Welcome to St. Luke’s, where worship is grounded in the spirit of Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, who embraced both traditional worship forms and sensitivity to the many surprising ways God is speaking to us. We look forward to worship as a sacred time of giving thanks for the continual creative power of God, resting in the abiding care of the Spirit, and discerning the voice of Christ. We hope to leave worship renewed and rejoicing. We invite visitors and guests to come and explore this community at worship, at work caring for God’s world, and in fellowship together as we seek to create a community of faith in the city.
There is a visitor card in the pew rack; if you’d like a call this week, please fill out the card and give it to the pastor or place it in the collection plate.
Please join the congregation for refreshments after worship in the Wesley Room.
Welcome, children! Our nursery is located upstairs. Just follow the signs. Mrs. Fatu Colley is in charge of the nursery. The nursery is available from 10:45 until 12:15. Parents can take their infants, toddlers, and younger preschoolers to the nursery at any time during the service.
Children ages 4 and up usually go to Sunday School after the children’s story, and meet their parents or adult relatives after Sunday School in the Wesley Room for refreshments. Cherise Williams and Heather Thomas are our Sunday School teachers.
Today -- Native American Ministries Sunday
The third of the United Methodist Special Offering Sundays is Native American Ministries Sunday, which funds urban ministries, scholarships, and work with Native Americans within our own Annual Conference. For more information see www.UMCGiving.org.
Many thanks to Dotti Seitz for providing worship leadership today.
Today --Prescription Drug Benefit Seminar
We will offer an educational seminar on the new Medicare prescription drug plan after church today. If you are enrolled in Medicare or if you have a relative or friend who is enrolled, or if you just want to understand the options better, this will be a great opportunity to learn more about the different prescription drug plans that will be offered to beneficiaries and when they can expect to take advantage of this new program. The seminar will be held in the chapel beginning at about 12:15, and last about an hour. Thanks to Kelly Vogel for leading this seminar.
May 2nd - Sunday School Class on Methodism begins. An opportunity to get acquainted with our roots as United Methodists! Christine Day will lead an adult Sunday School class during the four Sundays in May on the roots and history of The United Methodist Church. We will explore the Church’s place in history, how Methodism was shaped by America and how it shaped America. We will also read some of John Wesley’s sermons to develop an understanding of our faith and theology. Christine is a graduate of Drew Theological Seminary, currently serving as a chaplain at Georgetown University Hospital, and in the ordination process in the New York Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Class will be held from 9:45-10:45 on the Sundays in May. For more information contact Christine at cnd5@georgetown.edu
May 2nd – Grate Patrol Offering and meal-making.
Once a month we make and deliver 150 bag suppers to homeless women and men living on the streets n downtown DC. The Grate Patrol Offering supports the purchase of the groceries and supplies for the meals. To help contact Julie James at juliejamesemail@yahoo.com
May 2nd - Baby Shower for Carrie and Bob Kolasky after church. All are invited to attend! For more information, contact Penny Andrews at 202- 338-3238, or Sonia Kassambara at 301- 779-6709 or kassambara.sonia@epa.gov
Saturday, May 8th – car wash to benefit VIM-Cuba
Come help wash or bring a dirty car. All proceeds go to the host Methodist Church in Cuba where the Volunteers in Mission team will be working in August. For information contact Sylvia Zulu, sylzulu@yahoo.com
May 9th – Final Spring Concert, 2:00 pm. A vocal recital featuring works of Schumann, Day, and Faure. The concert is free and open to the community, so please bring your friends! For more information contact deke@saintlukesmethodist.org.
Children’s Choir meets after coffee hour each week for 20 minutes or so. For more information talk to Deke Polifka, Music Director.
About St. Luke’s Choir. The St. Luke’s choir rehearses every Sunday morning at 9:30 am. The St. Luke’s choir seeks to strengthen our worship by encouraging congregational singing, by honoring the varieties of the congregation’s faith heritages and traditions, and by embracing new ways of discovering God’s presence in our lives, through worship that is vibrant and alive. You don’t have to be able to read music to be a part of St. Luke’s choir. We keep it simple. For more information, contact deke@saintlukesmethodist.org or 202-333-4949.
The Tuesday evening study group is sharing various readings that have meaning for our individual journeys. The readings are available on Sunday before Tuesday (in the Wesley Room) or by fax. If you don’t pick up the reading today, contact the church office to get it by fax. We meet 7:30-8:30 in Anne’s office (rear office entrance).
