Welcome, visitors! 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.
Welcome, children! Our nursery is located downstairs (the first room on the left). 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 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. Their Sunday School teachers are Miss Heather and Miss Cherise.
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. Pick one up in the Wesley Room after church.
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.
Adult Sunday School has started up again. We are studying the Gospel of Luke. Please join us. We meet at 9:45 in the Wesley Room.
And now for something completely different from the Tuesday evening study group. If you’ve been interested in this weekly group, it’s a great time to jump in. We meet 7:30-8:30 in Anne’s office (rear office entrance).
Welcome to The Rev. John Rottenberg today. John Rottenberg is a pastor in the Reformed Church in America currently researching his doctor of ministry project here at St. Luke’s, and the father of Carmen Rottenberg.
Volunteers in Mission Cuba trip participants and supporters: our next meeting is after church today.
All Saints Day Observed November 2nd. In the tradition of Christian faith, on All Saints Day we lift up in thanksgiving those who have died during the past year. Please bring a framed picture of anyone you would like to remember and give thanks for on that day.
Grate Patrol offering and meal-making on November 2nd. Once a month we make 150 meals for homeless men and women living on the streets of downtown DC. Please plan to stay after church on November 2nd to help make the meals. Our Grate Patrol offering on Communion Sundays supports the buying of the groceries and supplies.
Children’s Choir begins November 2nd. The children will have a brief rehearsal every Sunday after church, and they will sing regularly during worship. First step: the Christmas pageant! For more information contact Deke, deke@saintlukesmethodist.org.
Liturgist training after church on November 9th. For all continuing and new worship leaders. If you would like to be a part of the worship leader rotation, please come to the liturgist training on November 9th after church. If you would like to become a worship leader but can’t attend this training, please let Anne know.
Pledge Sunday is November 16th. Please keep your 2004 financial commitment to St. Luke’s in prayer during the coming weeks.
About St. Luke’s Choir. The St. Luke’s choir rehearses every Sunday morning at 9:30 am, and meets after coffee hour to plan music for upcoming worship. 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 Director of Music Ministry Deke Polifka, deke@saintlukesmethodist.org.
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 new program of St. Luke’s Shelter and St. Luke’s Church. Next Step Kitchen will provide job training in restaurant skills for 6-8 homeless men and women in a 12 week course, with the course to be offered 4 times yearly. The program will be located downstairs in the St. Luke’s kitchen. For more information, please consult the St. Luke’s Kitchen Notebook on the information table in the Wesley Room, or Susan Keenan, Executive Director, susan@nextstepkitchen.org.
Combined Federal Campaign. St. Luke’s Shelter/Next Step Kitchen is now a part of the Combined Federal Campaign. The CFC # is 7940.
Yoga classes. A practice of breath and posture that helps integrate body and soul. Beth Sworobuk leads yoga Mondays and Wednesdays 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.
Wednesday evening prayer. A time for sharing, reflection and prayer. In the Chapel, 7:30-7:45 pm.
Joys and Concerns…
The joy of the Georgetown University Gospel Choir sharing their music with the congregation
Ransom asked for prayers for his father Craig, traveling to Australia and back
For Heather Burns and her family in a difficult time
For the family of Mary Evan’s friend Kate, who died of cancer at age 47 leaving 2 children
Marian shared the joy of having her cousin here from NY
For Dorothy Bowers recovering from surgery at home
For Earl William’s mother, at Sibley Hospital
The joy that Jeff King is home from the hospital
For all students with mid-terms and papers
Sonia asked for prayers for John, recovering from surgery
For Deke and his sister Amy on the death of their grandmother
For Jackie on the death of her aunt
For Janelle, whose grandfather died recently
For the completed life of Margaret Thompson
For Shalom’s mother Candace
Andrea asked for prayers for her co-workers who have died in the past few weeks
For the growing number of homeless people on the street
The joy that Theo Trevor is fine after having a concussion
For the Wednesday night prayer group
For Vernon Thomas, recovering at home after a stay at Sibley Hospital
For Inne’s mother as she prepares to leave Korea to join Inne’s father in Kuwait; and for Inne’s grandmother, who will stay in Korea.
The joy of receiving Eliza Wharton into the watch care of St. Luke’s
For the people of the Middle East
Alan Wright’s mother brings greetings from the Methodist church of Northern Ireland and the joy of being here today to visit
For our Volunteers in Mission team as it prepares for the trip to Cuba in August 2004
For the military in Iraq and for the people of Iraq
For Africa
For the 2003 Church Council: Penny Andrews, Curt Canada, Karen Cox, Allen Hengst, Julie James, Dorothy Pearson, Sonia Peters, Kim Pyle, Richard Pyle, Kate Ransom-Silliman, Leslye Wooley and Sylvia Zulu.
For situations of danger and violence throughout the world
For the street people in downtown DC who gather to receive Grate Patrol meals each night.
For the community of St. Luke’s Shelter.
For Wings of Hope Orphanage in Haiti
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.
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.
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.”