The Weekly View

Sunday, May 5, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

In this Sunday’s scripture, Saul is out doing what he felt convicted to do; breathing threats and murder against the disciples. (Acts 9:1) Jesus shows up and after quite the dramatic exchange Saul is blinded for three days without food or drink. Jesus then sends a reluctant Ananias to heal Saul. The Holy Spirit shows up in Saul and the rest is history. 

Except the history gets revised. We hear the same story two more times in the book of Acts, only in first person as Saul, who has been renamed Paul recalls the event. By the third time, there’s not even a mention of Ananias. The guy who healed him gets edited out of his story. Which got me to wondering how many of us have been profoundly changed by the faith of others, only to forget about them later. How many of those people have been instruments of God in growing our faith, opening our eyes or changing our ways, only to take them so for granted, they’re no longer mentioned in your faith story.

This is the question that came up in bible study thanks to Mary Dill and Sharon Dowson. Each Wednesday a variety of people gather in the conference room to dwell in the Word of God. Each Wednesday someone says something or asks something that contributes to my own questions and musing of what God has in-store. These people are part of my own deepening faith journey. Each one, in their own way, has had a role in bringing me closer to understanding how God works in the world.

Look back, ask yourself who in your life, in big and small ways contributed to deepening your faith. Then write about it, talk about it, thank them for it if they’re still alive, and maybe even more important if they’re not. They’re part of your story and should always be mentioned, no matter how many times you tell the story.

See you Sunday,
Nicole

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, May 14th, 6:00 PM

Acoustic Sunday ~ May 19th 10:00 AM

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Mon. May 20th & Tues. May 28th, 10:30 AM

Pizza and Theology ~ 3rd Tuesday of the month, May 21st, 6:30 PM, Creekside, SA

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

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

Sunday, April 28, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

This past week, on Easter morning we woke to the horrific news of the attacks in Sri Lanka. It was not easy to celebrate the resurrection of Christ knowing such evil and suffering were taking place while we sang alleluia. And yet, that’s what we’re called to do as Christians; to feel compassion alongside those who suffer offering hope for the hopeless. At times it’s hard to imagine that religion has done more good than harm. There are those who would argue that it’s done more harm than good.

The first followers of Christ began their ministry amid persecution and threats. (Our reading this Sunday; Acts 5:27-32) As we move towards this coming Sunday, we continue to embrace the risen Christ who calls on us to witness love for the world by helping to repair and stand up to what is unjust. The love of God has the last word. As followers of Christ, it’s up to us, with God’s help, to recognize when and where that love is called for and help bring it to fruition. At times that means standing up to power systems, even if it means going to jail as it did for the apostles and others throughout history. God alone is Lord of the conscience.^[1] or as Peter, the Apostles said, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. (Acts 5:29) 

There will be people who tell us we’re wrong. Which is why it’s more important than ever to have a Christlike heart and to follow him as though he lives inside of you, is a part of you, because he does and is. That’s part of what we celebrated Easter morning. As the holy center of our lives, He becomes the heart that reveals our conscience. He lets us know what is right and what is just in a world that will often get it wrong. 

An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is, in reality, expressing the highest respect for the law.
Martin Luther King, Jr. 

See you Sunday,
Nicole

^[1] Presbyterian Book of Order

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, May 14th, 6:00 PM

Acoustic Sunday ~ May 19th 10:00 AM

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ Mon. May 20th & Tues. May 28th, 10:30 AM

Pizza and Theology ~ 3rd Tuesday of the month, May 21st, 6:30 PM, Creekside, SA

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

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

Sunday, April 21, 2019

This Sunday

Dear St. Luke Community, 

Easter Sunday~

Each time this year, I remember the words of the Rev Dr. James Noel who died a few years ago. While he was teaching at the seminary, he would say on more than one occasion; “Make sure you get him out of the tomb!” He was speaking to a room full of potential preachers. He was referencing our future Easter Sunday sermons. There are a million beautiful metaphors for the resurrection. Butterflies, eggs, springtime just to name a few. There are all the ways we experience our own kind of rebirth after dark nights of the soul. But metaphors don’t get Him out of the tomb. They may point in that direction, but they fall short of a bodily resurrection, which is what we lay claim to when we shout “He is risen!” 

The other challenge we preachers face this coming Sunday is falling into the trap of trying to prove to visitors that He really has risen, perhaps in the hope that they will have an epiphany so great it will make them want to come back. That’s not my job. 

My job is to get Him out of the tomb. But that’s also your job. It’s the job of any Christ follower to witness the ways Jesus shows up in our lives. We experience this regardless of how the rational world or even our own rational minds might have us believe otherwise. Each of us experiences Him differently which is why it’s so important to share with others your experience of Him. Call it experiential marketing, or call it witnessing, or call it evangelism. Whatever you call it, this Sunday is the day we break open our hearts as though we’re experiencing it again for the first time. Because it is. The God we worship is always creating a new thing. A new heaven and new earth are ours to experience as we let go of the old and live into life which knows no end in Him. Thanks be to God.

See you this Sunday, our most celebrated day,
Nicole

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

St. Luke Women’s Bridge Group ~ April 23rd, 10:30 AM

Pizza and Theology ~ 3rd Tuesday of the month, May 21st, 6:30 PM, Creekside, SA

Session ~ 4th Tuesday of the month, April 23rd 7:00 PM 

Deacons Meeting ~ 2nd Tuesday or the month, May 14th, 6:00 PM

Acoustic Sunday ~ May 19th 10:00 AM

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 items off in the church office during office hours

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