Welcome to St. Luke’s! 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.
During the summer, children ages 4 and up may go to the nursery after the children’s story, and meet their parents or adult relatives after Sunday School in the Wesley Room for refreshments.
Holy Communion in the United Methodist tradition is open to all who desire to receive the bread and cup. Children are welcome to participate in Holy Communion. For more information, please take the brochure, United Methodists and Communion, on the information table in the Wesley Room.
Today – Grate Patrol offering & meal-making. Once a month we make and distribute bag suppers to 150 homeless men and women on the streets of downtown DC, through the Salvation Army’s Grate Patrol. Our special offering on Communion Sundays supports the purchase of groceries and supplies. An after-church assembly line puts the meals together. Delivery night is Tuesday, August 3rd. To help distribute the meals, please sign up on the bulletin board in the Wesley Room. The Grate Patrol van picks up the meals and those who are helping with delivery here at church a little before 7:00 pm and returns to the church before 9:00 pm.
Last month’s Grate Patrol offering was $156.00
Also today – special music during coffee hour. Cello students of Cecilia Rossiter -- Asia Douglas, Adam Sadick and Caishnah Alan-Cambridge -- will play compositions by Squire, Hayden, Kummer and others in an informal concert during coffee hour today. Come make sandwiches by cello!
August 8 -- Commissioning for VIM Cuba team
This Sunday we will commission our Volunteers in Mission Cuba team during worship.
August 8 – congregational meeting on children’s ministry during coffee hour. An opportunity to hear and discuss plans for new directions in children’s ministry to begin in September.
August 12 – Jazz in the Garden. Bring your friends and a picnic supper to enjoy the swinging sounds of Hokum Jazz, a jazz in the garden perennial favorite. You’ll be dancin’! 6:30-8:30 in the garden.
August 15 – Clint Riley is guest preacher. Thanks to Clint for offering the sermon this week.
St. Luke’s Choir and children’s choir are taking a summer break. For more information contact deke@saintlukesmethodist.org or 202-333-4949.
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. The first class graduated on July 2nd! The program is 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 and for her summer schedule.
Volunteers in Mission Cuba Trip Update
Our host church is in need of the items listed below. Please contact Sylvia Zulu if you need further information or are interested in making a donation. sylzulu@yahoo.com
+ Laptop computers
+ Over the counter medicines
+ Prescription medicines from your doctor (most important thing we can take)
+ Fabric, buttons, needles, thread, etc.
+ Towels
+ Sheets
+ Reading glasses and old prescription glasses
+ New underwear (men, women and children)
+ Toothbrushes and paste
+ Small soaps
+ Pens, pencils
+ Razors
+ Gently worn shoes
St. Luke’s web site is always current! Check it out at www.saintlukesmethodist.org. Thanks to Derek Willis for making this happen.
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 Paige Trevor and her family on the death of her grandmother
The joy of Nana Sue Crane and Frances Fort having their family from California with them today
Eliza Wharton asked for prayers as she travels home to New Orleans next week for a visit
Molly McCracken shared the joy that she and Vince are engaged
The joy of our first children’s summer music camp, and appreciation for Deke’s leadership
The joy that Gladys Manuel, a church member who now lives in California, is celebrating her 100th birthday on July 21st
Penny Andrews shared the joy of receiving a letter from Annette and Rob in Norway, and asked for continued prayers for Rob’s safety while he is in Iraq
Carmen Rottenberg shared the joy of her father John being with her this weekend , and for Arianne’s birthday
Marian Potter asked for prayers for Meg Markham, long-time supporter of St. Luke’s Shelter, on the unexpected death of her husband Allan
Continued prayers for Marian’s mother, Mary Van Puten, at Sibley Hospital
For Earl Williams’ cousin Eric, in Iraq
For Charlene, who is scheduled to have surgery in the next few weeks
For Leslye Wooley’s grandmother Evelyn, who fell and broke her shoulder
Deke Polifka shared the joy of his sister and brother-in-law moving to Washington soon
Darryl Smith shared the joy of his daughters Hannah and Naomi returning home after a month-long visit with family in Ethiopia, and of their being in church together
For Arianne Perkin’s cousin, Nicole, who has been charged with participating in an insurance scam, and for her children and family
For Jen Runyon, whose father died as the result of a car accident in early July, and for Jen’s family
Farai Chigymbura shared the meaning of her church uniform which is worn by the women of her church, St. Dorcas United Methodist Church, in Zimbabwe, and which she has worn to church today
For Emma Cox who has been diagnosed with shingles
For Eric, young friend of the Pyles, with cancer
For our military in Iraq and for the people of Iraq, and for our leaders that they may lead with wisdom
For the Volunteers in Mission Cuba trip in August
For the children and staff of Wings of Hope Orphanage, in Haiti.
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 and Lucille Dade.
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.”