Friends,

St. Luke’s has a unique tradition around Labor Day that I have come to adore. The Sunday of Labor Day weekend is a time to celebrate the ministries done by the laity, and a member of our congregation gets invited to offer a sermon. I get a Sunday off from preaching, and much more importantly, the congregation gets to hear the spiritual reflections from someone who typically sits with them in the pews. I am downright excited to hear Amanda Wallingford offer her sermon at the 8:00 and 10:00 services. The timing is quite poetic, because as I write this, a small crew of people (Lisa Maple, Richard Maple, Richard McFarland and Rachel DeMarco) are hauling everything back into the kitchen from a deep clean that Amanda organized in conjunction with Pawfectly Delicious. If you are not in the know, Pawfectly Delicious, is a non-profit run by different-abled adults that make dog treats. They share the use of our kitchen on Tuesdays and Thursdays to make their treats and create community, and they secured a grant to have our kitchen deep cleaned, and it looks gorgeous. The Church is busy with the labors of our members, and it is the ministry that we share that keeps the Church alive.

The kitchen deep clean is one of many projects that happened at the Church this summer. The staff and I played a role in all of them, but none of them would have come to completion without the dedication of our members. This coming Sunday, we’ll give a few comments thanking these people, but I thought I would take a moment to thank some who have gone above and beyond for their Church.

The Admin, Building and Grounds Committee has been recently brought back and James Reily is currently running point on the committee as a vestry member. It’s standing members of Susie Ashton, David Kaye, Richard McFarland, Chris McFarlane, Billy Overby and Ray Bonniwell. This team has divided up duties to make sure the Church can run well, and whenever there is a project that needs to be handled, like clearing out weeds around the playground, or disassembling unused pews for storage, I know that I can call on them to get their hands dirty. They have tackled projects by themselves, but they have also helped with all the following projects and have provided leadership, elbow grease, and a consistent vision.

We have had the vision for new benches and a renewed patio for some time. Amanda Seese is responsible for breathing life back into our ABG committee two years ago, and she is the one who got this project rolling. Jo MacMichael graciously donated the benches, Sean and Mallory Sutherland created the new patio with their company Rosemont Landscaping, and Skip and Marjy Jones had the great idea of adding a bike rack and even donated one!

I have been wanting a new nursery space for some time. I consider it a priority to have the nursery close to our worship space, emphasize transparency, and for it to be enjoyable and beautiful. Our capital campaign committee called CRISP (Creating Resources in Sacred Places) led by Amy Moorman helped us secure funds, Cecil Allan, our sexton did all of the work himself and even incorporated old tops of pews from the Nave, Courtney Jukuri chose furniture created a vision for how the space could be used, and Bill Overby, Chris McFarlane and Madeline DeMarco assembled all of the furniture. The nursery has been in use for almost a month, and it has been a tremendous improvement, and it opens more space for our education offering!

Something I have been harping on for years in the water damage on the ceiling, which was caused by a leak in the steeple. If you haven’t been around the last couple of weeks, the leak is finally fixed, and the ceiling is repaired. This has been a saga. Tom Stallman is one of the smartest and most patient people I know, and I appreciate his expertise as we sought a solution to this problem, and I am so thankful that Chris Pegher, a member of St. Luke’s won the contract that led to a permanent fix to the issue.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Christine Kelly. She is a faithful member of the Church and a talented and well-respected architect. Whenever I have a building-related idea, I generally bug her about it. Thank you, Christine, for helping us make our space a beautiful as possible!

All these projects are one-time things. I am amazed that we were able to transform our space so much over the summer, and I am beyond thankful for those who made them happen. I am also amazed every week at the people who show up to do ministry. Whether it’s organizing our retreat to Shrine Mont, helping make worship meaningful and beautiful, visiting those who are alone or ill, and working to help those in need, we are thankful for your ministry.

We believe that the ministers of the Church are Bishops, Priests, Deacons and all baptized Christians. By right of our shared baptism, we are called to serve. You may hear me talk and pray a lot, but don’t be fooled, you are the heart of the Church.

Blessings,

Nick