For more information, contact Rev. Paul Richards-Kuan, Associate Pastor - East End Missional Community, via prichards-kuan@stpaulshouston.org or 713-528-0527.

This series of our Healing Circle for Grief and Loss, we will be gathering OFF-SITE at Healing Circles Houston (1100 Milford Street, 77006) due to renovation at St. Paul’s this season. This new location is close to St. Paul’s, and all are welcome to attend the free sessions.

As always, we will have light snacks and social time beginning at 6 pm, with the circle sharing lasting from 6:30 to 8 pm. You are welcome to attend the whole series, or drop in to any of these sessions: 

• June 26

• July 10 & 24

• August 7 & 21

• September 4

• September 11: Resiliency Workshop. Instead of the standard circle format, we will teach and practice several Mind-Body skills that help with trauma.  

For more information, contact Kat Denton via 713-528-0527 or kat@stpaulshouston.org.

Veterans Helping Veterans will meet in the Jones Building (J-203) during the summer months.

July 21 @ 9:45 am. “Living with Fierce Love” a presentation by Holly Hudley.

July 28 @ 9:45 am. “What Love Looks Like,” a conversation between Holly Hudley and Dr. Cleve Tinsley, Co-Managing Director of ProjectCURATE.

August 4 @ 9:45 am. “Justice for our Neighbors (JFON)’s work with the Immigrant Community” by Manne Favor, executive director of JFON, Houston.

For more details, visit www.ordinarylife.org.

The book for discussion on July 16 will be Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman.

Chapter One Book Group is open to anyone who enjoys reading and discussing a wide variety of books. The group usually meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in J-203.

To be added to the group's email list, please contact Linda Harmes at hblinda@hibit.com

You’re invited to a Welcome Reception for new senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jeff McDonald and his wife Lenee, on their first Sunday at St. Paul’s on July 7, at 12:15 pm. It will be a come-and-go reception with a light lunch and special performance by St. Paul’s children’s choirs.

As we welcome the McDonalds, you might consider writing them a note and/or enclosing a gift card to one of your favorite restaurants or activities in Houston as they get more familiar with the area. Let’s make them feel right at home!

To lend your help for this event, please contact SPRC representative Denise Childres via dchildresansell@gmail.com.

St. Paul’s will soon begin interviewing for a new Director of Children’s Ministry as Ellen Edwards retires in August. We want your input! You're invited to two upcoming Listening Sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to share your hopes and priorities for children’s ministry with members of the Search Committee.

Sunday, June 23, at 9:45 am - J-220 (Hosted by the Living Faith Sunday School class)
Sunday, June 30, at 12:15 pm - J-204

If you can’t make it to either of these Listening Sessions, please feel free to contact any of the Search Committee members: Lacey Webster, Chair; Tiffin Wilsford, Director of Youth and Family Ministries; Anna Teagarden, Director of Children’s Music; Debra Fischer, Director of St. Paul’s School; Martha Gau; Leta Barry; Elizabeth Schorre; Ben Wells; Bevin Barrett; Eileen Stultz; Courtney Pope; and Ashley Worley.

The Director of Children’s Ministry job description is posted online. If you know any qualified candidates, please encourage them to apply. 

St. Paul's UMC invites you to be a volunteer for VBS 2019. The week of July 28, we’re going “To Mars and Beyond!” with exciting science, creative crafts, recreation, and powerful Bible stories and songs.

Opportunities to serve in this high-impact week include:

• classroom leader or assistant

• decorations

• snacks

• storytelling

• arts and crafts

• assembly and music

• recreation

• supply coordination

We hope you’ll join us for a VBS Volunteer Luncheon today at 12:15 pm in the Jones Building basement. For more details about volunteering, contact Helen Spaw via hspaw@stpaulshouston.org. 

St. Paul’s will soon begin interviewing for a new Director of Children’s Ministry as Ellen Edwards retires in August. We want your input! You're invited to two upcoming Listening Sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to share your hopes and priorities for children’s ministry with members of the Search Committee.

Sunday, June 23, at 9:45 am - J-220 (Hosted by the Living Faith Sunday School class)
Sunday, June 30, at 12:15 pm - J-204

If you can’t make it to either of these Listening Sessions, please feel free to contact any of the Search Committee members: Lacey Webster, Chair; Tiffin Wilsford, Director of Youth and Family Ministries; Anna Teagarden, Director of Children’s Music; Debra Fischer, Director of St. Paul’s School; Martha Gau; Leta Barry; Elizabeth Schorre; Ben Wells; Bevin Barrett; Eileen Stultz; Courtney Pope; and Ashley Worley.

The Director of Children’s Ministry job description is posted online. If you know any qualified candidates, please encourage them to apply. 

St. Paul’s PRIDE Leadership Team invites you to “Welcome All People and All Communities” at the 2019 Houston Pride Parade®. 

When & Where: Saturday, June 22 (parade begins at 8 pm)

Floats will be lined up along Allen Parkway and we ask parade walkers to arrive no later than 7:30 pm. Get there at 6 pm if you want to help decorate.

Bering UMC and St. Paul’s UMC parade spots are right next to each other at 129 and 130. The easiest way is to Uber or Lyft to the corner of Taft and Allen Parkway so that you can walk along the parade route to find our locations. 

