For Sunday May 12, 2024
NEXT SUNDAY
The Day of Pentecost – Whitsunday – Sunday, May 19
The term Pentecost is used in the New Testament to refer to the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, shortly after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. The Pentecost event was the fulfillment of a promise which Jesus gave concerning the return of the Holy Spirit.
Do you speak or read a language other than English? We need you for our celebration of Pentecost! Please email revjessie@stpaulsps.org and let Rev. Jessie know what language you can share and what service you will be attending.
DECK OUT IN ALL THE GLITZY RED YOU CAN!
You’re Invited!
After the 8:00 AM Service there will be a red-themed coffee hour outside. Those attending can bring red-themed food items to share. Drop your food off with our Assistant Sexton, Cecilia, at the outdoor serving tables.
After the 10:30 AM Service, join us in the Parish Hall where we will share an ALL-CHURCH Spring (red-themed) Pentecost Potluck. What to bring? Use this guide. If your last name begins with letters A-E: Salad/Side Dish; letters F-L: Main Dish; letters M-R: Your Choice; letters S-Z: Dessert. Questions? Call the Parish Office: 760.320.7488.
An Episcopal Visitation is a bishop’s official pastoral visit to a congregation of the diocese. Canon law requires every diocesan bishop to visit every congregation in their diocese at least once every three years. Bishop Susan Brown Snook usually visits annually.
The canonical purposes of a visitation are for the bishop to examine the condition of the congregation, oversee the clergy, preach, confirm, preside at the eucharist, and examine parochial records. The BCP also assumes that the bishop’s visitation will be an occasion for baptism/confirmation, and that the bishop will preside.
We hope you’ll join us on June 2. The bishop will preside at the 8AM service, meet with Confirmands between services, preside at the 10:30AM service, and have a Q & A in the Parish Hall with a full lunch after the 10:30AM service, followed by a meeting with the clergy and Vestry.
Wear your blue St. Paul shirt!
(Extra shirts can be purchased at the Welcome Table.)
Spiritual Formation Feedback Questionnaire
At St. Paul’s, we are blessed with an abundance of retired/active priests, ministers, and educators who offer wonderful classes and retreats throughout the year! We are planning for our education/spiritual formation programing for the 2024-2025 year. Your answers to this questionnaire will help us find out what parishioners want and need. It should only take a few minutes of your time. Thank you for completing it!
Interested in Education for Ministry (EfM)?
Interested in a deeper dive into Episcopal spiritual formation? Consider signing up for EfM, a distance learning program for adult Christian formation through theological education and reflection offered by the Beecken Center of the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Think of the education level as somewhere between Sunday School and seminary.
This proven program has helped hundreds of lay folks around the country grow in their faith and discern what ministry they may be called to as a baptized member of Christ’s church. If you are interested in finding out more, stop by the EfM table outside during coffee hour for the next two weeks or email Ray Tackett ertack6560@gmail.com. Click here to read more about EfM: https://edsd.org/news/education-for-ministry-fertile-ground-to-grow-your-faith-2/
Circle Supper—End of Season 2024!
End of Season Circle Supper Final Gathering! Everyone who is currently participating in a Circle Supper (whether you went every month or only a time or two) is invited to attend the “End of Season Joint Circle Supper” at Billy Reed’s Restaurant, Palm Springs, Thursday, May 30, at 6:00 PM. Please RSVP to Nancy Antonius at nancyjantonius@gmail.com by noon, Sunday, May 26. Reservations are a MUST. We will need to give the restaurant an exact headcount prior to the event.
Like to sing and want to do so a few times before “summer break”?
We plan on having the choir sing on Pentecost (May 19) and on the Bishop’s Visit (June 2). Rehearsals will continue as usual, Thursdays 5:45 PM and Sundays after the 10:30 postlude, through the first week in June. If you know of congregation members or friends of St. Paul who live full time in Palm Springs and might be interested in singing with us, please invite them. Any questions? Please reach out to musicdirector@stpaulsps.org
Migration Sunday Update
Thank you to all who donated to the Migration Ministry Fund of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego this past Sunday. Because of your generosity, we were able to raise $1,388 for this important work.
The Diocese partners with local organizations that help provide education and job training, food and housing, and spiritual care to migrants – helping people integrate into society and become self-sufficient. They also purchase food items to make 200 sack lunches every Monday for migrants that have been cleared through asylum and are waiting for flights at the San Diego Airport to meet sponsors in other parts of the country.
Through these efforts, we’re dedicated to welcoming and supporting those in need, living out the values of compassion and love that are at the heart of our faith.
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
Fresh flowers at the altar honor God and add to the beauty of our worship. We are in need of altar flowers for several special celebratory Sundays coming up, including the Bishop’s visit! 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 is suggested.
Prayers of the Church
For the Anglican Communion, and for the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby; for The Anglican Church of Burundi, The Most Reverend Sixbert Macumi, Archbishop and Primate of Burundi.
For the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras, The Right Reverend Lloyd Emmanuel Allen, Bishop.
For the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, The Right Reverend Dr. Susan Brown Snook, Bishop; for the clergy and people of St. John’s, Indio.
