Reach Out. Proclaim. Inspire.

Aug. 12, 2015

Opportunities to Serve!

Contact: Pastor Valerie Strand Patterson, vstrand@spdlc.org or Cindy Carlson at ccarlson@spdlc.org. To learn more, visit our website.

Feed My Starving Children - Aug. 25
Messiah Food Pantry - Aug. 14 and 22
Interfaith Outreach - Sept. 9 and Oct. 14
Guides for Confirmation
Faith Creek teachers and helpers
Prayer Partners for 3-year-olds

The Texts this Weekend

This weekend is the 12th Sunday after Pentecost. The readings include Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:9-14, Ephesians 5:15-20 and John 6:51-58:

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever."

Bread Sunday!

Jesus is the bread of life! Every three years in the lectionary cycle, we hear messages from the Gospel of John which center on Jesus as the bread of life. (For five weeks in a row!) Have you been feeling hungry these past weeks in church? Can you smell the bread baking?

This Sunday, Aug. 16, during our coffee hours, we'll celebrate this season of bread with loaves and loaves of many different kinds of bread. Many thanks to the Weiland and Fust familes, who will be baking up a veritable feast of bread!

Donate School Supplies - Final Week!

Your donations of school supplies make a difference to a child who needs help getting ready for school. Now through Monday, Aug. 17, you can bring your donations to the bins in Fellowship Hall.

To make a financial contribution, add the line "School Supplies" in the note on your check to St. Philip the Deacon, and give it during the offertory in worship, or bring your check to the church office.

We are hoping for large quantities of:

Backpacks (large, solid colors)
Wide or college rule spiral notebooks
Pocket folders
Composition notebooks
3-Ring binders (1 1/2 inch)
Calculators

A complete list of important supplies can be found at spdlc.org/school.

Register Now for Fall Faith Creek

Fall Faith Creek will begin Sept. 12-13. It's time to get signed up! Faith Creek is Christian education and fun for children aged 3 through 5th grade. Don't miss the fun! Sign up online today!

Register for Children's Choirs

Do your kids love to sing? It's time to get them signed up for choir this fall. Dynamic Deacons is a choir for kids aged kindergarten through 2nd grade, and Chancel Choir is for kids in grades 3-5. These choirs meet on Tuesday evenings. Sign up online today!

Register for Child Care

Child care is offered during worship services at St. Philip the Deacon for little ones aged 6 weeks to 3 years. All children must have new registrations for fall. Sign up online today!

Register for Confirmation

Confirmation kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Sign up online today!

Wednesdays

5:30 p.m. Pizza and fellowship
6:30 p.m. Large and small groups

Sundays

11 a.m. Class format

Also, 6th graders and their parents are invited to kick-off event on Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 5-7 p.m. No registration is necessary for this event. Dinner is included. Please bring your Bibles!

Bike Club Rides Again - Aug. 13

Bike Club has a few more great rides to enjoy. We meet every Thursday morning setting off at 9 a.m. from a different location to explore one of our local bike trails, and enjoy God's creation and fellowship with one another. We'll also have an evening ride on Aug. 27. Our next ride:

Thursday, Aug. 13 at 9 a.m.

Meet at The Depot in Hopkins (intersection of Hwy. 169 and Excelsior Blvd.) We will bike the North Cedar Lake Regional Trail.

Contact Pastor Cheryl Mathison for more information: cmathison@spdlc.org or 763-475-7128.

Pro-Karting with Sr. High Youth - Aug. 15

Sr. High students, both guys and gals, are invited to and afternoon of fast-paced fun. Meet at the church on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 12 noon for lunch, and then we'll carpool to the Maple Grove ProKart track, where we'll have an absolute blast racing each other. Cost is $50. Register online now!

Oasis - Aug. 17

Oasis prayer services are designed to offer you a setting where you can make space and time to pray. These services are open to everyone and anyone, and we encourage people to join us to bring forward any prayer concerns. Join us Monday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m., and make space for prayer in your life.

Learn more about Oasis prayer services.

