St. Luke’s Episcopal Church |
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Lifelines: News and updates for you from St. Luke's |
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This week, I’m on retreat with my clergy group. We’re at an Airbnb in New Orleans talking about the blessings and challenges of ministry. We’re also marveling at how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other in person and rejoicing at the opportunity to reconnect.
I’m looking forward to being back at St. Luke’s on Sunday and especially to the kick off of Episcopal 101, our new season of Sunday morning Faith Formation. Over the coming weeks we’ll be digging into the fundamentals of Christian practice and belief as Episcopalians understand them. My intention is for us to gather for focused conversation more than than lecture. I certainly have information to share on the topics, but I’m more interested in our group conversation and exploration.
This week we’ll begin by talking about the Episcopal approach to faith and related matters. Before we get into specific topics in the weeks to come, it seems wise to establish a baseline or structure for how we go about understanding such things, so that’s what we’ll start with. In the coming weeks, we’ll tackle a variety of topics: scripture, baptism, Eucharist, prayer, ecclesiology, and more.
I’m excited to begin this new series of conversations. I hope to see you there!
Yours in Christ,
Justin
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Call or text: 612-618-3826
Email: revjustinc@gmail.com
Drop in Office Hours: Wednesdays, 12:30 to 3:00.
If you'd like a visit, communion, prayer, or just time to talk, please call, text, email, or drop by office hours. I'd love to connect with you!
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Sunday Eucharist: 9:30 a.m.
Please join us for worship on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. as we celebrate Eucharist on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany. As always, please join us for coffee hour following worship.
If you can't make it in person, please tune in for the livestream on St. Luke's Facebook page. You don't need an account to watch the video; just click here and the livestream should be the first post on the page. Download the bulletin to follow along at home.
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Make Music with Us!
Choir
We need your voice! If you'd like to sing, please meet in the worship space Sunday mornings at 8:45 to rehearse the hymns and service music. We also rehearse at 7:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.
Handbells
The St. Luke's Handbell choir practices weekly on Wednesday night from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. We meet in at St. Luke's, downstairs in the office area. Anyone interested in having fun while making a joyful noise is welcome. For more information, contact Harold Solbrig / harold@solbrigs.us / 507-319-2628
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Altar flowers
If you would like to provide altar flowers, there are some opening Sundays coming up. Please call Sue Engelman for details: 358-6928, sue.engelman@hotmail.com
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Birthdays
- Colin Jacobs
- Sandy Berndt
- Phil Green
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Ann Bailor
Ann suffered a stroke shortly after Christmas, while she and Ron were in Texas to visit family. She's scheduled to come back to Charter House today, where she'll be in rehab for a while. Your prayers for Ann and Ron are much appreciated.
Have news to share with the congregation? Please get in touch with Rev. Justin (612-618-3826, revjustinc@gmail.com) or Karen (507-288-2469, gouldk@stlukesepiscopal.org).
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Join us as we Transform and Grow Together into 2023
Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers? I will, with God’s help. Centered is a discipleship series guiding small, gathered communities to get deeply rooted in love with God and one another through fellowship, teaching, and food, so that we grow to look, act, and love more like Jesus. For more information, visit iam.ec/centered.
As a new year begins, so to do opportunities for us to transform and grow to look, act, and love more like Jesus. We ask that you respond to the call of our Episcopalian faith leaders to learn to live the life of a disciple in whatever way that might exist for us in today’s world.
As the early disciples did, we begin with connecting in small groups to make this journey together. If you are interested in exploring what it means to transform and grow your Christian life, please join us in forming an initial small group of 6-8 people.
Our journey has been mapped out for us with a process, thought provoking videos from church leaders, insightful questions to discuss and a way to make this all happen in about an hour each over the course of 9 sessions. For more information, check out this introductory video. We also will make this experience tailored to our group members’ needs today.
