Bible Classes

Sunday's - 9:30-10:30am

• The Book of Genesis (lounge)
• Growing in Christ (school music room)
• Pastor/Vicar's New Member Class (school gym) - Begins January 23
• Sr. High Youth Bible Study (school upstairs middle classroom)
• Sunday School (Pk-8th grade) (school classrooms)
• Parents and Tots (school latchkey room)

Third Monday 10:00am

• Parables with Pastor Ackerman (lounge)

Tuesday's 7:00pm

• Young Adults Bible Study (Vicar's house)

Wednesday's 10:00am

• Exodus (lounge)

Wednesday's 7:00pm

• Grief Share (meeting room)

Third Saturday 7:30am

• Men's Breakfast with Rich Mahler (lounge)

Special News

The St. Paul Family continues to pray for Pastor Geske and his son, Jacob (3) who were involved in an automobile accident on Saturday afternoon. While Pastor and Jacob only suffered injuries, this accident took the life of Pastor's wife, Laura (37), and their other two children; Joshua (8) and Joy (3). Pastor Geske was a vicar at St. Paul from 1996-97. He currently serves as pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Salina, KS.

Memorials may be sent to the “The Geske Family Memorial Fund” in care of St. Paul Lutheran Church; 311 N 7th St, Leavenworth, KS 66048.

Off-Site Ministry

Mardi Gras - or in Germany - Karneval/Fasching will be celebrated again this year at the German American Cultural Club, Sterling Heights, on Saturday, February 18th. A ticket costs $17.50 - you may purchase food & beverages there, if you wish. Wear a costume for fun, or just enjoy people watching, lively entertainment & the most awesome conga line! Questions to Martha Smyth 248-677- 4972 or Gloria Walter 248-398-6364. Please sign up for a ticket at the Welcome Center & we can all sit together! Time & driving directions available there, also.

In-House Ministry

Welcome to our newest board members and officers!

• President of the Congregation: Jim Schultz
• Board of Education: Jean Walker, Pete Walsh, Raquel Turner, Kristine Dowhan
• Board of Elders: Will Lichtenberg, Ken Millinger, Mike Rasmussen, Eric Pittman, Dave Newton, Dennis Walker
• Board of Evangelism: Rachel Harris
• Board of Stewardship: Barb Miller, Ashley Blake
• Board of Trustees: Richard Baker, Dan Dirkse, Dave Dowhan, Gary Maloney, Dennis McClatchey, Chay Smith
• Board of Youth: Colleen Olsen
• Fund Operating Board: Peggy Lawrence

Proposed Constitutional Changes At our most recent voter's meeting, recommended changes to our constitution were shared. This is the result of work done by our constitution committee. Those proposed changes are now available on our website for your to view. We will vote on these at our regular voter's meeting in January. Click here to find the proposed changes online.

Pastor/Vicar's New Member Class A new member class will begin again on Sunday, January 15 at 9:30 a.m. If you are interested in becoming a member or to learn about our church, you are welcome to come to this class. Please contact the church office, 248-541-0613, if you would like to come to this class. Childcare is available.

Young Adults Group will begin a new study of World Religions starting Tuesday, January 10. Come join us as we watch and discuss a series of DVD lectures presented by Dr. Paul L. Maier entitled Christianity and the Competition. The study will cover Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Mormonism among other religions. Our focus will be to learn about the basic tenants of each religion, to compare each religion to Christianity, and to develop ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people of other religions. Please join us for this study and for prayer and fellowship. Young Adults Group meets every Tuesday at Vicar Kirk and Courtney's home (519 S. Troy St.) at 7:00 pm. We hope to see you there!

A New Women's Bible Study - “Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman” will begin on Monday, Jan. 9 at 9:00 a.m. in the church lounge. Come join other sisters in Christ and learn how to trust God's providence for the tough times. This is a ten week adventure, using study books throughout the week. Any questions? Call Cathy Sommerfeld at 248 321 4156. Lets gather a large group to meet friends and indulge in His Word!

Quiz Night Start getting your team together and studying those trivia books. Quiz night will be on Saturday, February 18th at 7:00pm. Sign your team up on the board in the lobby. Questions call Jeanne Valdes (248)435-8095.

Family Movie Night! Saturday, February 25th at 6:30pm in the school gym. Come and enjoy a night out with the family to see Dolphin Tale while sharing in fellowship with other St. Paul families. Snacks will be provided. A free will offering is accepted with all proceeds benefiting CareNet of Berkley. Everyone is invited to join the fun!

