We want to make sure that giving back at St. Paul's is convenient, easy, and available anytime, any day, any way you chose. At church or on the go. Below, we share the WHY and the HOW we give back. At St. Paul's United Methodist Church, we recognize that all things belong to God. WHY WE GIVE At St. Paul's United Methodist Church, we recognize that all things belong to God. We believe when you give of your time, talents and​ financial resources to connecting people and transforming lives, you are investing in Eternity.​ Therefore, whether it be through prayer, time or our financial resources, we give back to God. (Matthew 25:14-30) HOW WE GIVE We invite you to learn more and explore ways to give today. #giving #tithing #giveback #mobile

Dear St. Paul's Family, We have never experienced anything like this before. What are we to say? There are a hundred stunning and tragic dimensions to these days. We are in a situation that Washington cannot fix. We are suffering a disease for which medicine has no cure. The modern gods of Money and Science are shown to be no gods at all. In an hour craving a Voice, they can only mumble. "The god Bel falls down, god Nebo slumps. The no-god hunks of wood are loaded on mules And have to be hauled off, wearing out the poor mules Dead weight, burdens who can't bear burdens, or which edicine hauled off to captivity, I want to proclaim in this moment that There is a Voice whose words are deeper than the Silence falling upon us. There is a Love deeper than our fears. There is a Life stronger than our death!" - Isaiah 46:1-2 I invite each of us to come as a family to this deeper and stronger bond - and life. We are invited to be heroes of courage when around us is a chorus of "hunkering down", "survival", and "we'll get by." This is our chance to clearly live deeper than the gods of Politics, Medicine, Money, and Science. All these things have a role to play in our lives - the problem is when we ask them to play the role of God. This epidemic is an invitation for us to do the work of Lent in our lives: clear our hearts of false allegiance. In a fresh way, we must allow Christ to become Lord of all - or else he will, indeed, not be Lord at all. The Good Shepherd is not like the false promises of so many in this world. But, when Christ is made Lord in our hearts, when we trust Him with hearts fully devoted, then we suddenly find that we now have the Shepherd for which our hearts have so long waited. The Good Shepherd is not like the false promises of so many in this world. The Good Shepherd is assurance that we lack nothing - even in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, in other words right now , we shall fear no evil. He is equipped to Comfort us. He makes clear He chooses us. though we need - a Feast. He pursues us all the days of our lives. We always are brought home. All these things have a role to play in our lives - the problem is when we ask them to play the role of God. "You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life." Psalm 23 Listen to the Good Shepherd's Voice... and you will find yours. Then, you and I will finally have something to say in these days of broken hearts.

Lent?? Why Bother?? Why do we observe Lent- and begin it with all that strange stuff we do on Ash Wednesday? All this talk about dust being how we got started and how we will finish. It all seems a bit morbid, does it not? Why all this talk about death? Lent is meaningful because the hard questions lead to the best action steps. Great questions in a culture that is already battling depression and teenage suicide is at epidemic levels. The reason Lent can be meaningful is because it gives us the chance to ask the deep questions. The kind of questions whose answers call us. These questions about: the empty places of life, my life; the sadness of life, my life; the distance I feel between God and me; the distance I feel between you and me; the distance I feel between who I am, and who I want to be; the questions that step right into the fears, controlling behaviors, and selfishness of our lives. Lent is meaningful because the hard questions lead to the best action steps. The questions are "heavy enough, that our answers will have some weight to them. We aren't just choosing which restaurant for dining. We are asking the questions of Life, real life, true life, beautiful life. I like what Frederick Buechner says about Lent: "I like the questions? What are your answers? In many cultures there is an ancient custom of giving a tenth of each year's income to some holy use. For Christians, to observe the forty days of Lent is to do the same thing with roughly a tenth of each year's days. After being baptized by John in the river Jordan, Jesus went off alone into the wilderness, where he spent forty days asking himself the question what it meant to be Jesus. During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask one way or another what it means to be themselves. If you had to bet everything you have on whether there is a God or whether there isn't, which side would get your money and why? When you look at your face in the mirror, what do you see in it that you most like and what do you see in it that you most deplore? If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less? Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you would most like to undo? Which is the one that makes you happiest to remember? Is there any person in the world or any cause that, if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for? If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it? To hear yourself try to answer questions like these is to begin to hear something not only of who you are, but of both what you are becoming and what you are failing to become. It can be a pretty depressing business all in all, but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end." #Lent #Disciple #Questions

