The Weekly View

Sunday, November 25, 2018

This Sunday 

Dear St. Luke Community,

Last Sunday after worship we fed over 100 people waffles. Thanks to the leadership of Laura Hislop and all who served, we fed children and parents connected to ELM (Enriching Lives through Music) The children blessed us with cello and violin music and the room was packed with joy. What a gift it was! A highlight of my time here at St Luke for sure. 

This Sunday we celebrate with gratitude as we take in all we have to be thankful for. God provides us with eternal gifts we cannot purchase, earn or get rid of. Life itself is our greatest gift. Perhaps no one in our congregation knows this more than Terry Mech who had a near-death experience this past year. Terry will be bringing us the Word through testimony and his teaching title is “The Power of God.” The scripture is Matthew 6: 25-34.

I will be driving back from San Diego on Saturday so that I can have a front row seat to witness what Terry will share. I also look forward to giving thanks to God for all the blessings that the St Luke Community continues to be in all of our lives. 

May each of you be blessed with time to reflect on the many gifts that each of you are. You are a blessing. Thanks be to God.

See you Sunday,
Nicole

You Who Bless (by Jan Richardson)

You
who are
yourselves
a blessing

who know
that to feed
the hungering
is to bless

and to give drink
to those who thirst
is to bless

who know
the blessing
in welcoming
the stranger

and giving clothes
to those
who have none

who know
to care
for the sick
is blessing

and blessing
to visit
the prisoner:

may the blessing
you have offered
now turn itself
toward you

to welcome
and to embrace you
at the feast
of the blessed.

Continuing Events

All are welcome to attend

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Tuesday, Nov 27th, 10:30 AM
(3rd Monday & 4th Tuesday, Sept. to May). 

Session ~ Tuesday, November 27th, 6:30 PM

Bible Study Series ~ Wednesday, Nov 28th, 9:30 AM  

Morning Women's Spirituality Group ~ Thursday. Nov 29th, 9:00 AM

St. Luke Women’s Assoc. Christmas Tree Decorating ~ Thursday, Dec 4th, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Deacons and Committees Meeting ~ Tuesday, December 11th, 5:00 PM 
Note new time.

Pizza and Theology ~ Tuesday, November 27th, 6:30 PM
Creekside, San Anselmo. 

Sunday, November 18, 2018

This Sunday 

Dear St. Luke Community, 

With Advent and Christmas around the corner, we will be supporting Ritter Center of San Rafael in their Christmas Gift Giving Program. Ritter Center serves families and individuals in Marin County who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.

On Sunday when you enter the Narthex (aka the front porch of the church) you’ll see a Christmas tree filled with tags. Simply take a tag with you and bring back an unwrapped gift for that child the following Sunday to place in the gift barrel. We will have until December 14th to drop off gifts.

This Sunday is Acoustic Sunday. After worship, we will be feeding over 100 people with waffles! Half of those people are children enrolled in the ELM project. A non-profit enriching lives through music by bringing music education into the lives of under-served children. And yes, we will be hearing them play! So please plan on staying around after worship to support this wonderful organization.

This Sunday we look at 1 Samuel 1:4-20 and  Mark 13:1-8. It’s hard to want to dwell in The Word with so many horrific events, one after another. And yet….this scripture seems fitting. Mark is pointing to an apocalypse as a way to offer hope.  And Jesus seems to be reminding the disciples that when things get really bad, false messiahs and saviors will try to win them over.  I wonder what the false saviors of our own time are...when things get bad?

Hannah gives birth to a son after praying through “anxiety and vexation.” (1:16) In Mark’s Gospel Jesus advises that all these awful things are but the beginning of birth pangs. (13:8)

Some define apocalypse as an uncovering …  so what is being uncovered then and what is being uncovered today? 

Giving birth hurts. But the life that is born is just that; life. How do we choose to be part of that life rather than following false messiahs into false narratives that would have us choose fear.

Like giving birth, none of it is easy, and at times it’s painful and can be scary…but there’s beauty in it, there’s new life growing, even before the baby comes. And I think that’s worth preaching these days. 

See you Sunday,
Nicole

Please continue to hold Cal Cunningham in prayer as we wait for news of his safety due to the Camp Fire.

Continuing Events

All are welcome to attend

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Monday, Nov 19th,& Tuesday, Nov 27th 10:30 AM
(3rd Monday & 4th Tuesday, Sept. to May). 

Pizza and Theology ~ Tuesday, November 20th, 6:30 PM
Creekside, San Anselmo. 

Bible Study Series ~ Wednesday, Nov 21st, 9:30 AM  

Morning Women's Spirituality Group ~ Thursday. Nov 29th, 9:00 AM

Session ~ Tuesday, November 27th, 6:30 PM

Deacons and Committees Meeting ~ Tuesday, December 11th, 5:00 PM 
Note new time.

Committee Meetings ~ Tuesday, December 11th, 6:30 PM

Sunday, November 11, 2018

This Sunday 

Dear St. Luke Community, 

Last Sunday will go down as one of the loveliest and most meaningful worships I’ve experienced since I started attending churches over 20 years ago. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making it such a special All Saints Sunday. We will do it again next year for those who missed it.

This Sunday Rev Dan White, Pastor Emeritus of St Luke, will be with you leading worship and we will have a candidate guest preacher in the pulpit. The scripture is Mark 12:38-44. Traditionally this scripture has been used for Stewardship campaigns, but when read closely, you begin to understand it much more complexly. I suggest you read it and read it again and imagine this woman as real rather than an illustration of how we should be giving. I invite you to imagine her status in society, her fear of being alone, her house having been devoured, and giving everything she had. 

Debie Thomas puts it this way… 

St. Mark prefaces the story of the widow with an account of Jesus blasting the religious leaders of his day for their greed, pomposity, and crass exploitation of the poor.  "Beware of the scribes," Jesus tells his followers.  "They devour widow's houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers."  

Their piety, in other words, is a sham, and the religious institution they govern is corrupt — not in any way reflective of the God the Psalmist calls a "Father of orphans and protector of widows.”

When the rest of the world was blind to this woman and her struggles, Jesus sees her, God sees her, and we as the church, are to see her. Our true stewardship as the church is not only to take care of the needs of the church but to take care of those needs in order to take care of others, especially those who are struggling most.

That said, if you’d like to learn more about the financial shape of our church and stewardship goals, please click here to view the Stewardship Presentation that Elder John Bischoff, our Stewardship and Finance Chair, gave a few Sunday’s ago. 

Yours in Christ,
Nicole 

P.S. Rev Dan White will be on Emergency Pastoral Care call and can be reached at 415.272.4207. I’ll be back on Tuesday morning.

Continuing Events

All are welcome to attend

Deacons and Committees Meeting ~ Tuesday, November 13th, 5:00 PM 
Note new time.

Bible Study Series ~ Wednesday, Nov 14th, 9:30 AM  

Committee Meetings ~ Tuesday, November 13th, 6:30 PM

Morning Women's Spirituality Group ~ Thursday. Nov 15th, 9:00 AM

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Monday, Nov 19th,& Tuesday, Nov 27th 10:30 AM
(3rd Monday & 4th Tuesday, Sept. to May). 

Pizza and Theology ~ Tuesday, November 20th, 6:30 PM
Creekside, San Anselmo. 

Session ~ Tuesday, November 27th, 6:30 PM