to focus on making these games sustainable and leave a positive social and environmental legacy.
The Olympics, which has always been grounded by the three values of olympism: excellence, respect, and friendship. All Olympics games seek to promote sport, culture, and education, with a view to building a better world. The Paris 2024 team took the goal of building a better world through sport to heart. Hoping to kickstart change the committee set out to establish a new model for the Olympics and Paralympics games, while delivering on its pledge of an ambitious, spectacular, universal event that is more responsible, more sustainable, more united, and more inclusive. These goals of inclusion and environmental sustainability have factored into every decision and fostered the innovation that we have observed.
The best innovation happens when people are clear about the vision. But vision alone does nothing without action. Bold actions are often needed to achieve our highest goals. We saw this modeled in the opening ceremonies, where the goal of inclusion led to a larger number of people than ever before being able to experience the parade of nations in person. But for this to happen the celebration needed to be taken out of the box, and so the ceremonies moved out of the stadium and into the streets. Did it all go smoothly? No, but the party and celebration did go on, despite the challenge of rain. When we are focused on the why, the inconveniences and challenges become less like mountainous obstacles and more like little inconveniences and learning opportunities.
We as a congregation are taking bold actions, and as we do so, we will be served by remembering the reasons why the church and congregation exist in the first place. Just a reminder, the Church is here to manifest God’s love, to support people in living lives informed by the life of Jesus, and to worship the almighty. When we stay focused on this, all of the struggles we face will be easier to manage and adjust to. Are you ready to help out with the transitions ahead of us? See the volunteers needed notice below or talk with Alanna or myself.
This week marks our last Sunday for hosting summer services. I hope that you will join us as we finish off our look at Sabbath Rest and Renewal. As we go into this weekend, let us pray.
Holy God, we are the church
not just for one hour on Sunday,
but every second and with our whole lives.
Help us to be people of deep spirituality – that we may be nourished and sustained for life.
Support us in being bold disciples – that we may learn and follow the ways of Jesus.
Empower us to dare to hope for a better world – that we may work for your justice and mercy to reign.
Let us be intentional about our commitment to you, Holy Lord and Loving Parent.
Amen
Featured In This August 1st Edition of St. Paul’s eNews
Worship This Sunday August 4th
Office Closed For Holidays
Rev. Michelle’s Vacation & Pastoral Care
Thank You!
FundScrip Orders Due
Brown Bag Lunch Program
Pantry Program
Back To School Back Packs ~ School Supply Donations Wanted
Volunteers Needed
Summer Service Schedule
Fall Youth @ Region Camp Event
Pickleball At Wilmot
Worship This Sunday August 4th
Please join Rev. Michelle for service this Sunday at 10:30am.
To view the bulletin in advance click here!
Can’t make it in person, join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81834519740 Password: 657067
Office Closed For Holidays
St. Paul’s office will be closed on the New Brunswick Day long weekend, August 2nd– 5th. The office is also closed on Fridays throughout the summer. Emails will be monitored and responded to when possible.
Rev. Michelle’s Vacation & Pastoral Care
Rev. Michelle will be on vacation from August 6th-11th. For pastoral care emergencies, please call Rev. Mary Tingley at 506-230-1000.
Thank You!
A very grateful thank you to all who are offering ongoing and one-time support to the Pantry and Brown Bag Lunch programs. These very important outreach programs provide food, household items, and bus tickets to our city’s vulnerable population. The Pantry is currently supporting 143 clients: 19 single women, 26 single men, 13 couples, 62 families, 23 single parent families, and 288 children. Without your generosity and support, these people would go without. The Brown Bag program has disbursed 601 lunch bags to 138 individuals and 161 bus tickets. As you can see, it has been a very busy first half of the year, so we THANK YOU because we could not have done this without your amazing generosity!
