Dear People of God at St. Luke's,

First, I want to thank all of the leaders and hard workers who made the 50th anniversary celebration such a wonderful event: Cheryl O'Grady, Jan Michaud, Tracy Dieselman,  Joyce Barthold, Jane Shea, Judy Byrne-Ariel,  Alice Beal and everyone else who contributed their time and ideas.  So much dedication and hard work!

On a not-unrelated matter I want to share some recent thoughts in brief; you'll be hearing more on these same lines. "Religion," when contrasted with "spirituality," can often be the poor sister in our day and time. Religion carries, seemingly, the baggage (some of it well earned) of a legalistic and judgmental institutionalized approach to matters. Because religion comes already equipped with its own standards, any time a leader professing standards of behavior fails then religion gets the added label of hypocritical.

Religion though in a different light, more ideal and hard to achieve, is not the sum of successes and failures, but rather is a patterning of life. When we baptize we ask the sponsors and the one being baptized if s/he is old enough, a series of questions: to affirm faith in Jesus, to turn from sin, to respect the dignity of all others while seeking to serve them, to keep observing the Apostle's teaching, fellowship and prayers. Jesus teachings point us to a way of life, culminating in his death and resurrection.

Being 'religious' is something to embrace. It is willingly opposing the way of the world--power over others, judging others, hurting others--and instead following the hard, joyful, and ultimately much more meaningful way of Jesus.

Each spiritual tradition has done what it has in a community: Buddha has the sanga, Mohammed his first followers, the Jewish patriarchs, matriarchs, and prophets all lived with their people gathered around. Being spiritual may mean periods of discernment apart from a worshiping community. Ultimately though the Way is always known and lived in the company of others.

Grant 

Thank you to the entire St. Luke's community for a lovely and meaningful celebration of our church building's 50th anniversary. On Friday evening, April 27, 2012, 140 people gathered at the Barker Tavern in Scituate Harbor for dinner, dancing and a celebration. Among the highlights: Bishop Thomas Shaw giving tribute to our former and present clergy and congregants for building and maintaining such a vibrant parish, Selectman Joseph Norton reading from an anniversary proclamation from the town of Scituate, Father Raymond Low and Father Grant Barber sharing stories and remembrances from past and present, and finally parishioners who shared both touching and amusing stories of St. Luke's. From the music provided by Melissa Trainer who grew up in St. Luke's, to the decorations and memorabilia room planned and organized by the committee, to the very special prints of an Ann Johnson water color distributed at the end of the evening, a great time was had by all.

On Sunday, April 29, 2012, a very special service was held at our church to recognize our past and celebrate our future. We began by singing I Sing a Song of the Saints of God as the entire congregation, choir and clergy exited the church and Father Grant blessed the cornerstone laid 50 years ago. We then met at the Memorial Garden to remember those from our parish family who have gone before us. Father Ray Low spoke about St. Luke's history and mentioned by name many of the founding families and parishioners who gave us such a firm foundation. Father Grant spoke about the importance of building upon that foundation and continuing that work for the next generation. There were special music selections from the combined children's, young people's and adult choirs and we all shared in a baptism which helped remind us of the future.   Reverend Joyce Scheyer encouraged all of us to bring something to church during the next few weeks to be put into a time capsule which will be buried only to be opened either 25 or 50 years from now. After the service we all adjourned to Dutton Hall for cake, coffee, and conversation.

First, we have an outreach committee that has been meeting to discern what directions our congregation can take in serving a larger world in need. We welcome new members and look forward to people also joining in as time, skills and interests permit to help in future projects. We have a defined emphasis on using our financial resources set aside for outreach as a means to also involve people in the work of helping others.

Rehobath in Norwell is one of the state homeless shelters, largely for families with children. We helped residents there at Christmas time when we provided new bedding and pillows. Members of the Outreach Committee have spent time visiting there to find out about other needs. Some of those include refurbishing units in between residents and making one of the larger units handicapped accessible.

Interested in being a part? Look for opportunities to sign up, or be in contact with the church office. 

Starting June 10, the first Sunday after the Sunday School program has ended for the summer and the choir takes a well earned break, our second service will change from 10 a.m. to 9 a.m. We've done some informal surveying and very few people would find the time change a problem/impediment for attending, and many have said it would make it more congenial to attend so that the building is not as hot, and maybe even more relevant, people could go to church and still have much of the day to do the recreational things we do here in the summer.

We will also offer a half-hour of activities during the first part of the service for any children who are there, in Dutton Hall. It will not be broken into grades, but will be a larger group activity. To that end we need adults interested in helping out...it will be 11 Sundays, so if we get several volunteers we will not overstretch folks. Let the Revs. Joyce Scheyer or Grant Barber know if you are interested.

See you this summer in church!