ST. PAUL'S, a family for those seeking to make a breakthrough journey to a deeper relationship with Christ and one another. St. Paul's is embarking upon a breakthrough journey toward an awakening, where anyone is invited to experience and show the love and joy of Jesus. Our family will be a tapestry of relationships where life and faith are shared in authentic communication and trust. We will practice W orship, Scripture, Prayer, and the Presence of the Holy Spirit such that we discover God's overwhelming love, become whole and tell everyone about our journey. In a season when many question the endurance of St. Paul's, even Christian faith itself, we will encourage each other on this journey. Now more than ever Christ urges us, of every generation, not to draw inward, but to open our hearts to our neighbors. "In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams." Acts 2:17 We will foster leadership development, doubling the number of our leaders equipped to train and mentor us in spiritual transformation. Thus, as maturing disciples, we will widen our circle of friendships among all generations in our Northeast Heights neighborhoods. A revived St. Paul's will discover innovative strategies of the Holy Spirit to engage multiple venues for the mission. W e will "move into the neighborhood" (John 1:14) and share not only the gospel but our personal lives as well. A revived St. Paul's will discover innovative strategies of the Holy Spirit to engage multiple venues for the mission. This vision flows from a seminar of 20 - 25 leaders of St. Paul's back in March of this year. At that seminar, we became aware of the need to become deeper and more specific as to the purpose of Transformation in our mission statement. Our Breakthrough Vision calls us to see Transformation as we Become (the 1st paragraph), and as we Engage (3rd paragraph). First, we describe how , o ver the next 3 years, we will implement a process of Become, of developing spiritually as disciples. We conclude this vision of spiritual growth with these words: "We will practice Worship, Scripture, Prayer, and the Presence of the Holy Spirit" Such that we discover God's overwhelming love, become whole and tell everyone about our journey." I treasure that word, "whole". It reminds the meaning of the work for salvation in the New Testament "sozó". This word has two fields of meaning that overlap one another. One is to be saved, forgiven. The other is to be healed, made well. "Whole" is a strong way to state the original word "sozo." Whenever we become deeper disciples of Jesus, we become forgiven and healed at the same time – we become "whole". As we become whole we become a community of wholeness, of healing, of wellness. A healing community becomes therapeutic in our neighborhoods . We become agents of wholeness! We are also an Engage congregation. We believe that we have a powerful calling to go into the neighborhoods of the northeast heights and be agents of healing. Our Engage paragraph states this not as a process of "handouts" to the hurts and wounds of our mission field, but in a process of coming alongside and sharing our lives with our neighbors . We will develop ministries of engagement that prioritize the development of relationships. We will seek to pour our lives into one another - and into the lives of our neighborhoods and the life struggles, we find there. "A revived St. Paul's will discover innovative strategies of the Holy Spirit to engage multiple venues for the mission. We will "move into the neighborhood" (John 1:14) and share not only the gospel but our personal lives as well." One last thing! Notice our 2nd Paragraph in our Breakthrough Vision. Here we express why St. Paul's should do these things, and do them now! It is because when God's people open themselves to the Holy Spirit, as we are doing in our 100 Days, etc., God gives fresh vision and dreams to all generations of our fellowship. "Now more than ever Christ urges us, of e v ery generation, not to draw inward, but to open our hearts to our neighbors." What are you invested in? In the next 3 months, you will be reading and hearing about multiple ways we will continue to implement our Breakthrough Vision. The first of these is our "Engage Sunday", November 17th. Read more about this special experience in this Epistle . Please keep an eye out in the mail for your Breakthrough Campaign Brochure. Click to Pledge today. #breakthroughvision #spumcabq

