September 18 at 10am!

Join us to celebrate the coming of fall and a new, fun year of spirit, service, and sanctuary. Local family friendly band, The Roe Family Singers, will soothe our souls and get us tapping our feet with contemporary takes on traditional, old-time, and gospel music in worship.  And, we’ll welcome back Pastor Mariah!  After worship, join us for more live music from the Roe Family Singers, fresh pizza from the community bread oven, and refreshments on the lawn. We’ll have a bounce house for the kids! Families may register for youth & children’s programs, and everyone can find out how to get connected here at Hamline Church. Questions? Contact Heather (hgrantham@hamlinechurch.org) or David (dkozisek@hamlinechurch.org)

As a church, we are setting aside Wednesday, March 3^rd, 2021 to intentionally pray and spend time in communion with God. In addition to this time of prayer, we are also fasting. Prayer accompanied with intentional abstinence of something we regularly partake in has a unique ability to align our hearts with God.

From 6am-6pm Associate Minister Heather Grantham will send prayers for strength and wisdom every 3 hours (6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm) via text message and posting in the Hamline Church Facebook group. Sign up by emailing Heather your cell phone number (hgrantham@hamlinechurch.org) or sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4aa4ac2aa7f58-dayofprayer

What is a Day of Prayer and Fasting?

Prayer is simply spending time focusing on God, in community or in solitude. Fasting is when someone or a group of people (in unity) voluntarily abstain from an object or behavior they usually partake in for a spiritual purpose during a specific time. Some of us may choose to fast from food, tv, sweets, social media, news, doomscrolling, feelings of guilt, etc…

We invite you to use the time you would normally engage in this activity/behavior/object/habit to spend with God in prayer.

What does The United Methodist Church say about fasting?

There is a strong biblical base for fasting. Fasting has been a part of Methodism from its early beginnings. John Wesley considered fasting an important part of a Christian’s life and he fasted weekly. Wesley believed fasting allowed more time for prayer and was more meaningful if combined with giving to the poor. Wesley did advise caution against extreme fasting and against fasting for those in fragile health.

In The General Rules of the Methodist Church, we are asked to Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. Certain ways we can stay in love with God, as Bishop Reuben Job states in his book “Three Simple Rules”) are:

• • The public worship of God.
  • The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded.
  • The Supper of the Lord.
  • Family and private prayer.
  • Searching the Scriptures.
  • Fasting or abstinence.

Prayer and Fasting Helpful Suggestions

• What kind of fast will be most meaningful for you? Is it from a pattern of thought or from a food/drink or from social media? Write it down and share with our group.
• Plan your prayer time – when will you focus your attention on God? Heather will send texts and post in the Facebook group during the day on 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm. If you are fasting from technology, feel free to use your own prayers or use the ones on the back.
• Plan to abstain from your object/activity/behavior/habit from sunrise to sunset.

Suggested Prayers

My Heart Open Wide (prayer to say during fast)
I enter this sanctuary of fasting. I rest in the knowledge that I am your Beloved. I burrow in deep to your love. I wait in the stillness for vision. I feel the love of your heartbeat. I rest here and lay out my life to you the Holy One. I give you this moment to speak. I listen intently to sounds all around me. I breathe and give thanks for my life. I hear in the distance the sounds of the birds. I choose to let their song seep deep down inside. I see the great beauty of sunlight. I watch as it dances and fades. I trust in the light that you bring to my soul. I bask in your goodness, I soak in your ways. I remember the journey we’ve travelled. I feel you close at my side. I hold out my hand and invite you to lead. I’m waiting, I’m hoping, I’m watching. I’m listening, for your gentle hand on my life. I’m here with my heart open wide.
Amen

Julian of Norwich’s Body Prayer – “Oneing with God”
Body Prayer is comprised of four poses: Await, Allow, Accept, and Attend.

• The first pose, Await, is a posture of receiving, held with cupped hands extended at the waist to receive the presence of God.
• The second pose, Allow, is a posture of opening, reaching up with the hands open to the coming of God’s presence.
• The third pose, Accept, takes in whatever comes, standing with hands cupped at the heart.
• The final posture, Attend, is assumed with hands extended and palms open in willingness to act on what has been given.

While yoga evolved in India in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE, the movements of Julian of Norwich’s body prayer have much about them of the yoga sequence familiar to practicing yoga. The pose Await is reminiscent of the solid grounding found in mountain pose. Her second pose, Allow, recalls a sun salutation, which is initiated by raising the hands to meet above the head. The pose Accept suggests anjali mudra, the hands cupped at heart level pose of yoga prayer. The final pose Attend is reminiscent of extending the open hands to simply receive energy.

