Worship Times

Sunday Morning 8:00 am & 10:30 am

Sunday School 9:15am

Contact Us

Pastor: The Rev. Rick Ohsiek

Phone: 865-982-4285

Fax: 865-977-8070

Email: splchurch@bellsouth.net

Web: www.stpaulmaryville.org

Church Office Hours: Mon-Thurs 8:30am-5:00pm

Maryville, TN

Mid-week Lenten Reflection

Wednesdays; February 21st - March 21st

Noon & 6:30pm

2

A Message from Pastor Rick:

As many pastors have told you over the years, Lent is season when many of us try to practice some additional discipline in our spiritual life. We do things like, set more time aside each day for prayer, give up something we know we don’t really need, or maybe read the Bible a little more often than usual.

I have challenged myself a few times to read the entire Bible during Lent. This is not an easy task, and some years I have needed an extra day or two to get it done. I do find it fulfilling, but also a pretty difficult task.

Our men’s Sunday School class inspired a challenge I would like to make to you this Lent. They are currently studying the book of Matthew, but taking extra care in looking at matching our Sunday gospel reading with their lesson for the week. This is no easy task since our gospel readings come from Mark this liturgical year.

Of course, many of the gospel stories are repeated in more than one gospel. We refer to these as parallel stories. Matthew & Luke are full of stories that first appeared in Mark (which was believed to be written be-fore those two). In fact, most scholars agree that Mark was used by both the writers of Matthew & Luke when those books were put together. John also has some parallel stories, just not as many.

My challenge for us this Lent is for us to read the four gospels. But here is the catch: try reading them by reading the parallel stories from each gospel on the same day. In doing this, you can ask yourself questions about the differences and similarities in each version. Why are certain things included or left out of this particular version? When reading a story that is in only one or two of the gospels you might ponder why this has been left out or included in a particular book.

Obviously, you may need a little help with this. If you go to this website (http://www.bible-researcher.com/parallels.html) , you can actually follow the directions and click on the numbered links which will take you to the texts listed for the particular parallel story. For those who like to read with your Bible in hand, I will print similar information and have it ready for you before Ash Wednesday.

This is most likely a different approach than you have tried in the past. My hope, as is the case whenever we read the Word, is that God fills you with a deeper understanding of God’s love through this wonderful gift. Peace, Pastor Rick

PASTOR AND CHURCH COUNCIL

The St. Paul Church Council will meets monthly on the third Monday ~ 7:30pm

Kara Birdwell - President

karabirdwell@hotmail.com

Rick Anger – Vice President

angerrick@gmail.com

Shari Martin – Council Secretary

sgmartin1114@yahoo.com

Ed Martin – Treasurer - edmartin.splt@outlook.com

Warren Bielenberg - web9272@msn.com Beth Drane - Tenneliz2000@yahoo.com

JB Johnson - jbarcus@charter.net Merl Krull - merlinkrull@gmail.com

Herb Perry - hpcp2@tds.net Susan Ward - smw030364@aol.com

Church Council

3

PASTOR AND CHURCH COUNCIL

A Message From the Council President

Thank you for coming to the annual meeting.

As you may have read in the annual report, St. Paul is very

active and I am sure there were some things in the annual

report that you had no idea was happening such as…

Three of our youth are on the Southeastern Synod Lutheran Youth Organization board.

WELCA provided over 125 health and school kits for Lutheran World Relief.

The Men In Mission has been serving a meal at Tyson House, which is a joint Lutheran-Episcopal Campus

Ministry at the University of TN.

“Come to the Water” raised enough money to send 16 students to camp in 2018!

Comfort quilts created and donated 100 quilts in 2017.

A group of individuals faithfully meet every Wednesday morning to pray for the church and those in need.

Between mowing, cutting down trees, equipment repairs, painting, etc., our Supporting team is a very

active and handy group.

These are just to name a few.

As Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton wrote in her opening message in the annual report “As the Evangelical

Lutheran Church in America, we are called to foster unity within the church and to live into God’s calling

together in the years ahead.” In 2018, the Council hopes to increase the awareness of everything St. Paul has to

offer. We hope to strengthen our bond with more fellowship times, strengthen our community with more out-

reach ministries, and serve each other with a Stephen Ministry so that we can continue to “foster unity within

the church and to live into God’s calling together in the years ahead.”

Yours in Christ -Kara Birdwell

Meet your 2018 Council

Warren Bielenberg is a retired National Park Service Ranger. He and his wife Suzanne have been members at SPLC since moving to Maryville in 2003. Warren has previously served on Church Council and is the unofficial church photographer. He is currently serv-ing on his second term on the Blount County Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors. He has been a volunteer for Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 2006 and is a tour guide and driver for Cades Cove Heritage Tours. He enjoys outdoor activities, exploring nature and photography.

Beth Drane- I have been a member of St Paul for 21 years.

I have served on council prior to this commitment. I love spending time with my family, working at the church and food connection. I love singing in the choir, playing bells,

working with the Worship and Music Planning team and being president of WELCA. Just recently I have the honor of being elected to the WELCA synod board.

Merlin Krull- Judy and I joined St. Paul Lutheran approximately 26 years ago. My hobbies include sports, especially football (Go Packers!), travel, yard/gardening, family, and community service. Community service includes having a Little Brother in the Big Brother/Big Sisters program, Good Neighbors, and Community Food Connection. My church related activities include chancel and bell choirs, worship team, Men in Mission, and Family Promise in addition to Assistant Minister, Communion Assistant and Lector.

4

Merl Krull - Coordinator

Wednesday, February 14th

Noon & 6:00pm

Imposition of Ashes and Holy communion

This Lent, we’re joining Lutheran World Relief in A SEASON OF HOPE to announce to the world the HOPE of Christ. Each week, we’ll collect a different item that we’ll use to assemble Personal Care Kits that give people around the world tools to stay healthy in life’s most challenging situations. Our Wednesday Lenten offering will also go towards LWR kits. The chart below gives our timeline for collections, but feel free to bring the items listed anytime during Lent. WELCA will be gathering the items and lead us in a “packing” celebration on April 11th during Spring Faith-N-Family.

Please leave items at the display in the Welcome Center. Check the display each week for a devotion and more information about where these health kits will go.

February 18th ~ Towels

February 25th ~ Toothbrush

March 4th ~ Nail Clippers

March 11th ~ Combs

March 18th ~ Bars of Soap

Palm Sunday ~ A list of needed items will be posted

5

Tom Sims - Coordinator

Thursday, February 1st ~ 6:00pm

The St. Paul men’s group (Men In Mission) will kickoff the year with a BBQ in the fellowship hall. Warren Bielenberg will present a program on his trip to Brazil. This is your invitation to men of all ages to come and join in good food, fellowship and fun. Come and check us out for the first time, or come back and see us again. No reservations are need.

Carla McMillion- Coordinator

DAYS FOR GIRLS Ladies: please plan to join us on Wednesday, Feb.7

at 2 p.m. for Days for Girls sewing. We will have an

assembly line so we need sewing machines, people

with scissors to clip and turn, pressers, etc. to make

the project go quickly. This will work best if we have

a good group to help. A couple of hours of your time

will make a big difference. We are getting close to

completing 50 kits to send off to help girls.

Capital Campaign passes $100,000!

Our special campaign; to fund youth attending the National Youth Gathering, the Stephen Ministry program,

remodeling work in the kitchen, funding for the Community Food Connection and Family Promise, along with

paying down our church building debt has received gifts and pledges of over $101,000 so far. That is more

than a third of our goal, but the need is still great to reach our $270,000 goal.

Have you pledged? Pick up a pledge card from the display in the Welcome Center.

Thank you to everyone for your support of this three year campaign.

Stewardship Moment

“God Owns It All” is the chapter heading in a book by a Christian author who presents this chapter first as the foundation for money management and giving. God does own it all! That is the teaching of Psalm 24:1 which says, “The earth is the Lord’s.” Psalm 50:10 says that all of the beasts of the field belong to God, and that the cattle

on a thousand hills are His. Haggai 2:8 says that God even owns the silver and gold in all the mines.

