January 2015 - St. Luke`s UMC

EXTRA
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Newsletter “As good as your word?”
The Word was with God and the Word was
God . . . What has come into being in him was
life, and the life was the light of all people. The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
does not overcome it.”
--John 1:2 & 4-5
Are we as good as our Word? One thing for
sure, we are not as good as God’s Word. God’s
perfect unfailing saving Word is Jesus Christ. We
will never be as good as God’s Word, but in life,
how often do we say, with great approval—he (or
she) “is as good as their word?” That’s a really
positive statement, isn’t it?
While it doesn’t mean we are perfect, like
Jesus Christ, if we “are as good as our word,” it
means we are trying to lead good lives, fulfilling our
commitments and giving a good example to others.
Well, friends, I’m delighted to say that St.
Luke’s is as good as its word! This year, for the
first time in 11 years, St. Luke’s has fulfilled its
commitment to ministry and mission around the
world through our denomination and the Virginia
Annual Conference for the sake of God’s Word.
We have been able to pay “our share” of
funding for missionaries and teachers and doctors, for Bishops and pastors to preach the Word,
for chaplains in prisons and hospitals, for educational institutions and medical missions around the
globe, for clean water projects and church camps
for kids… The list of what will be accomplished
in Christ’s name through you could fill pages and
pages, listing where around the globe our giving
travels through Methodist channels, all in the name
of Christ!
Let us give thanks to God, as this year
begins, that in the year past, we have been as
good as our Word, and always, always, let us keep
striving---a lifetime quest—to be imitators of God’s
perfect and holy Word, our Savior Jesus Christ.
January, 2015
Thank YOU, St. Luke’s and thanks be to God for
you!
Blessings, in this New Year,
Pastor Lisa
Ring in the New year
Donna Miller has a vision—she wants to
see a lively ministry of praise through the bell choir
in this place. Right now, there are four ringers.
Some of them are playing several bells. With each
new ringer, the load on the others is lightened and
the fellowship and joy increased!
Help us to grow our bell choir! Ring in this New
Year, by ringing a bell or two in the praise of God!
All you need to do is call Donna. No musical training is necessary. Just a willing and thankful spirit!
So ring in the New Year in awesome style!
A PRAISE-worthy undertaking!
On December 14, 2014, there was a oneof-a-kind ever event at St. Luke’s! The chancel
choir of Mt. Pisgah joined the chancel choir of St.
Luke’s to lead our 11 o’clock worship in praise with
a marvelous Christmas Cantata. Sandra played
the piano, in paramount style, while Elvin Nicely directed what was a spectacular Christmas Worship
Event.
To all the members of this combined choir,
its directors, the cantata narrator Seth Sykes, and
the worship committee and the trustees committee
(who consulted on rearranging the chancel to accommodate this choir), and to Wilmer Downs and
Clinton Gary who put in hours and hours reworking
wiring, carpet and moving furniture, our AV expert
Keith Miller and all who had a part in providing the
choir luncheon afterward, THANK YOU!
Such beautiful worship becomes a vital and
joyful congregation and recognizes the Lord born
to save us!
Cantata
The chancel choir of Mt. Pisgah joined the chancel choir of St. Luke’s to lead our 11 o’clock worship in
praise with a marvelous Christmas Cantata.
What a HOOT!
If you didn’t make it to the Youth Dinner Theatre Dec. 21st, you just don’t know
what you missed! Our 1960’s angel, lost in 2014 America, was “like GROOVY, Man!”
Jeremy Pritchard played the part of Angel Gregory who needed more than a little translation, to help the Wilson Family discover the true meaning of Christmas! Cast members
included: Rae Pulwey, Joshua Sykes, Wesley Pritchard, Ben Pritchard, Katie Lucas,
Stephanie Burnett, Riley Beeckler, Chris deKrafft, Brandon Myers, music by the Taylor
Family and amazing directing and production by Nancy Taylor!
THANKS!
Thanks to all our Blessed Bakers who
made cupcakes for Jesus’ birthday party after our
5 o’clock service!
Thanks also to Andrews and Cody Russell who, would you believe, fixed the toilet seal
in the ladies’ room on Christmas Eve Day! Along
with the star in the sky, we are sure there is one in
each of their crowns!
Thanks to that Merry Elf Becky and all her
(quilting) circle for all they did all season to make
our gatherings, both sacred one and fellowship
events, festive and lovely!
Thanks to those who helped to welcome
Baby Jesus at our early service:
The Children’s Choir (Angelic, to say the
least!) : Andrew Proffitt, Cameron and Sadie
Jones, Sarah Collins, Tyler Scuderi, Reinah
Morris, Marshall Ensign, and Conner Hylton.
