Welcome to St. Paul's Lutheran Church

It is our mission to share the love of God in Christ Jesus to our members, our community and the world in which we live.

Learn More Weekly Annoucements
Worship Service Information/Sunday School
Sign Up

Christmas Service Schedule

-December 24th: 2PM (Masked Service), 4PM, and 6:30PM
-December 25th: 9AM
-December 27th: 9AM
-December 31st: 5PM

*November 27th, 2020


“He will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Cor. 1:8
Dear friends and members of Christ,
Often one will hear the statement “He won’t give you more than you can handle”. This phrase is a loose translation of 1 Corinthians 10:13, where we are told that God will always provide us a way out of temptation. However, I have never been a real fan of the phrase. Why? I am convinced there are a host of things this side of heaven that are too much for us to handle. The most obvious example is death, obviously none of us can get out of that one. Yet, if we tweak the statement to say “He won’t give you more than He can handle”, now we are on to something. The above verse that states “he will sustain you to the end”, is another way of saying the same thing. It is especially good to keep in mind as numerous scriptural warnings are heard during this end of the church year/Advent time.
Many blessings,
Pastor Krenz
  • Worship and Bible Study Changes: Due to the increase of Covid-19 virus in our area, we are taking the following new precautions in our congregation. While we know there are various views on such precautions, our foundational reasoning is love and concern for those around us. First, the Sunday morning 9:15am-10am adult Bible class will now be held via Zoom. See instructions below on how to be part of the class. Second, at the 10:30am service those attending are asked to wear a mask throughout the service. At the 8am service individuals are welcome to take off their mask once they sit down (this is the procedure for worship we have been using). In addition the 11am service during Advent will be a masked service and at the 6:30pm service individuals are welcome to take off their masks once they get to their seat. Our plan is to keep these new procedures in place at least through Sunday, December 20th.  
  • Zoom Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study: This week’s Bible Study will be covering Isaiah 64:1-9, and 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (The Old Testament and Epistle Reading for this week). Your computer will need a camera to do this. Once you click the below “join zoom meeting” link there may be a time of waiting before I click you in. Once you get in I would suggest clicking the mute button on the bottom left, and in that way no extra noise from within your home will be heard by the group. If you click the mute button you will still be able to hear the speaker. When you unmute the button you can speak to the group. I will probably get to my computer at church between 9:10-9:15am. Feel free to join in the discussion during the Bible Study, but don’t feel that you have too. For this first meeting I will go ahead and reading the readings and have the prayer. I am planning to record the Bible Study so it should be available at a later time. Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/98656026581?pwd=eFFzSVJEeHpiam1nbmQ4RlkwOFR2dz09
  • Ladies League Christmas Party has been cancelled: The Thursday, December 3rd Ladies League Christmas party and luncheon has been cancelled.
  • Weekend Worship: This weekend’s worship theme for this, the first Sunday in Advent is titled “Staying awake without the Caffeine” based on Mark 13:24-27. At the 10:30pm service people are asked to mask for the whole service.
  • Mid-week Advent Services: This year’s advent theme is titled “Isaiah Hope”. This week’s sermon title is “Undeserved and Unexpected” based on Isaiah 64:1-9. The services will be held at 11am and 6:30pm. We are asking those who will be coming to the 11am Advent service to mask for the whole service. Those coming to the 6:30pm service are invited to take off their masks once they sit down.
  •  Sunday School starting again in January: The Board of Education decided to pause Sunday School temporarily and to hopefully restart Sunday School for pre-school--High School after the first of the year.  
  • Christmas Program: While we will not be having our regular Christmas program this year, every week during Advent a few young people will be assisting with an early reading in the service, and during the children’s message reciting and reading key parts of the Christmas account.
  • Advent Devotions: The Board of Outreach has purchased over a hundred advent devotional booklets. We hope these daily Advent devotions will not only benefit our members, but also will be a blessing to many others. Please pick up extra and give them away to family, friends, and neighbors. The two advent devotional options can be found on the table in the church entryway (narthex).
  • Christmas Gift Guide: On the back table in the narthex is a Christmas catalogue from Concordia Publishing House. If you would like to order Christian books or other faith centered items please pick one up. 
  • Bell Choir: Due to the rising Covid-19 cases in our area, the bell choir will not be meeting for the rest of the year. The present plan is to start practices again the first Wednesday in February.
  • The GIVING TREE is back! The Board of Christian Caring had previously announced that they would not be doing the Giving Tree this year. However, after discussion with Unity Lutheran School in East St. Louis, we will be having a small Giving Tree for seven kids. Look for the display (coming soon) in the Narthex if you would like to provide a gift for a child in need. Gifts need to be returned to the collection box in the Narthex NO LATER THAN December 16th. For any questions, please call Stefanie Newbill at 618.207.5659.
  • Life Night: The board of youth has tentatively set Sunday, January 10th from 5-7pm for a 5th-9th grade evening of food, devotion, and activities. We are planning to do this on the second Sunday of every month between January and April of 2021. Watch the bulletin for further details.
  • Food Pantry: On Nov. 4 the Food Pantry served 26 households – 52 adults and 7 children. On Nov. 18 we served 34 households – 64 adults and 13 children. Presently our biggest need is TOILET PAPER. We cannot buy in bulk as Costco and Sams are sold out and most retailers have limits on amount we can purchase.
  • Tree Set Up and Friendsgiving Event. It is that time of year again for the tree set up! 5th – 12th grade students are asked to help on Sunday, November 29th after the 10:30 AM service. We will also have food and activities afterwards in the fellowship hall for our Friendsgiving event. Please RSVP to Christina Schmitt ahead of time.
  • Christmas Basket Fundraiser. The youth are having one more fundraiser and will be bringing back the gift basket giveaway for the Christmas season. The 2 themed Christmas baskets will be open to the congregation for entries starting on December 6th and ending on December 20th. We will not be selling tickets but accepting donations instead (like what we did for Valentines Day). The youth are asked to be present on each of the Sundays during the giveaway time to help. All proceeds will go towards the youth group 2021 mission trip.
  • Intention of Giving Forms: The 2021 Intention of Giving Forms have been mailed out. Please fill out and mail or bring back to church. A survey on electronic giving is also included in this mailing. A box to collect these forms has been placed in the narthex. You can also access this form by scrolling down our web site. 