Now, God allows us to use what rightfully belongs to Him, but God continues to retain the ownership. We are managers and stewards of what God has entrusted to us. Someday, when we stand before God, we shall give an account of what kind of job we have done in managing the resources which God has allowed us to use. That’s why every spending decision becomes a spiritual decision. Every time we use some of God’s money, we are making a decision which has eternal ramifications. Are you using money and possessions as if they belong to you, or are you making spending decisions with the full realization that it all belongs to God?

6

ST

PA

UL

LU

TH

ER

AN

CH

UR

CH

WO

RS

HIP

SC

HE

DU

LE

N

ote: If y

ou

are u

na

ble to

serve w

hen

sched

uled

, plea

se find

a rep

lacem

ent fo

r that S

un

da

y.

Dutie

s F

ebru

ary 4

F

ebru

ary 1

1

Feb

ruary

18

F

ebru

ary 2

5

8

a.m.

10

:30

a.m.

8 a.m

. 1

0:3

0 a.m

. 8

a.m.

10

:30

a.m.

8 a.m

. 1

0:3

0 a.m

.

Assistan

t M

inister

Jean B

eck

Kath

erine Jo

hnso

n

Joel S

earfoss

Art H

afner

Caro

lyn

Speck

Elain

e Fish

er C

harlie M

alin

Charlie M

alin

Com

munio

n

Assistan

ts

Warren

B

ielenb

erg C

aroly

n

Sp

eck

Art H

afner

Marian

ne

Searfo

ss L

oda W

ylie

Gail H

afner

Betty

Lu

dw

ig N

an W

ylie

James H

all Jack

ie K

reider

Stev

e Zrio

ka

Merl K

rull

Lecto

r

Caro

lyn

S

peck

An

n H

all M

arianne

Searfo

ss L

yla L

indquist

Tam

i Wyatt

Shari M

artin

Joel S

earfoss

Dav

id

Silseth

Ush

ers

Mo

B

rueck

ner

Alice

Andrew

s

Joh

n B

eck Jam

es Hall

James M

cMillio

n

Berth

a Fran

ks

Dot D

ishm

an

Perry

McC

lellan R

oy Jo

hnso

n R

enė

Zim

mer

Greg

and

Tam

i Wyatt

Tom

Sim

s B

ob

Ullo

m

Lin

da U

llom

Will an

d

Betty

Lu

dw

ig

Joh

n B

eck Jam

es Hall

James M

cMil-

lion

Altar G

uild

Jack

ie K

reider

Kris Z

imm

er L

ind

a Zrio

ka

Karin

Bell

Suzan

ne

Bielen

berg

Janice H

oover

Berth

a F

ranks

Marsh

a Wynn

Aco

lyte/

Cru

cifer

N

oah

Oh

siek

K

ajler M

cMillio

n

D

arian

Lin

dq

uist

H

ann

ah

Hatm

aker

Nu

rsery

Jo

dy O

hsiek

Drew

Oh

siek

P

hilip

Tyler

Sco

tt Lin

dquist

E

mm

a Lin

er A

nn

a Murray

M

arianne

Searfo

ss P

hilip

Tyler

Greeters

M

o

Bru

eckner

Do

rine K

eeble

M

ary N

ell B

iehler

Rick

and E

liza-b

eth A

nger

Ed an

d Jack

ie K

reider

John

and

Dee-

Dee W

alker

Do

roth

y

Dish

man

James an

d C

arla M

cMillio

n

So

un

d R

oo

m

W

ill Lu

dw

ig

Perry

McC

lellan

Pau

l Rogers

Bob B

lock

Jo

el Searfo

ss B

en W

ard

Stev

e Zrio

ka

To

m S

ims

Tellers

DeeD

ee Walk

er K

ris Zim

mer

H

erb P

erry Jam

es McM

il-lio

n

Jo

hn

Walk

er R

oy Jo

hnso

n

W

arren

Bielen

berg

Joel S

earfoss

Torch

B

earers

Caro

lyn

Speck

Stev

e Zrio

ka

Elain

e Fish

er S

heri M

artin

Flo

wers

In

Honor o

f th

eir wed

din

g

Dav

id L

anzer an

d

Liz G

illhesp

y

7

FEBRUARY Birthdays & Anniversaries

Leigh Caldwell - Coordinator

10:30 Service Fellowship Teams

Each team is responsible for providing cookies or donuts, setting up and cleaning up the

Fellowship time after the 10:30 service. Contact Jacqueline Conzemius for more information.

