Category: Church Happenings

Sunday, November 3:  Worship at 10:30 am. All Saints’ Day – we will remember those who have gone before.

Monday, November 4: Bible Study, 6 pm.

Tuesday, November 5:  AA meets in Fellowship Hall, 7 pm

Wednesday, November 6: **Women’s Fellowship: 1:30 pm in Fellowship Hall

**Grill’s On! Community picnic, 5-ish to 7-ish. The welcome continues. Bring something to share or just bring yourself!

**Worship Planning Meeting: 6 pm in the Sanctuary. All are invited to join us in a conversation about our ministry of Worship and plan for the months ahead. Contact the office or Pastor Paul if you have thoughts or questions.

Thursday, November 7:  AA meets in Fellowship Hall, 7 pm

Other Ministries and Events

**Sunday School: We are looking for a few volunteers to help lead Sunday School during worship. Story and crafts are provided. If this is of interest to you, please contact Pastor Paul.

**Christmas: Cookies, Crafts and Carols: There’s talk of having special events for Christmas, including making cookies and crafts and sharing in Christmas carols. If you are interested, contact the office or Pastor Paul.

**Fall Bazaar, Bake Sale, Lunch: Saturday, November 23, 9am-1pm. Sign-up sheet to help is posted in Fellowship Hall.

**Concert – Bill Bastian & the Highland Quartet: Saturday, December 14, 1:30 pm. Wonderful music!  Free of charge!  Bake sale to support church.

From Pastor Paul, Toward Sunday:  Geek alert ahead. Pending on our kinship of interest in woody plants, you’ll either be engaged or bored by the following…in the latter case, I can only hope you smile and nod and think “well, he’s an interesting fellow, I suppose.”     Here goes: Stand on the front steps of the church and look out toward the hillside. On the ridge line, tall above the steady canopy of trees in the Magney Snively forest, are a sweet bunch of old-growth pine, interspersed with spruce and cedar. Every Sunday, during our opening hymn sing, I stand on the front steps and look out at those trees while singing (and I wave to the cars passing by, and sometimes make a passing dog-walker feel a bit uncomfortable, but that is beside the point now). I wanted to see them up close, but driving on Skyline, it was hard to place them among the twists and turns, so a few weeks ago I took a compass bearing from the front of the steps (between 280 and 282 degrees for those who share kinship here) and walked directly to them.    They’re gorgeous up close. And this began a goal to seek out all of these old growth groves up in that area. Notably (and here’s where I get really geeky), there is an elusive grove of Hemlock that is tucked somewhere on that hillside. It’s in the old notes and the chit-chat of woodsy folk, and likely not cut down, given the rumored dates, but nobody seems to know where it is. And by the way, this is Eastern Hemlock we’re talking about – not the4 hemlock of Socrates fame. We’re talking Tsuga canadensis here. It’s a common tree in the northeast of our country, but stops near the Michigan border. There are only a few patches of Hemlock in Wisconsin and even fewer in Minnesota. Cool. Worth searching for. Beats that Pokemon thing on the phone folks are doing in my book.    Anyway, my dear friends, I find some! Saplings among the rocks near Stewart’s Creek! And I look up and there’s a big ol’ hemlock right above me. I’m all excited about this and send the message to a forester friend to show off my discovery, thinking I’m cool beans and a naturalist rock-star for a moment.    …For a moment. Turns out I was way off. What I thought were saplings were actually Canadian Yew. Taxus canadensis. Oh! And that large tree that I thought was an old growth Hemlock? Turns out to be a Spruce. I suppose I just wanted it to be Hemlock so much that my will overcame my discerning eyes.    I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to have my hope and my will for something to be what I want it to be cloud my judgment of what it really is.    Also, I am not the first to be wrong.    So my prayer? God, let me be wrong. Let the palm of my hand slap my forehead with my eyes closed and my head shaking “no”…but then let me inhale, look up, laugh, and get back to exploring. In other words, God, let me learn from being wrong.    …and God, really, if you don’t mind..do what you can so that I don’t confuse my Taxis with my Tsugas in the future. I kinda felt silly, after all.

Love from your Geeky Pastor (oh, and “Let’s Talk”) Paul

The Halloween Carnival is rapidly approaching! It will be Saturday, October 26th from 4pm – 7 pm. Find more information on our Facebook page.

