MAY EPISTLE 2025 by St. Paul's Episcopal Church

eThepisTle

St. Paul’s Church builds bridges — to God, to one another, to the city and beyond.

May 2025 May 2025

The RecToR A NoTe fRom

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I write this, it is 31° with light snow, but the weatherman has assured us that Spring has arrived and is bringing with it the signs of new life—flowers and trees blooming, birds singing, and the days growing longer. It is no coincidence that Easter, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, comes in this season of renewal. The world around us mirrors the promise of new life that we proclaim in our faith: that in Christ, hope is alive and we are always being made new.

Easter is a time of great joy and we are invited to step into the light of this good news, not just on Easter Sunday but every day, as resurrection people. Yet, finding joy can sometimes feel elusive. The demands of daily life, the weight of uncertainty, and the struggles of the world can make joy and hope seem distant.

So this season, I invite you to seek out joy and choose hope. Notice the ways in which God is bringing renewal into your life. Maybe you will find it in the kindness of a friend, the laughter of children, the beauty of creation, and the love we share in community. Celebrate small moments of gratitude (and note them down each day). Share in the Easter story by offering love and encouragement to others. And most of all, abide in the deep and lasting joy of knowing that Christ is alive.

May this Easter season fill your heart with hope, renewal, and abundant joy.

Your friend and Rector,

(The Rev’d) Robert A. Picken

Christian Education

pRogRAms foR AdulTs

Sunday Forum at 9:00 am

Bible Study

Sundays, May 4 - June 29

Begins at 9:00 am in the Vestry room. Join your fellow parishioners for a prayerful and structured conversation about the day’s Scripture lessons led by one of the clergy.

Sunday Book Group at 11:30 am

Cherished Belongings: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times

Sundays, May 4, 11, 18 & 25

Begins at 11:30 am in the Vestry Room. Cherished Belongings: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times by Gregory Boyle. Please order your own book. We will discuss Chapter 1 on May 4th. Open to all!

Dessert and Discussion at 7:00 pm

Discovering the Power of Prayer with The Rev. Julie Cicora Tuesday, May 13th

Join Julie for a discussion of the transformative and healing power of prayer for others and in our own lives.

Parish Picnic - June 8th

Save the date for the Parish Picnic! We will celebrate the end of the program year, look ahead to the coming summer, and rejoice for Pentecost on June 8th.

Keep your eyes peeled for information about the picnic, how you can help, and what to bring as celebrate together!

Archives Request

The archives committee appreciates donations of St. Paul’s memorabilia. Donated items help us fill in blanks in our parish story. We would request that these items be identified as much as possible with names and dates and occasions to help make historical connections.

Thank you!

music depARTmeNT sT. pAul’s

St Paul’s music program is building bridges with many upcoming events:

On May 18 at 5:00 pm, the St. Paul’s Choir will join singers from throughout the Diocese for a Diocesan Choir Concert featuring Baroque Music from the Bolivian Rain Forest. There will be 70 or more singers singing this delightful music.

If you want to sing in the concert there will be a rehearsal at 3:00 pm for anyone interested.

St. Paul’s is launching a choir tour to Ghana & the deadline for registration is Monday, May 19th!

This self-sustaining choir tour is open to anyone, singer or non-singer interested in the adventure of a lifetime, you do not have to sing to be a part of the choir tour. We will be spending about two weeks there and other places nearby to sing concerts and worship services, plus learn about their culture and history. You can learn more about the tour by going to stpaulsec.org/choirtour to see the brochure about the itinerary and other details. For more information, please contact John Sherer at jsherer@ stpaulsec.org.

Organist and Director of Music John Sherer delivered an exciting evening lecture recently on his other passion, the RMS Titanic, at the Chatterbox Club. The full house enjoyed the presentation, which included musical interludes.

On June 22 there will be an East Avenue Music Festival featuring music, food, and festivity at five churches on East Avenue. Join us for all or part of the day’s festivities which includes:

Third Presbyterian Church –Noon to 12:30 pm concert and food provided by area food trucks

Incarnate Word Lutheran Church –1:00 to 1:30 pm concert and food

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church –2:00 to 2:30 pm concert and food

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church –3:00 to 3:30 pm concert and food

Asbury United Methodist Church –4:00 to 4:30 pm concert featuring the combined choirs of all five churches and more food trucks

ST. PAUL’S YOUTH GROUP

StPaul’s Youth Group continues to meet twice a month on Sunday evenings in our wonderful Youth Room. Over the past couple of months we have begun to share reflections and Bible Study to our evenings together, and have had some great and faithful conversations.

We also worked together to prepare and serve a meal for the RIT/NTID campus ministry students. Our youth worked hard to cook up a great meal of baked ziti, garlic bread, salad, and dessert. We then brought it to campus where we joined the students for their Sunday evening worship before breaking bread together and sharing the meal with the students we were there to serve. We enjoyed the evening, and I am so appreciative for the opportunity to show our youth what it can look like to be a person of faith while you are at college.

Coming up, we will be going up Culver Road to help prepare the garden beds for the St Mark’s and St John’s community garden ministry. We are looking forward to this outreach opportunity, and to be able to help feed people in Rochester, although in a very different way than we did in March. After working in the gardens, we’ll only have a couple of more gatherings before breaking for the summer months.

St Paul’s Youth Group is open to all students in grades 6-12, including friends of our members! We meet on the first and third Sunday of each month from 4:30-6:30 in the Youth Room, and a meal is always provided.

VIRTUAL CAREGIVER Support Group

Facilitated by dementia expert, Brian Potvin, Director of Community Dementia Services with The Rev. Hilary Streever, ESLC Chaplain.

When:

Peer Support

Expert Guidance

Spiritual Encouragement

Safe & Welcoming Environment What to Expect:

Thank you to all who participated in and made our Holy Week and Easter liturgies meaningful and joyful celebrations!

Special thanks, of course, to our choirs and Altar Guild members who worked tirelessly throughout the week.

Congratulations to Rev. Jay who celebrated his 20th Anniversary of Ordination to his priesthood on Easter Sunday. The congregation acknowledged him then and at the reception following the Great Vigil of Easter.

eThepisTle

25 Westminster Road, Rochester, NY 14607

585.271.2240 • info@StPaulsEC.org StPaulsEC.org

The Rev. Robert Picken Rector

The Rev. Jay Burkardt Assistant Rector

The Rev. Sue Ouellette, Ph.D. Deacon

Dr. John W. W. Sherer

Organist & Director of Music

Augustine Sobeng Organ Scholar

Amy Welker

Director of Children & Youth Faith Formation

Candance Hoffman-Hussain

Susan Hall Sunday Child Care

Sonja Slother Director of Communications & Digital Ministry

Natosche Holt Parish Office Administrator

Judy McGrath

Parish Accountant

Lisa Werner

Accounting Assistant

Bob Potter

Property Manager

Dave McEntee

Maintenance Associate

Shrove Tuesday Mardi Gras Meal

REST IN PEACE

Merciful God, we entrust to your never-failing care and love Paula Zahniser

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord; And let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.