FundScrip Orders Due
The next deadline for FundScrip gift cards is this Sunday, August 4th. If you have been travelling this summer, you probably need more gas cards. If you have had a lot of hungry visitors, you might want to replenish your pantry using grocery store cards. Kids will be back at school before you know it. Shop for school supplies with FundScrip gift cards. Click here to download the order form. With this order, we’ll now resume our regular deadline schedule on the first Sunday of the month. Watch for reminders in the weekly eNews and the Sunday bulletins. Remember: Shopping is fundraising for St. Paul’s.
Brown Bag Lunch Program 
This week, the program needs proteins with flip top lids, granola bars, and pudding cups. Thank you for your continued support and generosity of this program.
Pantry Program
The Pantry program needs the following items this week: vinegar, pudding cups, Miracle Whip, white rice, Hamburger Helper, flour, white & brown & icing sugar, pancake mix, syrup, ketchup, coffee, soda crackers, cookies, cake mix & frosting, large orange juice, baking soda, salt, dish & laundry soap, Mr. Clean, toothpaste, and hand soap. Thank you for your continued support of this increasingly busy outreach program!
Back To School Back Packs ~ School Supply Donations Wanted
St. Paul’s is collecting donations of school supplies to be distributed to students in grades 1-12 that utilize our outreach programs. Items needed include backpacks, lunch sets, reusable water bottles, lined paper, coil notebooks, large zippered binders, dividers, pencil cases, markers, highlighters, pens, pencils, scissors, glue, rulers, math sets, etc. A donation tax receipt will be issued for items with a receipt. Items can be dropped off at the office Monday through Thursday from 8am-3pm. Cash donations are also welcome! If you know of someone in need of school supplies, please let Meghan know so they can be added to the list. Deadline for donations is August 16th.
Volunteers Needed
Love St Paul’s? Feeling sentimental about our move? Put that emotion into action by helping to plan our move. Help recommend what moves with us, what moves on to others, and how we get it all moved. Cathy Davis and Ross Mathers have created a thorough inventory and need congregational voices to make a plan for Council that accommodates as many wishes as possible. Please volunteer to be one of those voices by notifying Meghan at 506-458-1183 or stpaulsoffice224@gmail.com
Please Join Us This Summer for Summer Services
Everyone is welcome!
ST. PAUL’S UNITED CHURCH & Via Zoom
224 York St. Fredericton NB | Tel. 458-1183
Sunday Services at 10:30am
August 4th
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81834519740 Password: 657067
View later: https://www.youtube.com/st.pauls
WILMOT UNITED CHURCH & Via YouTube
473 King St. Fredericton | Tel. 458-1066
Sunday Services at 10:30am
August 11th | August 18th | August 25th
https://www.youtube.com/c/WilmotUnitedChurch?app=desktop
Fall Youth @ Region Camp Event
From Friday, September 27th-Sunday, September 29th, there will be a youth event at Camp Wegesegum (360 Wegesegum Lane, Coal Creek, NB (just outside Chipman). This event is for youth from grade 6-12, and registration for the event is $75. There will be opportunities for worship, fun, and learning as together we explore themes of Truth & Reconciliation and the impacts, we all have in creating and deepening relationships in our communities. Financial Support is available. Contact rev.bowley@outlook.com for more information. To register your youth for this camp weekend, please fill in the linked registration form. If you prefer a paper copy, please reach out to rev.bowley@outlook.com. Registration Form: https://forms.gle/GycQ3bCPwJo6oJ989
Pickleball At Wilmot
Those who showed a keen passion for setting up Pickleball teams at Wilmot are invited to attend a short meeting to get organized for September directly after coffee and conversation time at Wilmot on August 11th and/or August 25th in the Parlor. Please leave a message at the office (506-458-1066) on what date you will be there. With thanks, Mary!
St. Paul’s United Church
190 Years of Glorifying God through Worship, Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, and Serving Others in Christ’s name
Contact Information
224 York St., Fredericton, NB E3B 3P1
Web: www.stpaulsunited.ca | Tel: 506-458-1183 | Email: stpaulsoffice224@gmail.com
Minister: Rev. Michelle Armstrong | Organists: Dr. Sharon Pond & Alexis Ervin
Church Administrator: Meghan Roebuck | Custodian: Jaedyn Williams