All volunteers should plan to arrive no later than 3:30. We are still taking volunteers – contact us for more info.

Weekly Reminders from United Protestant Church

Hi Folks! We’ve been updating our mailing list in an effort to reach as many church members and friends as possible. If you’d like to be taken off this list, please send an email to office@unitedprotestantchurch.org. Thanks!

Sunday: Worship at 10:30, with Communion. Fellowship time to follow.

Monday: Bible Study, 6pm

Each week we lift up a passage from this week’s lectionary and let our hearts, minds, and faith take a journey from those words. We’d love to have you join us!

Tuesday: AA meets in the Fellowship Hall, 7pm

Wednesday:

-History Work Day, 10am: All are welcome to help sort and organize and discover pieces of UPC history.

-Grill’s On! Community Picnic. 5-ish to 7-ish

The kindness and welcome continues! Each week we are greeted with an amazing banquet of diverse yummy goodness created and donated by the collective. We get things going around 5 pm, and usually wrap up around 7 pm. Games are set up and more games are welcome. As always: bring what you have to share (or something to put on the grill) or just bring yourself! There is always enough! 

-Choir Practice, 6 pm

You don’t have to sing like an angel, you just have to love to sing! Practice is 2nd & 4th Wednesdays and then we share our songs the following Sunday. We’d love for you to join us! No experience? Think you can’t carry a tune? We’ll teach you! Questions: Contact Karen Robnik, 218-565-0943.

Thursday: AA meets in the Fellowship Hall, 7pm

Volunteer Opportunities:

Sunday School: We are in need of a couple volunteers to help lead Sunday School during worship. Story and craft will be provided. If this is of interest to you, contact Pastor Paul!

Christmas: Cookies, Crafts, and Carols

There’s talk within the church of having a Christmas party, including making crafts and cookies, and sharing in Christmas carols. If this is of interest to you, contact Pastor Paul!

Looking Ahead:

UPC Halloween Carnival is planned for Saturday, October 26, 4-7 pm. Help will be needed for set-up, clean-up, games, tickets, kitchen, etc. Watch for sign-up sheet to help, and posters will be available to put up at businesses. There was a large turn-out for this carnival in 2018.

Bill Bastian and the Highland Quartet will be performing on December 14th at 1:30. Amazing music. Free of charge. Bake sale to support the church.

From Pastor Paul: “Toward Sunday”

…do not fret—it only leads to evil.    –Psalm 37:8

A simple little line, that one. Just a snippet in a Psalm with the header “Exhortation to Patience and Trust”… but last Monday during Bible Study, that little line leaped off the page and gave me a great big ol’ dope slap right upside my head.

I love it when God does that, because it’s usually connected with a part of my life and my faith that is in need of a little fine-tuning. See…I fret. I fret well and I fret often. I worry and contemplate and cogitate and perseverate and walk the floor and lay in bed with my eyes wide open. I have won blue ribbon in the fretter’s contest. Bronze statues have been cast presenting me with a knitted brow.  

I’d like to say that I could change this—that with some “cold-turkey” enthusiasm I could end this behavior and get on with the happy peaceful contentment that I’ve always longed for. But I’ve accepted it as the shadow side of creative energy and curiosity, which often lead to wonderful inspiration and discovery. I figure it this way: if fretting is the by-product of a creative spirit, I can live with that.

…But I don’t have to let it lead me. Choices and decisions based on scarcities like fear, doubt, self-criticism, apprehension and limitation are only going to place barriers on the new gifts of each new day, and the new life God is creating for me. The more I act out of scarcity, the more limits and boundaries I place upon myself, and the more I isolate myself from those new things…from the new way God is reaching out to me today. “Go away, o’ new opportunity! I am busy fretting about my past and future!”

That, and choices based on scarcity often lead to fear and anger-based actions. The kind of things that truly make our world a more broken place. I think that’s the “evil” part.

So muchas gracias to the Psalmist for reminding me: do not fret—it only leads to evil.  

And can you do me a favor? Can you remind me? Can we remind each other that there are better and (frankly) more “Holy” ways to use our mental energy? Our God, I believe, is a God of opportunity and grace, not scarcity and fear. We can’t necessarily shake all of our worries, but we don’t have to let our faith be led by them, because if we let our frets be our guide, we really wont be getting anywhere.

Let’s Talk!

