This weekend is the 14th Sunday after Pentecost. The readings include James 1:17-27 and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23:

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" 

He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,  

but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

• Faith Creek church school
• Children's Choirs:
  Dynamic Deacons and
  Chancel Choir
• Childcare during worship
• Confirmation
• Sr. High Ministry
• Stay tuned for much more! Bookmark our SPD Online Registrations site!

1. Our existing staff will work together to support Senior High Ministries-including Pastor Westermeyer, Pastor Schmid, Clay Thomas, Cindy Carlson, and Deb August.
2. Four young adults with deep ties to St. Philip the Deacon will support our Senior High activities this fall: Kate Mathison, Dave Milne, Chris Paulson, and Kate Thomas. We are grateful to each of them for stepping into these roles, and excited about the energy and enthusiasm they will bring to them.
3. We are inviting our Senior High students -- and particularly our upperclassmen -- to become more active leaders for the ministry, and have already been meeting with them to discuss all of these plans.