The Weekly View

Sunday, June 9, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. This is the day we refer to as the birth of the church. But the birth of the church, just like our own birth, is just one day. God is not done with you the day you are born any more than God is done with the church on Pentecost. God is forever creating and we are forever becoming more of who God created us to be as we listen for the Spirit of God who is in control whether we like it or not. 

Listening to where we are being led requires an awful lot of letting go. Letting go of where we’ve been and letting go of where we think we should be. 

Norah Jones once said that we find our sound through our limitations. What’s our sound as a church? We may not be big but we are intimate. We may not have millions but we have plenty to share. Soundness is a biblical word. Paul loves that word and uses it quite often. As a Greek word, at its root, it has medical connotations of wholeness and health. 

In this Sunday’s scripture (Genesis 11:1-9) God reminds the people of their limitations. Some call it a curse. Others call it a blessing. If we find our sound through our limitations it’s because we’ve learned how to understand limitations as blessings. Limitations require us to rely more on God and less on ourselves. Let’s celebrate that and more this Sunday as we worship God and celebrate the Spirit. 

See you Sunday,
Nicole

Deacon Ministry

Serving San Pedro Elementary ~
Thank you to all who supported St Luke’s May 2019 Deacon Ministry. Donations were $288 cash, $275 Target gift cards, 8 Stretch Pants, 25 Pairs of Socks & 12 Undies. 

6th Annual Pedal for Protein ~ September 22nd – 28th, Let's ride!
Please use the green envelope to donate ~ noting PEDAL4PROTEIN. A ride for a cause! Supports food bank pantries & projects to help feed hungry people in Northern California. 100% of all donations go to food projects and food justice projects, primarily for the provision of lean proteins.

The ride is organized by The Hunger Task Force of the Presbytery of the Redwoods. For details go to http://www.pedalforprotein.com and www.imathlete.com/donate/PedalforProtein5.

KIVA.ORG ~
St Luke’s Women’s Association has been supporting KIVA for many years. 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 of the world. The loans are made to people working in retail, clothing, services, agriculture, and food.  It is determined how much the recipient needs to start or expand a business, and then people can sign up to provide the loan amount. (It takes many people to fund one loan.) The recipient pays the loan back in a pre-planned manner. We have made 24 loans in 22 different countries and all have been repaid then we’ve loaned the money again.

Bible Study ~ Wednesdays, 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM, 6/19 will be the last meeting until September.  

St Luke Choir Rehearsal ~ On Summer break until September.

Morning Women's Spirituality Group ~ Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:00 AM

Deacons Meeting ~ 2nd Tuesday or the month, June 11th, 6:00 PM

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ On Summer break until September.

Pizza and Theology ~ 3rd Tuesday of the month, June 18th, 6:30 PM, Creekside, SA. It’s the last meeting until September.

Session ~ 4th Tuesday of the month, June 25th, 7:00 PM 

Save The Date

All are welcome to attend 

Pastor Emeritus Rev Dan White preaches  ~  June 30th

Upcoming Acoustic Sundays ~ July 21, August 18th,  September 15th

Fall Speaker Series ~ September 8th, 15, 22 after worship. Professor Greg Love returns for a Fall Speaker series on ‘The Change Towards Wholeness.” Looking at opposing views of how we change.

St Luke’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner & Auction ~ October 6th

St Luke’s Christmas Concert ~ December 8th, 4 PM
Followed by a reception in the Bayview room.

Sunday, June 2, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

This Sunday we worship God with special music and appreciate the choir and musicians for all they’ve given us this year. 

Hildegard of Bingen once asked, “Who is the Trinity?” To her own question, she answered;  “You are music, You are life!”

Next to the smile, there is perhaps nothing more universally appreciated culture to culture, than music and singing. Music finds its way into our lives in times of celebration and in times of sorrow. We sing when we’re happy and when we're grieving. We sing as a way to remember and as a way to look forward. In the presence of music, our hearts are opened by the Spirit and often a deeper awareness of God accompanies our lived experience. 

In our scripture for Sunday, Acts 16:16-34, Paul and Silas are arrested, beaten and put in jail with shackles on their feet. And what do they do? They sing hymns at midnight as the other prisoners listen to them.

Our closing hymn is aptly titled, How Can I Keep from Singing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2hddmy63U 

Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing
It finds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?

See you Sunday,
Nicole

Deacon Ministry

Last Week! Serving San Pedro Elementary ~
The Deacons of St Luke reached out to our neighbors, San Pedro Elementary, to inquire about needs they might have for their 600 students. Thanks to the efforts of Jan Smith who met with the Principal and the Community Liaison for the school, we learned of the following items that would help them greatly. We will collect beginning the week after Easter through the month of May. You may drop NEW or GENTLY USED items off in the church office during office hours (M, W, Th 10:00-1) or on Sundays. 

Basic stretch pants for kids to change into as needed. Size 4-8.
Underwear and socks size 4-8,
Adult size 5-8 hiking boots,
Duffle bags and sleeping bags for kids
Target Gift Cards

KIVA.ORG ~
The Women’s Association has been supporting KIVA for many years. We have made 24 loans in 22 different countries. 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 of the world. The loans are made to people working in retail, clothing, services, agriculture, and food.  It is determined how much the recipient needs to start or expand a business, and then people can sign up to provide the loan amount. (It takes many people to fund one loan.) The recipient pays the loan back in a pre-planned manner.

