For Sunday July 27, 2025
Episcopal Public Policy Advocacy and Awareness Campaign: Summer 2025
THIS WEEK’S ADVOCACY AREA: OPPOSE EXTREME TAX CUTS
Tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans were enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The cuts may be extended by this 119thCongress. If so, Medicaid and SNAP are most vulnerable.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35). As Episcopalians we expect our government to act boldly in protecting the most vulnerable Americans.
The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations provides ways to encourage our Congressional Representatives to support tax reform, especially the Child Tax Credit. I encourage you to explore the results of their work on this and many other issues facing our country. Go to Action Alerts – The Episcopal Church. Enter your email address and zip code. Go to “Oppose Extreme Tax Cuts” for more detail. You can also send a letter to your representatives on this vital issue by clicking “Send Message.” Congress has the opportunity to improve our tax system by supporting low-income Americans.
Peace,
The Rev. Bud Williams
Bud Williams may be reached at soberbud@gmail.com
Deacon Class Offered Sundays in September
Deacons are often the forgotten order of clergy. Often viewed as JV priests, the deacon is an ancient order that is so much more! If you have ever wanted to find out more about what a deacon actually is/does or if you are curious about discerning a call to the diaconate, this is the class for you!
Nicene Creed Class Offered Sundays in September/October
Ever struggle with portions of the Nicene Creed? Ever wonder if you can even consider yourself a Christian because of it? If you’ve ever felt that way, you’re not alone! Come join us for an in-depth study of the Nicene Creed and discover how it may or may not fit into your spiritual life in the 21st Century. Questions & doubts more than welcome!
St. Paul’s Hiking Group – Historic Redlands Walking Tour
Saturday August 9, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Hiking Group Special Summer Event!! A morning walking tour of beautiful and historic Redlands! Join us for an informative and easy 2.5 mile stroll through the quaint Victorian neighborhoods and lovely tree-lined streets of one of Southern California’s most important and best-preserved citrus boomtowns. Bring good walking shoes, a hat and some sunscreen and plenty of water. Walk starts at 8:30 sharp, takes about two hours. Stay to shop or lunch with friends, or follow special directions the scenic “back way” to the desert through rolling hills and orange groves. Detailed info and updates will follow as date approaches.
Summer Prior Choir
Choir rehearsals are on hiatus for the summer. We will have a “Prior Choir” on the first Sundays the month (August 3, and September 7.) On those Sundays we meet in the choir loft at 10 to learn an easy anthem for that day’s worship. We do not robe or sit up front, and everyone is welcome. Choir rehearsals on Thursday and Sunday will resume in September. Everyone is welcome! Questions? Please contact Chuck Peery musicdirector@stpaulsps.org
ABIDE IN GOD’S LOVE: REFLECTIONS FROM THE YOUTH DELEGATION TO ECUADOR
“At the end of June, 8 students and 3 chaperones from around our diocese traveled to Ecuador. We went there on a short-term mission experience to meet the people, form relationships, serve side by side, worship together, and grow in our relationship with God and in a deeper understanding of how we bear God’s image. At the end of each day, we took time to reflect on the day using scripture as a guide. The scripture above was the first and the last scripture we read in Ecuador. As we traveled through chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, we considered the many ways we abide in God’s love, and how, dwelling in God’s love and through this experience, we are called to share that love when we return home.
While each member of our delegation experienced the same itinerary and met the same people, we each were shaped in different ways during our time there. With deep gratitude for the love and prayers you sent with us on the journey, below are personal reflections from each member of our delegation. It is our first step in bearing fruit – in sharing God’s love with the world…”
To continue reading about the Youth Delegation that St. Paul’s helped support, click here: https://edsd.org/news/abide-in-gods-love-reflections-from-the-youth-delegation-to-ecuador/
Save the date—SAFE CHURCH Training In-Person at St. Paul’s on Nov. 18th!
Section 14 The Untold Story on display at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum Changing Gallery
Exhibition Title: Section 14 The Untold Story
Exhibition Dates: June 14, 2025 – May 31, 2026
Since time immemorial, the Agua Caliente people have called this land home. Many voices have commented and argued over the history and legacy of Section 14. Now, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians share our perspectives on this land and the Tribe’s continuing efforts to assert rightful sovereignty over it.
Section 14 The Untold Story unfolds around a central theater in the Museum’s Changing Gallery. In the newly-released 16-minute film at the center of the exhibition, Tribal Elders recall life on Section 14 and the struggles their families and their community endured. Around this powerful record, the exhibition presents documentary evidence, the facts of the matter drawn from local, state, and national archives: How private interests worked to take our land and deny our rights. How we fought to regain those rights and hold firmly onto our land and our culture.
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE REVS TO SEE THE SECTION 14 GALLERY IN THE FALL? STAY TUNED FOR A DATE.
Episcopal Church Immigration Updates
Join us every Tuesday at 1 pm ET for a 30-minute call on the changing landscape of U.S. immigration, refugee, and migration policy. Episcopal Migration Ministries will share updates and resources and will be joined by the Office of Government Relations and the Chief Legal Officer. Spanish interpretation will be available.
Click here to Register6 Ts Survey
Our survey tracking system shows that many parishioners started to fill out the survey but just didn’t have a chance to complete it (by typing in their name and email address and clicking the “Done” button at the end). If you had to stop mid-way, please try again. If you started the survey from an email link, you might find that you can pick up where you left off; others would just start anew, reminding yourself that it only takes 13-15 minutes to do at one sitting! Thank you so much for your time — it will make a big difference!
