Category: Pastor’s Blog

A Word from Pastor Anne
Looking to the Future, Living Faithfully Today

Is it already September?! I hope you had some time to rest and be refreshed this summer.

I know many of you have been busy this summer with the church family at the church picnic, serving with the Vacation Bible School, at Abode Shelter, at Aegis and Carlton Plaza, enjoying a meal at the SPY Spaghetti Dinner, small group social outings, SPY retreat and so much more!

We have been seeing new guests and visitors joining in worship and the many activities as people invite family, friends and neighbors to meet, see and join our community.

With the Ministry Center steadily moving along, the excitement is tangible. Many of our long time members cannot contain their excitement that it is finally happening! So many have prayed, planned and waited so faithfully for many years!

Now that the Ministry Center is getting closer, what will we do with it once it is done?!

Our Preschool Board is busy working with Precious Time Christian Preschool Director, Wanda Sawicka, preparing to expand our license for the new space. Kingdom Kidz team led by Children’s Minister, Nina Bautista, is putting in place policies to help maintain safety and quality for a growing ministry to children. Their mission is “We are planting seeds for children to experience Jesus so that they may accept and follow him as their Lord and Savior. Building up the Kingdom one child at a time, one Sunday at a time.”

Others are exploring starting an afterschool homework club and summer ministry for children. Last Saturday our Core team had a time of dreaming and brainstorming possibilities of “What if?” as we look to our new reality of having a Ministry Center.

“God is coming!” was a word from God to me and to us last fall. We are seeing the reality of that among us in our increasing activities, enthusiasm, Spirit filled presence, caring, forgiving, sharing, people and so much more!

This month we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary of the SPUMC church community beginning and 20th anniversary in our present building. There is so much to be grateful for and give witness to of God’s faithfulness here at SAINT PAUL.

This special anniversary kicks off a series of fall activities this year. With our theme of Evangelism, think about who you could invite to one or more of these special events.

• The CROP Walk moves to the fall on Sunday, September 28th, as we serve the community by raising money and awareness for hungry people. We join other churches in Fremont walking, sponsoring, biking and skating around Lake Elizabeth.
• “A Thanksgiving Event” dinner dance will be on Saturday, October 18th, to raise funds and give thanks for our coming Ministry Center. That evening will be full of fun, food and dancing!
• Our United Methodist Men (UMM) host their 4th Annual Charity Golf Tournament. There is always beautiful weather to play golf, good company and food.

There is something for everyone to join in! God is mightily at work among us. Let’s join with Him and one another. The Kingdom of God is near! Thanks be to God!

A Word from Pastor Sun Hee
Hello dear SAINT PAUL friends! I hope that summer is treating you well, and that God is filling you and blessing you through what is hopefully a slower paced, less busy few months of summer. By the time you read this, I will be in Korea on my personal time of trying to slow down, renew, recreate and simply take a break from the many demands and pressures of ministry and other work-related responsibilities. In the world of clergy life, we simply call this “self-care”, and frankly, not many pastors are really good at it. Countless articles and research talk about the high rate of pastoral burn-out, and how many are even leaving the life of ministry. Well, friends, I assure you, I plan on NOT being one of them. Honestly, I love the ministry too much! That’s why times like these are so very precious for me.

Many of you know that one of my primary reasons to visit Korea from time to time is to reconnect with my family that I miss so very much – my mother and father, my brother and sister, my nephews. Many of you might know that my mother is undergoing treatments for Macular Degeneration on a monthly basis. It will be my first time to see her and be able to be there for her. I am grateful for this opportunity to see her and for her to be able to see us. Connecting with your family and friends is very important part of healthy and balanced life. Of course, eating all the amazing and delicious Korean food is also part of the agenda while I’m there. I will be also glad that I will be taking this time to take a break… a break preaching, from administrative duties, from pastoral care and counseling, from meetings, and yes, even from emails! (by the way, if you sent me an email in the past couple of weeks and haven’t heard from me, this is the reason why!) And all of this is in the spirit of self-care.

There is one thing, though, that I will not be taking a break from while I am away… and that is prayer. While I know that people need to rest from their regular duties and routines of life, one thing that we can never ever completely give up is this discipline of prayer. Connecting to God in this way is a part of self-care. In fact, without prayer, none of the other efforts of self-care will really matter. So, while I’m away for these few short weeks, please know that I will be praying. Especially, I will be praying a prayer of thanks for all of you – the faithful members and leaders of SAINT PAUL – that allow me to take a break like this. I will be praying prayers of gratitude for the amazing things that are happening in our ministry right now, and I will be praying prayers of blessing over all of you, that God may keep you all in His care and love and encouragement.

And I hope that you will all be praying for me and Kevin as well. As we travel, enjoy time with family, take in huge amounts of Korean calories, and take time to renew, please pray for our safety and blessing! Also, please keep my mother in your prayers. Thank you all for all that you do! See you in a couple weeks!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Sun Hee

A Word from Pastor Anne
Being God’s People of Peace

Is it summer already!? I think I say that every year…

I love warm weather. Shorts, ice cream, bbq, great summer fruits and vegetables. I wish I had a good shaveice place nearby.

Some summers are relaxing and mellow. This summer there is a lot of change going on! We had a large group of high school and college graduates this year. They and their families are moving into that next stage of life in college or the work place.

Here at church we celebrated Father’s Day with a wonderful worship led by our United Methodist Men (UMM), lunch by our Fellowship team and Ground breaking for the Ministry Center. Construction has started and is moving steadily along! It can be noisy here at church during the week. See the Building Corner!

Even change that we want can be fun and exciting and also unknown and scary. We can look forward to what might be and anxious about the unknown all at the same time. And then there are undesirable changes that happen – health problems, broken relationships, disappointments and failures. These can leave us hurting and overwhelmed.

I am excited to do a preaching series on Being People of Peace (BPOP).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

As Christians, shouldn’t we be peaceful? After all, Christ is our peace! And yet, we can feel as challenged to hold on to peace as anyone else. Are there others in the Bible like us? What did they do? What does a communityof peace look like and how do we become a greater reflection of God’s Kingdom?

We start with the story of Gideon in Judges 6-8. He was chosen by God to serve God and turn people’s hearts back to the LORD. Gideon was used mightily by God to do good. While he was very faithful, he still had a lot of questions, doubts and fears. Gideonreturned again and again to talk with and seek God’s leading.

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

This is one of the top favorite verses of our congregation members. Where does that strength and peace come from? What is God really saying to us? Join us to find out and learn more.

As our Ministry Center progresses, people are thinking about different ministries and uses for the new space. The Holy Spirit is moving and stirring in powerful ways and bringing others to become and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ with us. Change is happening and will continue as our community grows. Are you ready to be part of that change? We need God’s peace to stay focused, to not be anxious and to stay strong together.

Let’s be God’s People of Peace together! BPOP!