Dear Friends,
Recently, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Milwaukee has begun producing The Apostle as an online offering that’s continually being updated rather than issuing a paper newsletter on a monthly basis. As a service to those who don’t use e-mail, we’ve printed the current stories that are published online at https://stpaulsmilwaukee.org, and offer them to you here. If you have questions or concerns, or want to cancel your subscription to this paper version, please call Lynne at St. Paul’s at 414-276-6277. Blessings and best wishes from St. Paul’s!
Help Us Flower the Church for Christmas
Christmas is coming! Please consider making a generous gift to the parish’s flower fund so we can offer a beautiful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service that delights the congregation and honors the birth of Our Lord.
To ensure that your memorial and thanksgiving designations are recorded in the Christmas worship bulletins, please make sure we receive your gift and your designations no later than Sunday, December 14, 2025.
Download, complete, and print the donation form now! Or just email the church office: office@stpaulsmilwaukee.org
Got news to share?
It’s easy to get your news and information published to the parish. Here’s how to do it:
The primary news vehicle now is the website, which in turn provides the content for weekly email updates to the entire parish community. To get your content published, write it up as a news story with as little formatting as possible – just the text – and email it to us at info@stpaulsmilwaukee.org. Tips for an effective announcement:
- Use news format: That means standard prose in paragraph form and complete sentences. Imagine that what you’re writing will be published as a new story (not a display ad) in a newspaper. A news story is not the same as a poster or flier, and posters and fliers are ineffective as website content.
- Don’t bury the lead: Get to the point. Remember that people skim these stories, and if you don’t get their attention with actual information in the first sentence, they won’t read your message. A bad “news story” begins with old church newsletter saws like “Got the winter blues and want some have some fun Milwaukee style? Come one, come all! Get your dancing shoes on! The entire parish invites you to …” Ugh! just tell us what you want us to know!
- Write in the third person. Assume that the reader doesn’t know who you are.
- Headline: You should write a headline for your story. A good headline is short, uses active voice, and is informative. Examples of bad headlines: “Treasurer’s report”, “Service to be held”, “Bad news to report” or “Just a reminder”. Good examples: “Adult formation resumes for February”, “Prison ministry seeks members”, or “Evensong features Bruce Springsteen”.
- Photo: Our website automatically crops photos to a standard shape, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, horizontal. And in some cases, it crops even more, to 19:6 horizontal. Remember that when you’re submitting photos. If your photo is vertical, make sure there is enough room on either side that it can be cropped to horizontal. If you are able to crop it yourself, that’s very helpful. Keep the subject of your photo in the very center for best results.
- Copyright issues: Copyright holders routinely scan websites, including those of churches, looking for copyright violations. Make sure you don’t submit copyrighted materials, including photos, unless you have permission to publish it on the website. If that’s the case, please make sure to include copyright info (e.g., “Photo by Lee Matz, © 2018. All rights reserved. Used by permission.”)
- Contact info: Wherever possible, include contact information with your story. If you list a person’s name as the contact person, make sure you also provide an email address or phone number. Check out, for example, the last bullet point below. But also consider this:
- Privacy: Remember that our website is public. Don’t publish an email address, phone number, or any other personal information unless you have the subject’s permission.
- Embargo and expire: It’s a great idea to send news items well ahead of the dates you want it published. It’s very helpful if you give us a start and stop date for news items. Our software can honor those dates automatically, so you can be extremely precise. For example, you can have a message appear automatically at 3 a.m. if you like, and especially helpful for events, your news item can expire at a precise time. So a music event might be set to expire one hour after it starts. That helps us make sure our website is as fresh as possible.
- Questions: Contact us at info@stpaulsmilwaukee.org!
Parking Options for Sunday Morning
Sunday parking is available across the street in the Lincoln Center school lot, 820 E Knapp Street.
St. Paul’s small parking lot is found north of the church building. Enter it from Marshall Street between E Knapp and N Marshall Streets. The parking lot is the preferred option for newcomers and those with ambulatory concerns.
Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors at Jewish Family Services, we are happy to be able to offer additional Sunday morning parking options in the Jewish Family Services parking lot (1300 N Jackson Street, Milwaukee). They have ask that we please NOT park in the spots marked “reserved,” but other than that are happy to host us, with the caveat that they are not liable for any damage to cars that may be incurred while parked in their lot. Jewish Family Services is approximately 0.2 miles from St. Paul’s (about a 4 minute walk). You do not need to display any stickers or other paperwork in order to park there on a Sunday morning.
And don’t forget about The HOP as another option! The HOP light rail system has a stop at Ogden and Astor, right by the church, and is still free.
However you arrive, we look forward to seeing you on Sunday morning for worship!
Making Lunches for The Gathering
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped make sack lunches for The Gathering! Our November sandwich date is Friday, November 28 at 3 pm.
Sandwich making will continue at 3 pm on the fourth Friday of the month (unless otherwise indicated).
We are always looking for a few more volunteers! Please contact John Cain (johnhowardcain@gmail.com) for more information or to sign up!
St. Paul’s Children’s Corner!
A few folks teamed up to transform a corner of our Sanctuary into a little sanctuary for young ones on Sunday mornings! This space has a little rocker and big rocker, foam flooring, books, and quiet activities for active bodies and minds during church. Kids are always welcome in church during worship – you might surprised what is absorbed while getting the wiggles out!
We have also recently hired two nursery caregivers for Sunday mornings, Skyler and Tess. Using the daycare space on the main floor, this will allow parents of little ones to have a focused worship experience if they choose. This space is available for kids up through five years old. Kids older than five are encouraged to use the Children’s Corner and/or participate with their families in the pews.
St. Paul’s Thrift Shop Donation Requests!
Are you ready to part from Grandma’s China, or Aunt Gertrude’s Hummel collection? You are in luck!
Please keep us in mind when wanting to make donations. Whether you have sets of dishes, glassware, common kitchen items, or collectables, we’ll take it all! We also accept small scale furniture, electronics and artwork.
Our clothing inventory is solid right now, so hang onto those items a little longer and we’ll take them closer to winter.
If you have any questions regarding donations, please email Matt at mpamperin@icloud.com
St. Paul’s Thrift Shop Hours:
Every Saturday, 10 am – 2 pm
Second and Fourth Tuesday of the month, 10 am – 2pm
Church Directory
Would you like a copy of the church photo directory emailed to you? Contact Cindy in the office for a PDF copy: cindy@stpaulsmilwaukee.org
Pause and Pray With Us on Tuesdays!
Join us on Tuesdays from 12:00-12:30 p.m. for 30 minutes of prayer, reflection from the Christian tradition, and meditative music.
Serving Lunches for The Gathering
Every 2nd Saturday of the month we are scheduled to serve in-person lunches from 10 am to 1 pm with the Gathering. Our next serving date will be Saturday, December 13, and we will be at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1236 S. Layton Boulevard.
If interested, please contact John Cain (johnhowardcain@gmail.com)
Save the Date for Lessons and Carols!
On Sunday, December 21st at 4:30 pm, the St. Paul’s choir will offer a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. A reception will follow the service. We hope you will join us for this beloved holiday tradition!
Parking available in the Lincoln Center lot across from the church.
Advent Book Study Led By Pr. Seth
As we approach Christmas, you are invited to participate in reading and discussing the Advent study and devotional Calling All Angels: An Advent Study of Fearlessness and Strength by Erin Wathen.
Books are provided by the church.
Here’s the publisher’s description of the book:
What would you do if you were not afraid?
Life can be daunting, filled with uncertainty and fears. It wasn’t any different two thousand years ago when Jesus was born. An aged priest is told he is about to become a father for the first time. A young woman is told she is going to give birth – outside the protection of marriage. A simple carpenter is asked to believe the impossible. A group of shepherds’ night on a hill is interrupted by a bright host of angels in the sky.
Yet, each of these encounters begins with the same refrain: do not be afraid.
Those words, though, are not just words of comfort; they are an invitation and a calling from God. In this captivating Advent study and devotional, pastor Erin Wathen challenges us to take this timeless message and apply it to our lives today. Calling All Angels asks us to contemplate what would change in our relationships, vocations, congregations, and communities if we have the courage to overcome our fears like Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, and the Shepherds in the story.