Our loans have always been paid back, and then we have loaned the money to another person or group.  Kiva does charge a small fee with each new loan to help cover their expenses.

There is an update on the website from those who take loans, usually written in English, telling how the loan was helpful.

6th Annual Pedal for Protein ~ September 22nd – 28th, Let's ride!
Please use the green envelope to donate ~ noting PEDAL4PROTEIN. A ride for a cause! Supports food bank pantries & projects to help feed hungry people in Northern California. 100% of all donations go to food projects and food justice projects, primarily for the provision of lean proteins.

The ride is organized by The Hunger Task Force of the Presbytery of the Redwoods. For details go to http://www.pedalforprotein.com and www.imathlete.com/donate/PedalforProtein5.

Bible Study ~ Wednesdays, 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

St Luke Choir Rehearsal ~ Wednesdays 7:00-8:30 PM in the Sanctuary  

Morning Women's Spirituality Group ~ Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:00 AM

Deacons Meeting ~ 2nd Tuesday or the month, June 11th, 6:00 PM

Acoustic Sunday ~ June 16th 10:00 AM

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Mon. June 17th & Tues. June 25th, 10:30 AM

Pizza and Theology ~ 3rd Tuesday of the month, June 18th, 6:30 PM, Creekside, SA

Session ~ 4th Tuesday of the month, June 25th, 7:00 PM 

Sunday, May 26, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

God’s been quite hospitable, placing in front of me an endless wealth of illustrations for this Sunday’s sermon. That word hospitable has many synonyms, my favorite being the word gracious. That’s probably because the word gracious carries with it a bit of the divine which eludes us.

Many of us think of hospitality as welcoming others into our homes or churches and making them feel welcomed with food and gifts, like a St Luke mug filled with goodies. And St Luke is most definitely a hospitable place filled with hospitable people. But this Sunday, I’d like to think of hospitality as a state of the heart, more like grace and less like making a casserole, although God knows I can think of a few lasagnas that were an act of saving grace. 

This Sunday, we meet Lydia, (Acts 16:9-15) a worshipper of God and a dealer of fine purple cloth. God opened her heart and her response was to invite everyone over to her place. Her immediate response to having an open heart was to share her home. That’s it. I don’t thank we have to invite everyone into our homes, although that’s a gift too, but what about the way we approach the rest of our life? Do we walk around vulnerable with open hearts or do we put on protective armor as we move through the day? Like Lydia before us, we show up on the Sabbath in the community to have God open our hearts. What good is that if it doesn’t affect the way we live in the rest of our week? 

This week someone asked me if the food he provides for the hungry is an act of grace. You bet it is. And so is a smile, a kindness, a warmth, a tone of voice. All of it is the very definition of what it means to be gracious and it always begins with what God does. We give thanks to God by extending it to others.

See you Sunday, you gracious people,
Nicole

 P.S. - Please see this very special invitation from Dan Christian below.

Dear Friends,
You are cordially invited to the installation service of the Rev. Daniel Christian as the pastor of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Novato.
Sunday, June 9th at 3 PM.
1180 Lynwood Drive, Novato 94947
Reception to follow. 

Bible Study ~ Wednesdays, 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

St Luke Choir Rehearsal ~ Wednesdays 7:00-8:30 PM in the Sanctuary  

Morning Women's Spirituality Group ~ Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:00 AM

Session ~ 4th Tuesday of the month, May 28th, 7:00 PM 

Deacons Meeting ~ 2nd Tuesday or the month, June 11th, 6:00 PM

Acoustic Sunday ~ June 16th 10:00 AM

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Mon. June 17th & Tues. June 25th, 10:30 AM

Pizza and Theology ~ 3rd Tuesday of the month, June 18th, 6:30 PM, Creekside, SA

Deacon Ministry

Serving San Pedro Elementary ~
The Deacons of St Luke reached out to our neighbors, San Pedro Elementary, to inquire about needs they might have for their 600 students. Thanks to the efforts of Jan Smith who met with the Principal and the Community Liaison for the school, we learned of the following items that would help them greatly. We will collect beginning the week after Easter through the month of May. You may drop NEW or GENTLY USED items off in the church office during office hours (M, W, Th 10:00-1) or on Sundays. 

Basic stretch pants for kids to change into as needed. Size 4-8.
Underwear and socks size 4-8,
Adult size 5-8 hiking boots,
Duffle bags and sleeping bags for kids
Target Gift Cards

KIVA.ORG ~
The Women’s Association has been supporting KIVA for many years. We have made 24 loans in 22 different countries. 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 of the world. The loans are made to people working in retail, clothing, services, agriculture, and food.  It is determined how much the recipient needs to start or expand a business, and then people can sign up to provide the loan amount. (It takes many people to fund one loan.) The recipient pays the loan back in a pre-planned manner.

Our loans have always been paid back, and then we have loaned the money to another person or group.  Kiva does charge a small fee with each new loan to help cover their expenses.

There is an update on the website from those who take loans, usually written in English, telling how the loan was helpful.