Questions? Contact Jennifer West via jcjwest@gmail.com.

This summer, Iconoclast Artists will host Speak Up Speak Out (SUSO) an annual regional youth poetry slam, previously hosted by Mic Check. 

Our goal is to create platforms for young artists to speak and be heard while connecting with youth from other communities. Speak Up Speak Out invites youth from cities throughout the United States to perform and compete with original works, in preparation for the international youth slam, Brave New Voices. 

This year’s Speak Up Speak Out event will be held Saturday, June 22, in Galveston, Texas. All events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit https://iconoclastartists.org/suso2019

The book for discussion June 18 is Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover.

Chapter One Book Group is open to anyone who enjoys reading and discussing a wide variety of books. The group meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in J-203, formerly J-202.

To be added to the email list for group notifications, please contact Linda Harmes at hblinda@hibit.com.

The Center for the Healing of Racism will hold its 26th Annual Juneteenth Ally Award Luncheon at St. Paul’s UMC in Fondren Hall.  

Award recipients:

• Tim Wise, one of the country’s leading anti-racism writers and educators, will deliver the keynote address.

• Houston’s SHAPE Community Center, which has worked to improve he quality of life for Houston’s African American community for the past 50 years.

• Maya Ford, who will receive an Individual Initiative Award for her courage to sit in silence alone in the parking lot of a detention center for migrant children and families.

Tickets are $60 and can be purchased by contacting the Center for the Healing of Racism at cfhr1@juno.com or (713) 520-8226. Tickets can also be purchased directly on the Center’s website. Sponsorships are also available.

Guest speaker Michael Morwood will present “Reshaping Religious Imagination and Thinking” on Monday, June 3, 7–9 pm. This event will be held in Fondren Hall (2nd floor, Jones Building) at St. Paul’s UMC. It is free and open to the public.

Morwood is at the forefront of spiritual teachers who are allowing their thinking and teaching to be reformed by insights from the area that is often referred to as “the new cosmology.” He has authored numerous books, including In Memory of Jesus, It’s Time, God Is Near, and Is Jesus God?

Sponsored by the Kerley Endowment for Spiritual Advancement and Understanding, there is no charge for this event and no registration process. Space is limited, so we encourage those wishing to attend to arrive early.

Because of the unforeseen complications with the basement renovation and the organ, we are cancelling our 4 pm Evensong on Sunday. We are working hard to get the organ up and running as soon as possible. 

After morning worship services on June 2, join us to celebrate the ministry of Rev. Tommy Williams and his family on their last Sunday at St. Paul’s. All are invited to a Farewell Lunch in Fondren Hall, 12:15–1:30 pm.

On the menu . . . This family-friendly lunch will be held in Fondren Hall. We’ll serve up delicious food in a laid-back atmosphere with grilled burgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers prepared by the Men’s Lectionary Bible Study. 

Expressing appreciation . . . St. Paul’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee will provide a card-writing and love offering station for the Williams family. We’ll enjoy special music and a slideshow tribute as well.

Calling all kids! . . . Parents, because we expect a sizable crowd, we’re making special plans for children to be supervised and enjoy fun activities together. Please check in your children in the Jones Building Lobby to join their age-based groups (non-walkers, 2–3 years, pre-K–1st grade, and 2nd–5th grade).

The children will eat lunch from 12:15 to 12:45 pm in Jones Building classrooms and then go outside on the Playground from 12:45 to 1:30 pm for playtime, face-painting, and snow cones provided by Kona Ice Truck.

Also, please save the date for a Welcome Reception for new senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jeff McDonald and his wife Lenee, on their first Sunday at St. Paul’s on July 7, at 12:15 pm. It will be a meet-and-greet reception with light refreshments.

If you have any questions or to lend your help for either of these goodbye/hello events, please contact SPRC representative Denise Childres via dchildresansell@gmail.com.

The 2nd Annual Texas Annual Conference Faith Community Nurse Gathering will be held in J-204 (2nd floor of Jones Building).

Celeste Ng - LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

Brazos Bookstore presents Celeste Ng, reading from her book Little Fires Everywhere. Q&A and signing to follow. This event will take place on Tuesday, May 21 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. This is a ticketed event. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the event starts at 7 pm.

From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. 

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

Tickets admit one individual, cost $17, and include a paperback copy of Little Fires Everywhere. Tickets are nonreturnable. For more information, please contact the Brazos Bookstore at 713-523-0701.

Families with special needs members are invited to attend an informational luncheon on Sunday, May 19, at 12:15 pm in Fondren Lounge.

The speaker will be Tonya Knauth, PLLC, an attorney, mother of three children, and a long-time St. Paul’s UMC member. Her law practice focuses on wills and trusts, probate and guardianships. Sharing information and speaking with families to clarify their legal plans is a strong part of Tonya’s mission and purpose for her practice. She helps her clients in a multitude of ways: with legal planning for incapacity and death, with guardianships where planning for incapacity is not possible, and after the death of a loved one, to wrap up their affairs.

Lunch and childcare (for special needs children and siblings) will be provided with an RSVP to Helen Spaw, Special Needs Coordinator, via hspaw@stpaulshouston.org. Also contact Helen with any questions about this event or how special needs children are accommodated at St. Paul’s.