“To know and follow Christ and to help others know and follow Christ.”

MAY > 2016

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2NEW Website

& Member Login

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8Multicultural

Celebration Worship Service

1340 3rd Ave SE | Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 | 319.363.2058 | stpaulsumc.org

1340 3rd Ave SE | Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

Address Service Requested

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10St. Paul’s is Moving

Forward in Faith

Check Out Our NEW Website• St. Paul’s UMC new “virtual front door”• Mobile friendly• Contains 90+ pages of new refreshed content with a friendlier and more welcoming tone• Language that guests can understand• Responsive design• Clearer navigation• “myStPauls” member login• Improved calendar• Online class registration coming soon!

“...the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races...” - taken from the Baptismal Covenant, UMH 33

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9Every Daughter Celebration

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

From Pastor SherrieLead Pastor

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With Easter Vision!Are you still celebrating Easter?

It’s easy to forget about Holy Week and move on to the next day without much thought. Monday morning brings back the common routines, and the extraordinary miracle of Easter can get placed on the shelf until the next year.

But what if we didn’t let that happen? What if we entered into each day with the intention to look at all of our everyday routines with Easter vision? What if we approached each conversation with a watchful eye for the risen Lord at work? What if we prayed for new life into the work that we do, knowing that the risen Lord is at work through us? What if we have resurrection faith and trust for God’s recreating and reconciling all things?It’s this vision that each of us and our church can claim. Through the past 3 Saturday morning Community Circles events, we have been listening to each other to hear where your resurrection faith has given us an Easter vision for who we are and what we will be in the years ahead. These have been very good!

We’ll gather up your ideas and share them back in the next month. To focus and prioritize the ways in which we’ll join God at work is exciting. As we partner this with your leadership, building renovations for hospitality, a new website, and prepare to welcome many new members through the African community, and more, we are taking steps to open the doors to every person. We open the doors for us to go out as well.

The risen Lord left the tomb and remains among us. Are you still celebrating Easter? I hope you are.

Grace & peace,Pastor Sherrie

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WorshipSunday

18:15 am | Communion Worship {Chapel}19:00 am | Traditional Worship* {Sanctuary}10:20 am | Sunday School for Children, Youth, & Adults10:30 am | Worship Café-Contemporary {Wesley Center}11:30 am | Worship Café-Contemporary {Wesley Center}12:00 pm | African Nationals Worship {Sanctuary}

TGIW {Thank God It’s Wednesday}

16:00 pm | Activities for all ages.

Thursday 10:30 am | Neighborhood Worship {Chapel}

Saturday 12:00 pm | African Nationals Worship {Room 117}

View Worship*Sunday’s 9:00 am traditional worship

may be viewed on:Mediacom Cable Channel 117-1*

*(for digital TV’s that do not have a cable box)

Mediacom Cable Channel 4**

**(for TV’s with a cable box) at 6:00 pm Wednesdays

ImOn Channel 4 at 10:00 am Thursdays

Invite someone to join you and worship God!

NEW Faith Friends Ministry Would you like to be a friend to someone who is a newer member of St. Paul’s? It is my goal to help every person with connections throughout the congregation, and it will take all of us to reach this goal! As we prepare to welcome many people in May who are recent immigrants to Iowa from Africa, this goal is even more important to know one another and connect.

If you would like to serve as a Faith Friend, please contact me, and we will provide you with what you need for this exciting new way forward for St. Paul’s! Plans are in the works for an Orientation Date in early May.

Pastor Sherriesilg@stpaulsumc.org

Worship Schedule UpdateWe want to remind everyone that May 22 is the last day for 10:30 am Worship Café. There will be a need for this space in the Wesley Center during renovations, and the decision will allow pastors and worship leaders to connect with others in a variety of ways during this time each week. Thank you for your flexibility in the days and weeks ahead!

St. Paul’s New Virtual Front Door Check out our new “virtual front door” at stpaulsumc.org. Our new website is mobile friendly, contains 90+ pages of new refreshed content with a friendlier and more welcoming tone, language that guests can understand, a new responsive design, clearer navigation, new member login, and improved calendar. Online class registration will be coming soon!

