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Evangelist
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September 7, 2016
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Become a friend of St. Luke's on Facebook (St. Luke's Episcopal Church North Little Rock) and follow us on our website at www.stlukeepiscopal.org.
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Carey's Conversations
"O the times, they are a' changing..."
Bob Dylan
"You say "Goodbye" and I say 'Hello.'"
The Beatles
Dear Friends!
One thing we can all be sure of is change. Nothing ever really stays the same except God.
While my family and I are happy to be back at St. Luke's and are saying "Hello," three friends we have come to love and appreciate, are saying, "Goodbye," Jason Pennington, our organist/choirmaster, Joanna, our deacon, and her husband Robert.
Jason has been with us for four years, and during this time he has accomplished much with our music program. The choir has grown under his leadership; he has assisted Debi with the handbell choirs for both adults and children, and has brought some pretty amazing organ music our way. In addition to this he has created a Festival of the Senses board to oversee our concert series that culminated in a neighborhood concert with the Arkansas Symphony! We wish him well as he takes the journey across the river to serve at Trinity Cathedral as their assistant choirmaster and organist. I will handpick some parishioners to assist me in the interviewing process for his successor. In the meantime we will have help from our own Becky Goins, as well as Bill McCandless, and Thomas Alexander who will begin work as our interim in October. God is meeting our needs once again!
Joanna has served us faithfully for these past five years and it is hard to fully grasp what all she has been able to do with God's help and ours. From the Community of Hope Chaplain program, to Sunday school programs of formation for both adults and children, to the Mourner's Path ministry, to establishing EFM, to working with Christ Church on VBS each summer, and on and on we could go naming her various ministries among us. She has also been invaluable to me as a priest. I could always rest assured that whatever she set out to do would be done well and with all her might! Throughout the years Robert has been steady as a rock, a true supporter of the work of St. Luke's and Joann's faithful partner in ministry. What a blessing! To say that we will miss the Seiberts is the understatement of understatements. Please plan on joining us for their last Sunday, 2nd October to share our love and appreciation. Please watch The Evangelist for further details about their sendoff.
What a joy it is to be worshiping with you once again! I am thrilled to be back home and my family looks forward to a new chapter in our life and ministry together!
Every blessing!
Carey+
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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.
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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."
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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: 5-9pm, Saturday 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.
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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.
Email: Debi.bells@att.net
Phone: 501-920-5706. You can call and leave message or text.
Debi Fricks
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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 bseymour52@gmail.com.
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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
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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.
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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.
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FORMATION:
Children and Youth Formation resumes on Rally Day, Sept. 11th.
Sept.18th Adult Formation: Summer visits from cathedrals to mega churches. Fr. Carey shares his learnings from his sabbatical visits to area churches.
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Festival of the Senses September 14th
ST. LUKE'S FESTIVAL OF THE SENSES 2016-2017 concert series presents ARmusica on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at 7:00 pm. Julie Cheek, piano, Andrew Irvin, violin, Stephen Feldman, cello, Kate Hamilton, viola, and Milton Masciadri, bass, will perform The Trout Quintet. Admission is free. There will be a Meet-The-Artists reception following the program. For more information regarding this concert or The Festival of the Senses series, please contact the church office (501) 753-4281 or send email to St.lukesfestivalofthesenses@yahoo.com.
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BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS
We will hold our annual Blessing of the Animals on Sunday. Oct. 2nd at 2:30 pm in the courtyard between the Parish Hall and the Narthex. All animals, even stuffed animals, are invited, but please make sure your pets are friendly to other animals and kids. Our youth are holding a donation drive this day for supplies for our local humane societies.
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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.
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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 |
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Office Hours
Monday - Friday, 8 to 4
Closed: Saturday and Sunday
Office Phone: 501-753-4281
Office Fax: 501-753-4322
Email: stlukesnlr@gmail.com
The office is located behind the church at 4106 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, AR
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Outreach
HOMELESS SHELTER MINISTRY: BOTTLED WATER and DETERGENT and small bars of soap/travel toiletries are the most needed items at the present time. We will continue to gather items for the homeless shelters for monthly deliveries on the last Tuesday of each month. If you would like to help with deliveries for this ministry, contact Betty Seymour. Your donations may be left in the Blue Barrel in the narthex.
DORCAS HOUSE: We are highlighting Dorcas House needs this month. This shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence is especially in need of toilet paper, diapers size Newborn and 4, paper towels, and feminine hygiene products. Help us help them by filling up that blue barrel in the narthex!
PARK HILL CHRISTIAN FOOD PANTRY NEWS: Your donations of non-perishable food are needed and can be placed at any time in the brown box in the narthex.
FAMILY PROMISE: In partnership with Park Hill Christian Church, we will host our families in our church for one week beginning on Sunday afternoon, October 2, and going through Sunday morning, October 9. You may volunteer at any time or donate to this ministry. Donations may also be made by check, payable to "St. Luke's" with "Family Promise" in the memo line. Information on what is needed will be available at Rally Day and is available in the Evangelist. Please contact Jeannie Fry, Nancy Crow or Tom Simmons if you have questions, wish to donate items, or are interested in volunteering or helping in any way with this ministry. Family Promise is the recipient of a Keller Family Grant totaling $3,827.
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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, Mary Ann Hodge
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
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On-Going Events and Programs
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