Simple Prayer to Break a Fast
Thank you for pouring new refreshment, peace and passion into my heart as I have fasted. Please help me to keep hold of this new treasure in my heart, as I return to my normal patterns of behaviors and habits. Please remind me each day to take real breaks from the normality of life, so that I might feast on your love and truth again. Thank you for your abundance and grace in my life. This day I celebrate your eternal goodness.
-Amen.

March is Minnesota Food Share Month.  Hamline Church participates in this drive every year and this year the need is particularly great.  As a result, we will be offering several opportunities to participate in the Food Share drive.

Drive-by Collection:  On Friday, March 12 from Noon – 4pm, we will have a focused collection effort in the church parking lot.  You can simply drive through the lot and we will have volunteers available to collect donated items from your car.   Keystone Community Services, our local food shelf provider, will provide a truck to pick up the collected food items at the end of the day.  COVID safety protocols will be observed to keep us all healthy.  

Pick-up Option:  If you can’t make it to the church on the 12th, but have items to donate, we will have some volunteer drivers available to pick up items from your home between 10am – Noon on March 12.  Watch for more details on this option in the weekly emails.  Contact Diane Krueger (dkkrueger@comcast.net) with questions.

Wednesday Drop offs:  If you are not able to participate in the March 12 collection, you can also bring your offerings to church any Wednesday in March between 10am – 2pm.  

Financial Donations: You can also donate on-line at hamlinechurch.org/give and select the fund “Minnesota Food Share.” If you wish to give cash, your check should be made out to Hamline Church, with MN Food Share or Keystone Services in the memo line.  

All donated items should be shelf stable, nutrient dense, and low sodium and easy open if possible. Suggestions include: applesauce, canned beans and other vegetables, canned meat (chicken, fish, ham, Spam), canned or dried fruit, crackers, peanut butter, instant mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, meals in a box, cooking oil, basic herbs and spices, whole grain cereal, and shelf stable liquid or powdered milk.  Small can openers are also useful.  A final note, boxes and paper sacks are always needed at the food shelf.  If you can deliver your items in a box or a paper sack that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your generosity!  

View a Keystone Info Sheet (pdf)

Sunday School Begins this Sunday!

Sunday School starts up again this coming Sunday, September 20 at 9:30 AM on-line.  Children ages 3 and up are invited to join us on Zoom at  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85766264892?pwd=OWVJUzJEenhUbWtFYzIwVVFTbTM0Zz09

We’ll divide into two Zoom Rooms:  the Pre-School Frolic Room, and the Action Bible Room.  For more information, contact Amy Ireland at asireland@hamlinechurch.org

Children & Youth Sign Up!

Please take two minutes to register your child or youth for our fall spiritual formation offerings.

Children and families: https://forms.gle/cGFPz8AkNNUufLJs9
Youth and families: https://forms.gle/soW5rbxCyX36QoyS7

Sunday School starts this Sunday, and you will be contacted next week about our Kids’ Minecraft Group and our Kids’ Bookclub.

Questions?  Contact Amy Ireland  asireland@hamlinechurch.org

Zoom Tour of SafeZone Drop-in Center for Homeless Youth

Sunday,  September 20 at 11:45 am
A thirty minute Zoom Tour of SafeZone is scheduled for Sunday for anyone who is interested. The Zoom link for this meeting is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3750459780?pwd=NjQyYnhJcnV3QlpTOFVQRXlMZUtndz09

Meeting ID: 375 045 9780
Passcode: 9GQY
Contact: stevebloom4592@gmail.com

Youth Group Kick-off Party

Sunday, September 20 at 1pm 
This Sunday all youth and friends of Hamline Church are invited to drop by Ginkgo’s Patio (721 Snelling Ave N, St Paul, MN 55104) from 1pm-2:30pm. Play some games, check in with one another, and get the schedule for the year. PLUS get a free ice cream/treat/drink from Ginkgo’s! Contact Ashley (ahoefker01@hamline.edu)

Confirmation Starts Next Sunday

Sunday, September 27 at 1pm
Confirmation at Hamline Church is a two-year program typically for seventh and eighth graders but older youth who have not already been confirmed are invited to attend as well. During this time, we explore what it means to confirm for ourselves the promises our parents made at Baptism. If you have a youth interested, please note that we meet on the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays at 1pm – first meeting (9/27) will be in person – meeting via zoom after that. Contact Heather (hgrantham@hamlinechurch.org).