Member LoginmyStPauls is St. Paul’s United Methodist Church’s secure online member portal. Members are able to: view church directories, view their class rosters, email class members, update their personal information and photos in the church database, view church calendars, and view their giving records. The online member portal is not available to the general public. Church members must register for a login to access myStPauls. Contact the church office at 363-2058 or office@stpaulsumc.org if you have any questions.

Welcoming

April’s Intergenerational Monthly Mission was to help sort food donations for the Linn County food bank.

VBS Leaders NeededWe need shepherds for preschool through 4th grade as well as station leaders and assistants for recreation, science, reading/games, and crafts. We also want a story team that will creatively present the story each day to a larger group of kids. With this shorter model of VBS, station leaders only need to prepare one or two lessons. Youth 5th grade and up can help! Talk to Pastor Allison for more details!

Acolyte Training for 3rd GradersMay 15 and 22 all third graders will be trained as acolytes. Come directly to the sanctuary during Sunday School both weeks to learn the practical skills and meaning behind being an acolyte. There will be a registration form to sign up to acolyte during 9:00 am worship.

Dates to KnowMay 11 > Last night of TGIW for children

June 5 > No Children’s Sunday School

June 12 > No Children’s Sunday School

June 19 > Summer Sunday School for Preschool through 4th grade starts in room 317 at 9:00 am

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Children’s DiscipleshipQuestions? Contact Pastor Allison at allison@stpaulsumc.org or 363-2058.

Vacation Bible School, June 10-12Register now for VBS either online or by picking up a form at church. Kids age 3 through completing 4th grade will learn to be “Rooted in God’s Love” during VBS. It’s free this year, so join us for food and fellowship Friday, June 10, 6:00-8:00 pm, and Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12, 10:30 am-12:30 pm. Lunch will be available afterwards on Saturday and Sunday. We expect VBS to fill up, so register soon!

Families gathered for Cookies & Canvas on April 9. We expressed our creative side making art and decorating (and eating) cookies.

Pathfinders Fun Day, May 29On the last day of spring Sunday School, 3 year olds through 4th graders should come ready for fun! If it’s nice out, we’ll play on the playground. If not, we’ll watch a movie. Either way, come to room 307 for fellowship time with your church friends!

Family Mission Trip: You’re Invited!The annual mission trip is intergenerational this year, so families with children finishing kindergarten and older can go along as a family to serve God’s kingdom together July 17-23. Pick up an informational packet from the youth room 110 or talk to Keith Pitts at kpitts@stpaulsumc.org.

Youth Discipleship

Adult Discipleship

On Sunday, April 10 the second Collision Youth Worship Event was held at Thomas Park in Marion. It was a powerful night of fun, fellowship, food, service, and worship with six youth ministries from around the district. The churches that were included were St. Paul’s, Lovely Lane, Tiffin UMC, Tipton UMC, St. Mark’s, and Betram UMC. The youth made over 400 homeless kits that were divided among the churches for use for future youth events. Though the weather wasn’t the best, we still had over 75 youth come to the event. The focus of the message was on Jesus seeking

out Matthew the tax collector and his unconditional acceptance. The youth were reminded of God’s unconditional acceptance of them, and they were challenged to live that out in their connection to other people – even those that are different from them. God is continuing to do great things in our youth and those who work alongside them. Praise be to God!

Blessings,Keith

Collision: Collide with Christ

United Methodism in the NewsThe General Conference of the UMC will begin its 10-day session on May 10, in Portland, Oregon. Over 800 delegates from around the world, including six laity and six clergy from Iowa, will be considering thousands of petitions from church members – requests for making changes to our Book of Discipline, which governs our church. Proposals deal with social principles, tenure of bishops, guaranteed appointments of clergy

and many, many other topics.The General Conference is the highest legislative body of the United Methodist Church. It gathers every four years and often-times its actions make the news. To follow what is happening, you may watch live-streaming of the conference. To learn more about the conference or to read and follow legislation, go to http://www.umc.org/topics/general-conference-2016.

Rev. Jerry Oakland

Ingathering Special Offering May 1The evening news brings stories of natural and man-made disasters that tug at our heart strings. If only we could help the victims,

but how? The Ingathering special offering on May 1 offers an excellent opportunity to aid these victims. This year, the Ingathering team is focusing on providing the following kits. • Health kits - given to persons displaced from their homes.• School kits - shared with vulnerable children around the world. • Sewing kits - enable women to learn how to sew and thus develop valuable income- generating skills.

