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.
Holy Communion Each Sunday in Advent. The United Methodist Church practices an “open table,” to which are invited who seek to draw closer to God. Children are welcome at the table. For more information, pick up the pamphlet called “United Methodists and Holy Communion,” on the information table in the Wesley Room.
St. Luke’s Pledges for 2005. We have had a strong response to our pledge campaign for 2005. If you have not yet made a pledge for the coming year and would like to do so, please call or email Rayna Luke at the church office, rayna@saintlukesmethodist.org.
Today– Service of Lessons and Carols. Through scripture, prayer, choir anthems and congregational singing, we will reflect on the wonder of God’s gift in the birth of Christ.
Today – Church Council meets after coffee hour
This afternoon -neighborhood caroling on December 19th. Meet at 3:00 pm for caroling in the neighborhood followed by refreshments in the Fellowship Hall back at St. Luke’s. This was a lot of fun last year so don’t miss out!
This evening – Our turn with Shelter dinner. Each month a group of St. Luke’s friends and members prepares and shares dinner with the Shelter residents. We meet at the Shelter at 6:45 and leave after dinner, by 8:00 pm. If you would like to share this enjoyable experience, contact Nikki Parker and Cory Scott, Shelter Dinner Coordinators.
Christmas Eve – a candlelit service with holy communion, at 5:00 pm.
Christmas at St. Luke’s Shelter On Christmas the Shelter remains open all day. The residents, who must leave by 7 am every other day of the year, can sleep in and enjoy a late breakfast and relaxing day. Christmas dinner is prepared by June Kress and Dennis Soiberman.
We have asked each resident to name something ($30 and under) he would like for Christmas. Thanks to all who have signed up for the gifts! They need to be in the office, wrapped & tagged, today.
The church office will be closed December 27-31. For a pastoral emergency please call Anne’s cell phone.
Grate Patrol Cold Weather Needs It’s that time of year again – cold temperatures, wind chill, snow and ice means hypothermia season for the homeless. Help protect the lives of The Salvation Army Grate Patrol’s homeless clients by donating new or very gently used cold weather clothing such as: hats, gloves, scarves, socks & thermal underwear (particularly in larger sizes). We will distribute cold weather gear on Grate Patrol throughout hypothermia season. Please contact Leslye Wooley at 202-250-7706 or Leslye_Wooley@uss.salvationarmy.org for more information. Leave donations in the cradle in the Wesley Room.
Support St. Luke’s Shelter through igive.com
With the holidays right around the corner St. Luke's Shelter and Next Step Kitchen have a convenient way for you to shop that will help us raise funds! igive.com is a great website that offers over 500 stores ranging from Harry and David to Neiman Marcus to Home Depot. Each store in their "mall" will donate a percentage of what you spend to St. Luke's Shelter. For example, if you shop at Petco.com they will donate 3.2% of what you spend. And it isn't just stores- services such as Netflix, FTD and AOL offer donations too. It is so simple to sign up- just go to igive.com and download the igive shopping window on the computer you do your shopping from and designate St. Luke's Shelter- Next Step Kitchen. Now anytime you shop online your computer will know if the store your looking at offers a donation--you don't have to go to a special website to shop. So this year you can be extra generous and buy your loved ones lots of gifts (after you register at igive.com, of course!) (from Susan Keenan)
Federal employees can support St. Luke’s Shelter/Next Step Kitchen by designating #7940 as your pledge in this year’s Combined Federal Campaign. If you would like a speaker from St. Luke’s Shelter/Next Step Kitchen for your CFC campaign kick-off, please contact Susan Keenan, susan@nextstepkitchen.org.
New Church Directories are in the Wesley Room. Please take home a copy.
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 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.
Every Tuesday – the weekly study group meets 7:30-8:30 pm in Anne’s office. During Advent we’ll be reading to each other from our favorite Christmas stories. Come and bring a friend.
Understanding the Common & Historic Foundations of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Richard Pyle is leading a class using Bruce Feiler’s Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths (HarperCollins, 2002). The course aims to offer a vision of hope from insight into the common origins of these three major faiths. The class meets at 9:45 a.m
Yoga classes. A practice of breath and posture that helps integrate body and soul. Beth Sworobuk leads yoga 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.
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 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 Clint’s family friend Kim, and his family
Hannah shared the joy of the birth of her cousin Benjamin
Sonia shared the joy of her friend Camelia passing the Foreign Service Exam
For members of Kaou’s family having employment difficulties
Penny shared her sense of peace and blessing in the midst of a health crisis
For Sonia’s cousin Derrick graduating from college
For Nedi and his family
The joy of Curt’s recent visit home to West Virginia
For Shalom’s grandmother’s continuing recovery from hip surgery, and the joy of Shalom’s recent visit to the monastery of Taize, France
For Nikki’s sister Natalie in her job search, and for her grandmother Phyllis with stomach cancer
For Penny’s friend Linda in a difficult time
For Deke and Amy’s grandmother as she recovers from surgery for lung cancer
Don shared the joy of being with his aging mother in Oklahoma during Thanksgiving, and the concern for all children dealing at a distance with aging parents
For Sandi Stroud’s cousin Beth, a United Methodist pastor in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, who was tried in an ecclesiastical court and lost her ordination status because she is openly lesbian; and for The United Methodist Church, that it may become truly a place of open hearts, open minds and open doors
For Dorothy Preston’s friend with advanced stage breast cancer
For Andrea’s father Bela who underwent heart by-pass surgery this week
For peace
For Matthew Scruggs, son of Joyce and Derrick Wagner, being redeployed to Iraq in January, and for the end of the war
For the Pyle’s young friend Eric
For Earl Williams’ cousin Eric, in Iraq
For our military in Iraq and for the people of Iraq, and for our leaders that they may lead with wisdom
For the children and staff of Wings of Hope Orphanage, in Haiti.
For Prince of Peace Methodist Church in Holguin, Cuba
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: Emma Cox, Jeanne Goss, Lucille Dade, and Margaret Roberts.
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.”