Pick-up Basketball We will begin to be playing pick up basketball on Sunday afternoons from 4-6pm in the school gym starting today, February 12th. Adults 18 and over can drop in and play pick up basketball for a couple of hours. We will see how this will go and adjust, as necessary, depending on how many people attend, and various skill levels, etc. If you have questions please contact Chuck Brewer, 586-822-8619 or Rob Parks, 248-844-1456.

Senior High Bible Class Mr. Rich Mahler will be leading Senior High Youth Bible Class beginning on January 8, for the next several weeks there after. All Senior Youth are invited and encouraged to attend. Classes are held in Miss Winston's classroom (5th and 6th grade room) in the school.

6th Annual St. Paul Golf Outing Join us on Saturday, May 12 for our 6th annual golf outing. All proceeds to toward our Youth Group fund. This year's outing will be at Brentwood Golf Club (2450 Havenwood, White Lake, MI). Cost is $75 per person (golf & luncheon), or $20 per person (Buffet Lunch only). Registration deadline is April 30. Please contact Tony Valdes with any questions at 248-435-8095.

Lenten Banner Gift Opportunity During Lent, our mid-week worship series will be centered around eight Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross is an ancient form of Christian meditation on the experiences of Jesus on Good Friday. The artwork for these eight Bible-based stations will be in the form of liturgical banners that will be used in worship. We invite you to contribute to the cost of these banners by making gifts directly to this project. We hope to receive 12 $100 gifts or 24 $50 gifts, or any amount you might like to contribute. Please make checks payable to St. Paul Lutheran Church and write Lenten Banners on the "for" line. If you would like to make such a gift into a memorial or honorarium, possibly for a friend or a loved one, please indicate that as well. Thank you for contributing to this Lenten series! If you have any questions, please contact Vicar Kirk.

Mid-Week Lenten Worship will be held at 3:45pm and 7:00pm starting with Ash Wednesday on February 22 through March 28. The new worship time of 3:45pm has been established in order to encourage families from St. Paul Lutheran School to attend worship together. Senior Communion will continue to be held on the third Wednesday of the month at 11:00am. The Wednesday Morning Bible Class will be held at 2:30pm throughout the season of Lent. Lenten Suppers will be held at 6:00pm in the church lounge. We look forward to seeing you in worship!

Easter Egg Hunt will be held in Grant Park in Royal Oak on Saturday, April 7, 10am- 12pm. Last year this event was very wellattended by people from the community, and it was a great opportunity for St. Paul to reach out to them with the Gospel. This year we hope to do the same as we bring the good news of Jesus' resurrection to children and families! You have an opportunity to share this good news by volunteering to help with this event. If you would like to volunteer or if you would like more information about helping with the Easter Egg Hunt, please sign up on the sign-up board in the church lobby. An informational meeting will then be held in the coming weeks. Questions? Contact Vicar Kirk at khulvey@stpaulroyaloak.org.

Evangelism We are collecting good used eyeglasses for M.O.S.T. (Mission Outreach Short-Term) Ministries during the month of January. A box will be located in the coatroom near pastors office. Please contact John Kyle, 248-930-1070, for any questions. Dishes- If you left any bowls, pans, utensils or anything of the like in the kitchen from various events please pick these up. Thank you.

Adult Volleyball We are looking for anyone 18 years and up that would like to play volleyball on a regular basis. We will be playing in the school gym from 7pm-9pm on Sunday evenings. Bring your friends. Please call Courtney Wahl, 248-807-7084 for any questions.

Building a Family of Followers Because we so highly value the Christian education of our children, the members of St. Paul Lutheran Church bless the family of each baptized child with a gift certificate for the first portion of tuition at St. Paul Lutheran School. It is redeemed as soon as the child is ready for Kindergarten. Until then, we pledge ourselves to have the best early childhood ministry program possible to bless these families and help them grow in the grace of God!

Playgroup for Toddlers/Preschoolers Are you interested in getting together to play this Fall with your toddler/preschooler? If so, please contact Anne Sagan at 248.546.5228 or at annesagan@yahoo.com.

Martin Luther's Seal Clings The supply of clings have been replenished. You may display them on your windshields as a reminder of our faith in Jesus as our Savior. Here are some other potential locations which can also serve this same purpose: front door window, storm door window, kitchen window, bedroom window, and/or bathroom mirror. You may obtain these decals from the church office for a donation. These donations will be used for our support of Pastor Alan Ludwig's work in Siberia.