The May 1 offering is the only 2016 Ingathering special offering. Please consider contributing to this important project.

John and Lois Mather

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Sending

May 1: IngatheringMay 15: Peace with Justice / Golden Cross / Native AmericanJune 5: His Hands Healing Ministry

Upcoming Special Offerings

Special Offering Options on May 15You may choose from three different conference offerings on May 15. Simply mark on your offering envelope where you prefer your contribution to be directed!

Peace with Justice• Children from impoverished families, who often depend on free or low-cost school lunches, receive weekend food supplies.• Homeless women benefit from a broad-based ministry that addresses their unique needs.• Mentors work with incarcerated youth and adults as well as their families to create a better environment.• Summer camps for children and youth provide guidance on living peacefully and justly.• Youth learn alternatives to gang involvement and violence.• Volunteers prepare the Democratic Republic of the Congo for peaceful elections.

Golden CrossGolden Cross Sunday offerings are used for health and welfare ministries in the annual conference. 100% of offerings are retained by the Iowa Annual Conference to fund grants to local churches and community groups to celebrate health and welfare ministries and their role in spiritual well-being.

Native American MinistriesNative American Sunday offerings are used to remind us of the gifts and contributions made by Native Americans to our society. 25% of funds go to General Board of Higher Education for Scholarships for Native Americans attending UM schools of theology, 25% to General Board of Global Ministries to support the Native American Urban Initiative, and 50% retained to support Iowa Native American Ministries.

Food Bank Collection & Intergenerational Monthly MissionThank you for donating 1112 pounds of generosity to the Linn County Food Bank in April! Volunteers who attended the Intergenerational Monthly Mission sorted the food so it was ready to be distributed right away at the Food Bank. Did you know that spring is a time that the local food banks need the most support? Thanks, St. Paul’s, for your generosity! The next “Fill the Truck” food bank collection will be in August. Would your class or small group be willing to help collect and load the food into the truck on Sunday morning? Contact Wendy Morton if this is a short service project that your class would be interested in supporting.

Intergenerational Monthly Mission: Sunday, May 22 @ 4:30The IMM’s are NOT a certain group of people! We are truly open to anyone at St. Paul’s and beyond who would like to serve others for just a couple of hours. On May 22, we will be supporting His Hands Ministry by doing light maintenance work in their building. There should be something that everyone can help with! It’s a great opportunity to learn more about this new Mission Partner of St. Paul’s. As usual, we will finish our outing with fellowship and dinner!

April’s Intergenerational Monthly Mission, sorting food donations for the Linn County food bank.

Caring

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Congratulations Kevin Lodge!

Stephen Minister, Kevin Lodge, has recently completed a week of training in St. Louis to become a Stephen Leader.

He was commissioned at the 9:00 am service on April 17, 2016 and will now help guide our program at St. Paul’s.

Approximately 50 St. Paul’s members have been trained as Stephen Ministers. Requirements are that you have the gift of compassion, are a good listener and able to keep information

confidential. Please talk to one of us if you would like to learn more.

Stephen Leaders: Rev. Lloyd E. Brockmeyer, Pat Bunch, Ron Bunch, Mike Dulaney, Kevin Lodge, Elaine Oxenford, and Nancy Nygren.

Nancy Nygren

Join us at “Relay for Life” - June 10 The St. Paul’s team for “Relay

for Life” will be walking the Kingston Stadium track for 6 hours starting at 7:00

pm on June 10. Please plan to join us and walk awhile for someone special in your life that has been touched by cancer.

Music MinistriesBand, Vocal & Orchestra Students Spring is busy with students preparing for City Contest, State Music contest and recitals. There may be an opportunity for you to share your music with the congregation. Please contact Mark Baumann at the church, 319-721-4587, mmbaumann@msn.com to see how you can participate and determine what is the best avenue to share your gifts with people of St. Paul’s. We want to engage our student musicians as much as possible.

Those walking the track during the 6 hour event are: Connie Braley, Char and Clarence Burton, Penny and Bob Gilchrist, Becky and Ed Holstrom, Nancy Owen, Jan Russell, Susan Thompson, and Marilyn Thomsen.Your monetary donations are always welcomed! If you prefer donating by credit card online, you can go to http://www.relayforlife.org/linncountyia and contribute to our St. Paul’s team or to an individual walker. If you donate to our team online, type in “St. Paul’s United Methodist.” We are also accepting checks made out to the American Cancer Society.

