e-vangelist
August 31, 2016
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Deacon's Bench

Taking Leave from St. Luke's
I will always remember that exciting day in 2011 when Bishop Benfield assigned me to be your deacon to come with Carey to St. Luke's five years ago. Each time I walk into your church I still feel the prayers of those who have been here just as I did that first day on August 14. Robert and I cannot express what being with you at St. Luke's has meant to us. We have made so many new friends and renewed old friendships and participated in some of the most meaningful services. It has been a privilege to be a part of your pastoral care team, when you allowed me to be beside so many of you when I could not even imagine the difficulty you were going through. I have seen Christ in so many faces and have learned so much about Christ's love from you. I have always felt my ministry as a deacon is to help others find the ministry God is calling each of you to. I have enjoyed doing this and have learned so much from those of you where we have been involved in ministry together. 

I especially have learned from those I worked with on the crisis response team, ECW, DOK, working with the lectors, licensing the Eucharistic visitors and ministers, connecting to the Eucharistic visitors each week, learning from members of our Wednesday book group, helping with the altar guild, those sending cards to the homebound, those taking pies to visitors, trying to get more involved in the labyrinth, the prayer shawl team, organizing and participating in adult formation on Sunday, during Lent and Advent and especially for Rally Day and for the Advent Event, organizing confirmation classes of youth and adults, helping organize children's formation and the red door committee welcoming the stranger, working with those taking Community of Hope training who learned about visiting the sick, working with those involved in Mourner's Path.

I am so impressed with the amazing outreach you are doing with St. Francis veterans, homeless shelters, and now homeless families with Family Promise. I have especially enjoyed being the storyteller at Vacation Bible School with Christ Church for five years working with Patricia Matthews to plan the event. I hope you still keep doing the Monster Can Drive and the canned sculpture contest. When I came to St. Luke, I had no idea how much I would fall in love with your youth and children. I wish there were room to name all of you, but I send to each of you my deep gratitude for your allowing me to be with you as you do ministry to the body of Christ at the altar. I cry each time you graduate and still miss being with you. It also has been a privilege to being a mentor to Deb Cooper for the past three years who was ordained August 6 at Trinity.
Bishop Benfield is allowing me to go to congregations out in the diocese, especially congregations without a deacon, and talk about some of these ministries, opening the opportunity to widen diaconal ministry outside of these sacred walls. We will be here Sunday, September 4th, and then Robert and I will initially take some time off in September, something I have not done in my 15 years as a deacon. We will return for our last Sunday October 2. Later in the year we will begin this new ministry.

I will miss being away from you, but look forward to sharing ministry and liturgy I have learned from you with other churches in our diocese. St. Luke's is a thin place, a sacred place. Continue to share your great assets, your love of God and your amazing hospitality with those outside your walls. May God bless us as we continue our journeys with only a river and soon a new bridge between us.

Joanna and Robert Seibert

DO YOU LIKE TO COOK?

The Sunday morning breakfast between services has been an excellent ministry for St. Luke's. It is a time of fellowship and a vehicle to meet and greet new members. The short history of this breakfast is that we have tried two chefs. These chefs did not work out as they were too expensive and we did not want to charge for the breakfast.  The cost to parishioners is only what is freely given.

In order to continue this ministry, volunteers are needed. This breakfast can be a light continental or as heavy a breakfast as each team wants to prepare.  The cost to volunteer chefs can be reimbursed through the breakfast fund.

We are hoping to have enough people volunteer to have 5 or 6 teams.  Keep in mind that if you are a first service attendee,  you can drop off food and then go to church.   You will have late service attendees on your team, and after church you can go to the parish hall and assist your team.  The breakfast should be in place no later than 8:50 a. m. each Sunday and ends at 9:30 a.m., when class begins.

A huge thank you to volunteers who have been involved in this ministry since its inception.   We hope you will want to continue!  As we are beginning a new church year, we ask that ALL who want to volunteer to please call Caroline at the church office no later than September 11. She will place your name on the volunteer list and teams will be formed.
Relief for victims of flooding

Heavy storms have dumped more than two feet of rain along parts of the Gulf Coast. More than 40,000 homes in Louisiana have been damaged, and eight parishes have been named part of the disaster area. You can help by giving to the Bishop's Discretionary Fund. Donations will be sent directly to affected dioceses. You can mail donations to "Bishop's Discretionary Fund, Diocese of Arkansas, P.O. Box 164558, Little Rock, AR 72216"; or click HERE to give online. Designate donations for "2016 flooding."

Dine, Dance, and Donate with a Smile

What:  12th Annual Shrimp Boil with live entertainment by the legendary Greasy Greens in the garden
Who:  Everyone who enjoys Cajun shrimp served tableside, live music, and fun
When:  5-9pmSaturday September 24, 2016 (Drive through open from 5-7pm)
Where:  St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 1000 N. Mississippi, Little Rock
Why:  To benefit St. Francis House ($165,000 raised in the first 11 years!)
Details:  Advance tickets are discounted to $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under through September 16.  After the 16th, tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children and will be available at the door.  For tickets and information, please call St. Mark's church office at (501) 225-4203.
Wednesday Eucharist resumes today, August 31st! Please join us at noon. All are invited.

