CONNECTIONSt. Peter’s

VOL. 6, No. 12January 15, 2016

Connecting the World with God’s Love

THIS ISSUE:New Family

Worship ServicesOn fifth Sundays of the

month, all of our services

will emphasize the

importance of families

worshiping together.

Small Groups for Adults

Look for information on

all of our small group

studies that are starting

up this month.

20775 Kingsland Blvd., Katy, Texas 77450 (281) 492-8031 www.stpkaty.org

continued on page 6

On Sunday morning you walk into worship. Someone greets you at the door. Another person hands you a bulletin. As you settle into

the pew or chair, you no-tice that there are plenty of prayer request cards, offering envelopes, and other supplies neatly arranged in the racks or in the attendance folder. The worship slides tell you about opportunities during the week and help you participate in worship. Someone passes the offering plates and during communion directs you when to go to the front. You notice the bread has been placed in baskets and the cups are filled with juice. Almost all of these things happen because St. Peter’s members have vol-unteered their time to help ensure we have meaningful worship experi-

The Children’s Christmas Eve worship service required the help of many volunteers of all ages, including singers, readers, actors, greeters, and ushers.

Volunteers make big impact at St. Peter’s

Dear Friends in Christ,I recently read an article by Dr. Thomas Rainer about the unchurched. It

is called “Top Ten Surprises About the Unchurched.” Here is his list:1. Most prefer to attend church on Sunday

morning if they attend. 2. Most feel guilty about not attending

church. 3. 96 percent are somewhat likely to at-

tend church if invited. 4. Very few have had someone share how

to become a Christian with them. Chris- tians have not been particularly influ- ential in their lives.

5. Most have a positive view of pastors, ministers, and the Church.

6. Many have a church background. 7. Most cold-call evangelism is not effec-

tive; yet Christians who are able to share their faith in casual conver- sations can be effective.

8. They would like to develop a real and sincere relationship with a Chris- tian.

9. They are not a monolithic group. 10. Many are far more concerned about their children’s spiritual well-

being than their own.I think this says volumes about what we should be doing as Christians

and as members of St. Peter’s. Sharing our faith and inviting others to church are significant aspects of living out our mission statement of “con-necting the world with God’s love.”

Blessings,

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Dr. Pat Sparks, Senior Pastor

Pat

Surprises about the unchurched

Open Hearts will meet Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in

E225. Open Hearts is a support group for families and friends of LGBT per-sons. We offer a safe and affirming setting for those who desire understanding, education, and support. We welcome anyone to be a part of this group, whether you need support or can provide support. For more information, please contact Elaine Saunders at esaunders@stpkaty.org or (281) 492-8031.

Open Hearts Support Group

The Job Search Assistance Group meets every Wednesday starting Jan. 27 for those needing help with an employment search or job change. We

meet from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in S212. John Caudill will present information on search tactics, networking, resumes, and interviewing for both general and individual job searches.

Come join this small group where many have found new employment. Registration is requested but not required. For information or to register, please contact John at (281) 600-8138 or j.caudill@qualitec.com. If you can-not make the meetings, feel free to contact John at any time.

Job Search Assistance Group begins Jan. 27

Much of what makes St. Peter’s a great church

goes on behind the scenes. Many volunteers take care of the small things that allow our worship services and ministries to connect the world with God’s love. We are looking for two more of these volunteers who can come to the Sanc-tuary every other Monday morning to straighten the items in the pews and restock them as needed. If you can serve St. Peter’s in this way, please contact Barbara Allen or Jack Cudd at (281) 578-7627.

Sanctuary volunteers needed

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We4 offers a weekly devotional, crafts,

games, stories, mission activities, and more for children who are 3 years old through fifth grade. We4 begins again on Jan. 27. Online registration is at stpkaty.org.

Contact Children’s Min-istries at (281) 492-8031 for more information.

We4 for kidsresumes Jan. 27

Saturday, Jan. 16, 9 to 11 a.m. in Asbury Hall

All current and incoming 2016 members of the Finance

Committee, Board of Trustees, Church Council, and Staff

Parish Relations Committee are asked to attend.

St. Peter’s Leadership Orientation and Church

Council Meeting

St. Peter’s is pleased to announce Ed Barron has

been named Building Oper-ations and Maintenance Di-rector. Please contact him at ebarron@stpkaty.org or facilities@stpkaty.org for any building use inquiries or maintenance issues. We are excited to have Ed on staff in this capacity, so please congratulate him on his new position.

St. Peter’s is seeking a full-time, experienced administrative assistant to the lead pastor/membership administrative assistant. Applicants

should have proficiency in MS Office, including Outlook, and must have demonstrated proficiency in multitasking.