Have you ever heard folks talk about the difference between "joy" and "happiness."? This wise distinction (rooted in Biblical perspectives and the meanings of the original words used in Scripture) emphasize that happiness is rooted in circumstances whereas joy is rooted in relationships. For example, it is not unusual to visit a community of profound poverty and find there are people who are "happy." A closer look would point out that folks usually are happy not due to their circumstances, but due to the quality of relationships/community in which they are living. How is the quality of relationships in the communities of your life? I don't know about you, but the days when one could name the families in the 6 houses surrounding your own are pretty much over. On average, of those 6 living next or at an angle of us, Americans know less than 20% by name. The neighborhood is still there. We just don't know each other. Social clubs and organizations across the American landscape have all experienced precipitous decline. People want friends they can hang out with. Most Americans can name only a few. So, it really becomes a bit of "chicken and the egg" for most of us. We long for joy, but joy is found, ultimately, in friendships and a real community. We tend not to do the work of friendship building, or maintenance, and so we should not be surprised by a growing lack of joy in our lives. How is the "Joy Factor" in your life just now? Are you seeking the "happy hours" of your days, trying to substitute for the authentic and profound Joys of a true community? In 1 Thessalonians, Paul says he finds their congregation to have a beautiful combination of both. They have come into a faith of "deep Spirit": "...Our Gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your safe." - 1 Thessalonians 1:5 They had found a joy of a profound relationship with Jesus - one that goes so deep it transforms a person's life all the way down to its cores. In Chapter 2, verses 1-8, Paul describes the milieu of that Church. It practices Courage, Authenticity, Accountability, and Vulnerability. These are practiced, however, in a context of "investment" in the lives of each other. "Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our lives as well." - 1 Thessalonians. 2:7-8 What are you invested in? You see, their faith was not about the "words of the Gospel" only. Their faith, their deepest joys, flow from becoming "invested" in each other's lives. More than just words, they shared their lives. How is the "Joy Factor" in your life just now? Are you seeking the "happy hours" of your days, trying to substitute for the authentic and profound Joys of a true community? Joy is rooted in becoming a community of persons who are investing in each other. Persons who begin to pour themselves into each other's lives - these are the person who are sharing hopes, dreams, tears, and prayers with one another. This is the Community of Joy that is the most dynamic voice we can have in post-Christian America. #Joy #Community #Christianity To learn more about getting involved with the community around you, please visit our Community Engagement page.

Below are opportunities for you to give back to the community around you. Community Outreach The SP Church Council in 2017 approved the Outreach Committee's collection of clothing items for men, women and children in the right side bin under the lobby/narthex stairs. All gender clothing items are welcome and may be placed and will be given to sources who help Albuquerque's needy and homeless. Clothing donations are especially helpful during the holiday seasons and year-round. The Storehouse bin (left side bin) is open for contributions under the stairs in the lobby. The SP Church Council will work with the agency now to regularly collect and accept any non-perishable food items. SP participation continues for the 16th year with Project Share - the cooking in Chapman Hall kitchen and meal service downtown to the homeless at Hope Works (formerly St. Martin's). SP cooking and serving months for 2019 are January through April. Volunteers are welcome and cash contributions are even more encouraged. We seek donations to purchase items to make the great meal we serve and homeless recipients totally enjoy. Please designate your check on the "FOR" line and cash donations on the offering envelopes to: SP Project Share. The nine Project Share workers from St. Paul's and the hundreds of homeless Hope Works participants graciously thank you in advance. #SPProjectShare #HopeWorks #ProjectShare