The Weekly View

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Outreach and Deacon Ministry

All are welcome to attend 

St Luke’s November Food Drive Barrel ~
St. Luke will collect canned proteins/meats:  Beans, Peanut Butter, Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Chicken, Turkey, Beef. You may also donate using the green envelope and with the notation FOOD DRIVE. $1 = 2 Meals!

Mill Street Meal Providers ~  Monday, December 2nd, Group B
The first Monday of each month Group A or Group B is assigned a meal item to provide.

Ritter Center Christmas Gift Barrel ~ Ritter Center Adopt-a-Family Christmas Gift Barrel
Ritter Center serves Marin families and individuals who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. This year St. Luke will be providing gifts for both children and adults, as we have adopted two families and five elderly adults for Christmas. Look for the signup board in the narthex - simply take a tag from the board and bring back an unwrapped gift to the office by Tuesday, December 10th.  St. Luke volunteers will deliver our gift-filled barrel to Ritter Center on Friday, December 13th.  

KIVA.ORG ~ St. Luke’s Women’s Association has supported KIVA for many years and they will be a Deacon’s Ministry in the Fall. KIVA is a San Francisco based non-profit that offers individuals or groups the opportunity to make a $25 or larger loan in many countries. 

Street Chaplaincy Dinner ~ Tuesday, December 17th
Look details in an upcoming email next week.

Bible Study - Wednesdays at 9:30 AM
St. Luke Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
Women's Spirituality Group - Thursdays at 9:00 AM
Deacons Meeting - 2nd Tuesday, January 14th, 6:00 PM
Pizza and Theology - 3rd Tuesday, December 17th, 7:00 PM
St. Luke Women’s Bridge - 4th Tuesday, January 27th, 10:30 AM
Session Meeting - 4th Tuesday, November 26th, 7:00 PM

Pedal for Protein Update ~ The donations to Pedal for Protein for 2019 are at $43,031 with a goal of $60,000. We will keep the piggy bank open until Nov. 30. We can do it! Donate online at www.IMAthlete.com/legacy/events/PedalforProtein . Remember every dollar donated is multiplied 3 to 6 times by our food banks to feed hungry people in our midst. We appreciate your ongoing support of this ride for protein for pantries.  

Pedaling thanks… 
Patty Sanders ~ Hunger Action Advocate Presbytery of the Redwoods
Ride Director – Pedal for Protein www.PedalforProtein.com

Sunday, November 17th, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

This Sunday is Acoustic Sunday. We have some great songs lined up for you including Drift Away. One of you sent me the song in a text one morning a few weeks ago. I’m guessing that’s how that person was feeling in that moment.

The opening two lines;

Day after day I'm more confused
Yet I look for the light in the pouring rain 

How often do you feel that way? Confusion is both a blessing and a curse. Much like following Jesus himself. Jesus reminds us of this in this Sunday’s scripture; Luke 21:5-19.

It’s a dire passage filled with doom, and then towards the end a word of reassurance in verse 19; By your endurance you will gain your souls. 

Looking for the light in the pouring rain is a lovely way of saying that no matter how confused, no matter how lost, we continue to search for Jesus who speaks to us; both internally and in the world. The more we can endure the confusion, the seemingly hopeless conditions around us, the closer we can come to our God who is with us in it, speaking to us like a light in the pouring rain. 

It takes listening, it takes opening up to possibility, and sometimes it’s just a choice; a choice between allowing the dark circumstances to pull is into isolation or choosing to come closer to God. To endure is to grow in depth, in resilience and in wisdom. Jesus promises to give us wisdom in verse 15, but I imagine that just can’t happen unless we are willing to search for that light no matter how heavy the down pour. 

And the last lines of that song;

Thanks for the joy that you've given me
I want you to know I believe in your song
Rhythm and rhyme and harmony
You help me along makin' me strong

 See you Sunday,
Nicole

Outreach and Deacon Ministry

All are welcome to attend 

St Luke’s November Food Drive Barrel ~ San Francisco-Marin Food Bank - Fill a Plate This Thanksgiving. Many families, homeless or not, won’t go hungry this Thanksgiving thanks to our help. St Luke will collect all varieties of canned proteins/meats:  Beans, Peanut Butter, Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Chicken, Turkey, Beef. You may also donate funds using the green envelope and with the notation FOOD DRIVE. $1 = 2 Meals! When you fill an empty plate, you ease a worried mind and you improve nutrition to help kids eat healthier. Every food item and every $1 changes lives. Please give generously.