St. Luke’s Shelter is a ministry of St. Luke’s Church. The Shelter, which is located in the church, provides a small group of homeless men with a secure residence for up to six months. The Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place refers residents to the Shelter. The Shelter operates every night of the year. The dinner meal is provided 365 nights of the year by neighbors, members of nearby churches and synagogues, and several Wisconsin Avenue restaurants and grocers.
St. Luke’s Shelter Next Step Kitchen is a program of St. Luke’s Shelter and St. Luke’s Church, providing job training in restaurant skills for homeless men and women. First class begins May 17th! The program will be located downstairs in the St. Luke’s kitchen. For more information, go to www.saintlukesmethodist.org, or Susan Keenan, Executive Director, susan@nextstepkitchen.org.
Yoga classes. A practice of breath and posture that helps integrate body and soul. Beth Sworobuk leads yoga Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the sanctuary balcony, 9:30-11:00 am. Classes are half-price for church members and friends. Contact bethsworobuk@aol.com for more information.
First Ever! St. Luke’s Music Camp July 12-16. Camp this year will be a wonderful experience involving singing, drama, arts and crafts, storytelling, snacks and games for children completing kindergarten through sixth grade. Camp will be held from 9:00 to noon Monday through Friday, with the children presenting their musical on Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm. For family and friends. This year’s musical is “By The Sea: Stories from the Life of Jesus.” Brochures and registration forms are available in the Wesley Room, or contact Deke Polifka, Director of Music Ministry at deke@saintlukesmethodist.org.
Volunteers in Mission Cuba Trip Update - Our trip to Cuba will be August 14th-29th. We will be working at the oldest Methodist church in Cuba, in Mantanza, on the northern coast, and living at the Methodist seminary there. Our trip leader will be Greg Forrester, VIM Coordinator for the Northeast Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, who has led several VIM trips to Cuba in the past. There are still spaces for 3-4 people.
Upcoming fundraising events for the trip include a car wash on May 8th, a community garage/yard sale on May 22nd, and a benefit concert and silent auction on June 19th. Monies raised will go with the group as a gift to the host church in Cuba. We also have a list of items we want to carry in and leave with the church. For further information, contact Sylvia Zulu at sylzulu@yahoo.com
Wednesday evening prayer. A time for sharing, reflection and prayer. In the Chapel, 7:30-7:45 pm.
St. Luke’s web site is always current! Check it out at www.saintlukesmethodist.org. Thanks to Derek Willis for making this happen.
New Church Directories are available in the Wesley Room. Please take one with you.
Put yourself on the map. We now have a map on the wall in the Wesley Room so that we can see where everyone is from and also the places we all keep in our hearts. Please add your places during coffee hour today.
Sermon copies for the hard of hearing can be picked up every Sunday in the narthex. Each week’s sermon is also available on the web.
Joys and Concerns…
For Likando on her birthday
The joy of Sophie’s extended family who are here for her baptism
For Martha Wagner in her move to Asbury Village
For Dorothy Bowers’ continued recovery
For Sonia’s friend Natasha moving to Barbadoes
For the Volunteers in Mission Cuba trip in August
For Don Scroggin’s colleague Davidson, whose son was shot and killed
For the military in Iraq, and for those who have lost loved ones there
The joy of DJ’s mother visiting
Cherise shared the joys of turning 21, of the Georgetown University Gospel Choir’s Spring Concert, and of a summer position at the Atlanta Constitution; and asked for prayers on the death of her grandmother
For peace in Israel, and for civilians in Iraq
The joy that Next Step Kitchen has received a grant for $75,000 from the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church
For Susan Keenan, Director of Next Step Kitchen, whose mother suffered a mild stroke last week
For Katie and John Travis, members of the St. Luke’s community who were married on April 17th
For all in Iraq, and for guidance for the leaders of this country and of the world, that there may be peace
For Curt’s friend Ben, in hospice care
For the Pyles’ friend Eric with cancer
For the children and staff of Wings of Hope Orphanage, in Haiti.
For Carrie and Bob, whose baby is due in May
For the community of St. Luke’s Shelter.
For those living with HIV/AIDS
For our members who are unable to attend because of their health: Margaret Roberts, Jeanne Goss, Vernon Thomas, Lucille Dade, and Dorothy Bowers.
Our Mission Statement
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church seeks to serve the community’s spiritual and physical needs. We are a small congregation dedicated to creating an atmosphere of inclusiveness in which all feel welcome to worship. At. St. Luke’s, we try to follow the example of Christ’s ministry and teaching by sharing our building, our time and our prayers in many community partnerships. We embrace new ways of giving thanks and work to teach the joy of God’s grace to all whom we can reach.
We follow in the Wesleyan tradition in our belief that “scriptural holiness entails more than personal piety; love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and renewal in the life of the world.”