The Yard Sale & Boutique will be held in Heavener Hall and the Parlor on Friday, November 15 (8:00 AM-5:00 PM) and Saturday, November 16 (8:00 AM-1:00 PM). Come shop for treasurers - we'll have housewares, furniture, electronics, appliances, toys, books, antiques, jewelry, china, collectibles, tools, and clothing.  Receiving day will be on Thursday, November 14 (8:00 AM-5:00 PM). Please consider making donations of good, sellable merchandise.  (Sorry, we do not accept stuffed furniture, mattresses, car seats, computer equipment, or large/heavy exercise equipment.) The UMM Apple Sale will be held in the church parking lot November 14-16, 12:00 noon-5:00 PM each day. In order to run these two events concurrently, we need a lot of volunteers – men, women, and teens – to help. Please don’t feel that you need prior experience; we can train new folks very quickly! If you can help for a few hours with either of these sales, please sign-up on the appropriate clipboard in the office. Contact Jerry Watkins or Steve Lillie if you have any questions.

Still Wednesday for 2019-2020 will meet on Wednesday each week, 7:00-8:00 pm in the Sanctuary or Octagon, for an hour of calming worship and prayer in a variety of formats led by different facilitators. Each evening will include about 20 minutes of silent prayer and meditation time. Questions? Contact Kenzie Raulin. For more information, visit the Still Wednesday page.

All young people from preschool through high school are invited to attend Sunday School at St. Paul's. A list of classroom locations is posted in the Narthex, and information packets are available at the Visitors’ Center desk and in the church office. Here are details about Sunday School for November 17: 

• Sunday School for children age 2 to Grade 5 begins at 10:30 AM. Students should go directly to their classrooms. (A list of class locations is posted in the Narthex.)
• Youth Sunday School will meet after worship, at 11:45 a.m. in Room 115. 
• Nursery care for infants and toddlers is available during both worship services all year.

Please visit our CHILDREN's page http://stpaulsk.org/community/children for more details and other useful information!

The Hunger Ministry's monthly Communion Collect normally takes place the first Sunday of the month. Nonperishable food items are still welcome in the bins in the Narthex at any time. Grocery store gift cards ($20 value each, Safeway or Giant) and monetary donations are also welcome. Please note: The holiday schedule means changes to our distribution plans. We will provide groceries on Sunday, November 24, ahead of Thanksgiving. Help make this possible by signing up to "adopt-a-family," donating individual food items, or providing $25 grocery store gift cards. We will not have a sorting day on December 1 (the weekend of Thanksgiving) and we will not have a distribution on the following day. We WILL provide grocery store gift cards in December at the Cookies & Carols event! Please read more at our Hunger Ministry page!

Rehearsals for the Pageant continue each week on Sundays during Children's Choir time: 11:45 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room. The children's choir will sing an anthem during worship on Sunday, November 24 while the Pageant forms the centerpiece of the 10:30 worship service on Sunday, December 22. (For everyone's sanity, we cannot add new Christmas Pageant participants after November 3.) Please go to our Children's page to read more.

The Stephen Ministry is sponsoring a continuing education program open to all members and friends of St. Paul's on Monday, November 18, 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the Octagon on Advance Directives and Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST). Please read more at our Stephen Ministry page!

The Kensington-area Ministerium network will hold the annual interfaith Thanksgiving worship service on Tuesday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m. The host this year is Temple Emanuel (10101 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington MD). St. Paul’s pastors will participate and all are welcome. 

All youth in grade 7 or above who have not been confirmed are invited to join the 2020 Confirmation Class. The deadline to register is Sunday, December 1. Confirmation is a semester-long commitment with regular classes, participation in worship, and a weekend retreat. Please go to stpaulsk.org/community/youth for more information and to sign up. Questions? Contact Meg Baker, Director of Christian Education (mbaker@stpaulsk.org, 301-933-7933 ext. 104).

Thinking about becoming a member or just want to learn more about life at St. Paul’s? Our next Pie with the Pastors is scheduled for December 7. Please RSVP by contacting the church office (stpaulsunited@stpaulsk.org, 301-933-7933) no later than the Thursday before. Plan to join the pastors 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.

This annual workshop for children will be held Saturday, December 7, 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room. Children (and their adult and youth friends) will have the opportunity to make a variety of Advent and Christmas-related crafts. This is free of charge, but donations are welcome. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Meg Baker (mbaker@stpaulsk.org, 301 933-7933 ext. 104). 

All are welcome on Saturday, December 7. Serving hours are 8:00-10:30 a.m. in Heavener Hall, and we offer pancakes, eggs, sausage, ham, fruit, and other dishes. The specialty pancake for December will be chocolate chip. Instead of a fixed price, we request a goodwill donation. All proceeds are donated to charities that work to aid those throughout our region and the world. Read more at our Pancake Breakfast page!

