NEWS
Embark on a Journey through Genesis with the Friday Bible Study!
Join us for a Friday Bible Study delving into the foundational stories of the book of Genesis. Beginning on Friday, September 6 we'll gather for Morning Prayer from 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM, followed by an engaging study of Genesis from 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM. The study will explore the creation narratives, the lives of the patriarchs and matriarchs, and the profound themes of covenant and promise that shape our faith. We'll conclude our time together with Holy Communion at 11:30 AM. All are welcome to join us as we journey through the rich tapestry of Genesis and discover its enduring relevance for our lives today. If you have any questions, please contact Fr. Wesley (wwalker@stpaulscrownsville.com).
If you would like to utilize a commentary to enhance your study of Genesis, the recommended commentary is Tremper Longman III’s The Story of God Commentary: Genesis.
New Art Added to the Parish Hall
Psalm 96:9 tells us to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.” As Anglicans, we pray this daily at Morning Prayer during the Venite. Beauty matters! It forms us, shapes us, and orients us to the good. For this reason, we are very excited to have hung up a new art piece produced by our very own Joan Smith. For those who may be aware, Joan is an expert craftswoman who has made awe-inspiring vestments that Fr. Wesley and Fr. David wear regularly!
“Liturgical Colors” by Joan Smith
Stained Glass Quilt Block Motif
St. Paul’s shield is a sword and a Bible because the Scriptures are “sharper than any twoedged sword” (Heb 4:12). St. Paul is responsible for most of the New Testament, so it’s a fitting symbol for him. This is reflected in our parish logo.
In this piece, the Apostle Paul’s shield was machine embroidered with over 31,000 individual stitches, taking two hours to complete.
Thank you to Joan for contributing this wonderful piece to make our space even more beautiful than it was before!
Proposed Plans for Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park
At St. Paul’s, we have a vested interest in what goes on in our community. As many locals may know, Anne Arundel County is working on developing the abandoned grounds of Crownsville Hospital into a park and other buildings. If you click on the button below, you can see some of what they are planning to do with that area:
Raynaldo Brown’s “Back to School” Supplies Collect Begins Sunday!
Raynaldo Brown’s “Oxford Landing’s Back-to-School Supplies Giveaway” is scheduled forWednesday, August 21, 2024 FROM 1 TO 5. The giveaway and will be held in person and there will be activities and food for the children and their families! This has been a favorite Missions Outreach event for several years, and we are once again asking for donations to this effort. As in years past, both cash donations and school supply donations are welcome. If you are attending services at the church, envelopes marked for school supply donations are in the pews and at the back of the church. If you are not attending church in person and would like to donate to this effort, please send your donations to the church to Johnson Waite’s attention and please mark your check that it is to be used for the school supply effort. Last year, our wonderful congregation gave over $2,800 to this event. Thank you in advance for your continued generosity to help less fortunate children to be ready for the new school year.
Updates to the Annex and Parking Lot
One of the issues we’ve run into at St. Paul’s over the past six months or so has been a lack of space. Parking is getting tight on Sundays and we have an uptick in activities and not much space in which to do them! As a result, the vestry has been researching and discussing a variety of proposals for maximizing the space we have in an affordable way. To that end, there are two updates that I’m excited to share with you:
The Sunday School Building, AKA the Annex
As many of you know, we have a Sunday School building in our back parking lot. Lance Smith did a lot of work clearing out the stuff that had been stowed in that space. The loft was removed. John Schulte did some sealing treatments and put in hard flooring. If you see Lance or John this Sunday, please thank them for all their hard work on this project! Moving forward, this gives us a second space to use when the Fellowship Hall is occupied, allowing us more flexibility in scheduling various events. Here’s what it looks like inside now:
The Parking Lot
The other issue we’ve had recently is that our parking lot gets crowded, especially during the transition between the 9:30a and 11a services. After considering a few proposals, the Vestry voted to accept a bid that involved expanding our parking area by 6,930 feet. On Wednesday, they started and finished the job. Here are the pictures:
Because of this addition, we would like people to stop parking parallel to the cemetery. When people park there, it’s very hard for others cars to get in and out. Further, we’ve had an incident where someone hit the fence around the cemetery. This extended parking area will hopefully prevent these difficulties in the future.
As always, we should think our Vestry for their work in ensuring the well being of St. Paul’s! And, of course, it’s important to say thank you to all our parishioners for making St. Paul’s such a wonderful place.
Blessings,
Fr. Wesley
The Scholarship Fund is Accepting Donations
Greetings, members of St Paul’s.
It’s that time of year again. One of my favorite programs here at St Paul’s is our presentation of scholarships to aspiring students. And once again, the Scholarship Committee is making a special plea for donations to the Scholarship Fund. Our first presentations were for $800 per student and, each year, your generosity has allowed us to increase that amount, up to $1500 last year. Our coffers are low right now and we would very much like to award at least that amount again this year. All applicants who meet the qualifications will receive an award. The amount will be the total in the fund divided by the number of qualified applicants. We do not try to carry over any large amount in the fund from year to year. Your generosity in the past has been amazing and the committee thanks you for that. Donation envelopes are in the pews and the back of the church as well as in the administrative office.
This year, applications are due on July 21st and presentations will be made on Sunday, August 4th. Applicants must be a member of the congregation or immediate family member, have a “B” average for their last completed semester, be actively involved in volunteer work for their community, and have a letter of recommendation from their pastor at whatever church they regularly attend. Again I remind you that application forms are available in the back of the church and in the administrative office.
Please feel free to contact me or Fr Wes if you have any questions. Thanks again for your support and may God bless us all.
-Henry Riser, Chair of the Scholarship Committee