For Sunday November 30, 2025
Happy Thanksgiving!
On this day of gratitude, we give thanks for the splendor of life and the blessings of friends and family. Above all, we thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who brings light and hope to the world.
Thanksgiving Day Service
Join us on Thursday, November 27 for Eucharist at 10:30 AM. All are welcome as we gather in gratitude and celebrate this day of thanksgiving together.
Below are a few important friendly reminders:
The office will be closed on Wednesday, November 26 and Thursday, November 27.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30
AFTER THE 10:30AM SERVICE
Yucca Room in the Parish Hall
If you’re a bit new to St. Paul’s and/or have never been at a Newcomers’ Class, this brunch is for you! Come spend time with our Co-Rectors and get to know a little bit about St. Paul. Bring your questions and get ready to find out more about this wonderful community.
Please RSVP so we can plan for you.
We’re thrilled to have you with us at St. Paul! We can’t wait to share more about our community and all the ways you can get involved.
Office Holiday Open House – Mark Your Calendars!
Racial Justice Ministry
Peace, Justice & Mercy Launches LGBTQ+ Ministry
Potluck Invitation Dec 8 at 12PM
Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Peace, Justice, and Mercy’s NEW LGBTQ+ Ministry is invited to join a simple potluck on Monday, December 8th at 12 noon in the Yucca Room in the Parish Hall. Educational opportunities, community partnerships, service and outreach, and learning how to be better neighbors to all the letters is best done in community! We hope you’ll join us. For more information, please reach out to revjessie@stpaulsps.org. Otherwise, just show up with some food to share!
Join the Flower Ministry
- Donate SMALL vases or jam jars (glass or plastic) in the marked basket near the Welcome Table.
- Show up on any Monday at 9AM and help arrange flowers in the sacristy.
- Show up on any Monday at 9AM and get a few arrangements and Flower Cards with parishioners’ addresses and deliver to home! (Easy drop offs at the door or left on the porch.)
- Pray for those delivering flowers, that they might offer and receive Christ in those deliveries.
- Reach out to our Flower Ministry Coordinator, Natalie Ousley, and let her know you’re interested (njousley@yahoo.com).
Year end report: HYMNS!
At the end of November we will come to the end of Liturgical Year C. Lectionary readings are in a rotation cycle that takes 3 years to accomplish and are designated as years A, B, and C. Hymns are chosen to reflect or illuminate ideas from the day’s readings.
St. Paul’s is a singing congregation and this informs our strategy of singing as many varied hymns as possible during the year. Since we sing four to six hymns in any given service, that is a lot of hymns! It isn’t unheard of to sing a favorite hymn more than once in the rotation, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
During year C, we have sung about 279 hymns, broken down as follows:
- 239 from The Hymnal 1982
- 13 from Lift Every Voice and Sing (the denomination’s African American hymnal)
- 10 from Wonder, Love, and Praise (another Episcopal hymnal supplement)
- 1 from My Heart Sings Out (another supplement designed for children)
- 16 in the category “Other”:
– from “Voices Found”, a hymnal by, for, and about women
– from “Songs of the Holy Other” an LGBTQ hymnal
– New hymns by living authors
– Hymns from other denominational hymnals.
It is such a blessing to serve a congregation which sings so capably and confidently!
Charles Peery, Director of Music
Mike Mullins completes his year-long diaconal internship with us here at St. Paul!
On Sunday, November 23 we celebrated Mike Mullins as he completed his year-long diaconal internship with us here at St. Paul!
We’re deeply grateful for his ministry, his compassion, and the countless ways he has blessed our parish. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to collect $2,000 that will go to his deacon discretionary fund at his next call at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Indio. Your support will go directly to helping undocumented persons and immigrants at our sister church in the Coachella Valley.The discretionary fund is a benevolence fund that can only be used to support those who are most in need. In a deacon’s ordination vows, deacons promise to serve all people, “particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 543).
Please join us in praying for him as he prepares for ordination to the vocational diaconate. The ordination date has not been set, but we will update the parish as soon as the bishop has published the date.
Newly inducted members in The Order of the Daughters of the King®
Congratulations to Jan Wacker, Mary Eckert, and Ann Grainger — the newest members of The Order of the Daughters of the King.
“Members of The Order of the Daughters of the King® are women and girls between the ages of seven and one hundred and seven who desire a closer walk with the Lord. We are Christian women, both lay and ordained, who are strengthened through the discipline of a Rule of Life and supported through the companionship of our sisters. We are all at different stages of our Christian journey — some have just begun and some have been on this path for a long time. But no matter where we are on our sacred journeys, our primary goal is the same: to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known to others.”
The journey to becoming a Daughter is one of intention and devotion. After a three-month period of study and discernment, each new member takes vows to uphold the two Rules of the Order: the Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service.
Let us pray for these faithful women who now pray daily for us.
Advent Classes
Purchase the book for Second Coming class
(14 books are available at the first session on a first come, first serve basis.)
