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The Last Sunday After Epiphany
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February 19 - 26, 2012
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 Greetings!
This Sunday is the Last Sunday of Lent, also known as Transfiguration Sunday, from the Gospel passage assigned for the day. As our Epiphany season draws to a close, we have been reading the Gospels each Sunday with the question of what do they reveal to us about discipleship.
From the calling of the disciples, we learn that Jesus can call anyone at any moment in their lives. It doesn't matter how ready we are, how brilliant (or not!) we are, or even how faithful. After all, even the first disciples kept missing the point. What matters is how Jesus sees us. It's in the act of answering Jesus' that we become ready to do the things God calls us to do.
In the story of the healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law, we learned the discipleship means service - service to God through worship and service to each other. By the healing of the leper, we also learned that discipleship means bringing those on the margins into the heart of community life, so discipleship is also about building relationships with the stranger.
This Sunday, the Transfiguration sums up these lessons with the reminder that the call we answer is about more than this passing age, but about the reality of God's reign drawing near as the ultimate and only relaity that matters. As we prepare to begin our Lenten journey, let us remember that in God's time, periods of simplicity, denial, and even darkness culminate in the unbridled joy of new life.
In Christ, Father Dirk |
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 Ash Wednesday Services
February 22
12:10 pm & 7:00 pm
Lent begins with the reminder that we dust and to dust we shall return. Once we are confronted with the stark reality of our finite nature, our gaze lifts ever higher as we take our 40 day journey to Easter joy.
We invite you to observe a Holy Lent with us this year at St. Luke's by joining us for our special Lenten services, Stations of the Cross, weekly Bible Study, and Sunday worship.
Our Lenten journey is a journey of companionship with Christ and each other here at St. Luke's and around the world through our faith, and your presence helps each of us to grow in our faith.
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 Stations of the Cross & Communion Friday, Feb 29, March 9 & March 23
7:00 pm
We will observe the Lenten devotion of Stations of the Cross & Communion on select Fridays in the Lenten season. The Stations are a devotion that walks us through the last 24 hours of Jesus' life with Scripture, prayer, and art. We finish with communion at the Altar as a reminder of the Easter message that Christ is still with us and God is victorious over death.
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 Lenten Bible Study And It Was Good:
Responding to God's Gift of Creation
Wednesdays, 12 pm - 1 pm
Feb 29, March 7, 14, 21 & 28
Thursdays (Repeat of Wednesdays)
March 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29
Potluck Supper: 6:30 pm
Bible Study: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
And it was good, a Bible Study on the gift of Creation, is the Anglican Communion's first communion-wide Bible Study effort. Each week in Lent, we will explore the Scriptural witness of the goodness of creation, our role in its care, and the place of Christ at the center of all creation.
Come join us for either the Wednesday session at Noon or Thursday session, which follows a potluck supper.
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The Generations Center Presents
A Service of Worship in Honor of
Black History Month
A Story of God's Grace:
How a People's Struggle for Justice
Taught the World to Honor Diversity
Saturday, February 18, 3 pm - 5 pm
Guest Preacher
The Rev. Dr. E Roland Clemons, Priest-in-Charge
St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, Camden, NJ
Hosted by
Grant Chapel AME Church
261 Mercer St, Trenton, NJ
The Rev. Dr. Melinda Contreras-Byrd, a good friend of St. Luke's, invites us to a celebration of Black History Month at her church, Grant Chapel AME in Trenton for a presentation illustrating how the African American struggle for justice has helped support the celebration of diversity.
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Parish News & Updates
Scholarship Jazz Fundraiser Report: Through your support of our Valentine's Jazz and Tea to benefit our Scholarship program, we welcome dozens of visitors to St. Luke's and raised $1102 for our Youth Scholarship Fund! We also raised another $195 from the January coffee and tea sale. Than you for making this possible!
St. Luke's Youth Participate in Black History Program: Joelle Green and Chris Rosemond read passages in a community Black History program sponsored by Grant Chapel AME Church in Trenton and the Generations Center. The program organizer, the Rev. Dr. Melinda Contreras-Byrd, is a friend of St. Luke's and was one of our speakers for the sabbatical speaker series in October, 2010. Thank you to Joelle and Chris for ably representing St. Luke's!
Basement Refurbishment Update: We are making great progress on our basement refurbishment. All of the items damaged in the flood are now gone and the contractors have completed their demolition of the old offices. The room underneath the church has been converted into the parish & rector's office with a new wall and door for security. Next steps will be the installation of new electrical outlets, better lighting for the Sunday School room, and the painting of the floors and walls. Construction should take another 2-3 weeks. When completed, the rooms will be blessed and open for a tour!
Have you purchased your grocery gift cards for Shop-Rite, Pennington Quality Market, or Marazzo's? They are available in the parish hall after the service. If you purchase and use these gift cards, St. Luke's receives 5% of the proceeds at no additional cost to you. Funds raised are used for repairs at the church and rectory.
Did you know the 8:30 service buys more gift cards despite being a small service, with older people and smaller households? 10:30 parishioners, help us make this program more useful for you! Give your suggestions to the person selling the gift cards today.
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Service Schedule
Sundays
8:30 am Holy Eucharist
10:15 am Sunday School (Children join worship at the Peace)
10:30 am Holy Eucharist
Nursery Provided 10 am - 12 Noon
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| Upcoming Events | |
Calendar, February 19 - March 4
Feb 19 Last Sunday After Epiphany
Pancake Breakfast follow each service
Feb 20 Rector's Sabbath
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7:00 pm
Feb 22 Ash Wednesday Services, 12:10 pm & 7:00 pm
Feb 23 Rector's President's Day Holiday
Feb 24 Stations of the Cross & Communion, 7:00 pm
Alcoholics Anonymous, 8:30 pm
Feb 26 First Sunday In Lent
Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday
Fundraising Committee, 9:45 am
Feb 27 Rector's Sabbath
Girl Scout Brownies, 5:45 pm
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7:00 pm
Feb 29 Lenten Bible Study: And it was good . . ., 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Mar 1 Lenten Potluck Supper, 6:30 pm
Lenten Bible Study: And it was good . . ., 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Mar 2 Diocesan Convention (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Mar 3 Diocesan Convention (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Community Square Dancing (Parish Hall), 7:00 pm
Mar 4 Second Sunday in Lent
The Rev. Canon Joan Fleming, Supply Priest
Alcoholics Anonymous, 6:30 pm
Father Dirk will be attending the Clergy Leadership Project at Trinity Conference Center, West Cornwall, Connecticut from March 4 - March 9. This is a continuing education week and is part of a two-year program to develop select clergy leaders for the needs of the church in a new century.
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| Contact Information | |
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
The Rev. Dirk C. Reinken, Rector
1620 Prospect St, Ewing, NJ 08638-3031 609-882-7614 Email
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