The first of the nine sessions will begin in late February or March. The themes of the nine sessions are:
- Meeting Jesus and Each Other
- Meeting Jesus and Sharing Life in Small Groups
- Following Jesus as a Way of Life
- Loving God Like Jesus
- Loving Neighbors & Strangers like Jesus
- Loving Other Disciples like Jesus
- Loving Ourselves like Jesus
- Creating a Sustainable Rule of Life
- Looking, Acting and Loving Like Jesus…Together
The group will collaboratively decide how to go about making these sessions happen…meeting time and frequency, at church, in homes, over Zoom, etc. An experienced guide will be provided. Childcare may be arranged as needed.
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Candlemas Choral Evensong |
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Candlelight Procession and Choral Evensong
Candlemas, Sunday, February 5
Worship at 4:00 p.m.
Reception following
Candlemas, or the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, commemorates the presentation of Jesus and the purification of Mary in the Jerusalem Temple forty days after Jesus’ birth, in accordance with the requirements of Jewish law (Lv 12:2-8). We're joining together with Calvary for a Choral Evensong marking the occasion. Please plan to join us for worship and a reception following.
A bit more background from episcopalchurch.org: The feast is celebrated about forty days after Christmas. According to the account of Lk 2:22-39, the presentation of Jesus was also the occasion of the meeting of Jesus with Simeon and Anna. Simeon's prayer of blessing is the basis for the canticle Nunc dimittis (see BCP, p. 120). Celebration of the feast dates from the fourth century in Jerusalem. It was introduced in Rome in the seventh century, where it included a procession with candles and the singing of the Nunc dimittis. The celebration came to include the lighting and blessing of candles which were carried in procession. This feast was known as “Candlemas.”
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Depolarizing: Respecting Others With Different Beliefs |
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The Episcopal Church in Minnesota, Braver Angles and the Episcopal House of Prayer invite you to a workshop designed to give congregations the tools to bring Americans together, bridge the partisan divide, and inspire the beloved community.
- Americans no longer see their political opponents as simply wrong or misguided, but as enemies who must be defeated at all costs. We do not accept this.
- Our mission is to strengthen our democratic republic by treating people who disagree with us with honesty and respect.
- We believe the contemplative approach can equip us to hold opposites in tension.
Join us at the ECMN offices at 1101 West Broadway Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55411 or via Zoom on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 9:00am to 3:30pm. There is no charge to attend and lunch will be provided if you let us know you are coming at: ECMNBraverAngelsEHOP@gmail.com. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email us at ECMNBraverAngelsEHOP@gmail.com and we will send the Zoom link prior to the workshop.
Peace,
Christine Luna Munger
Depolarizing: Respecting Others with Different Beliefs
Saturday, February 25, 8:30am to 3:30pm
ECMN Office, 1101 West Broadway, Minneapolis, MN 55411
No charge, lunch provided if registered
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Rides to Services at St. Luke's |
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If you would be willing to give someone who no longer drives a ride to the 9:30 a.m. Sunday service,
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If you wish you could attend but no longer drive, please contact Karen at the church office. We will try to match drivers with people needing rides and we are hoping many drivers will volunteer.
We would pick you up so that you could be at church about 10 minutes before services and for Sunday Services, you would be taken home after the Coffee Fellowship time, around 11 a.m.
Thank you to everyone who volunteers to help make Sunday in-person worship services much more meaningful.
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Calvary - St. Luke's Collaboration Corner
Episcopalians Working Together
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- Join us of February 5th, at 4 PM to hear the massed choirs of Calvary and St Luke's sing a Candelmas Service in the sanctuary at St Luke's. If volunteers come forward (call St Luke's 288-2469), to plan and serve, there may be refreshments following the service….the music alone will be stupendous!
