November 2020 Dear Friends, This month St Luke’s is focused on endings and beginnings. We have left our storefront space of five years for a new building; we have said farewell to congregational members and we welcome others who we’ve met only remotely; we mourned the lives of many Saints and we trust in God’s
This November, St. Luke’s Council gives abundant thanks for staff and community who assisted our Moving Team in the location transition process from 2837 W Armitage to our new home at 3325 W Wrightwood. First, a thank you to all those in our church, members at Grace United Methodist
Greetings on this week leading up to the 503rd anniversary of the Reformation. The church, then, now, and in the future, is called to moments of great account, of small mercy, of singing songs and growing in freedom. We are writing with a brief update from your Council in diaspora to you, the church. We had excellent attendance and engagement with our Oct. 11th Town Hall, as well as follow up with the survey. Thank you to all those who attended and shared your thoughts, feelings, reflections, and questions with us…
Sometimes it feels like the world is coming to an end… and at the same time, it is just beginning. Seasons change; death and life continue in endless cycle. Growth gives way to decay, and decay to growth again. Our worship life in November centers on cosmic endings and beginnings…
We know that these guidelines might be disappointing. We miss going to church and seeing each other. It is especially difficult to think about keeping the Advent and Christmas seasons with limited opportunities to gather. However, our faith tells us that loving our neighbor and ourselves is not always easy and at times, it may require us to release our desires and preferences in favor of God’s abundant life…
Our kids have started school, teachers are plugging away at their lesson plans, and little by little the city’s canopies are turning to crimson and rusted hues, but this year little about these ordinary Fall passages has been ordinary. And while St. Luke’s Council laments not gathering in the usual ways—especially for missing out on
Did you know that St. Luke’s has a brand new Preaching-Learning Community? Lutherans believe that God calls all sorts of people to proclaim God’s word, not only people who work as pastors. By God’s grace, each of us belongs to the priesthood of all believers. What qualifies us to preach is the call of God and the call of the community…
Worship in October focuses on Living in the In-Between. In September, St. Luke’s voted to finalize our move to a new building, so for our congregation this Location Transition is an in-between time. But outside of church too, many of us are moving through life transitions, liminal spaces, threshold moments…
On Wilderness Sunday, September 20, 2020, in a gathering on Zoom sponsored by the Antiracism Ministry, Katie Maxwell and Iván A Pérez provided an overview of environmental racism and environmental justice. We discussed the ways in which systemic racism impacts our natural world, and pollution and climate change disproportionately harm communities of color…
For all the ways Elle has made our members feel “seen” by her ministry, and the ways Elle has likewise been shaped by the experiences and relationships (including navigating ministry during a pandemic!), St. Luke’s wishes Elle the best in her future endeavors.