ADULT FORMATION:

Sabbatical Stories Join Fr. Carey in the parish hall today at 9.30 and find out more about his experiences! Off for Rally Day. Sept.18th Adult Formation: Summer visits from cathedrals to mega churches. Fr. Carey shares his learnings from his sabbatical visits to area churches.
Rally Day September 11th

Join us between the services on September 11th for Rally Day! Meet your Formation instructors, join new ministries, and make new friends over a potluck brunch in the parish hall. If your ministry group would like to set up a table in order to recruit new members or to advertise your ministry, please contact Suzzette Patterson or the Church Office. Deadline for table sign up is September 4th. A signup sheet for the brunch finger food items is in the Narthex. The children are in need of Saint Costumes for a Rally Day picture shoot. If you have any, please contact Jennifer Green or the church office. Youth 6th through 12th grade will be having breakfast with John Wilson Hooker from 9 to 10 in the Parish Hall. 
Get ready to meet (and sing about) some saints! 

Attention parents of preschool- and elementary-school-age students: On 
Sept. 11 between services, please accompany your children to their classrooms under the parish hall to find out more about the exciting changes and additions we are making to our Sunday School curriculum this fall. We will have several fun rally day activities. Drop by any time between 9 and 10 a.m.

FORMATION

Children and Youth formation will resume Rally Day September 11. Adult formation resume on September 18th. 

Putting information in the Sunday Bulletins

St. Luke's is a very active community and more is happening all the time! Please help us save room for all our events by keeping your blurb's in the Sunday bulletins down to four lines or less. More information can and will be shown in the Evangelist each week! If you have any questions about this, please contact Caroline in the church office. 
Handbells

Fall is approaching and that means our BELLS return to our services. I am looking forward to this season.

If you want to play this year I have room for you. The most important factor to a good bell choir which can support our liturgy on a regular basis is having enough ringers.

Each year the choirs available are dependent upon the ringers available that season. I am hoping to have new ringers this year including adults and children and teens. Several of our very good ringers have taken off for a few seasons and I am hoping they will return.

Choirs I am hoping we can ring:

Chancel Ringers (main adult/teen choir). 
Needs 13 members.

Cadet Ringers. (Teens).

Little Lambs (7-9) [age can vary]. I'm actually hoping this can be a blended child/parent or grandparent/new adult choir.

Please consider ringing with us. All of you who have rang with us before PLEASE tell me yes or no about returning. And PLEASE consider returning. We really need every one of you.
Phone: 501-920-5706. You can call and leave message or text.

Debi Fricks

Thank you from the Buildings and Grounds Committee

With numerous projects needing funding, the Pocket Change Water Bottle that is located in the Narthex was emptied and the amount of donated pocket change was an amazing $161.95. Completed projects were: Light bulb replacement in the Narthex, hallway leading into Choir Room, Adult Classroom and hallway outside the Adult Classroom. A LED light kit was purchased to replace the bottom stairway light leading up to the Choir Room. Materials for repairing the left rear pew seat were purchased, and a handle was added to the parish hall door. The empty jar is awaiting your pocket change for the next projects. Thank you for your contributions that have allowed us to complete these projects.
Cursillo

THE JOURNEY is a weekend retreat offered by Episcopal Cursillo in Arkansas that's designed to help enliven the faith of interested Christians so that they may begin to discover Jesus' will for their lives.  It focuses on how the resources of our faith strengthen and support our apostleship, and emphasizes those elements of doctrine and discipline which empower us to reach out.  The next Journey retreat is to be held October 21-23, 2016 at Camp Mitchell.  For more information, go to www.cursillo-ar.com or contact Registrar Betty Seymour at 501-319-7576 or [email protected].
Feast with Friends

This Sunday there will be a sign up display in the narthex. If you want to be included in the 3-month dinner schedule please print your name/names on the poster. Dinners will be officially for the months of September, October and November BUT as a host you can chose what ever day would be best for you in September through January, just be sure to notify your dinners as soon as possible.  September 11th will be the last day to sign up and the final list will hopefully be available September 14th, in time for the traditional 3rd weekend.  But it is more important to have and enjoy the dinner than to have a strict time framework.

Barbara Rhodes

Prayer List
Anne Gontermann, Helen Snipan, Nina Goins, Betty Miller, Chris Mikesell, Louis Jenkins, Gloria Holst, Bill Shepherd, Kailyn, Marilyn Gay, Christine Startz, David Martin, Bernice Carrigan, Steve Fanning, Steven Sacks, Jill Cox, Gene Cox, Jennie Martin, Carle, Paula Kalina, Becky Simpson, Mary Schultz, Dan McKee, Gene Macalik, Sarah, Betty
 
Special Concerns: For all the men and women of our Armed Forces, especially Justin, Joshua, Bret, Brian Mahoney, Tim, Matt, Doug,  Brian Mennes, Frank Tate,
Alex Schimelpfening, David Liem, Justin, John Landis, Lucas Kunce, David Jackson