Experience in a church environment is desired but not required. Applicants must be organized and detail oriented. Strong communica-tion skills, written and verbal, are key to this role. Please submit your resume to anix@stpkaty.org for consideration.

Administrative Assistant to Lead Pastor/Membership

All women are invited to join us Jan. 25 at 12:30 p.m. in Asbury

Hall for our monthly Harvest Minis-try Tea.

Joey Swarts will speak about what it means spiritually to give your children back to God, know-ing they are His children given to us to love and rear. She also will be sharing what it is like to raise godly children with Asperger’s. Joey has a background in psychology and is the mother of two teenage boys.

Nursery will be available, and light refreshments will be provided. For more information, please con-tact Whitney Peper at wpeper19@gmail.com.

Women’s HarvestMinistry Tea

New BuildingOperationsDirector

We will meet Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m. in S209 for

a time of caring and shar-ing. For more information, contact Beverly Deerhake at (281) 372-8389.

St. Peter’s is hiring a full-time Operations Assistant to work eve-nings and weekends. Applicants must have proficient computer

skills and general repair experience including plumbing, electrical, and possibly HVAC as well as the ability to be flexible and assist with facil-ity set up and campus maintenance.

A minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent with at least two years of related job experience required. Please submit your resume to ebarron@stpkaty.org.

Welcome to Our New Members

John Parrella and Jennifer Decker-ParrellaAustin and Amy Richards

Operations Assistant

St. Peter’s Employment Opportunities

Alzheimer’s Support Group

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Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego survived the fiery furnace and are coming to St. Peter’s in January. On Tuesday mornings, beginning Jan.

19, we will offer a study of the first six chapters of Daniel, the man Jesus calls a prophet in Matthew.

The 12-week class, which will meet at 9:30 a.m., will include video pre-sentations by Hebrew scholar Michael D. Matlock, an associate professor of Old Testament and early Judaism at Asbury Theological Seminary. He will focus on how we can survive, even thrive, in exile and under pressure—without compromising.

You can sign up at the Information Desk in the Lobby. Cost of the study manual is $16.

Daniel: Thriving under pressure

The Psalms present an honest and sometimes raw expression of human experience and emotion, from praise, thanksgiving, and wonder to

doubt, anger, and grief. The psalmists were not afraid to put their deepest emotions into words that were read, sung, or prayed to God.

But the Psalms also give us a vibrant description of God’s nature and the promise that we can confidently place our trust and hope in him.

Please join us for the six-week study “The Psalms: Can I Really Say That to God?” Wednesday nights beginning Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in S101. The only book you will need is your Bible. You can register at stpkaty.org.

The Psalms: Can I Really Say That to God?

Grace NotesYoakum Trip. On Feb. 19, the KEYS group will be traveling to Yoakum, Texas, a historical railway town, which was part of the Chisholm Trail and is known as the tomato capi-tal of south-central Texas. We will visit leathercraft stores featuring saddles, bridles, wallets, belts, and purses at affordable prices. The only cost is for your lunch. Sign up soon at the KEYS bulletin board in the Lobby; seats will fill quickly. For information, call Mark or Lura Padgett at (281) 647-9555.Christmas Lights at the Zoo. The KEYS group cel-ebrated the Christmas holi-days with a walking tour of the Houston Zoo. The eve-ning began with dinner at the Cleburne Cafeteria. At the zoo, there were more than 2 million twinkling and colorful lights, decora-tions, and sounds of the season. The talking zebra was a favorite attraction. The 37 participants were interested to learn that all the decorations are put up and taken down by zoo employees.

Are you looking for a clearer picture of your spiritual gifts? A better un-derstanding of what God’s will is for your life? A chance to grow person-

ally and spiritually? If so, you are invited to take part in an eight-week course called Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts. In this course we will explore what spiritual gifts are and where they come from, identify clues to our gifts, explore what the Bible says about gifts, and discuss how to develop and use spiritual gifts in our lives. This course starts Jan. 27 from 7- 8 p.m. in E106 on the main campus. A registration fee of $20 covers the cost of materials. Register at stpkaty.org.

How are you using your spiritual gifts?

KIDS JAM resumes rehearsals Wednesday,

Jan. 27, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. We have

four choirs for children ages 4 through fifth

grade. For information, please contact Anne

O’Quinn at annieroonie@sbcglobal.net.