If you have any questions, please call Jan Russell at 363-9733.

Jan Russell

Men’s EnsembleThe Men’s Ensemble continues to grow, but there is plenty of room for more. Rehearsals are Wednesdays, from 6:30-7:15 pm. We will be rehearsing and singing through May and perhaps into the first part of June. This is a rewarding experience of faith and music. There are no musical requirements to participate. You are welcome to visit a rehearsal or join the group immediately. Contact Mark Baumann for more information.

Prayer Requests for this devotion of caring will be added upon request and updated weekly. Communicate by use of the prayer request boxes, phone 363-2058, use the Prayer Request form on our website stpaulsumc.org or e-mail: silg@stpaulsumc.org. Include a permission to share with others, or a request for confidentiality.

PrayerPrayer Devotions The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

~ Psalm 27:1

Hear our prayers for… • Peace and reconciliation in places of conflict throughout the world and for those serving through our military. • Those struggling with addictions and mental health issues. • Joy of the birth of a grandson born to Jesse and Laurel Davis (son and daughter-in-law of Steve and Kathy Davis) • Joy of the marriage of Kurt and Aubrey Cassady. • Joy of new members Brian and Tara Rust. • Joy of the birth of Charles Dean Heifner, son of Rev. Jonathan and Stepahnie Heifner, born on March 26, 2016! • School for Lay Ministry graduates from St. Paul’s: Bev Stolfus and Pat Bunch. • For our Congregational Ministries and God’s continued blessings!

Continued healing & grace for... • Grace Judd • Raine Allen (Dixie & Roger Allen’s granddaughter) • Baby Boy Miller (son of Angela & Jeff Miller, great grandson of Max & Jean Fitz, grandson of Deann & Dan Zenor) • Diane Olsen (Frank)

• Perpetua Nsaimana (Daniel Niyonzima) • Joyce Johnson (Tim) • Alice Ndayizeke • Judy Franta • Anna Habonimana • Macumi Elias • Kristin Simon • Lori Anton (sister-in-law of Nancy and Brice Anton Jensen) • Mina Arbore (John) • John McQuilkin (Jean Kwader’s father) • Clarence and Janette Mowery • Maria Bowman (Dan & Sally McAleer’s niece) • Mike Myers (Suzanne) • Isaiah Hatfield (premature infant son of Anya and ElizabethHatfield,grandson of Amy and Scott Bruner) • Whit Bohning (Linda Hadley’s great grandson) • Ryan Vick • Pam Anslyn (friend of Angela Stookey) • Marilyn Everett (Tamara Young’s mother) • Jan Keene (Kevin) • Scott Spoerl (Barb Newhall’s grandson) • Devin Simon (Kristin Simon’s nephew) • Heidi DeJong (Chaun) • Angela Stookey • Kris Yahn (Steve) • Quinn Anton Jensen (Nancy and Brice Anton-Jensen’s son) • Matthew Hudson (Fran Nathanson)

The Church of Jesus Christ... • Oxford Church, and Pastor Terry Beltz (April 24) • Matthew 25 Ministry, and Rev. Clint Twedt-Ball (May 1) • Iowa Wesley Foundation, Pastor Anna Blaedel, and staff (May 8) • Pictured Rocks Camp & Retreat Center (May 15)

Memorial prayers for the families and friends of... • Shirley Swenson (Swenson family) • Chuck Wellso (Carolyn) • James Westcot (Helen) • Donald Nebergall (Shirley) • Devin (nephew of Kristin Simon) • Maxine House (mother of Linda Beckett) • John Crilley (Mike Crilley’s father) • Sanquez Jackson (neighborhood youth) • Vivian Cook (Kathy Colton’s mother)

Those under Hospice Care... • Corrine Smallridge (Vicki Comer’s mother)

The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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Etc.Potluck to honor Pastor AllisonPlan now to honor Pastor Allison Warren for her eight years at St. Paul’s UMC by attending an appreciation potluck on Sunday, May 1, at Lowe Park, Marion, beginning at 5 p.m.

Please bring a main dish, vegetable, salad, or dessert to share. If you bring a dessert, you might consider entering the chocolate cake contest, as that is Allison’s favorite!

