Welcome, new and returning SPYs! Both Middle High and Senior High youth groups will be meeting on Sundays this year! Middle High will meet 4:30-6:00 p.m.. Then there’s a half hour grace period for pick-ups and drop-offs before the Senior High meeting time, 6:30-8:30 p.m..  Go to our Youth page for dates and more information about activities, Fall Retreats, and trips. 

Sunday, September 16 is Christian Education Sunday. All students and teachers will begin in the Sanctuary at 10:30 a.m. for special recognition.

Please visit our CHILDREN page  http://stpaulsk.org/community/children for more information!

The Hunger Ministry's Communion Collect in October will be on the first Sunday, October 7 with distribution on Monday, October 8. Nonperishable food items are welcome in the bins in the Narthex at any time! Please read more at our Hunger Ministry page!

After a summer break, our regular Tuesday morning activities return in September. Prayer Lift will gather each Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in the DuVall Chapel to lift up the prayer requests of the St. Paul's community. Bible Study sessions will be held each week on Tuesday mornings at 10:45 a.m. in the Cleveland Library. All are welcome at this drop-in Bible study led by Rev. Kate Mackereth Fulton - there is no registration or fee, and visitors are welcome.

Do our behaviors align with our good intentions? Find out this month along with the 2x4s Book Club as we read Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald. Readers in the 20s-40s age range are invited to meet for discussion, 7:30-9:00 p.m., Monday, September 17 at the home of Jim and Rachel King. Email Rachel at reking30@gmail.com for the address and more information. The October 2x4s Book Club meeting will be October 15, book title TBD.

Still Wednesday returns! Each week will have a different focus or form of moving closer to the divine. September 19 will focus on Centering Prayer, and September 26 will explore Mandalas. Join us any week at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary or Octagon for stillness, reflection, prayer, and quiet spiritual time. For more information, visit the Still Wednesday page.

This monthly time to enjoy music, prayer, and lunch returns starting Tuesday, September 18. We open with an opportunity to share a few of our favorite hymns, then move into a short program focused on the life and work of a specific composer or lyricist. We will be exploring the voluminous hymnody of Charles Wesley throughout this Fall’s Taste & Sing sessions on September 18, October 16, and November 20. Join Rev. Kate Mackereth Fulton and Meg Baker in the Octagon at 12:00 p.m. (no musical experience needed!), and stay for a tasty lunch provided by Ginny Hagberg. There is no registration and no cost to attend, although donations for lunch are welcome.

The UMW Book Club meets about every other month, providing an opportunity for all women to read and discuss books with friends. We typically select books from the UMW reading program list, which are available in the church library. Our next meeting will be on Sunday, September 23, at 12:00 noon, in Room 109. Our book will be The Orphan’s Tale, by Pam Jenoff. This novel sets the glitter of the circus against the rampage of WWII and the Holocaust that threatens all of the main characters. Cast out of her family home after an unintended pregnancy and having given her own child up for adoption, Noa discovers a train car packed with Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp. She rescues a half-dead child and flees with the Circus Neuhoff where the naïve Noa must navigate a new relationship with the ascerbic circus veteran Astrid. Under the aging big-top tent, Noa learns to fly and Astrid learns to build bridges of trust as the circus travels across Europe. According to Jean Zimmerman’s NPR review, many of the novel’s “particulars are based in fact; Jenoff did ample research about real Jewish circus dynasties in the archives of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and archive, as well as learning about the actual ‘Unknown Children’ of that terrible boxcar…. Through the darkness of war, the circus lights twinkle on, the circus family lives and loves and laughs, all while beautiful athletes fly high above the crowd. Jenoff has written a tribute to the human spirit that soars in the midst of epic despair.”

Come, take time to listen for the “still small voice.” Register now for the Still Weekend Silent Retreat at the Dayspring Retreat Center in Germantown MD, Friday October 19 (evening) through Sunday October 21 (after lunch).  Registration deadline is October 5.  This silent retreat offers time to explore 200+ acres of forest and meadow, walk the labyrinth, use materials for creative expression, or simply be still without a cloud of daily noise. Please see the Still Wednesday page for details.

Thinking about becoming a member or just want to learn more about life at St. Paul’s? Pie with the Pastors is usually offered the first weekend of each month. Our next chance for pie and conversation on Saturday, October 6. Please RSVP by contacting the church office (stpaulsunited@stpaulsk.org, 301-933-7933) no later than the Thursday before. Plan to join Rev. Adam Snell and others at 10:00 a.m. in Room 109 for homemade pie and relaxing conversation about the Christian faith and this church we call home. Childcare is available upon request.

Pancake breakfasts are held on the first Saturday of the month, now through June. Serving hours are 8:00-10:30 a.m. and we offer pancakes, eggs, sausage, ham, fruit, and other dishes. All proceeds are donated to charities that work to aid those throughout our region and the world. Read more at our Pancake Breakfast page!

Faithflix, our Sunday afternoon series of film viewings and faith-filled discussions will be taking a break during the summer months but we plan to resume on Sunday, October 7. More information coming soon! Please contact Meg Baker, Director of Christian Education, if you have questions.

Adult Sunday School, led by Vern Schinski, will return beginning October 7, 9:00-10:00 AM in the Parlor. The group will be using several DVD sources to study the Gospel of John, including Adam Hamilton’s “John: The Gospel of Light and Life.” For more information, visit our Adult Education page.

The Biblical Archaeology Forum, usually hosted at the Bender JCC in Rockville MD, offers a monthly presentation that brings together historians, archaeologists, biblical scholars to look at intriguing questions and broaden our understanding of the biblical world. 

Go to our Adult Education Page to lean more about this month's featured lecture and find links to other Biblical Archaeology Forum resources.

Biblical Archaeology Forum Schedule for 2018-2019

October 10, 2018: Did a Kushite Pharaoh Rescue Jerusalem from the Assyrians?

November 7, 2018: The Split between Judaism and Christianity

December 12, 2018: When the Greeks Ruled the Seas

February 10, 2019: Cities That Built the Bible

March 6, 2019: Women That Built the Bible

April 3, 2019: The World’s First Computer, Recovered from the Antikythera Shipwreck

May 8, 2019: The Mysterious Disappearance of Zerubbabel

We are welcoming new Liturgists (to read the scripture) and Communion Stewards (to help serve communion) who would like to assist in the first worship service, 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. There are dates available in September and October. To sign up online, simply add your name and email address to the sign-up sheet found here: goo.gl/Xz5T79. If you have questions, please contact the church office.

Spread the love of St. Paul's by delivering flowers to those who are in need of a little extra cheer. A sign-up sheet is available in the church office. Flower Delivery people collect a bunch of flowers from the Sanctuary following the 10:30 a.m. worship service, then use a map and card provided to stop by the home of a church member or friend. It's an easy, family-friendly way to minister to our faith community. Please contact the church office or Ginny Hagberg if you have any questions.

"People plan their path, but the Lord secures their steps." ~Proverbs 16:9.

The summer months brought visits with family, sight-seeing adventures, vacations, and trips across town and across the planet. Flat Paul went along and kept us connected.  You can read more about Flat Paul at our Children's Page, or check out the photo display on the hallway bulletin board by the office.

If our Heritage Sunday celebration in April sparked your interest, you can find the book The Spirit of Methodism in Kensington on sale in the church office during the week. The St. Paul's history book is an award-winning trove of information about St. Paul's and is full of historical photos and interesting stories, recounting everything from musical performances at the White House to cream pies being thrown at a former pastor. The cost is $10.