Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill?
Those who a blameless life and do what is right, who speak the truth from their heart. - Psalm 15:1-2
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Lifelines: News and updates for you from St. Luke's
From the Rector
Since our Director of Music departed last month, I’ve been choosing the hymns. A couple of handy guides helpfully whittle down the options to the texts that are most appropriate to the Sunday’s scripture selections. (If you haven’t noticed, the hymns generally have some connection either to the day’s readings or to part of the service we sing them in, like a communion hymn at, you know, communion.) That said and—just between you, me, and the internet—I don’t like picking hymns.

I don’t have a good sense of what others will enjoy or be able to sing (and there are definitely some unsingable hymns in there*). I also struggle against just picking all the hymns I love to sing, even though we’ve sung them twice already that month. Worse, we’re not all of one mind about what we like! Just the other week, somebody told me how much they disliked a particular hymn we sang that day. Not five minutes later someone else thanked me for picking it because it was their favorite. Hymn selection is all risk and no reward.
 
It was much to my delight, then, when someone told me that one of the hymns spoke deeply to them about the challenges we’re facing. Here’s the striking lyric, from Wonder Love and Praise, number 779:

___The church of Christ in every age,
___beset by change but Spirit-led,
___must claim and test its heritage
___and keep on rising from the dead.

Our present road may be rocky, but church is no stranger to adversity. Indeed, it’s what we’re founded on: adversity, even unto death. We face difficult times—and even death—with the knowledge that Christ has conquered death. As Paul tells the Romans:

We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:4–5 NRSV)

Through Christ, we are heirs not of of death and sadness, but of resurrection and joy. And so we experience adversity not as a threat to life, but as an opportunity to reconnect with the resurrection we know in Christ.

What a wonderful thing to sing about!

Yours in Christ,
Justin
 
* Check out number 196 next time you have a hymnal in hand. If you can sight-read a hymn in two keys and three time signatures, you have a special gift. For the rest of us, here’s a recording.
I have some travel and vacation come up in the next month:

Next week, I’m traveling to Winnipeg to officiate at the burial of my good friend’s father. The Rev. R.C. Laird (who preached at my installation) suffered the death of his father last December. Around that time, he asked me to officiate at the burial, but covid’s complications to international travel means that it’s just happening now. After Monday’s vestry meeting, I’m headed north with R.C. and his family to lay his father's remains to rest. I'll be out of town Tuesday through Friday, July 19 to 22.
 
In August, the Chapmans are headed to Glacier National Park for summer vacation. I’m leaving Thursday, August 4, and will be back in the saddle on Monday the 22nd. I’ll have specifics about pulpit supply and emergency pastoral coverage in early August.
Connect with Rev. Justin
Call or text: 612-618-3826
Email: revjustinc@gmail.com

Drop in Office Hours: Wednesdays, 12:30 to 3:00. Note: I'll be out of the office on Wednesday, July 20.

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!
Worship with us
Sunday Eucharist: 9:30 a.m.

Please join us for worship on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and plan to stay for coffee hour following worship.

If you're interested in singing with the choir, please join us at 8:45 to rehearse the music. We're not wearing robes currently and there's no commitment, so give it a try!

If you can't make it in person, please tune in for the livestream on St. Luke's Facebook page. Download the bulletin to follow along at home. If you can't catch it live, all our worship services are archived there for viewing anytime.
The choir is back!

Calling everyone who wishes to sing in joyful praise and fellowship! We're doing a soft restart of the choir this summer, meeting in the worship space at 8:45 to rehearse the hymns and service music. We're not wearing robes right now and there's no commitment. Let's make music together!
Pastoral Care Notes
Celebrating this week
Birthdays
  • Karen Ostrander
Anniversaries
  • Neal & Sue Engelman
  • Andrew & Shanna Altrichter
  • Kevin & Kathy Connelly
Updates
Casey Flynn Decker, brother of Jeffrey Decker
Casey Flynn Decker passed away suddenly on Friday July 8th in Irving, Texas. A memorial service will be in Irving on July 30th.

Diana Bork, sister of Karen Gould
Diana died unexpectedly on Tuesday, July 5. Her funeral was held on Monday, July 11, at Holy Family Catholic Church in Arcadia, Wisconsin. Her obituary can be found here.

Joe Gibilisco
Joe died early on July 7. His funeral will be held at 11:00 on Saturday, July 30, at St. Luke's. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service at the church. His obituary is available here.

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).
Calvary - St. Luke's Ice Cream Social
Hello friends!

How does a cool and refreshing ice cream treat sound to you on a hot summer day? What about enjoying that while meeting our Episcopal neighbors from Calvary? The Calvary-St. Luke's Collaboration Team invites you to an ice cream social on Sunday, July 24, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., rain or shine, at Cook Park in Rochester. There will be ice cream, beverages, games, and of course. . . awesome fellowship! There are picnic tables, but please feel free to bring your own chair to allow easy movement for visiting.

See you there!

The Calvary-St. Luke's Collaboration Team
Co-Chairs: Laurie Leaf, Kit Muellner
Members: Rev. Justin Chapman, Penny Duffy, Martha Mangan, Diane O'Mara, Rev. Beth Royalty, Colleen Spillers
Calvary - St. Luke's Collaboration
St. Luke's and Calvary Episcopal Churches in Rochester, MN, are beginning works to collaborate. We are seeking input from both congregations and collecting your ideas. What great ideas can you think of to encourage our parishes to work together to serve each other to serve God? You can consider the areas of Worship, Education, Social and Outreach - or another category, too. Imagine the greatness we can do when we all join together.

Please fill out this survey to share your ideas!

**The team would love it if you'd complete the survey by July 31** Thanks!

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. This summer, consider checking out Lunch on the Lawn, Tuesday lunch-hour outdoor concerts.
Home and Hearth
Donations to St. Luke’s of new and gently used household items is on hiatus for a few months. If you would like to continue to share your treasures with others in need during this time a good resource is Catholic Charities at 903 West Center Street Suite 220 in Rochester.

Catholic Charities is currently in need of small household items, bedding (twin is needed, but will take full size also), towels, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, glass cookware, baking pans, plates, bowls and cups, glasses and cutlery. Random drop-off is Mondays, please call first if other days work better. Thank you for your generosity, we are reminded of the slogan that was so popular a few years back, WWJD- What Would Jesus Do?
From the Episcopal Church in Minnesota
Concluded: General Convention 2022

The Episcopal Church governs itself by a General Convention, which concluded on Monday. General Convention meets every three years and is structured like our US Congress, with two houses: the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. The House of Deputies is made up of a deputation of four lay people and four clergy elected from each diocese within the Episcopal Church. Learn more about General Convention and check out reports from the Minnesota deputation here.
Reading in Community
Bible Study: Luke

Bible Study isn't meeting on July 20 since Rev. Justin is out of town. We'll pick up again on July 27. We hope to see you then!

Click here to join the meeting or call in: 312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 827 6194 5638
Passcode: 1884

Book Group

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (novel)    

Tuesday, September 27th, 6:30 pm  

Discussion through Zoom.
Enjoy the book; then join us for a discussion led by Julie Phyliky.

Watch for a St. Luke's Book Group notice to join the meeting by computer or phone.
Submissions
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.
St. Luke’s is...
           Joyful community
           Faithful service
           Transformational worship
                                   Growing in relationship with God in Christ.