- St. Paul`s United Methodist Church

A publication of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church ● Williamsburg, IA
No. 5 ● May 2016
Vision Statement: ...to be a church where you can SEE Christ
A few weeks ago I was helping Hayden build her Powder Puff Derby car for the Girl
Scout car races. A few years ago I helped Jamison build a car for Boy Scouts, although really I
just took Jamison over to a friend’s house and his friend’s dad helped us build the car. This dad
By
had all kinds of woodworking tools from power saws to hand tools, and he knew how to use them.
Rev.
After getting the shape we wanted we drilled holes in the back, melted some fishing
James
sinkers,
and poured the liquid into the car to give it some good weight. Jamison’s car did not win
Parks
the whole thing, but it was the 4th or 5th fastest car there.
For Hayden’s car we were going to do it ourselves. I actually got a few more tools recently because my dad gave
me some from my grandpa’s workshop. My tools are nowhere near what we used before, plus I am not highly skilled at
using the tools I have. I almost got the car to the shape Hayden wanted. She had to accept a few cuts that were not clean.
She sanded it and painted it. Then at the race we hot glued a few weights on the bottom to add to the weight because I had
no way to melt and pour liquid metal. Overall, I thought “Goldie” was a decent car. Best one I have ever made alone. We
did not win any races, but we never finished last either.
This month, we will begin a new season of building. It has been 9 years since we first broke ground on our property
to build our church building. Now we are going to begin our first addition. I figured we should be building inside the
church at the same time as we build the outside. What I mean by that is that we should be building and strengthening our
personal faith because really the church is made up of the people and not the physical building.
So, after we finish our Unique & United series on May 8th, we will move into a series of
messages about Building Blocks. We will be looking at some of the foundational building
blocks of our lives. We will focus on some foundational truths like grace, forgiveness,
community and many others.
When building a wooden car it sure makes a difference the quality of tools you use and
having the skills to use those tools. In the Building Blocks series I hope to offer some useful
tools and skills to use those tools so that each of us can be building our lives through our faith in
Jesus. We may even have some fun with some Legos along the way. Join me as we are
strengthened through our Building Blocks.
Church Addition
On April 3rd we had a groundbreaking ceremony to prepare for our upcoming addition. Soon the ground will begin
to move and our addition will take shape. This will add some much needed space for our children and youth to spread out.
The outside dimensions of the addition are 40 feet by 70 feet. The cost of the project is going to be around
$234,630. If you are not currently giving towards our
Building Fund now is a great time to invest in what God is
doing, so that we can have as much in that fund to pay for
this project as we can, which will save us money in the long
run by allowing us to borrow less money for the addition.
We are also planning to save over $14,000 in sweat
equity where members of the church can sign up to help do
some daily cleanup, install siding, painting and other
projects to keep our costs down. There will be a sign-up for
this at the church.
Our target for completion is September 1st, so be
praying for a great building season and participate in this
significant ministry as best you can.
May Day Bake Sale
Fellowship Hour Refreshments
 May 1st—Jeanie Lehnst, Delores
Reinhart, Jeannette Howell
 May 8th—Dawn Burns, Karla
Stevenson, Lois Berry
 May 15th—Joan Keiser, Amy
Douglas, Shelly Westfall
 May 22nd—Laurie Craig, Jackie
Hahn, Judith Harland
Sunday, May 1st
9:15-11:30am
 May 29th—No fellowship, one
service at 9:30am
Wednesday, May 4th at 5:45pm
Your whole family is invited to join us for walking tacos
as we celebrate our discipleship servants and an awesome
school year! Sign up in the back of the Sanctuary or
contact the church office. Pray for nice weather so we
can be outside for some fun outdoor activities!
“She is clothed with strength and dignity.”
Proverbs 31:25
Honor that special woman in your life
this Mother’s Day, May 8th.
Church Wide Visioning
Wednesday, May 11th at 5:30pm
Are you thankful for being a part of a church
where you can SEE Christ? Have you wanted to
dream about how we might serve God and others in
new ways? Have you wondered what direction God
is leading our church? Everyone in the congregation
is invited to a time of visioning for the future of St.
Paul’s UMC on May 11th at 5:30pm.
This will be a time to share where we have seen
God working in our congregation and then to align
our church with the direction we believe God is
calling us in the next year, 5 years and into the
future. We need to hear your voice and what God is
sharing with you.
This will be a great time to come together for
fellowship (supper will be provided) and celebrating
what God is doing in our midst. Please sign up to
join us or contact the church office.
Memorial Day Weekend
Sunday, May 29th at 9:30am
Join us in the sanctuary for one service on
Memorial Day Weekend. We will
celebrate and remember together those
who have given their lives for our country.
611 is done for the
school year. Have a
great summer break
and we’ll see you in
the fall!
Women’s Potluck Lunch
Thursday, May 5th at 12:00pm
All women are invited to bring a dish
and come for an hour of great food and
fellowship. Children are welcome as well
as friends and co-workers.
Senior Recognition, Sunday, May 15th
We want to congratulate seniors in our congregation
who will be graduating from high school!
Williamsburg: Allica Bacon, Jackson Culp,
MacKenzie Grimm, Trevor Haasis, Michael Heaton, Julie
Hollensbe, Michelle Lindhart, Quinten Miller, Courtney Strasser,
Bailey Westfall
English Valley: Annie Axmear
Clear Creek-Amana: Terra Baker, Lori Drake
We will recognize our seniors in our Sunday services on May 15th.
