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Holy Manners for St. Paul Lutheran Church & School - Royal Oak, Michigan

We believe that Holy Manners will enable us to better serve God, our family, our church and everyone He places in our path. Holy Manners are promises we make to each other — that is, shared expectations of Christian behavior that we strive to offer to each other. Holy Manners give glory to God and demonstrate Christ's love for one another.

When practicing Holy Manners, people feel safe, are more likely to experience healthy relationships, and are best able to create or renew meaningful friendships. As children of God, we are striving to make the following Holy Manners a grand reality as God continues to fill us with his Holy Spirit and love.

As members of the St. Paul Lutheran Church and School family, we strive to work, lead, and live — with the help of God — according to these Holy Manners:

We promise to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39).

We promise to be quick to forgive as we have been forgiven.

We promise to first direct our complaints to only the appropriate person or group, while seeking a full understanding of the issue (Matthew 18:15).

We promise to speak well about one another—explaining everything in the kindest way.

We promise to maintain a healthy and peaceful environment for decision making by:

  • entering meetings with an open mind and willingness to listen.
  • encouraging healthy discussion by all interested members to a topic.
  • appreciating each person's thoughts, feelings and insights.
  • recognizing that differing opinions in a group is healthy—even helpful.
  • gathering as many concerns and recommendations as possible in the allotted time.
  • building on the voiced concerns and recommendations when a decision is made.

We promise to show support for the decisions made by the decision-making group through our thoughts, words, and deeds.

We promise to follow through with what we have promised.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Bible Translations

What makes a good translation and which Bible translation ought St. Paul use for public readings? The Board of Elders recently put together a presentation to the members of St. Paul that looks into the issue of Bible translations.

As Lutherans, we believe, teach, and confess that the original manuscripts of the Bible in Hebrew and Greek are God's living, inerrant Word. We know that translations are not inerrant, and that inaccurate translations have been used to fuel heresies in the past; some big, some small. And while most people may never have thought about how difficult translation can be, the presentation on Bible translations will help you to understand the issue a little bit better so you can see why one translation is preferred over another.

Click here to download the Bible Translation Presentation

St. Paul Library News

Books in the library now have cards, pockets and spine labels. A catalogue with a complete listing of books will be found next to a sign with the check out procedure on the file cabinet. This process will be an indicator of what types of books are of the most interest to the congregation. Not all books are to be removed from the library, indicated by the absence of a card in the back of the book. Please check your bookshelves at home for any St. Paul library books. Thank you.