Ritter Center Christmas Gift Barrel ~ Ritter Center Adopt-a-Family Christmas Gift Barrel
Ritter Center serves Marin families and individuals who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. This year St. Luke will be providing gifts for both children and adults, as we have adopted two families and five elderly adults for Christmas. Look for the signup board in the narthex - simply take a tag from the board and bring back an unwrapped gift to the office by Tuesday, December 10th. St. Luke volunteers will deliver our gift-filled barrel to Ritter Center on Friday, December 13th.

Mill Street Meal Providers ~  Monday, December 2nd, Group B
The first Monday of each month Group A or Group B is assigned a meal item to provide.

KIVA.ORG ~ St. Luke’s Women’s Association has supported KIVA for many years and they will be a Deacon’s Ministry in the Fall. KIVA is a San Francisco based non-profit that offers individuals or groups the opportunity to make a $25 or larger loan in many countries. 

Bible Study - Wednesdays at 9:30 AM
St. Luke Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
Women's Spirituality Group - Thursdays at 9:00 AM
Deacons Meeting - 2nd Tuesday, November 12th, 6:00 PM
Pizza and Theology - 3rd Tuesday, November 19th, 7:00 PM
St. Luke Women’s Bridge - 4th Tuesday, November 26th, 10:30 AM
Session Meeting - 4th Tuesday, November 26th, 7:00 PM

Sunday, November 10, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

This Sunday we hear from Mark 10:46-52; the story of Bartimaeus. You remember that one? That’s the story of the blind man who shouts out to Jesus for mercy while others in the crowd tell him to be quiet.

The word for blind can mean physically blind or psychologically blind. This morning in our Thursday meditation group we talked about what it means to be so attached to something; an idea, a person, fame, money; that we become blind to love.  

Anthony De Mello writes about how our attachments can blind us to what matters most in life.

De Mello uses the metaphor of a symphony, and writes this;

Imagine yourself listening to an orchestra in which the sound of a drum is so loud that nothing else can be heard. To enjoy the symphony you must be responsive to every instrument in the orchestra. To be in the state called love you must be sensitive to the uniqueness and beauty of every single thing and person around you. You can hardly be said to love what you do not even notice; and if you notice only a few things to the exclusion of others, that is not love at all, for love excludes no one at all; it embraces the whole of life.

If we understand Jesus as God’s love made flesh, then how are we, in our own lives, calling out for love to heal us and others? Are we allowing the crowds on the street and in our heads to shush us in shame? Or are we trusting the Christ who is with us, guiding us and hearing every instrument known to God? Come worship at 10:00 on Sunday and explore what it means to call out in faith for Jesus who sees and hears all.

See you Sunday,
Nicole

Outreach and Deacon Ministry

All are welcome to attend 

St Luke’s November Food Drive Barrel ~ San Francisco-Marin Food Bank - Fill a Plate This Thanksgiving. Many families, homeless or not, won’t go hungry this Thanksgiving thanks to our help. St Luke will collect all varieties of canned proteins/meats:  Beans, Peanut Butter, Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Chicken, Turkey, Beef. You may also donate funds using the green envelope and with the notation FOOD DRIVE. $1 = 2 Meals! When you fill an empty plate, you ease a worried mind and you improve nutrition to help kids eat healthier. Every food item and every $1 changes lives. Please give generously.

Ritter Center Christmas Gift Barrel ~ We are supporting Ritter Center of San Rafael. Ritter Center serves Marin families & individuals who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. St Luke’s Barrel will arrive Friday, November 8th. Simply take a tag from the Christmas tree in the Narthex and bring back an unwrapped gift for that child to the office by Thursday, December 12th.  Our barrel will be picked up by Ritter Center volunteers on Friday, December 13th. 

Mill Street Meal Providers ~  Monday, December 2nd, Group B
The first Monday of each month Group A or Group B is assigned a meal item to provide.

KIVA.ORG ~ St. Luke’s Women’s Association has supported KIVA for many years and they will be a Deacon’s Ministry in the Fall. KIVA is a San Francisco based non-profit that offers individuals or groups the opportunity to make a $25 or larger loan in many countries. 

Bible Study - Wednesdays at 9:30 AM
St. Luke Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
Women's Spirituality Group - Thursdays at 9:00 AM
Deacons Meeting - 2nd Tuesday, November 12th, 6:00 PM
Pizza and Theology - 3rd Tuesday, November 19th, 7:00 PM
St. Luke Women’s Bridge - 4th Tuesday, November 26th, 10:30 AM
Session Meeting - 4th Tuesday, November 26th, 7:00 PM