Posted by Pastor Hinkle on February 28, 2010
In the Lutheran church, Vespers is the traditional service for afternoon and evening prayer. It consists of selected Psalms and hymns, a scripture reading, a brief sermon, the Magnificate, and various prayers. Often, much of the service is sung. It usually lasts between a half hour and 45 minutes depending upon the length of the sermon.
It is customary for Lutheran congregations to meet on Wednesday evenings during the season of Lent to reflect upon Christ’s passion. Generally penitential Psalms are used and the lesson is drawn from a roughly chronological account of Christ’s last supper, arrest, and crucifixion that has been assembled from the four Gospels. This year at St. Paul’s the sermons are focusing on the seven things Christ said from the cross:
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Posted by Pastor Hinkle on February 17, 2010
During the season of Lent we gather each Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm for worship and meditation on Christ’s passion. The season begins with a communion service with imposition of ashes (a sign of repentance) on the 17th of February. The meditation will be on the Christ’s prayer that God would forgive those who crucified him.
The remaining Wednesday evening services will be shorter services of prayer and preaching that follow the order of Vespers. Each will include a reading from an account of Christ’s passion drawn from the four gospels. The sermons will cover the various things Christ said as he suffered upon the cross.
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Posted by Pastor Hinkle on December 14, 2009
Rhonda has uploaded the pictures she took of everyone decorating the church for Christmas to our Facebook fan page.
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Posted by Wapello Warbler on November 20, 2009
Here are some of the special services and other events planned for the 2009 holiday season.
Thanksgiving
Our Thanksgiving Eucharist will be Wednesday evening, November 25th at 7:00 pm.
Advent Vespers
The season of Advent runs from November 30th until Christmas Eve. It’s the season of prophetic expectation as we remember John the Baptist’s call to get ready for the coming of the long awaited Christ. We’ll have three Wednesday evening services (Dec. 3, 10 and 17) that focus on three different prophecies about Christ’s coming. The services will begin at 7:00 pm and last about 45 minutes. This year, for the first time, we’ll be using the beautiful Evening Prayer service.
Christmas
- Decorating & Potluck December 6th after the service we’ll share a light lunch of sandwiches and Christmas cookies. Before and after lunch we’ll decorate the church building for Christmas and prepare cheer boxes for our shut-ins.
- Children’s Program Our children’s Christmas program will be presented at 10:00 am Sunday morning, December 20th. We follow it with a “Happy Birthday, Jesus!” party complete with birthday cake.
- Candlelight Service We celebrate Christmas Eve with a 7:00 pm candlelight service and carols.
- Christmas Day: Carol Communion During this service the ordinary elements of the communion service are replaced with appropriate Christmas carols and hymns. The service begins at 10:00 am.
New Year’s Eve
On New Year’s Eve, we finish the year by thanking God for a another year of his grace and receiving the sacrament. We meet at 7:00 pm
Sunday School
There will be no Sunday school Dec. 27 or Jan 3. Sunday school resumes Jan. 10.
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