And thanks to their wonderful director Sandra
Mauney!
Also, thanks also to our guest instrumentalists for the early service: Justin Stoneberg and
Joshua Sykes
And to our Readers: Sandra Mauney, Stephanie
Burnett, David Hylton, Ronnie Jones. And to our
AV specialist: Keith Miller!
Thanks to those who helped to make our
Lessons & Carols Service so lovely:
The Chancel Choir, with a solo by
Andrew Russell
Sandra Mauney, our incomparable pianist and
organist
Our Readers: Bill Brown, Joan Crawford, Jerry
Anderson, David Hay
A special shout-out to Margaret who made
sure our battery-operated candles were
in working order before our Christmas Eve
Services!
Prayers
Special prayers for Kelly and Paul Gray,
young adults injured in a car crash right before
Christmas. They are both in MCV-ICU. They are
children of John and Joan Crawford’s neighbors.
Upheld in our Prayers
Please keep the following in your prayers.
Stu & Bea Creasy
Karen & Reg Whitton
Bobby Edwards
Marynell Kloss
Opal Holshouser
Caleb Whitton
Charles & Era Bell
Morris Brown
Pam Coleman
Betty Wellman Louann Benton
Terry Kyle
Daniel & Sarah Salisbury
Our Military
Sean Hall
Aaron Frankey
Carla Collins
Stephen Burnett
Floyd & Nancy Ladd Tim Tucker
Larry Johnson
Rachel Lewis
Karen Myers
Kenny Sadler
Eden Kloss
Morgan Russell
Ron Halloran
Marie Goodwyn
Marilyn Hardin Muffin Morris Lieu Lewis
Kerry Myers
Chris Bowen
Sharon Efird
Savanna Anchel
Gene Seamster
Rosemarie Atkins
Linda Abbot
Bill Gurr Leslie Myers
Robbie Bowen Josiah Johnson
Congratulations!
Congratulations on a VERY Special Christmas Delivery…
Guess who came home from the hospital on Christmas
Eve? Austin Blake, son of Rebecca and Clay Morris, brother of
Colton, and grandson of Jim and Marcia Grubbs! Congratulations!!
Austin was born on Dec. 22, weighing 6 lbs., 5 oz., and rumor has it Austin came home from the hospital in a Santa Suit
that his Gi-gi bought him!
Thank You!
Bea Creasy would like to thank everyone for all
the visits, cards and telephone calls during the Christmas Season.
Sincere Thanks….
The Sykes Family, Seth, Lisa, Adam, Wesley
and Joshua, would like to thank our church family not
only for the generous gift and lovely thought and many
kindnesses at Christmas, but also for the way you have
made us a part of the family of faith here at St. Luke’s,
too. We are grateful to live out our faith in your midst.
January 25:
Our First Mission-Emphasis
Sunday of 2015
Mary Ann Johnson of the Alzheimer’s Association will be with us during both the Sunday School hour
and our 11 o’clock worship, to talk about Alzheimer’s
and just as importantly, how we can best be supportive
and in ministry with those who confront this disorder.
Mary Ann has a Master’s in Christian Education and will lead a forum, beginning at 9:30. Donuts
and coffee will be offered at 9:15, so come a little early!
Mary Ann will be bringing the message at 11 o’clock.
She seeks to be a voice for those who are affected by
this disorder and help us as a congregation understand
in a very practical way what we can do for them and
their families.
Staff-Parish will meet on January 18,
after the 11:00 am Worship Service.
This is a very important meeting and
all committee members, especially
new ones, are encouraged to attend.
Upcoming Events
Feb. 6-7 New People
Feb. 20-21 Richmond District Youth Retreat
Beginning in February:
Confirmation
If you are the parent of a middle school student and you and they are curious about confirmation, please contact Pastor Lisa. She looks forward to
having a confirmation class this year, and it will begin
in February and continue through Mother’s Day, May
10th, when our confirmands will help to lead service
and be confirmed as full members of the church.
Collection of Coats
for Jacobs Road
We will be collecting new/gently used
coats, hats and mittens for Jacobs Road students
through January. Suggested sizes to bring to the
church are boys and girls size 5/6 to size 16. We
will also collect the following school supplies: #2
pencils, glue sticks, glue bottles, washable markers and tissues. Thank you for all t hat you do to
help the school and its students.
50th Wedding Anniversaries
Will you celebrate your 50th Wedding Anniversary this year? Then please call the church
office so we can include you in our Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration on February 15th.
Shirley Gary <stlukesumc@verizon.net>