Plan to stop in the Fellowship Hall to see some of the senior picture
boards. The Furman Book Scholarship will also be presented to one
of these seniors that day.
We are in the planning stages of VBS coming in
August. If this is an area you would like to serve,
contact Marci Mohr at memohr@windstream.net or
call the church office. We will have a VBS
planning meeting on Monday, June 13th at 6:00pm.
All servants will also need to complete and sign off
on our Safe Sanctuary Policy. This training will follow the planning
meeting at 6:30pm. If you can’t make this time, please contact
Marci to schedule a separate time. We are very excited about what
great things God has in store for us.
VBS
Registration
will start in
June!
Attic
Greeter
needed
A servant is needed on the 4th Thursday night
of each month from 5:20-6:30pm to greet Attic
guests in the church lobby and help them sign
in. Please contact Pastor Helen at
revhrp@windstream.net if you would like to
serve once a month as an Attic greeter.
Change a Child’s Story through Summer Reading
We are looking for some teens and adults to read with students participating
in migrant summer school. Our plan is to schedule volunteers during the last
2 weeks of July for an hour in the morning. We are hoping that some youth
and adults would be available 2-4 days during the two weeks, but even
coming once to read will help. We will have more details later, but there is a
sign up sheet so we can have an idea of who might be available.
High Top Shop
The church will be collecting high top
tennis shoes or other footwear that covers
your ankles for men and women sizes 7-10.
Used shoes/boots work great because they
are for working in the fields. Donations
can be left in The Attic bin in the front
entryway and they
are especially needed
by the beginning of
June when migrant
workers start
arriving.
Thank you to all our discipleship servants who helped in all our
different ministries this year. It’s because of your help that we
can continue these ministries and more here at St. Paul’s.
Joys & Concerns
Congratulations to Emilee,
Morgan, Mackenzie, and
Breigan Reif on their
baptisms on March 30th.
Our prayers are with the John &
Jessica Altenhofen family with
the stillborn birth of their son,
Benjamin on April 7th.
Welcome New Members
LEFT
Dale & Mindi Slaymaker
(Drew, Eli)
RIGHT
Jim & Margie Swanson
Congratulations to the Confirmation Class of 2016
Alphabetical order: Hannah Allen, Raif Axmear, Dylan Bacon, Austin Burns,
Olivia Caron, Aislin Craig, Eli Douglas, Lilly Fairchild, Ashley Hooper,
Sam Lane, Kionna McDowell, Jacob Mohr, Jeana Muse, Ellie Phillips,
Mackenzie Reif, Nadia Schafbuch, Eli Slaymaker, Felipe Stevenson,
Kyler Thurm, Abby Whitehill, Brody Zimmerman
Vital Statistics
Worship Attendance
April 3
459
April 10
291
April 17
226
April 24
270
As of 4/30/16
Total Tithes/General Offering - $103,825
Total Expenses - $107,087
The ANCHOR is a publication of
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
803 Clearview Drive, PO Box 559,
Williamsburg, IA 52361
Phone: 319-668-2288
Website: www.stpaulsumcwilliamsburg.com
Lead Pastor: Rev. James Parks
● Email: revjep@windstream.net
Associate Pastor of Youth & Missions:
Rev. Helen Parks
● Email: revhrp@windstream.net
Director of Congregational Care:
Holly Osweiler
● Email: phrosw@windstream.net
Worship Leader & Church Manager:
Sonja Parsons
● Email: stpaulwb@windstream.net
Director of Discipleship &
Admin. Assistant: Marci Mohr
● Email: memohr@windstream.net
Coordinator of Children’s Discipleship:
Kristin Nunnelley
● Email: kristin.nunnelley@gmail.com
Early Childhood Coordinator:
Sarah Lentz
● Email: sarahlee213@gmail.com
Choir Director: Steve Manning
Organist: Sue Heitmann
Custodian: Dianne Jones
Pastoral Intern: Lisa Crow
● Email: thecrowfamily5@gmail.com
St. Paul’s UMC office hours:
9:00am to 3:00pm Mon. - Fri.
Editor: Sonja Parsons
Deadline for news for the June
ANCHOR is May 20th. Email info to
Sonja or drop it off at the church office.
This has been an awesome year for SPUMY and I can’t believe we are nearing the end of the school
year! I just wanted to remind youth of some upcoming events.
 Wednesday, May 4th - Fiesta with food, fun and fellowship
 Wednesday, May 25th 5:30-7:30pm - End of the year SPUMY Cook-out!
 Online Registration for SGU
 Summer Games University which is Monday, July 11th-Friday, July 15th is a life-changing camp
on the campus on Grinnell College that includes small groups, worship and amazing experiences
that make it the best week of a young person’s summer. If you haven’t registered for SGU,
you will want to strongly consider doing this. It is such an amazing experience. Talk to Pastor
Helen or Marci if you need financial assistance to go to SGU. Don’t let money keep you from
going.
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Williamsburg, IA
The ANCHOR (USPS 100-090) is published monthly by St. Paul’s United
Methodist Church, 803 Clearview Drive, Williamsburg IA 52361
Periodical Postage Paid at Williamsburg, IA
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The ANCHOR,
PO Box 559, Williamsburg IA 52361