Look here for updates on cancellations and other news related to the coronovirus outbreak.
The parable of the weeds sown among the wheat is often used as a way to talk about discernment. Our world is filled with situations like the one Jesus describes, where a person sows a field with grain and “the evil one” comes and sows weeds among the wheat. Both grow up and are indistinguishable until they are ready for harvest. Jesus tells his disciples that it is better to leave the two together until it is clear which is which.
One of the most interesting things about discernment, or the process of knowing God's Spirit, is that it is rarely linear. As one walks with Jesus, praying, reading Scripture and working in community, the path forward bends, sometimes so much that we can't see the end. It is like this with parables as well. The stories Jesus tells in the synoptic Gospels about seeds, wheat, bread and other ordinary things are indeed about those things, but the deeper meanings of them are often obscure.
Nobody's perfect,” the saying goes. If you’re in a church context you might have someone come back with, “Except Jesus!”
Both of those sentiments are true. The limits of all human skill and striving is perfection. We can never reach perfection of our arts, profession, hobby, or even our relationships. There is always more to learn and a better way to go about it.
Spiritual rest gives our hearts and our souls time to recoup and grow stronger so that when we bend our skill to the work of God’s kingdom again it will be with renewed energy, and maybe with more strength than we know we have.
I hope that even as you seek physical rest this summer you will find the time to join us for worship on what we call our Sabbath, that is rest in God.
For the next few weeks the service will be recorded ahead of time and then offered online at our usual 9 A.M. on Sunday. You will still be able to watch the service on our Facebook page. In addition, we will be hosting our video on the St. Luke’s Youtube channel. That same youtube video will be featured at the top of our website www.SaintLukesChurch.net on Sunday morning.
The members of the Re-Gathering St. Luke’s Committee, the Discernment Committee, the St. Luke’s Day School leadership and staff, the church clergy and staff and the vestry are all working hard in unsettled and uncertain circumstances to support St. Lukes’ many ministries. We welcome and appreciate your concerns, comments and suggestions, and we ask for your patience and prayers as we move forward together.
Our baptismal promises compel us to act.
The commitee shares its priorities for planning the early stages of re-gathering.
Please join us for morning, noonday, and morning prayer during Lent.
Topic: Tuesday and Thursday Compline
Time: 8 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82213028698
Meeting ID: 822 1302 8698
Password: 100557
The practices of the Christian life give us the order and structure to deal with the anxiety and fear that come from shifts as dramatic as we are going through now. Like structures built to withstand earthquakes, we will need to have a good foundation and the flexibility to move with the trembling around us.
Today (May 1) we celebrate the feast of the apostles Phillip and James. These saints are often mistaken for two others: Phillip the Deacon and Evangelist and James the brother of Jesus. We know more about Phillip than we do about James, but together they are an example of facilitating others’ coming to know Jesus. Their witness is sometimes obscured by associations with other people, but they are important companions of Jesus who show us discernment and the ability to seize the right moment to bring others to Christ.
In this video, Veronika asks St. Luker's to reflect on ways to get out of the Slough of Despond ( an image from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress), which is an allegory for the disillusionment one may feel at certain early points in a long difficult journey, like a pilgrimage or a response to a long-lasting crisis. Bunyan's character gets out of the Slough only after accepting help from another person (usefully named "Help" in the story).
Join Tom Hargrove, The Rev. Richard Jones, and others for Morning Prayer and a reflection time.
Bishop Goff has extended her direction that no churches worship in person until after Easter. While we are not able to worship in person, St. Luke’s will continue worshipping online via Zoom and the office will continue to be open for phone calls and limited visits.
You can read the bishop’s message about Holy Week and Easter here.
I’ve always had a bit of an unruly will, and it has been more difficult than usual to obey needed restrictions these past couple of weeks. During a period of self-isolation because of my brief lunch with a colleague who tested positive for Covid-19, and now due to the governor’s orders, I have been mostly in my house for seventeen days. We’ve been worshiping online each week, but I long to see all of you in person. I’ve been praying to receive “my daily bread” from God, but fasting from the “Bread of Life” as we have not been able to share the Eucharist on three Sundays. I am doing what the public health authorities say I must to help slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19, but I don’t have to like it. You don’t have to like it either. What we are going through this Lent is hard, but it is not unprecedented in our Christian history.
This week, Bishop Susan Goff recorded a video meditation, titled “Let our prayers and our praise of God become contagious.” You can view it by clicking on the image below.
Click on the above image to be taken to the video
We are the family of God, who has adopted us, choosing people to be his beloved ones before the world was even created. Because of the love of God that has chosen us, we choose to care for others by continuing to suspend our in person services until after Easter.
From the Board of Directors of Saint Luke’s Day School.
St. Luke's Day School is closed effective today, March 13th, 2020, in accordance with Bishop Goff and the Episcopal Church, St. Luke's Church leadership and the SLDS Parent Trustees. Along with the Church, we will consider reopening March 25th, 2020. However, we will reassess what public health officials are recommending at that time.
The Diocese of Virginia has made a page of resources related to COVID-19. You can access it here:
http://www.thediocese.net/news-and-events/covid-19-resources/
More information from St. Luke’s about online worship and how to best stay connected while we are not meeting in person will be coming later today.
