Every year (at least every year pre-pandemic) Judy and I threw an Epiphany Open House in early January. It’s a
great way to extend the holiday season and bring a little light to the long, cold, dark month which is January.
Our guest list drew from the various worlds to which we are connected – co-workers, neighbors, friends,
members of our car club. There would be between thirty and forty people who attended in any given year.
Hebrews 13:2 – “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
The second reading of this Sunday comes from Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16. In verse 2, the author of the text shares a command with their readers: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Now is the time to consider solar energy for your home. Wednesday September 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Henderson Hall. we hear from two experts how to take advantage of what the sun has to offer when powering our residences or churches. There are many options to consider when looking at solar. New incentives were added by Illinois in 2021 and more options were added with the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Dan Huntsha of Faith in Place and Tim Milburn, an industry consultant, will provide two segments with time for questions.
Walgreens will be at St. Luke’s on Sunday, September 18, 2022, to provide flu shots and other immunization from 9:00 a.m. to noon. These are available for anyone wishing to receive these immunizations.
Biblical Foundations for our Renewed Mission.
This fall is a bridge between Year C and the Gospel of Luke, and Year A, and the Gospel of Matthew.
On September 11 the forum will be held at 11:00 a.m. and feature Personal Reflections from Pastor Bouman, who was in New York City that day in 2001.
All other forums are at 8:30 a.m. Get your coffee, we will start about 8:40 a.m.
Rally Day is September 11. During worship, will bless all our young students with their backpacks. Sunday School classes resume. Adult Forum resumes. On September 18, A picnic will held following worship and education events. The menu will feature Tim McCurry’s renown pulled pork sandwiches, as well as hot dogs, potato chips and more. Plan to join us. (The picnic will be held indoors if the weather doesn’t allow us to be outside.)
Our 2020 calendar included five out-of-state road trips, all cancelled with the onset of COVID- 19. During the winter of 2021 – 2022, seeing the growing percentage of the population achieving a level of immunity due either to vaccination or infection, reading about declining rates of hospitalizations and death, and trusting that the trajectory of the disease would continue in the right direction, Judy and I planned 2022 as the year of the road trip. We have six road trips on the calendar between the beginning of June and the middle of October, everything from an “over-nighter” in southern Wisconsin to a sixteen day “southwestern tour” including Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
And thank you, saints of St. Luke’s, for your generosity to ELCA World Hunger! Thank you for setting and working toward such generous goals – and thank you for consistently outdoing yourselves and exceeding your goals! What a difference you are making here and around the world, now and for generations to come.
All Youth Groups, 6th-12th grade, are invited to a free swimming party at Hinkley Pool on Sunday, August 7th, from 7:30-9:30 p.m., sponsored by Park Ridge Parish Youth. We invite all youth leaders to come as well!
I hope to name an Implementation Team for our Strategic Plan by the end of this week or the beginning of next. They will plan, with the staff, for a public and joyful launch of the Strategic Plan and all its recommendations this fall. When the plan has been launched, we will live into it, with the help of the Implementation Team. When we have evaluated the first hundred days of the launch, we will evaluate and begin to think and pray about the formation of a Call Committee for the next Lead Pastor of St. Luke’s. We need all of you to make our bold recommendations for mission a reality. It’s “all hands-on deck” time. I truly believe that the Holy Spirit is leading us into the next season of God’s mission among us in church and community.