Dean’s Letter: Hearing Scripture

Hello, St. Paul’s. One of my favorite Collects goes like this: “Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life …” We hear it … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: The Shape of Our Liturgy

Hello St Paul’s, Anyone who attends an Episcopal Sunday service more than once or twice knows that we have a certain structure to our worship services. The Book of Common Prayer is a great treasure, not least because it provides this structure, so that clergy don’t have to invent the service from whole cloth each … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: Lent Formation Offerings

Hello St. Paul’s, Lent is a time to focus our faith and deepen our commitment to Christ. Please sign up for one or more of our Lenten formation offerings below. See you on Sunday!Your Sister in Christ,Penny “Make Me an Instrument: A Guide to Civil Discourse” Sunday Forum at 9 am, Five weeks, March 9-April … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: Finding Inner Peace

Dear St. Paul’s family, I am sure you are aware of the generally heightened sense of anxiety that surrounds us these days. I certainly feel it, and maybe you do too. There is plenty to be anxious about: the recent wildfires and climate change; the graffiti on the church walls and hostility to progressive denominations; … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: Adjusting Our Worship

Hello St. Paul’s, In the course of developing our new strategic plan we have heard a call for reining in the length of our 10:30 Sunday morning service. As our post-pandemic attendance has increased, so has the time needed for administering Communion, and this call is a timely reminder not to take for granted the … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: Forming Mature Christians

Hello St. Paul’s, As you know we are engaged in a strategic planning initiative, with the hope of plotting a course for St. Paul’s ministries over the next 3-5 years. While we work out the details of that, we are not standing still, and one of the church’s responsibilities is to empower her people to … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: 2025 Annual Meeting

Hello St. Paul’s, Elsewhere in this weekly bulletin you will find a notice about our upcoming Annual Meeting on January 26. I want to encourage you to attend the luncheon and meeting as we celebrate “Cathedral Day”, the Sunday closest to the feast day of our patron, St. Paul, on the 25th, enjoy fellowship over … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: Stephen Ministry Highlight

Hello St. Paul’s, Life seems to throw challenges our way, and even with good coping skills, family, and other resources, access to trained laypeople to provide one to one, high quality Christian care may be the safety net that makes all the difference. Stephen Ministers are lay people with a heart for caring ministry and … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: Survey Says…

Hello St. Paul’s, Merry Christmas to one and all! As most of you know, we asked you to complete a congregational survey in the fall, as the first step in our strategic planning process. I am very grateful to the 182 individuals who took the time to complete the survey. The Rev. Canon Gwynn Lynch … READ MORE…

Dean’s Letter: The Welcoming Church

Hello St. Paul’s, As you know, we conducted a Congregational Assessment Tool or CAT survey a few months ago, as a first step in our strategic planning process. My letter a couple of weeks from now will give the highlights of the survey results, but I want to bring your attention to one of the … READ MORE…