For those commended to our prayers: Charice Mayer, Jared Mayer, Bonnie Ong, Robert Blackshear, Michael Marguet, June Marguet, Lisa Yegin, Michael Neill, Jerry & Teresa O’Steen, Ronald Woodward, Karen Nelson, Nick Kuttig, David Stanfill, Bob Westaway, Judy Young, George Forrest, Paris Coffey, Patricia H., Will & Rob, Mark Austin, Jill & Robert Philbrook, Richard Osuna, Eliott Kahn, Delores Swanson, Debbie, Nuan Pan, Antoinette, John, Zadaiya, Jacob Parshall, Henry Black, Andy Johnson, Terry Garrity, Rus Butler, Joe Christopher, Hap Blaisdell, David Valenzuela, Amelia Grinstead, Chloe Grace Wilson Barton, Marilyn De Silva Currie, Jamie Currie, Greg Gowdy, Tom Lutgen; pray for all those for whom no prayers have been said.
For those who have died: Betsy Westaway, Damon Nelson, Pat Mauritzen, Donald Beck, Mark Levin, Gwendolyn Walton. Rest eternal grant to these, your servants, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
For those with birthdays: May 12: Joe Noble; May 13: Bryan Ozur; May 15: Roger Allen, Richard Cadieux, Sarah Fay; May 17: Joan Dawson; May 18: Ben Palmer.
For those celebrating anniversaries: May 12: Isabel & Nate Reineke; May 14: Rita Yribar & Robert McElroy.
Today’s Altar Flowers are given to the Glory of God in honor of, and thanksgiving for all mothers, everywhere. Happy Mother’s Day!
“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
If you would like to sponsor altar flowers for a future Sunday honoring 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 date(s).
Send us your Prayer Requests via email — You may request prayers, “For those commended to our prayers” or “For those who have died,” by sending requests to registrar@stpaulsps.org. The weekly print deadline is Wednesday noon.
For next Sunday’s Lectionary readings, go to www.lectionarypage.net and click on May 19, The Day of Pentecost.
Upcoming Meetings & Events at St Paul’s
- Monday, May 13 – 2:00-4:00 PM – Sacred Ground – Racial Reconciliation – Library
- Wednesday, May 15 – 6:00 PM – Mid-week Eucharist (Short Contemplative Service)
- Saturday, May 18 – 7:00 PM – Movie Night! “Joyful Noise” – On the lawn
- Sunday, May 19 – The Day of PENTECOST: Whitsunday – (Wear red!)
- Sunday, May 19 – 9:00-10:15 PM – The Omega Course: The Future of the Church – Parish Hall Parlor
- Wednesday, May 22 – 6:00 PM – Mid-week Eucharrist (Short Contemplative Service)
- Sunday, May 26 – TRINITY SUNDAY – The First Sunday after Pentecost
- Wednesday, May 29 – Monthly clothing and sundries distribution
- Wednesday, May 29 – 6:00 PM – Mid-week Eucharrist (Short Contemplative Service)
- Sunday, June 2 – Pentecost II – Bishop’s Visit – Reception following 10:30 Service – Q & A with the Bishop – Wear your St. Paul’s T-Shirt!
- Tuesday, June 4 – 2:00 PM – St. Paul’s Book Club – “Yellowface” by R. F. Kuang – Via RingCentral
- Thursday, June 6 – 1:00 PM – Campus Care Monthly Meeting – Library
Free Movie Screening
Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Services, the refugee resettlement organization that Troy Elder leads, is sponsoring a free screening of a documentary in Palm Springs on May 15. The purpose is to meet new friends as IRIS expands its services into the desert. The movie, “Welcome to Chechnya,” is a critically acclaimed documentary that goes inside the Russian Republic’s deadly war on LGBTQ+ people. Something that continues to this day. And yet, the courage of the activists is amazing. As Entertainment Weekly put it: “It’s shocking, and it should be. But Welcome to Chechnya finds tender, funny moments too — and even, in the end, some kind of hope.” These are the victims IRIS is trying to “welcome home” to the US as refugees. We partnered with IRIS during Epiphany/Los Tres Reyes when we collected items for a refugee family. If you are interested in finding out more about how to engage with this issue, please attend! Click here to reserve your seat.
Movie Night at St. Paul’s
Saturday, May 18th, 7:00 PM, Theater on the lawn outside the Parish Hall.
“Joyful Noise” is a funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love, and renewal. Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton play dueling divas who clash over control of a small-town choir that enters a national competition. Amid the humor, the movie underscores the prevailing theme that people need to come together during hard times.
June Book Club
The next Book Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 2 PM via RingCentral. For June, Book Club has selected Yellowface by R. F. Kuang. White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences. Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel. New members are always welcome. For more information, please contact Alan Zimmerman at alanzimmerman@icloud.com
Forward Day by Day
The latest quarterly issue of Forward Day by Day has arrived and copies are available in the Narthex and Parish Office. St. Paul in the Desert supports your spiritual life beyond Sunday, and Forward Day by Day is a simple, but powerful way to begin engaging with a little hunk of scripture each day.
The daily reflections that follow the Bible verses are written by disciples, just like you, and share a wide range of lessions and thought-provoking messages. We commend it to you if you are looking for a daily prayer practice.
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!
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