- Rochester Public Schools needs volunteers to help our youngest learners, many of whom fell behind during the pandemic, improve their reading. St Luke's has had a long relationship with its neighborhood school, Sunset Terrace, and is helping recruit volunteers to listen to children read in the reading room. Lisa Levi, the reading specialist, can use our help for as little as 20 minutes, and as much as a full school day, 9:30-3:30. You choose the day, the time, and the recurrence (if you can come weekly, for instance). If you have to miss due to a vacation, that is just fine. The teachers and the little readers are so appreciative (and fun) 😊
- 1st step is to have a background check from the school district. On the webpage of Rochester Public Schools, scroll to the bottom, and click on ‘volunteers in education”. Fill out your name and address etc; answer “community member” on question about affiliation; answer “mentor” on question about function: and answer ‘Sunset Terrace” on question about building. In a few days you will be good to go.
- 2nd step is to contact the reading teacher with your preferred schedule at lilevi@rochesterschools.org and let her know you are from one of the Episcopal Churches.
- 3rd step is to please let Amy Caucutt know you plan to volunteer, so she can keep track of the numbers. 9 have already indicated an interest, and several have started from St Luke's.
- Remember, bring your collaboration ideas to Amy Crockett at Calvary (crockettsae@hotmail.com) or Amy Caucutt at St Luke's (amycaucutt@gmail.com). Got an idea? Let’s do it together!
Please check out Calvary's weekly newsletter, The Visitor, published on Wednesdays. Current and archived editions are available here. In addition to a variety of worship services, Calvary regularly has other public events that are sure to be of interest to folks like us. |
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Sunset Terrace Elementary School has sent a huge “Thank You” to the parishioners of St. Luke’s for the donations we have made to the Operation Backpack program over this past year. So far our gifts have fed, warmed, and nurtured more than 100 kids and supported several families who were in great need. Thank you all again for your generosity.
For 2023, during the months of January/February we are shifting our focus to John Marshall High School needs:
1. Warm waterproof gloves/mittens for teens
2. Shampoo and Conditioner
3. Tooth brushes/Toothpaste/Floss
These supplies can be dropped off at St. Luke’s, Monday through /Friday, 8-5, and, of course, on Sunday. Drop in the bins that are located in the downstairs foyer.
Thank you so very much!
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There have surplus desks in our Sunday School (and in our church office area). If you are interested, you may have for a contribution to St. Luke's and ability to haul them.
2 wrap around desks
2 solid oak wooden desks 6 ft. x 3 ft.
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If you have donations of new or gently used household items, including couches, tables with chairs, beds, bedding, towels, dishes, etc, here are many wonderful options.
Catholic Charities at 507-287-2047 will arrange pickup from your house and accepts all the above. Donations are used for refugee families.
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Resource Room at 507-288-7313 works with St. Vincent De Paul for helping Rochester homeless families and adults or for families in crisis with relocation needs to start their new apartments. They accept non-furniture items. They will arrange a time when you can drop off your items.
St. Vincent De Paul (507-250-5715) directly accepts beds, tables, dressers and household items, (not couches), but will usually ask you to hold onto the items until move in day, as they do not have a storage place. They appreciate a drop off, but will pick up if needed.
The Landing (507-884-0423) and The Warming Shelter (507-458-1223) accept new or gently used adult socks and jeans, which are given to homeless adults. Feel free to drop these off at St. Luke’s and we’ll get them delivered.
If you have any questions about any of these ministries or would like to help volunteer, please email dianeomara@charter.net.
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Bible Study: Luke
We're going to finish up our study of Luke's gospel this week. We'll also select the next book to study.
Join us on Wednesdays from 10:30 till noon.
Meeting ID: 827 6194 5638
Passcode: 1884
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Book Group
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (fiction)
Tuesday, January 24th, 6:30 pm
Discussion through Zoom.
Enjoy the book; then join us for a discussion led by Debbie Whicker.
Watch for a St. Luke's Book Group notice to join the meeting by computer or phone.
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If you've got something to include in next week's Lifelines, get in touch with Karen (507-288-2469, gouldk@stlukesepiscopal.org). The deadline is Wednesday at noon. |
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St. Luke’s is...
Joyful community
Faithful service
Transformational worship
Growing in relationship with God in Christ.
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