Please bring your own table service. Drinks will be provided by the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, which is hosting the event. Activities for children will be offered.

You are invited to bring a card and love gift to recognize Allison’s impact on our children, youth, and adults. Her children’s sermons and Café Chats have inspired and educated all of us, while her leadership in Sunday School, VBS, Milestones, and so many other areas of influence have helped shape our church and our families. We thank her and pray for God’s blessings to be upon her as she moves from St. Paul’s UMC in June.

On April 15 she was recognized at Kirkwood as 2016 Volunteer for the United Way of East Central Iowa, Senior Division.

Thank You

Thank you to the 70 plus workers of Thrift Mart who have labored for 2-32 years to make Thrift Mart a success:

To all the many who donated their treasures for the 13 drop offs at church before the sale. To those who sorted items for two hours for 5 days on Mondays. To those who moved items out of storage on Sunday and priced on Monday for the sale Tuesday and Wednesday. Thank you also to all the programs and people who were affected by our sale. It is a monumental task to raise money for mission. Our customers were excited to get bargains, and much goodwill was created.

We raised $6100. Thank you again for all the hard work.

Thrift Mart Committee,Becky Holstrom, Doug Thompson,

Marla Nikodim, and Elaine Oxenford

Join Us Sunday, May 29 A Multicultural Celebration Worship Service!

8:15 am Chapel Worship Service as usual

9:00 am Sanctuary Worship as ususal

10:30-11:30 am Regular Sunday School; Refreshments in Parlor

11:30 am-12:15 pm SPECIAL Multicultural Worship with Reception of MANY New Members!

(In English, Swahili and Kirundi)

12:15-12:45 pm Reception for New Members in Parlor

1:00 pm African National Worship

This is an historic day in the life of our faith family! With the grace of God, we are blessed and delighted to welcome many of our newest friends from the African National community to join as full members of St. Paul’s Untied Methodist Church! Let’s fill our Sanctuary with the joy of the Lord at 11:30 am -12:15 pm!

SpotlightOn April 13 Gloria Ford went to the State House in Des Moines to be inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame.

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Every Daughter Celebration

All women & children are invited!Thursday, May 5, 20166:00 pm Dinner | Wesley Center

Cinco de Mayo: Every Daughter Celebration, May 5Calling all “daughters” for our annual Every Daughter Celebration to be held this year on Thursday evening, May 5. UMW Martha Circle will be serving a vegetable enchilada dinner at 6:00 pm, accompanied by Latino music. Children are invited to create maracas, beaded necklaces, and tissue paper flowers while adults hear from Julie Copping about the United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Project in Guatemala, ODIM, where she and others from Living Water UMC in Marion have gone for the past several years.

The mission of ODIM, the Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya, “is to enrich the lives of the Tzutujil Maya communities of San Juan and San Pablo through caring, competent healthcare, education, and housing solutions.” Medical clinics, education programs, and home building are the primary efforts of this amazing UM mission site.

Latin America is one of the educational focuses of UMW this year. We invite you for a fun and educational evening celebrating our Latin American neighbors who need our love and understanding.

Reservations for the dinner can be made at the church office, 319-363-2058. Suggested donation is $4 for adults, $2 for children under 12. A free nursery will be provided for any moms who request.

Mystery Visitor in Worship Reports Good Experience at St. Paul’sDid you know we had a “mystery visitor” in worship a few weeks ago? The Reaching and Receiving Team arranged for a person not familiar with our church to visit the 9:00 am service and report her impressions. The good news is that she was greeted warmly, both outside the church and when she entered the building. She found it convenient to park and appreciated the visitor spaces. Our visitor found our signage clear and our hallways welcoming; she

reported that our information area was easy to find and was staffed by friendly people.

Our visitor felt the feeling in the worship area was positive and that it was welcoming to families with children and/or teens. She found the sermon and music meaningful and appropriate, and she appreciated the words for prayers and music on the screens. Our visitor was welcomed by the people around her and she viewed our church members as friendly. She reported that she was not encouraged to register her attendance that particular day nor did she see a way to request prayer or contact from a pastor. Perhaps we have made improvement in that area since that time.