Our Monthly Newsletter 'The Masthead' can now be found here on our website. Check it out in the right column and download current and past editions in PDF format.

School Ministry

'Apples for Students' Program sponsored by Hollywood Market New change, instead of collecting receipts as in the past, we will be able to earn our profits by using the Hollywood Card. Profits are automatically calculated and are sent to St. Paul Lutheran School. You may pick up a card at the school or church office. Questions, call Kristine Dowhan, 248-722-4899.

Young Adults

The Young Adults Group meets at Vicar Kirk's house (519 S. Troy St) on Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm. Please contact Vicar if you have any questions at 248-541-0613.

More News

Attendance Cards Please DO NOT place attendance cards in the offering plates. Please put them at the end of pew for ushers to pick up. Thank You.

Musicians Needed There is a desire to have two different Praise Teams for leading our Sunday Worship. We have a good nucleus to fill out two competent teams. Probably the groups would be a younger (Young Adult / High School) group and an...well...other group. To make this happen we need some talented, servant minded people, to step forward. The younger group needs at least a guitarist, and a bassist. The...group is good to go. If we split we could probably use some additional vocalists as well. Regardless, young or old, or whatever instrument, let me, (Greg Paul) know your interest so we can see about getting you involved.

Ringers Needed Additionally there is a need for three Handbell Ringers. You don't have to have rung bells before, however, the following would be helpful: Ability to count and follow music. Ideally someone who has studied piano, or at least played a solo instrument. One does have to follow the group and know when to play their bells. Please see Becky Mueller or Greg Paul if interested. Other Musicians The Chancel Choir always has space available for those who can sing, and the same for the Men's Chorus. I would also like to know who can play various brass, woodwind, or string instruments and would be willing to play for worship or to accompany the choir or congregation. Contact Greg Paul. Church: 248-541-0613, School: 248-546-6555, Home: 248-593-6587

Enjoy the Convenience of Electronic Giving Our church offers this program which allows you to make donations on a scheduled automatic basis. It is convenient and provides donation consistency for your church. To set up, pick up a form in the lobby, or find the form online at our Online Giving page, and fill it out and drop off in the church office. For questions, contact LeeAnne Millinger at 248-584-3128.

Thrivent Choice is Here! Members of Thrivent should have received a letter last summer telling them their estimated amount of Choice Dollars. You choose where Thrivent Financial gives back. Anyone can join in. Visit Trivent.com/choice dollars or call 1-800-847-4836. Log in or set up an account. Be sure to key in St. Paul Lutheran School and click Direct Now in the organization box. When your balance reaches $10 or more, Choice Dollars will automatically be directed to St. Paul. Thank for your support.

Christ-Centered, Cross Focused Talk Radio... Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show produced by Lutheran Public Radio and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken. Topics include: St. Michael & All Angels, Jerome the Translator, Joseph Feeds Egypt, The Parable of the Tenants and more. You can listen to what you want when you want at www.issuesetc.org.

Nursery Open to children 0-4 years old. Provides safe, loving care during the 8:15am and 10:45am worship services, and 9:30am Bible Study. A changing table and chair for nursing are available for mothers of infants and toddlers. Anyone interested in volunteering in the nursery should email Anne Sagan at annesagan@yahoo.com or call 248-546-5228.

Funds for St. Paul Goodsearch.com is a search engine that raises funds. Instead of using Google or another search engine on your computer, go to Goodsearch.com and type in St. Paul Lutheran Church as the charity. Then scroll down to find the Royal Oak location. For every search made this way, St. Paul will earn one cent. If every member of our church made two searches each day, we could potentially earn a lot of money for St. Paul over the course of a year. You can set your home page to Goodsearch, and you can use it for shopping too. Try it today! Questions, call Diane Bachleda, 1-248-888-9597.

Parking at St. Paul If you are parking at St. Paul School or Church for any activities, please use the window cling available at the Welcome Center. If for any reason you are ticketed by the City of Royal Oak, please take your ticket to Tom or Bill (valet parkers) at Bastone's restaurant on Fifth street (across from the school) and they will take care of it. Thank you.

Book Nook - Christian Cards & Gifts - Open after the 8:15am service. Assorted cards for only 40¢ each. Arch Books are now available for children. Only $2 each.