Gifts and Talents Survey

The Board of Stewardship is asking members to fill out the survey linked below.   It is hoped that these surveys will better help the church leadership match gifts and abilities of the members with various ministries in the congregation.  We will be collecting these through November.

You should be able to open the link, fill out the form, and submit it via email by using the button at the bottom of the form.  Alternativly, you can open the form, save it, fill it out and email it as an attachment to secretarty@stpauls-lcms.org or print it out and mail it to the church:

227 North Good Haven
Columbia, IL 62236

Gifts and Talents Survey

Poinsettia Order Form

To be guaranteed that we receive 5-bloom poinsettia plants in time for the Christmas season, we need to place our order by Nov. 15! These will be displayed in our Sanctuary during the Christmas season. Please fill out the following form and include $7.00 for each plant ordered.

Poinsettia Order Form

Intention of Giving Form

Greetings in Christ. This has been one strange year, but through it all the truths of our Savior and his never-ending love remain the same. As this congregation begins its 180 th year of being the body of Christ here in the Columbia Community, we would invite you to prayerfully fill out your “Intention of Giving form” and mail or bring it back to the church sometime in the month of November. If you
are bringing it by the church place it in the “intention for giving 2021” box in the church entryway.  You may download the form to print out by clicking the button below.

Intention of Giving Form

Location and Times

Sermon Archive

Food Pantry

St. Paul's Preschool

Historic Building Info

Employment Opportunities

Address

227 North Good Haven,
Columbia, IL; 62236

Contacts

Email: pastork@stpauls-lcms.org
Phone: (618) 281-4600

Service Hours

Sunday 8:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
Monday 7:00 PM

© Copyright 2019 St-Paul's Lutheran Church

Make your own website in a few clicks! Mobirise helps you cut down development time by providing you with a flexible website editor with a drag and drop interface. Mobirise Website Builder creates responsive, retina and mobile friendly websites in a few clicks. Mobirise is one of the easiest website development tools available today.