KIDS JAM Children’s Choirs

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PRAYERSBonnie Bell, Lynn Bortka, Dennis Bowling, Kim Col-lins, Faunelle Deaton, John Duffield, Doug Folts, Shirley Franklin, Caleb Gore, Art Hen-derson, Mike Ibarguen, Brian Jones, Oscar Jones, Don Kennedy, Wanda Klaus, Mary Leigh, Ralph Lovell, Betty Marsh, Maynard Robertson, Kathryn Sadowski, Anne Scruggs, Cheryl Swift, and Annabelle Turner.

SYMPATHYTo Barbara Clark and family on the death of her mother.To Monique Dougherty and family on the death of her father.To Rosemarie Foster and family on the death of her husband, Rev. Jim Foster.To Lucinda Grzelczyk and family on the death of her brother.To Diane Rowton and family on the death of her father.

PRAYERS FOR OUR MILITARY

Tim and Alison Batig, John Belsha, Will Brandt, Skyler Cook, Austin Foster, Westley Freeze, James Gilbert, Tyler J. Gorcie, Dylan Greismeyer, Stephen Travis Harding, Adam Higdon, Matthew Ivester, Mike Linn, Ryan Lueders, Blake Nunes, Cam-eron Nunes, Ryan O’Quinn, Matthew Platz, Shawn Platz, Hamilton Rencurrel, Jack Ritchie, Don Rolleg, Ben Saunders, Jacob Shinkle, John Simmons, and Jasen Wilson.

In Our Prayers

December 24Traditional Worship3:00 618 5:00 1,2337:00 7109:00 41311:00 259The Element4:00 1665:30 126Living Stones 386TOTAL 3,911

December 27Traditional Worship8:30 889:45 18211:00 249The Element9:45 7611:00 99SPLASH 39Living Stones 103Living Stones Students/Kids 30TOTAL 866

ST. PETER’S ATTENDANCEJanuary 3Traditional Worship8:30 1779:45 18411:00 398The Element9:45 6211:00 118SPLASH 60Living Stones 166Living Stones Students/Kids 61TOTAL 1,226

January 10Traditional Worship8:30 1749:45 37711:00 431The Element9:45 7511:00 146SPLASH 78Living Stones 186Living Stones Students/Kids 118TOTAL 1,585

Be sure to visit the ECDC hallways to see the new murals painted by local artist Jeff Strickland. He said he tries to produce art that will encourage children to imagine them-selves in the scene and create stories about what could be happening there.

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Connecting the World With God’s Love

Better Bodies is an ex-ercise class for senior

adults that meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Quad.

The group averages between 18 and 22 par-ticipants and includes men and women. Some mem-bers come to the class early so they can socialize.

If you are interested in participating in Better Bod-ies, contact Patsy Stanley at patsystanley5@com-cast.net.

Senior adultexercise class

We have two opportunities for you to connect the world with God’s love through service this month. You can sign up in the Lobby on Sunday or by contacting Nathan Bledsoe at nbledsoe@stpkaty.org.

Compassion Katy Habitat. We need volunteers to complete House #1 that was started last September, including exterior and interior painting, hanging cabinets and doors, and completing interior trim work. You will be added to the Compassion Katy volunteer notification system that will e-mail you details of how to sign up for individual build days. Christ Clinic. Christ Clinic needs help packing at their current location and unpacking at their new location. Also, they will need help cleaning the old facility. Once the schedule has been finalized by Christ Clinic, we will alert you to the dates/time.

The Journey Men’s Group will present a six-session

small group video class on “Twisting the Truth” by Andy Stanley.

Join us starting Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in S209 as we learn about some com-mon ways God’s truth gets twisted. Each one has the potential to damage your relationships, cloud your decisions, and distort your perception of God. Register at stpkaty.org.

Twisting the Truth

ences each Sunday.These are just a few of the ways our members participate in the life of

St. Peter’s through service. Some volunteers are visible and some work behind the scenes in a variety of ways. For example, before Christmas Eve, our team of bulletin volunteers helped print, fold, and stuff more than 3,600 worship bulletins. And that was in addition to the 2,200 bulletins needed for the Sundays before and after Christmas.

Sometimes a person’s willingness to volunteer for something simple has a big impact on others. During the Living Stones Christmas Eve ser-vice at Cinco Ranch High School, one volunteer sat behind a curtain by a light switch to turn the lights off and on at the appropriate time during the candlelight service.

In The Element, the media operator has volunteered in that position since our contemporary service began in 2009. Pastor Kris Bagley said she is an inspiration to everyone in The Element. “On Sundays you’ll see her singing, raising her hands, and really worshiping as she leads us through the different worship media,” he said.

One volunteer group that many at St. Peter’s may not be aware of is the Grace in Grief Team. These volunteers put together a memorial service re-ception for family members and friends, usually with only a few days’ notice, arranging refreshments for groups that range from very small to as large as 1,000 people. They also prepare the Parlor with refreshments for the family and provide assistance to funeral home or florist staff or those attending.

