The Weekly View

The Weekly View - May 26, 2022

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL NEWSLETTER

In This Issue

• Weekly Message from Pastor Andrew P. Quick
• Announcements & Upcoming Events
• Mission & Volunteer Opportunities

Weekly message from pastor andrew

Dear St. Luke Community,

This week we come to the end of our series on Creation.  We spent time over the last month considering how we can be better stewards of God’s world.  We end the series by looking at Psalm 104.  A beautiful psalm poetically depicts creation.  Reading it and listening to the sounds of nature reminds me that all creation sings of God’s Glory.  And this week, that song was abruptly interrupted by the sound of gunshots in Uvalde, Texas. Nature’s song is overwhelmed by the wails of families and friends whose children were slain.  In this difficult time, I turn to another psalm, Psalm 13: 

 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

This psalm of lament provides me the words to express what is hard to articulate.  These questions remind me that I can express my anger and grief to God.  Gun violence continues to shape our reality, and there seems to be no end.  And, this psalm of lament ends with these words:

 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
    because the Lord has dealt bountifully with me.

This Sunday we will come together for worship.  We will rejoice in God’s steadfast love and sing of God’s creation.  And we will take time to cry out to God, “How long?” We will lift up prayers and laments for all those who have lost their lives to gun violence in the last two weeks. 

Be gentle with yourself this week.  If you would like to talk or vent, feel free to reach out to me via phone (831.207.7356) or email ( ). 

Peace be with you,
Pastor Andrew

The Weekly View - May 19, 2022

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL NEWSLETTER

In This Issue

• Weekly Message from Pastor Andrew P. Quick
• Announcements & Upcoming Events
• Mission & Volunteer Opportunities

Weekly message from pastor andrew

Dear St. Luke Community:

This has been a rough week.  The shooting in Buffalo was followed by a shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Laguna Hills, California.  These traumatic events continue to shape us and our communities.  As we process this violence, I want to offer a prayer by Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president, and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency:

“God of Life, As the sound of gunfire echoes over our land once again, we seek your love and compassion. Too many times, O God, we have cried out to you when family, friends, neighbors and children have lost their lives from gun violence. Again we cry, ‘How long, O Lord?’

For those whose lives have been spared and those whose lives are forever changed, we pray. Send your Spirit, O God, to renew our resolve and commitment to work for an end to senseless violence, racial hatred, and oppression. In Christ’s name, Amen.”

Friends, we worship a God big enough to hold all our emotions.  A God who is with us in sorrow and joy.  I am grateful we can once again get together in community and care for one another.  This Sunday we will continue to reflect on God’s creation and our call to be co-creators with God.  Also, I am excited to have Lori Davis joining us to update us on Sanzuma as we kick off our Pentecost Special Offering.

As always, please reach out to me via phone (831.207.7356) or email ( ).  I would love to meet with you all individually, so if you have a free afternoon or just want to grab a cup of tea don’t hesitate to send me an invite.

Peace be with you,
Pastor Andrew

The Weekly View - May 12, 2022

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL NEWSLETTER

In This Issue

• Weekly Message from Pastor Andrew P. Quick
• Announcements & Upcoming Events
• Mission & Volunteer Opportunities

Weekly message from pastor andrew

Dear St. Luke Community,

Come join us on Sunday as we look at the Sabbath rest and creation.  Genesis tells us that on the seventh day of creation, God rested.  How can rest be used to care for the planet?  What is God invited us to do when we rest? During the last two years, we have learned a great deal about resting and taking time to slow down.  At the beginning of the pandemic I came across this poem by Lynn Ungar:

Pandemic
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now, 
on trying to make the world
different than it is. 
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
 
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
 
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.

I look forward to rejoining you all this Sunday.

Peace be with you,
Pastor Andrew