I’ve been asked to speak today about Gifts, and since I’ve been the church Treasurer for 10 years now, none of you will be surprised that I’m focusing on monetary gifts.

I’ve got 3 sub-topics: gifts through St. Luke; gifts to St. Luke, and the Gift (capital G) of St. Luke.  

First, we need to recognize that many of our donations to St. Luke are really donations through St. Luke: funds that we pass on, whether to Hope Food Pantry, for fans or school supplies or Thanksgiving baskets, or to the Conference for Apportionments or Advance Specials.  And given what we accountants call Transaction Costs, each of these pass-through gifts includes a little bit of St. Luke with it, whether it’s a paper check or a postage stamp or an increase in our bank service charge.

And where does this little bit of St. Luke come from?  You guessed it – contributions to General Budget.  Dick and I utilize the automated giving program, and except for $100 specified for loan repayment, all of our gift goes to General Budget.  Now part of this is because of what I do as Treasurer.  We all see candles aflame on Sundays and Wednesdays, but I know the minimum order of oil costs $70.  And the bulletins we have at most services are important to me; I know our monthly fee for copier rental is over $200.

But what I really want to stress is that these gifts to St. Luke – the gifts that pay for stamps and copy paper and candle oil – are really how we give the Gift of St. Luke (and again, that’s Gift with a capital G).  One of my favorite numbers in our red hymnal is #408, “The Gift of Love”, and it reflects how I really feel about this church.  St. Luke to me is not only a place to worship and to do good works, and a community of love, but also an entity unto itself, and gifts to General Budget are how we give the Gift of St. Luke to each other.  So your gifts to General Budget are how you all give St. Luke back to me.  I’ll end by saying “thank you” for that wonderful gift of this place and community.

-Anita

What does it mean to be present at church?  For me being present at church is not just about how many times we walk through the sanctuary doors.  It’s not about counting the number of times a month we made it.  Being at church for me is about being here spiritually and emotionally.  As we all know the world can be a tough place.  We all deal with pain, frustration, and stress.  So where do we go?  Who do we turn to?  How do we make sense of what sometimes feels like a senseless world?  I strongly feel if you put your heart and mind with god that you’ll at least be able to put things in perspective.  It’s easy to get distracted by the everyday details in life and too often we let life get overwhelming causing us to forget what’s really important.  The best way I know to center myself is to be present.

To be present at church for me is to be part of a community of people that care deeply for each other and for growing spiritually.  Rebecca and I have always made a commitment to be at church as much as we can when we’re in town.  What literally drives us to church Sunday mornings though is that desire to be present with god and with the wonderful St. Luke family we’ve grown so close to.  So I encourage everyone to think about what presence at church means for them. If you can find that passion and connection with church and with god then I think you’ll find yourself walking through those sanctuary doors more often. 

--Mark Troutfetter

For eight weeks, St Luke is highlighting the four areas of church commitment necessary to our spiritual growth: prayers, presence, gifts and service. A lay person makes a brief presentation during worship on one of these emphases. This week, Mark Troutfetter spoke of the importance of presence in worship and being present to God, especially in stressful times. Next Sunday, Lacey Richter will offer an interactive expression of the importance of prayer in our lives. And more will follow!

St Luke will observe the Baptism of Our Lord this coming Sunday with a Service of Renewal of the Baptismal Covenant during the 10:50 worship service. 

Join us on Sunday Dec. 30 at our usual worship hour (10:50 am) for a worship service with Rev. Eric McKinney.   We always find his sermons and insights interesting and inspirational!

Please celebrate the Eve of Our Lord's birth with carols and candlelight and moments for silent reflection about the mystery of the season. December 24th at 6:00 PM in the Sanctuary. Invite a friend to share in this time. Children are welcome.

St Luke is once again helping celebrate Jesus' birth by hosting a shower for the Baby Jesus. Any new items appropriate for a new-born or infant can be brought to the church by Sunday, December 16th, without gift wrapping. If you would rather make a cash contribution, make your check to St Luke, with the memo: Birthday for Jesus.