Pastor Paul

P.S. I keep writing “Let’s Talk!” and I mean it. I would love to hear from you! Send me a note or sit down for a talk or let’s go take a walk!

Rev. Paul VanAntwerp:

218-349-0143

 pastorpaulvanantwerp@gmail.com

Sunday, September 28:  The U.P. Choir will be singing, and we’ll be looking at an oft-overlooked passage from Luke.

Monday, September 29, 6 pm: Lectionary Study Each week we lift up a passage from this week’s lectionary and let our hearts and mind and faith take a journey from those words. We’d love to have you join us!

Tuesday: AA meets in the Fellowship Hall, 7pm

Wednesday, September 25:~ Grill’s On,  5-ish to 7-ish: The kindness and welcome continues! Each week we are greeted with an amazing banquet of diverse yummy goodness created and donated by the collective. We get things going around 5 pm, and usually wrap up around 7 pm. Games are set up and more games are welcome. As always: bring what you have, or just bring yourself! There is always enough! 

Thursday: AA meets in the Fellowship Hall, 7pm

Looking Ahead: UPC Halloween carnival is planned for Saturday, October 26, 4-7 pm. Help will be needed for set-up, clean-up, games, tickets, kitchen, etc. Watch for sign-up sheet to help, and posters will be available to put up at businesses. There was a large turn-out for this carnival in 2018. 

Volunteer Opportunities:

Sunday School: We are in need of a couple volunteers to help lead Sunday School during worship. Story and craft will be provided. If this is of interest to you, contact Pastor Paul!

Intentional Conversation: Evangelism/Outreach: If any church is to thrive, new participants must be welcomed and older participants must be supported. There are a myriad of ways we can approach these tasks, and Pastor Paul would like to meet with you to explore a variety of ideas and resources. If you are interested in sharing in this ministry, please contact Pastor Paul (218-349-0143). We’ll find a time to talk, discern our mission and steps to accomplish it, and get to work for the good of the church!

From Pastor Paul, Toward Sunday:
Sometimes, in the whirling and twirling hustle of the days, I find myself a little empty and fatigued. This used to bother me, and I’d turn inward with self-criticism and be, well, rather demanding on myself. Now I’ve learned that challenges and busyness and negativity are just par for the course in life, and when I feel overwhelmed by those things–when I feel myself a little lacking in spirit and hope–I’m reminded that spiritual health is not unlike physical health. I think of the days when I don’t eat as well as I should and find myself dragging through the day. The same goes for the times when I don’t nurture my spirit as I should. When my faith tank is empty, it is time to get some spiritual sustenance.
I’ve learned what works for me: I read scripture and other beautiful words and soak in the thoughts and the images others have taken the time to craft. I walk in the woods or around town to fill my lungs with fresh air and my eyes with color. I surround myself with life-giving, positive people and I do what I can to keep healthy space from the all-too-prevalent judgment and anger that a life attached to screens can shove in our faces. And I pray. …My God how I pray! I pray while reading and pray while walking and pray while laughing and gathering goodness. I remind myself that prayer is not a singular event, rather, it is a way of life. Thankfulness for God’s presence. A place to direct my fear and anxiety. A song and a dance. Creation…rest…comfort…–even nudges to get up and get going! God is in all of these things. “You can catch grace,” Annie Dillard wrote, “as a person dips a cup in a waterfall.”
Where do you find spiritual sustenance when you’re running on empty? Any tips or tricks you can share with others? Can our community’s ministry support you?
Good conversations to have as we step forward into the YES of our lives.
Let’s talk!
Pastor Paul

—
Paul VanAntwerp
3845 Birchwood Road
Duluth, MN  55803
218-349-0143

Sunday, September 22:  Cathy Dale, Linda Bray and Ashley Lund will present special music during worship.

Monday, September 23, 6 pm: Lectionary StudyEach week we lift up a passage from this week’s lectionary and let our hearts and mind and faith take a journey from those words. We’d love to have you join us!

Wednesday, September 25:~ History Work Day, 10 am: All are welcome to help sort and organize and discover pieces of UPC history.~

Grill’s On, 5-ish to 7-ish: The kindness and welcome continues! Each week we are greeted with an amazing banquet of diverse yummy goodness created and donated by the collective. We get things going around 5 pm, and usually wrap up around 7 pm. Games are set up and more games are welcome. As always: bring what you have, or just bring yourself! There is always enough!