February 4 Tom & Lyla Lindquist, Carla & James McMillion

February 11 Herb & Carol Perry, David & Ruth Silseth

February 18 Barb & Bob Miller, Tim & Leslie Walker

February 25 Jacqueline Conzemius, David & Charlene Dubs

Wednesday Evening's ~ 5:45pm

Wednesday’s, Feb 21st - March 21st

6:00pm

Everyone is invited to attend and enjoy a simple meal During Lent. Hearty Soups and Bakery style breads will be provided by the Fellowship Team. Members are asked to help only with clean-up*, as indicated below. Rotation of responsibilities is alphabetically by last name.

February ~ 2/21 M-Z * 2/28 A-L

March ~ 3/7 M-Z * 3/14 A-L * 3/21 A-Z

*Clean-up entails: placing remaining soup in freezable containers, washing; soup kettles, utensils and storing items for future use, cleaning tables, and taking out the trash.

Please consider designating your Thrivent Choice Dollars to St Paul Lutheran Church or your favorite charity. The deadline for designating funds is March 31 and can be done online or by calling Thrivent.

Online 1. Visit Thrivent.com/thriventchoice. 2. In the Direct Choice Dollars section on the right, click “Get started now.” 3. Log in, enter your user ID and password, and answer your security question. 4. Find the number of Choice Dollars available to direct. 5. Locate the organization to which you want to direct Choice Dollars: a. To direct to a previous organization: • Click

“Direct Now” next to the organization’s name, or • Click on the “View activity history” link, scroll down and click on the name of the desired organization. b. To direct to a new organization, enter keyword(s) like organization name, ZIP code, cause, etc. Click “Search.” 6. Choose “Direct All” or enter a specific number and click “Direct Now.” Follow the prompts on the confirmation page to direct Choice Dollars

By phone 1. Call 800-847-4836 and when prompted, say “Thrivent Choice®.” A representative will work with you to direct Choice Dollars. 2. Press 1 to direct Choice Dollars (If prompted, say or enter your phone number and date of birth.)

February 2 Judy Sorensen

February 2 Jaylen Odom

February 3 Adrian DaCruz

February 4 Isaac Bryant

February 4 Rachael Wyatt

February 7 Hannah Rundle

February 12 Ethan Patterson

February 15 Eleanor Gordon

February 16 Liz Boedefeld

February 16 Thomas Finn

February 20 Carol Trosen

February 21 Jason Mallette

February 21 Evan Searfoss

February 26 James Speck

February 26 Leslie Walker

February 28 Randy Finn

February 14 Jerry & Judy Sorensen

February 24 Greg & Tami Wyatt

Sharing Christ’s Love With the World

429 Sandy Springs Road Maryville, TN 37803

Dates of Interest

Check Calendar for times and places Church Office Closed Monday, February 19th

Council: Monday, February 26th ~ Ministry Team Night/Council Meeting

Discipleship: Friday, February 16th-18th Youth Retreat Sunday, February 25th ~ Youth Group

Fellowship: Wednesday, February 21st & 28th ~ Lenten Soup Suppers

Parish Life: Thursday, February 1st ~ Men In Mission BB-Que Dinner Thursday’s in February ~ Creative Hands

Worship: Sunday, February 11th~ Transfiguration Sunday Wednesday, February 14th ~ Ash Wednesday Services - Noon & 6:00pm Wednesday, February 21st & 28th ~ Mid-week Lenten Services

Super Bowl Sunday, February 4th we will be taking a collection after each service. All donations will be given to the Food Connection