Walking with Mary
Advent Baking for Community
December Book Club
The next Book Club meeting will be held on December 9, 2025, at 2 PM before the SP Office Christmas Party The meeting will be held in the Music Cottage on the church campus. The Book Club pick for December is Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk. Set in war-torn little Starhorodivka, Ukraine, beekeeper Sergeyich cares for his bees amid conflict and shortages, encountering different groups while his actions bring both respect and risk.
New members are always welcome. For more information, please contact Alan Zimmerman at alanzimmerman@icloud.com.
Altar Flowers
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom . . .” Isaiah 35:1-2
Altar flowers, also known as chancel flowers, are a Christian tradition of placing flowers in the chancel of a church to beautify the space and honor loved ones. In the Episcopal Church, altar flowers are often used to celebrate special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, or the birth of a child. They can also be given in memory of a loved one or to honor a person.
If you would like to sponsor altar flowers for a future Sunday to commemorate a special person or event, you’ll find the sign-up book in the Narthex, or you can call the Parish Office at 760.320.7488 to reserve your sponsorship dates(s). A donation of $95 for each altar flower sponsorship (or $65 for narthex flower sponsorships) covers the flower shops fees.
Add a Name to the Prayer List at St. Paul
Want to add someone’s name to the prayer list? Please call the Church Office or email Reverend Dan, at revdan@stpaulsps.org with names. Prayers remain on the list for one month unless otherwise noted.
Upcoming Meetings & Events at St Paul’s
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Tuesday, December 2 — 1:00 PM Stewardship
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Tuesday, December 2 — 3:00 PM-6:00 PM 5th Annual Office Holiday Open House
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Wednesday, December 3 — 5:00 PM Rosary Prayer Group — Church Nave
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Wednesday, December 3 — 6:00 PM Eucharist — In the Church
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Wednesday, December 3 — 6:30 PM Latino Ministry
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Thursday, December 4 — 5:45 PM Choir — Choir Loft
Want to help make St. Paul’s Campus & Buildings Better?
Have you have had a moment where you were at church and you saw the same lightbulb has been out for weeks and no one has changed it? Or maybe you go to grab a railing to steady yourself and find that it’s really loose and wonder why it hasn’t been fixed? Or perhaps you’ve noticed that your pew rack is missing cards or envelopes or pens and you are reminded that no one can fill them unless someone knows they are empty?
We have a BRAND-NEW tool that anyone can use to help us make sure the campus is safe, stocked, and ready for worship and other campus activities! Welcome to the NEW St. Paul’s Maintenance/Repair Request Form found online. If YOU see something that needs repairing, cleaning, sprucing-up, etc. on St. Paul’s campus, this is THE way to ensure that we know about it. Scan the QR code below OR click on the Building & Grounds Maintenance/Repair Request Form. You will be able to fill out the form in real time, which will allow our sexton to address those issues and/or the Campus Care Committee to address any major campus issues. Help us stay organized and prioritized!
If you see something that needs repairing, cleaning, sprucing-up, etc. St. Paul’s campus, this is THE way to ensure that we know about it. Scan below to reach our Building & Grounds Maintenance/Repair Request Form.
Annual Meeting Recap & Impact Report
Stay Connected
Sunday Service LiveStreaming
We are livestreaming our 10:30 AM Sunday Eucharist every week. You can view the livestream on our Home Page, YouTube Channel, and Facebook Page.
Missed a service? Or want to rewatch a liturgy? All our past services are available to watch either on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/StPaulintheDesert or on our Facebook timeline: https://www.facebook.com/stpaulinthedesert
Join our E-Mail List
You’ll find this invitation on the front page and many pages throughout our website. It’s intended for anyone who wants to receive communications from St. Paul’s via email. This includes The Abundant Life weekly, online newsletter. If you haven’t already, sign up today!
Get “Social” with St. Paul’s!
Want to see daily pics about what’s happening at St. Paul’s? Be sure to like/follow us on Facebook and Instagram. And, subscribe to our YouTube channel to view our livestream and past services.
The Episcopal Church’s Immigration Toolkit
Shifting federal policy on immigration is already impacting people in all four of our counties. With this in mind, the Episcopal Church’s church-wide office routinely collects up-to-date immigration resources for congregations. Visit the Immigration Action Toolkit to find ways your congregation can help migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers.
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego’s Info on Reporting Misconduct
Intake Officers:
Ms. Megan Callan, megan@mecallan.com
The Rev. Willy Crespo, frcrespo@gmail.com
Ms. Meredith Hardy, mlh8180@gmail.com
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego considers the reporting and investigation of misconduct to be of critical importance. Reporting enables the diocese to protect the complainant, the respondent, and the larger community. It also allows the diocese to assist with the spiritual, psychological, and emotional needs of all concerned during and after the report of misconduct. Please visit edsd.org/safe-church-safe-communities/reporting-misconduct/
Red Cards
Click to enlarge the images.
