!!!!!!!!!! Happy New Year !!!!!!!!!!

As I look out the window, I am trying to see what
the New Year 2012 will bring. We have planned and
organized the English Language Learners (ELL) classes
and the Academic Resource Center (ARC) tutoring
opportunities with a great deal of effort, and we will
officially celebrate our first year’s anniversary of the
programs on January 9 and February 9, respectively, as
classes and tutoring schedules resume. And, as the New
Year of 2012 unfolds, I am confident that many of our
members will support these programs as volunteers.

We have a lot for which to be thankful to the Lord
as we continue in our efforts to serve others in His name.
Our membership has increased and a great deal of
interest has been in fellowship activities. Our December
Consecrated Dinner—turkey with all the added fixings—
was a tremendous success. We served nearly 185
people and everyone went home with good feelings
about St. Paul’s Church. That is important!

It is also very important that we see ourselves as
a community church that is thriving among the so many
urban churches that have witnessed drastic declines.
Every Sunday our worship attendance averages nearly
150. This, of course, includes the Sunday School
teachers and children that meet downstairs during regular
worship (except for the first Sunday of every month that is
designated family worship Sunday). This is a great thing
to see happening as we now have 30 children in Sunday
School and 8-10 volunteers assisting with teaching responsibilities.

It makes one feel good about St. Paul’s. It is also
important to recognize the fact that (in addition to our
Sunday School age children) we have nearly 30 kids in
high school and/or college. This is important because it
reflects the need for the newly launched ARC (Academic
Resource Center) that we have recently dedicated. It is
good to support the needs of our young people in order to
help them in their academic pursuits, and it is a good
thing for all kids who are looking for tutors and one-onone
assistance in the areas of math, science, English or
whatever else might be available.

Among many other blessings, these programs
designed for our congregation and for the local
community have been an exciting development over the
course of 2011. And, I am certain they will prove to be
even more exciting in the New Year 2012 as we continue
to increase the number of both volunteers and students.

So then, as we move into the New Year, we need
to give thanks to the Lord for His blessings and pray that
we make the best of every opportunity to better serve
Him in the days to come.

God bless and Happy New Year!