In summary, this mystery visitor strongly agreed that “the overall impression of worship would make me want to come back a second time.” That is good news. Good things are happening at St. Paul’s – let’s warmly invite and welcome others to join us in worship, celebrating the love we share for one another and for our God.

St. Paul’s is Moving Forward in Faith

Electrical ServiceWork on St. Paul’s new electrical service is moving along at a good pace with completion expected in a few weeks (see photo). A brief electrical outage will occur when the service is transitioned from the current source to the new source – probably some Friday afternoon. Our “leaning” pole likely remains until sometime in May – Alliant will notify us in advance so we can witness and celebrate the pole’s removal!

Design Work – The Pace Quickens and We’re EngagedFor several months, small groups comprised of St. Paul’s members and/or staff have been working diligently to ensure that the detailed design for every space impacted by our Phase 1 facilities renovation will meet our needs and expectations. All pertinent ministry areas are represented on or by these teams. The groups worked on their own

and have met several times with our architects. Thanks are due to the more than fifty (50) dedicated individuals who continue to contribute their time and talents!

“On the Move”When construction begins (a July start is anticipated), the entire education wing will be unavailable to us. All functions and activities will occur in our historic Sullivan building. Pastor Allison led the effort to develop a comprehensive “occupancy plan,” and she has done a stellar job! Her work to assign meeting spaces included the following considerations:• Children’s ministry and the nursery will be near a restroom.• Offices, the nursery, and storage will remain in a consistent location.• Groups with individuals who have mobility issues will be located close to the elevator, which is accessed through the sanctuary or the Wesley Center. • Room requests from groups

expressing a preference were honored, if possible.• Remaining groups were placed in the area best suited for their age and activity level, with youth having access to flexible spaces.

The final product is a spreadsheet delineating room assignments for every group or activity, from mid-June of 2016 through March of 2017. Room assignments may soon be viewed on St. Paul’s website.

A heartfelt thank you is given to all who are helping move our building project forward. Thanks also to everyone for being “flexible, positive, and proactive”! Rejoice! Together we continue our journey Forward in Faith! John & Lois Mather

Bridge Team Leaders

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Jeremiah 29:11-12 CommentsfromGarr HintzChurch Business Administrator

Financial

Staff Accounting Assistant – Suzanne Revers became St. Paul’s Accounting Assistant on April 4. Suzanne brings

a lot of experience and energy to the position, and I encourage you to stop in and introduce yourself. Her work hours are 8:00 am-12:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Her email address is srevers@stpaulsumc.org. Suzanne’s responsibilities include Accounts Payable, Payroll and related filings, Financial Reports and assisting with the weekly contributions. Welcome Suzanne!

Giving StatementsLast month I noted that Shelby Roth is now the contact person who oversees the area of giving statements. We are aware that there have been issues with the online process and encourage you to let us know when you are unable to access your giving statement online. We are not sure where the problem lies, but Shelby is keeping track of the email extensions to see

if there is any common ground from that perspective. If you need to contact Shelby by email, her address is sroth@stpaulsumc.org. Thanks for your patience as we work through areas of challenge.

FinancesThe Financial Report through March reflects that we are slightly over budget. Our year-to-date losses were projected to be around $63,000 but our report reflects losses of just over $68,000. Pledged and non-pledged contributions in total are at 99.59% of budget. We will be working to integrate the African National Ministry items into our overall budget in the next 30-60 days so that we reflect the grant income as an offset to the expenses. The net effect to the budget will be $0 but this will incorporate the ministry into one giving us a clearer picture of what is involved. We are close to having all of our adjustments made with the accounting process and thank you for your patience during this transition time.

Trustees/Building Projects Justice Electric staff have been busy updating and replacing electric circuits in preparation for the full transition of electricity from the overhead feed from Alliant to the new underground feed. We assume that all transition should be in place at this time but if you become aware of something that is no longer functional from an electric standpoint, please let me know.

Special OfferingsThe Easter offering was $6,345.42 which will be submitted to IAUMC towards our apportionment. A matching amount from Undesignated St. Paul’s UMC Foundation Funds will be set aside for to be used locally by Sending to Serve to purchase books to be used around Cedar Rapids for “Change a Child’s Story.” The upcoming Special Offerings for the balance of April and into May include: May 1: Ingathering and May 15: Peace with Justice/Golden Cross/Native American.

In His Service, Garr

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For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.