NOTE: Next week, we have Choir at 6:00, so we’ll get things ready earlier for those that want to sing. You are welcome to head upstairs to hear the choir practice (or join us!), or just stay downstairs and enjoy the food and fellowship.

Choir Practice, 6 pm: You don’t have to sing like an angel, you just have to love to sing! Practice is 2nd & 4th Wednesdays and then our gift of song is shared the following Sunday. We’d love for you to join us! No experience? Think you can’t carry a tune? We’ll teach you!!. Questions: Contact Karen Robnik, 218-565-0943.

Looking Ahead: UPC Halloween carnival is planned for Saturday, October 26, 4-7 pm. Help will be needed for set-up, clean-up, games, tickets, kitchen, etc. Watch for sign-up sheet to help, and posters will be available to put up at businesses. There was a large turn-out for this carnival in 2018.

Thank You!

**Pastor Paul received the following note from Arlene Putikka Tucker, Finlandia Foundation Northland: “Thank you so much for making the Kardemimmit Concert a success. Your helpfulness & excitement was appreciated. I hope this helps open up more music and fellowship for your wonderful church community. Kiitos”

**13 people turned out to enjoy fellowship while making (and eating) doughnuts on September 18. Thank you to Sandie Chelstrom for sharing her expertise.

FYI:Sunday School: We are still in the process of re-forming Sunday School for children in the church. If this is an area of interest to you, contact Pastor Paul.

Intentional Conversation: Evangelism/Outreach: If any church is to thrive, new participants must be welcomed and older participants must be supported. There are a myriad of ways we can approach these tasks, and Pastor Paul would like to meet with you to explore a variety of ideas and resources. If you are interested in sharing in this ministry, please contact Pastor Paul (218-349-0143). We’ll find a time to talk, discern our mission and steps to accomplish it, and get to work for the good of the church!

From Pastor Paul, Toward Sunday:    I keep a list, tucked somewhere in my papers and files, of folks that did their job well. Some were professionals, with titles and authority, and some worked simple jobs, barely making ends meet, but all of these people had a professionalism about them – a confidence in their work…but more importantly, each of them had a kindness and welcome that went well beyond the ostensible occasion of their labors….and here I pause to look for that list, and it concerns me that I cannot find it. So I lift up their names from memory:Kat – grocery store stockerShannon – at a soup kitchenJon – consultant for institutional security systemsAmy – advocate for the agingHeidi – a botanistNick – personal trainerFaye – grocery store cashierGary – mechanicLyle – middle school science teacherBrad – in natural resourcesRob – tool and die maker    Not bad from memory, eh? See, when I think of these people my back straightens up, my chest opens, and I find a smile on my face. I keep this list because I want to be like those people. I want to work and welcome others as these people did, and even though they came and went in various chapters of my life, I don’t want to forget them, because they are living and working in a way I think we all should be. Should you meet them, they would welcome you warmly. Should you need their help, they would not hesitate. Should you need their experience, you would be impressed by their abilities.    God gives each of us gifts, internal and external, but the greatest gift (to borrow a line from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth) is love. They work, and they live, with love at the center.    And you? If you’re like me, you see this as a worthy goal, but also reflect on the ways you have stumbled along that path. My question to you is: how can this church support you in this goal?    Last week, I asked folks that read this weekly note to share a “YES” for ministry in the church. Specifically, I asked folks to complete the following sentence in an email to me: <pastorpaulvanantwerp@gmail.com>    “To glorify God     and to honor God’s call to United Protestant Church     I say YES to ________”    This is not simply to give your pastor clear direction from the congregation on areas of interest and call, but also to inquire: how can we help one another, even as we help the ministry we share.    Can service to a shared ministry help any of us accomplish the accolades I give to the names above? You betcha! Can it light a fire for God in our community and membership? Indeed!….And can you imagine a church full of folks that work well and love well? Now THAT’s good work that I can put my whole self behind! We’re on that road, friends, perhaps more than many here may be aware of, but I see it – even in the midst of fear and negativity – shining daily among us!

Let’s talk!

Pastor Paul

218-349-0143

pastorpaulvanantwerp@gmail.com

Monday, September 2:  Lectionary study cancelled this Monday for Labor Day.