We currently are in need of volunteers to help with straightening the pews in the Sanctuary every other Monday and to help with the Grace in Grief Team. But volunteers are always welcome in any of these areas. If you would like to help, please contact the church office at (281) 492-8031.

Volunteers continued from page 1

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Jan. 18 – 24MONDAY

Isaiah 62:1-5TUESDAY

Psalm 36:1-12WEDNESDAY

1 Corinthians 12:1-11THURSDAYJohn 2:1-11

FRIDAYIsaiah 61:1-7SATURDAY

James 1:22-27SUNDAY

Amos 5:10-15

Jan. 25 – 31MONDAY

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10TUESDAYPsalm 19

WEDNESDAY1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

THURSDAYLuke 4:14-21

FRIDAYJonah 3:1-10SATURDAYJonah 4:1-11

SUNDAYPhilippians 4:4-9

DailyBible

Reading

Don’t miss the best golf tournament in Katy, benefitting our high school seniors’ mission trip to Jamaica! Join us at Pine Forest Country Club

Monday, Feb. 15, for a four-man scramble, dinner, and awards. We’ll also have a great auction with many items for the whole family. Registration be-gins Jan. 4. Cost is $125 by Feb. 7. Go to stpstudentministries.org to register.

For information, contact Heather at hharmison@stpkaty.org or (281) 944-4929.

Jamaica Golf Tournament benefits mission trip

At St. Peter’s, we know the importance of children seeing their parents make worship a priority, and as a church we want to encourage and

assist in that. We are excited to announce that on every fifth Sunday of the month, beginning Jan. 31, all of our worship services will be Family Worship Services, in which we will encourage families to worship together.

This will be a time for families to worship, pray, and sing together. Dur-ing these services we will be directing the messages and music to engage children and spark conversations with parents. There will be a children’s moment, activity tables for children in the worship venues, kids’ Bibles in the pews, and children’s bulletins.

Our prayer is that the entire congregation attends with their children and enjoys this exciting new service in the life of our church. If you no lon-ger have young children, we ask that you come and show support for the families who might be bringing their children to worship for the first time.

We will not offer Sunday School, SPLASH, or SPLISH SPLASH for our chil-dren on the fifth Sundays. Childcare will be provided for children 3 and younger. For more information, please contact the Children’s Ministries office at (281) 492-8031.

Family Worship begins on fifth Sundays

St. Peter’s Events CalendarSaturday, Jan. 169:00 a.m. Leadership Orientation Asbury HallSunday, Jan. 174:00 p.m. Women’s Cancer Support Group S205Monday, Jan. 18Rev. Martin Luther King holidayChurch offices closed1:30 p.m. Alzheimer’s Support Group S209Tuesday, Jan. 199:30 a.m. Grace Notes Women’s Ensemble E106 Beth Moore Study S201 Daniel Study E2256:30 p.m. Beth Moore Study E225Thursday, Jan. 217:00 p.m. Open Hearts Support Group E225Monday, Jan. 2512:30 p.m. Harvest Ministries Tea Asbury HallTuesday, Jan. 269:30 a.m. Grace Notes Women’s Ensemble E106 Beth Moore Study S201 Daniel Study E2256:30 p.m. Beth Moore Study E2257:00 p.m. Women of Joy S203Wednesday, Jan. 276:30 p.m. Wedesday Night Small Groups Various We4 Wednesdays for Everyone E120 KIDS JAM Children’s Choirs E221Friday, Jan. 295:00 p.m. Girlfriend Getaway Retreat Round Top

Detailed weekly calendars of St. Peter’s events are available on our website.

Men’s Breakfast

All men are invited to come to the Wataburger at 23540 Wes-

theimer Pkwy. for breakfast and fel-lowship on Thursdays at 8 a.m. This is a great way to get to know other men at St. Peter’s. No reservations are needed.

Sunday Worship 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship with Holy Communion

9:45 a.m. Traditional Worship

The Element Contemporary Worship

Sunday School for All Ages

10:30 a.m. Living Stones St. Peter’s West Campus at Cinco Ranch High School

11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship

The Element Contemporary Worship

SPLASH Children’s Worship

Sunday School for Adults

Sixth- through 12th-graders are welcome to attend Mid-Winter

Camp at Forest Glen Feb. 26-28.Registration forms and informa-

tion are available at stpstudentmin-istries.org or in the Wesley Student Center.

We will need adult leaders! Cost is $150. Registration forms are due by Jan. 17.

Student Ministries Mid-Winter Camp