Lighting Upgrade Project - Begins Aug. 18

Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 18, we will be upgrading the entire sanctuary lighting system to more energy efficient LED fixtures. This renovation will save the congregation significant resources both in energy consumption and in maintenance costs for bulb replacement (which always requires us to rent special equipment, given the ceiling height). We also hope that worshipers will notice better lighting in the sanctuary once the project is completed.

We're pleased to make improvements and be good stewards of our church's resources at the same time! Many thanks to all of the families who have generously helped to underwrite this project! If you would like to make a contribution to help support this renovation, please contact Pastor Tim Westermeyer or Finance Administrator Cheryl Sjaarda.

Birds, Wildflowers and Bog - Aug. 18

SPD Outdoors invites you to enjoy a lovely evening out in nature! Gather at Theodore Wirth Park in the parking lot of the Eloise Butler Sanctuary on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m. for an evening stroll in a wildflower garden. It's a bird-watching haven! There is also a children's garden and quaking bog. The serenity of the park and woods lets us forget just how close we are to the heart of the city. Bring a friend!

Encounter: Minnesota Arboretum - Aug. 19

"Encounter" takes a journey to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on Wednesday morning, Aug. 19 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. We will begin with a light breakfast and devotions at church, and a presentation by SPD member Susan Ramlet on how she sees the world through her digital camera and cell phone camera, capturing images that are beautiful and intriguing. We will travel by coach to the arboretum where we will enjoy the gardens and exhibits and, putting to use what we learned from Susan, take some photos.

Bring your phone or digital camera! Don't have one? Just let us know and you can borrow one for the event.

The cost of this Encounter is $20 per person. (If you are a member of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the cost will be $11 per family member.) You may register online or at the Hospitality Desk on the upper level. For more information, please contact Cindy Carlson at ccarlson@spdlc.org or Pastor Mathison at cmathison@spdlc.org.

Thank You, Rebecca! - Aug. 30

Join us in worship and at coffee hours on Sunday, Aug. 30 to thank Rebecca Hinz and bid her well. Rebecca has served her internship year at St. Philip the Deacon as our Pastoral Care Intern. She has been instrumental in creating SPD's new Lay Visitation ministry. In September Rebecca will return to Luther Seminary for her final year of classes in preparation for ordination as a pastor in the ELCA. God bless you, Rebecca, and Godspeed!

Book Club - Sept. 15

Join Pastor Mathison for a discussion of Roz Chast's memoir, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant, as she brings her wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, Can't We Talk is as full of laughs as it is with tears. For anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents, this book and our discussion is sure to bring comfort, and a relief that you are not alone.

We meet Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Nook. Participants can purchase a copy of the book at the SPD upper level hospitality desk ($20) or borrow it from the library in the Nook, or acquire one from a bookstore or online.

Read more about Book Club on our website.

DivorceCare Group for Women - Sept. 22

Separation and divorce are painful and stressful experiences. They are confusing times when you feel alone and have lots of questions. DivorceCare is a confidential group support program to help participants discover hope and experience healing. Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sept. 22 through Dec. 15. This group will be for women. A men's group will be offered in the spring. Contact Pastor Valerie Strand Patterson at 763-475-7126 or vstrand@spdlc.org to sign up. Learn more about DivorceCare.

In This Issue

Bread Sunday

Donate School Supplies

Register for Faith Creek

Register for Children's Choirs

Register for Child Care

Register for Confirmation

Bike Club - Thursdays

Sr High ProKarting

Oasis

Lighting Upgrade

Birds, Wildflowers and Bog

Encounter: Minn. Arboretum

Thank you, Rebecca!

Book Club

DivorceCare for Women

O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,

For those who fear him have no want.

The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?

Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 34:9-14

For Reflection

"Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel."
-Proverbs 20:15

See more thoughts like this at fb.com/spdlc.

Faithful Parenting

How to Connect with Your Kids - Even When You're Opposites!

Some of the time connecting with our children is easy - especially with the ones that seem like little versions of ourselves, where we can easily spot similarities and shared interest. But what do we do when connecting with our kids doesn't come so easily? How do we find ways to genuinely connect with even the most oppositely-wired kids?