FROM THE DESK OF . . .
Sunday & Monday, January 25 & 26, 2026
From the desk of Pastor Ernie Green:
Questions:
“How do you choose the Scripture readings every week?
Our readings are chosen by throwing darts at large sheets of Scripture readings and whatever reading the dart lands on, that’s the one we choose. Well, no, that’s not true. It would be fun every week, but the truth is that we don’t have any control over which ones are used.
There is a universal schedule that Christian churches around the world utilize. There are small deviations depending on Church denomination, but they are similar. The schedule is called the Lectionary. The Lectionary shows the schedule for appointed weekly Sunday readings as well as readings for festival days and other church year occasions.
The use of a Lectionary goes back to Old Testament times as the Jews would use one for their Sabbath worship that included a reading from the Torah, or the first five books of the Old Testament, also called the Books of Moses. Their lectionary also included readings from the Prophets, i.e. (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and from the Psalms.
There are two different Lectionaries that can be used, one is a One-Year Lectionary where verses are repeated annually. The second type is a Three-year Lectionary where verses are repeated every three years. At St. Paul, we use the Three-Year Lectionary because it gives us more readings to learn from.
The Lectionary can be found in the beginning pages of our hymnal, the LSB (Lutheran Service Book). It separates them as years A, B, and C. We are currently in Year A, and this week’s Scripture verses are shown as Epiphany 3.
Listen Up:
We are blessed at St. Paul Lutheran Church to have many people that share their musical talents. Having reminded you of that, let me also remind you that when someone is singing, or playing, that we should all pay attention and not talk over them and be a disturbance to those around us. We just ask for consideration, thank you for being considerate.
May the joy of Epiphany be with you and yours.
Pastor Ernie Green
All are welcome at St. Paul Lutheran – Please allow God’s love to work in and through you to brighten the lives of members and visitors alike.
+ PRAYER CONCERNS for our St. Paul Family +
HEALING: Bill Baessler, Paul Baessler, April Carlin, Lorraine Carroll, Karen Cowell, Zachary Dawson, Bev Deer, Elijah Desouza, Carmen Dexheimer, Miguel Diaz, Vicki Doucette, Dean Durow, Mildred Enney, Ryan Essenburg, Maureen Finch and her sister Colleen, Amy and David Fleischman, Bob Fritz, Aiden Gallineau, Cindy Green, Pastor Green, Anne Gross, Marlyn Gross, Margie Hadsell, Bonnie Haskell, Steve Heuer, Amanda Hughey, Loraine Jensen, Steve Keller, Paula Kopf, Pastor Dennis Krueger, MaryBeth Lee, Sue & Jeff Licht, Connie Maerten, Jackie Malinowski, Eunice & Jim Manth, Donna McKeown, Jason McNair, Mel Miller, Mike Mueller, Kathy Nagel, Maryanne Novack, McKenna O’Neil, Jim Peron, Gloria & Bill Pittler, Doris Rae, Meredith Roberts, Joy Rohring, Wayne Reichert, Jane Ruppert, Joe Sarzyniak, Leni Schofield, Paul Stolzenfels, Chris Thomas, Audrey Truax, Deb Tyler, Kathy Warriner, Jean Watters, Frank Wendt, Gail Wolf, Shirley Wurl, Barbara Yates and her son, Ron.
AT HOME: Joyce Dolpp HEALTHCARE FACILITIES: Mary Jo Bishop
MILITARY: Matthew Daugherty, Eric Davis, Aaron Fix, Zachary Kijowski, Joe Kloc, Jack Lambros, Joshua Lindsley, Christopher Manth, Kyle Rae and Travis Shaffer.
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LUTHERAN WOMEN IN MISSION (LWML) NEWS:
LUTHERAN WOMEN IN MISSION (LWML) YOUNG REP: Looking for a young woman, preferably between the ages of 22-35, that could attend the Lutheran Women in Mission (LWML) 2026 Eastern District Convention, June 12-14,2026 at the Double Tree Resort in Lancaster, PA, as a Young Woman Representative(YWR). Transportation, registration, meals and hotel expenses will be paid by the district. If interested contact Marge Stoelting at mesandmds@yahoo.com.
- See the bulletin board in the Gathering Place for the most current Mite and Mission Grant Reports or go to the national web site organd the district web site east-distrlwml.org. Your continued prayers and support is greatly appreciated.
- For questions on any Lutheran Women in Mission news, you may contact either Bea Hapeman (716 -327-2400) or Marge Stoelting (716-693-7555).
***Mite boxes, Eastern District Newsletter, The LINK etc. can all be found on The Information Center in The Gathering Place.
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Confirmation Class Assignments – Thursday, January 29, 2026
First Year Class – Read “The Apostles’ Creed; The Second Article,” Questions 114 -125, pages 120 – 130 from Luther’s Small Catechism.
Read Chapter 16 from The Story, “The Beginning of the End (of the Kingdom of Israel).” Attend church and complete a Worship Report Form.
Mentor Question: How do we know that Jesus was both true man and also true God?
Second Year Class – Read “The Apostles’ Creed; The First Article,” Questions 114 -125, pages 120 – 130 from Luther’s Small Catechism. Complete Lessons 16 & 17 “The Names Jesus and Christ; The Two Natures of Jesus Christ (I)” and “The Two Natures of Christ (II); The office of Christ” from Exploring Luther’s Small Catechism. Attend church and complete a Worship Report Form.
Mentor Question: How do we know that Jesus was both true man and also true God?