Wednesday, September 4:~ Women’s Fellowship, 1:30 pm, Fellowship Hall. All women are invited to attend.~ Grill’s On, 5:30 pm – ?  Bring your lawn chair, something to grill or a side, a friend or neighbor. We’ll move indoors if the weather is too cold or rainy.

Sunday, September 8: Morgan Park all class reunion. Reunion-goers invited to worship at UPC before heading to the DECC. 

Christian Education beginning soon! We’re working on the final details for a planning meeting in the next week or so. If you are interested in lending a hand, or have some resources that we would value, we would love to hear from you!

Choir Practice: 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 6:00 pm. Everyone who likes to sing is welcome.

History Work Days: 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 10:00 am. All are welcome to help sort and organize. Last week, some very interesting letters from around 1920 were found. They included offers and negotiations with Rev. Ramshaw to accept call as UPC minister.

Looking Ahead:~ Friday, September 13, 7:00 pm: Concert by Finnish kantele group “Kardemimmit” at UPC, sponsored by Finlandia Foundation Northland. Cost is $10/adult, children free.

From Pastor Paul: Toward Sunday   Well, I’m a schoolboy again…no “big man on campus” to be sure (never was, never wanted to be!), and certainly not now because these days the courses are taken online, with a camera, a headset, and microphone. Those that haven’t done this, well, just picture a video screen on the computer, with twenty or so people’s heads in small squares filling the screen. For my part, my computer’s camera makes my nose look big, but I can live with that (after all, if you want a good laugh, ask to see the new photo for my driver’s license).   I’m taking classes in the field of Addiction Studies. I’ve found this to be a great need in the ministry I do on a daily basis here at UP. See, when I have a drunk or an addict show up at the church, I don’t just call the cops, but rather invite them in, offer them food, and talk to them. Some never come back, intimidated, perhaps, and my direct nature of wanting to provide realistic and tangible help, but some do, and come back often. Word has gotten out, I suppose, but I’m an open-minded guy, willing to take the time to talk, and willing to lend a hand of support to their own desires to make their lives better. We are a people of resurrection, and we are called to practice resurrection in our daily lives. I believe that with every fiber of my being! At any rate, classes are in the evening, ending at nine p.m., and being too late for coffee, I need to find something that can help me stay awake.   So on my breaks, I took to playing the organ. Now…I have no talent on the keyboard (let’s emphasize the word “play” here), but I have serenaded the empty sanctuary with the most thoughtful and sensitive versions of “chopsticks” and “heart and soul” that I can muster, and must admit I’ve tried my memory on a few of those 1980’s rock anthems…but it works to keep me awake! I try all the sounds, all the buttons (and please note: I am sure to put them back to how I found them when I am done).   For those of you that know anything about the organ, here goes: I discovered the magical pedal. You know, the one that takes a single note and makes you sound like you are playing with twenty-five fingers? I call it the “swell” pedal. Occasionally, it even heads toward “great.” That one pedal, I tell you, can make even this chopstick tappin’ pastor sound right groovy on the keys!   Something new. Swell.   Will I ever be any good? Dunno. But…Am I done learning? Oh no no no!   Are you?   Take a moment here…and think about some of the things that you “always wanted to do” but never had a chance to learn. Or perhaps the interests that you set aside in deference to other responsibilities (work, children, etc.) – or perhaps because you saw someone better than you and you never thought you could achieve that status…   What was it? And are you still interested? And can your church community be supportive? Was it art? Because we have folks here very interested in creating works of art in all styles and mediums. Was it music? We have a lot of three-chord strummers, developing singers, and chopstick-playing keyboardists eager to put together and share. Gardening? We’ll hit the ground running in the spring. Teaching? Christian education is returning. Public Speaking? I’d love to have other voices be heard in the microphone than my own. Counseling or care-taking? There is deep need and you can be coached easily. Computers and Technology? Geesh! Of course! Technology? Wanna dive in and be a geek like me? There is…oh…so…much!   “Go and sit down at the lowest place” says Jesus in our Gospel for Sunday (Luke 14), “so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.'” This doesn’t just apply to table manners. We enter humble, with our limited gifts, to any situation in life…but we are a people that know that hope and curiosity and creativity are much better things to focus our lives on than fear, insecurity, and solitude. Come on in…be creative…move up higher.

Let’s talk!

Pastor Paul