This dinner group is having an early yuletide dinner on Sunday, December 8 at 5:00 PM. The dinner will be held at the Suley residence and is open to all. If you’re interested in coming, RSVP to Arceli Suley. This is not a pot-luck, rather, the meal will be provided. You are asked to bring a dozen of your favorite Christmas Cookies to share. We’ll be happy for you to join us.

Next meeting: December 10 at 11:00 in Heavener Hall. By long tradition, this community group for older adults meets on the second Tuesday of the month, October-May with a "field trip" in June. Come to Heavener Hall and bring a dish to share for lunch, stay for short updates about members and club business, and then enjoy entertainment from local professional singers, musicians, or actors. Come be with us as we make our golden years our great years!

Visit our Advent & Christmas page to stay up to date on all the activities during this holy and festive season. From the full worship schedule to the Children's Advent Craft Workshop to the UMM's Christmas Tree Sale, you'll find it all at http://stpaulsk.org/worship/advent-christmas

A celebration of the life of Ken Rogers was held in the Sanctuary on Saturday, November 9 at 11:00 a.m., followed by a time of fellowship with the family in the Octagon. Please click here to view the full obituary, as it appeared in the Washington Post. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to DACOR Bacon House, 1801 F St. NW, Washington, DC 20006. Read more about their mission to support foreign service professionals at http://www.dacorbacon.org/

Saying hello to old friends and assisting new visitors is a vital part of making St. Paul’s warm and welcoming for all.  Each Sunday, our greeters and those who serve at our Visitors’ Center desk do this good work.  It’s time to refresh our pool of volunteers!  Without your help, the Visitors’ Center would sit vacant and the Narthex would be less inviting.  Laura Tribble coordinates the Visitors’ Center and Debbie Zechar manages the schedule of greeters.  Every Sunday counts, so please contact Laura or Debbie if you might be able to help share the warmth of St. Paul’s.   

Special Church Conference was held Sunday, October 13 at 12:00 noon in the Sanctuary. District Superintendent Rev. Gerry Green presided. Members who were present voted by ballot on whether or not to begin the Reconciling process. 

The vote was 205 to 22 in favor of beginning the process. 

Click here to read the Frequently Asked Questions handout, which provides answers to questions raised during this process.

Please visit our Way Forward page stpaulsk.org/community/the-way-forward for more information. 

We also have downloadable documents and other resources available to help members and friends learn about what happened at the global United Methodist Church's special general conference held February 2019 and new UMC "Traditional Plan" rules restricting LGBTQ+ participation, and St. Paul's efforts to find our Way Forward, including video recordings of the Reconciling Info Session (Sept. 22) and Samoan Circle Panel (Sept. 29). 

Would you like to brighten someone’s day? One way is to simply pick up a card at the Visitor’s Desk. The cards are already addressed and have a stamp. You can either sign your name or write a note. Please remove the insert inside before sealing the envelope and mailing. The insert can be recycled if you would like to leave it on the Visitor’s Desk. Thank you so much for helping with this cheerful and uplifting ministry!

Our Tuesday morning activities meet weekly. Prayer Lift will gather each Tuesday at 10:00 am in the DuVall Chapel to lift up the prayer requests of the St. Paul’s community. Bible Study sessions led by Rev. Kate Mackereth Fulton will be held on Tuesdays at 10:45 am in the Library. All are welcome!

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.

All are welcome to gather in the Octagon for refreshments and conversation after worship. The goodies we enjoy each week are provided by friends who sign up to bake or buy treats (nut-free please). Every Sunday, we need at least two adult volunteers to serve as hosts after the 10:30 a.m. service. The set-up host arrives about an hour before worship to plug in the coffee urn and set out cups, sugar, cream, snacks, etc., and stays after briefly to clean up when coffee hour is finished. Helping to set up and serve coffee is a great way to feel like a part of our church community. If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact Dupeh Ochieng. We can also help pair novice hosts with experienced hosts to help you learn the ropes. Sign up sheets are available in the Octagon during Sunday fellowship time, and in the Octagon kitchen during the week.

We are welcoming new Lay Readers (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 throughout the summer! 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 or Rev. Kate Mackereth Fulton (kfulton@stpaulsk.org).

If our Heritage Sunday celebration in April sparked your interest, you can purchase a copy of The Spirit of Methodism in Kensington, 1885-2007 for $10.00. Contact the church office or Jack Lipscomb of the St. Paul's History Committee. The St. Paul's history book is an award-winning trove of information about our church from its founding to recent years, 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 Biblical Archaeology Forum, usually hosted at the Bender JCC in Rockville MD, offers a monthly presentation that brings together historians, archaeologists, and 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 upcoming lectures, to find the full schedule for 2019-2020, and to access links to other Biblical Archaeology Forum resources.