As you heard about at the Annual Meeting we have a new tool to help connect parishioners to their passions and needs in the church and the wider community. Under the parish’s Strategic Plan Objectives One and Four, the 6 Ts Task force has developed a survey for all parishioners that we hope can bring us together to do more and for each other. The “Six Ts” refer to parishioners’ talents, testimony, time, temperament, treasure, and ties (relational networks).
It takes only 13-15 minutes (it’s been timed!) and you can do it easily on your computer, smartphone, or tablet (all connected to WiFi).
Here are the simple instructions to complete the survey:
- Simply click on the banner at the top of this email and you will be able to fill out the survey.
- Almost all the questions just ask you to check the boxes that apply to you, except for those at the end that ask you to fill in your contact information.
- When you reach the end of the survey, be sure to click the “Done” button. If you do, you will receive a confirmation email that you have completed the survey.
- Do NOT click any button asking you to complete another, different survey. It’s probably a marketing survey from Survey Monkey.
- If you run into any issues, there will be a team of folks next to the Welcome Table on Sunday morning at both services to offer assistance.
The 6Ts survey is designed to benefit each parishioner and the church, too. By asking you about your interests, the survey can offer you more opportunities to connect with other like-minded parishioners in spiritual formation, ministry work, volunteer possibilities within the church and the community at large, and even recreational activities. By asking about your skills, the survey can help the Revs and our lay leaders identify ways that you might like to contribute to the church’s vitality and that are suited to your particular strengths and interests.
All of the information collected in the survey will be confidential; it will only be available to the clergy and laity authorized to review that information specific to their duties as employees or supervised volunteers.
Thank you for helping us connect more regularly and more meaningfully with one another!
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 our Registrar, Orin Ellingson, at registrar@stpaulsps.org with names. Prayers remain on the list for one month unless otherwise noted.
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.
Prayers of the Church
For the Anglican Communion, and for the Archbishop of York, The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Stephen Cottrell, who is currently the acting Archbishop of Canterbury. Pray for The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, The Most Reverend Allan Migi, Archbishop.
For the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, The Reverend Canon David Wells, Canon to the Ordinary.
For the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, The Right Reverend Doctor Susan Brown Snook, Bishop; for the clergy and people of All Souls’, San Diego.
For those affected by recent floods: Almighty God, your Holy Spirit moved over the waters in the beginning of creation, and your Son Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee. Be mightily present with all those impacted by recent catastrophic flooding. Be close to the lost that they may be found. Guide and protect those who search. Strengthen those who await news of loved ones. Comfort those who mourn. Provide for those who have lost homes and livelihoods. And in the midst of things we cannot understand, empower us to entrust all to your never-failing love, and give us the will to persevere in our response to their needs. All this we ask through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
For those commended to our prayers: Lori Miller, Marty Turner, Jorge Santiago, Glas & Lidia, Lucy Youngren, Greg, Wanda Carnes, Nicolas Ropac, Kylie Georgia, Vertis, Kristina Clark, Louise Betzler, Barb Steeves, Michael Jardula, M.D., Johnny Miller, George Dodge, June Marguet, Tommy Anderson, Mike P., Ben Clark, Bonnie Ong, Jami Jo, Jackie, Sally, Arlene & Phil, Susie, Jeff, Michael & Nancy Zoric, Roger Allen, Kathryn Briski, RC Eckert, Gaile Eckert, Cheryl Kelley, Tish & Eliott Kahn, Hap Blaisdell, Terry Fabian, Pat, David Valenzuela, Amelia Grinstead, Chloe Grace Wilson Barton, Marilyn De Silva Currie; pray for all those for whom no prayers have been said.
For those who have died: Mae Kaljian, Frank Peters, Robert James Caraway, Charlene Clease, Tom Lutgen, Joseph Phelan. 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 celebrating anniversaries: July 27: James Nindel & Brian Brodowsky; July 29: Shannon Ealy & Rosa Zingg.
For those with birthdays: July 27: Kristenza Hatch, David Smitherman; July 28: Lena Granet, Darrell Thomas; July 29: Furman Moseley, Tony Ellerd, Raymond Gordon; July 30: Barbara Villani, Daniel Schmidt; July 31: Jim De Mersman, Rev. Dr. Thomas Clarke; August 1: Kathryn Briski, Michael Welden; August 2: Wayne Watson, Andrew Petras.
For those for whom flowers have been donated: Today’s Altar Flowers are sponsored by Jeffrey Coates & Steven Holm, in loving memory of Fred Crawford, AND By Lucinda Hampson, in loving memory of Jeffrey John Hampson.
“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 August 3, The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost.
Upcoming Meetings & Events at St Paul’s
- Wednesday, July 30 – 6:00PM – Mid-week Eucharist – Come and Rest
- Sunday, August 3 – 10:00 AM – August Prior Choir – In the Choir Loft
- Wednesday, August 6 – 6:00PM – The Feast of the Transfiguration
- Saturday, August 9 – 8:30 AM – St. Paul’s Hiking Group – Historic Redlands Walking Tour
- Sundays in September 7, 14, 21, 28 – 9:15 AM-10:15AM – “What Is A Deacon?” class – Parish Library
- September 28 – 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM services – The Feast of St. Michael & All Angels (Transferred)
Adjusted Office Hours for the Summer Months of July & August
Monday – Thursday – 9:00 AM-1:00 PM
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.
Red Cards
Click to enlarge the images.
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/
