May the God of hope fill you with joy in believing! Romans 12:12 When I hear the name Jeremiah I often think about a certain bullfrog whose name was raised to global fame in a song of joy back in the 1970s. It was not sung by the Three Kings of Epiphany fame but by…
A little bit of Mantua Grove history that I remember: My children and all the others would go to Mantua Grove Chapel for Sunday school, although big events were always held at St. Paul’s. Before we sold Mantua Grove Chapel, we would always have our annual Picnic at Lake Garrison. We had such a great…
We celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ with joy and the little “inn of faith in West Deptford” was full. Jim had to bring out the folding chairs for our Christmas Eve service. What a beautiful celebration we shared … what joy in worship … what a sense of a loving community that is our…
What a wonderful Sunday School Christmas Pageant we had on December 17. The kids did an awesome job, and were so sweet! Many thanks to the kids, their parents and grandparents, and to our amazing Sunday School teachers and helpers for all their dedication. We have a great Sunday School! Immediately following was the children’s…
Sing to the Lord a new song because he has done wonderful things! … Psalm 98:1 We had a wonderful time at our annual Christmas Carol Sing on December 1. We really got into the spirit of the holidays, sang our favorite carols, and heard some fabulous special Christmas music. Patty Fish played for our…
Thank you to everyone that donated to our Giving Tuesday campaign! As a result of your generosity, we were able to pay for having the hole in the driveway filled in. Many thanks to our Trustees, led by Gary Rutter, and to Garden State Paving Company for the wonderful work! It’s not too late to…
It’s turning cold, and we’re all getting out our winter clothing. Aren’t you glad you have warm sweaters and coats to keep you warm? We’ve started a special project to help out students in the West Deptford Schools who can’t pay for their lunches. The school does provide lunch for all students, but if money…
We held our annual Sunday School Bazaar & Yard Sale on Saturday, November 4, and we did great! We earned over $3,000, enough to fund our Sunday School for the coming year, allowing us to purchase materials and offer Vacation Bible School. Items for sale included holiday decorations, jewelry, boutique, baked goods, deli items, and…
…the oyster suppers at St. Paul’s? We used to have oyster and chicken salad dinners here at the church. I was a “waitress” for the oyster suppers here starting when I was a teenager. Lots of walking back and forth to the kitchen for platters of fried oysters. My mother, Erma Lentz, was one of…
“For unto you is born in the City of David … a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” And each and every year since I was ten years old, I have heard the voice of the cartoon image named Linus as he walks off the stage in a national setting and then looks at the…
Ok, this is personal, and a confession of the pastor who is confessing to at least one and perhaps many of the shortcomings of the male of the species. On Saturday October 14th of the year 2023 I was admitted to Inspira Medical Center with a blockage of the artery well known as “The Widow…
Well, we certainly did not plan on putting out the HELP WANTED SIGN here at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, but Glenda Steffee, who led our choir and provided musical accompaniment for our worship services since before COVID, announced her retirement in May and is traveling around America in her RV! We are so thankful…
After Church Socials Are Back! Our Fellowship will begin again on Rally Day, September 10! We need volunteers to bring snacks and help with setup and cleanup each week. Below is a link to the online sign-up form. We will bring a printout of the sign-up sheet every week to church so you can sign…
Thanks so much to everyone who helped with or patronized our delicious chicken BBQ dinner on November 29th. We had a complete sellout, and the money we made will give a boost to our wavering finances. Special thanks to Sharon Rutter, our overall chair, and to Denise Hosier, assistant chair/publicity. So many of our members…
Our Sunday School families had a blast at the Pumpkin Party, which took place on Friday, October 27, 2023. They enjoyed hotdogs and pizza plus lots of goodies. There were games and prizes, and everyone won a prize for their costume! Thanks so much to Mary Ann Jones. Without her, we wouldn’t have a pumpkin…
Thank you for your support! Hi, St. Paul’s Family! We provided dinner for TWO Family Promise families from Sunday, October 22nd through Saturday, October 28th. On Sunday we delivered 3 meals to each family, one hot and 2 prepared with instructions on how to heat the meal up. On Wednesday we delivered 4 meals, one…