Belated Card Shower for Frank Dreisbach

Hamline Church longtime friend and member, the Rev. Frank Dreisbach celebrated his 90^th birthday on September 13! We are asking EVERYONE (even if you don’t know him personally) to shower him with good wishes for this milestone birthday:
Rev. Frank Dreisbach
1749 Taylor Ave W
Saint Paul, MN 55104

Card Shower for Norma Fields

Norma Fields, mother of Hamline Church member Sharon Fields, will celebrate her 90^th birthday on October 4th! Norma is a lifelong United Methodist now living in a care center in Philadelphia. Sharon would be so appreciative of her Minnesota church family joining in the celebration by sending cards and well wishes:
Norma S Fields
2101 Belmont Ave
APT 3209 Old Main
Philadelphia, PA 19131

Sunday Morning Book Group

Sunday, September 27 at 9:00 AM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89331241754?pwd=ZVNQZEl6WGJ0WVdxK1JkRTFxSis1Zz09

Meeting ID: 893 3124 1754
Passcode: 512740

Join in via Zoom to discuss “The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy.”  Author Michael McCarthy traces his adoration of the natural world to when he was seven, when the discovery of butterflies and birds brought sudden joy to a boy whose mother had just been hospitalized. Krista Tippett, host of On Being at NPR, says “I have rarely discovered a book that so delighted and galvanized me at once.”

Contact Barb Edgar at edgar002@umn.edu.

Hamline Connects Group

This fall, Hamline Church is drawing on an age-old Methodist practice of relying on small groups to help us through these unprecedented times. In September everyone will be invited to participate in a Hamline Connects Group for the fall and winter. Each group will be shaped by a leader(s) and will collectively decide when and how to meet. Groups are encouraged to meet at least twice a month through Zoom, email, text, phone, or mail. Some groups may decide to meet in-person outdoors with masks and social distancing. Hamline Connects Groups are designed to create small groups within the congregation so that members and active friends of the church can stay connected, engaged, and cared for. For more info contact Heather Grantham (hgrantham@hamlinechurch.org)

Yearning for yarn?

League of women voters presents a Candidate Forum for District 66

Fiction & Fellowship

The church’s reading and discussion group, FICTION AND FELLOWSHIP, created by Kent and Diane Krueger, will begin its 21st year today at 4:30pm via ZOOM.

The group meets at 4:30pm on the 2nd Sunday evening each month. ALL ARE WELCOME even if you haven’t finished or even read that evening’s book. To have your name added to the mailing list, send a note to the church office: mfreberg@hamlinechurch.org.
Here are the books we selected:
September 13: The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg.
October 11: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
November 8: My Grandmother asked me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Bachman
December 13:* This Tender Land by Kent Krueger
* Date subject to change.

Join via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81445354127?pwd=M2ZFZHhDZWdzVDVsQ0xVaFdncUN0Zz09
Meeting ID: 814 4535 4127; Passcode: 988134

Pop-up mini concerts by The Bach Society

The Bach Society of Minnesota (BSM) is presenting a series of free, outdoor concerts throughout the Twin Cities this September. Each mini concert is performed by one professional classical musician from the Twin Cities community and lasts about 15 minutes.
Join us outside of Hamline Church on:

• Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 6:00 pm
  (Margaret Humphrey, violin)
• Friday, September 18, 2020 at 6:00 pm
  (Adrianna O’Brien, cello)

Music brings love, peace, and joy. We hope to bring the gift of music to your community in a safe, masked, socially distanced, and accessible way. Look for more info on our mini concert schedule and learn more about our new season at https://bachsocietymn.org/.

Online Town Hall Forum

Tuesday, September 15 at 7:30 pm via Zoom
The Hamline Church Council invites you to a conversation and update on Hamline Church’s ministry and how we are adapting and innovating in the midst of the pandemic. The forum topics include: finances, capital projects, fall programming, and online/in-person worship. All are welcome!
Join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82729931291

Fall Book Study

The fall book study will begin Sunday, September 27 and be led by Barb Edgar. The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy by Michael McCarthy. Nature has many gifts for us, among them the joy that can serve as a defense for us in a world where nature is ever more threatened by climate change and inadequate sustainable development. We will meet on Sunday mornings at 9 am on Zoom for our discussions. One or two books should be available from the church office. Contact Barb Edgar for more information (edgar002@umn.edu).

Hamline Connects Group

This fall, Hamline Church is drawing on an age-old Methodist practice of relying on small groups to help us through these unprecedented times. In September everyone will be invited to participate in a Hamline Connects Group for the fall and winter. Each group will be shaped by a leader(s) and will collectively decide when and how to meet. Groups are encouraged to meet at least twice a month through Zoom, email, text, phone, or mail. Some groups may decide to meet in-person outdoors with masks and social distancing. Hamline Connects Groups are designed to create small groups within the congregation so that members and active friends of the church can stay connected, engaged, and cared for. For more info contact Heather Grantham (hgrantham@hamlinechurch.org)