| This Week at St. Luke’s |
| Public Health Indicators: here Event risk assessment: here. Free COVID test from Durham County here. Click here and scroll down for Online Worship Bulletin In-person worship services canceled (Jan 2, 9, 16) due to Omicron variant of COVID. Sunday 9:30 In-Person Masked Indoor Holy Eucharist signup here CANCELED The Rev. Rhonda M. Lee, PhD. Preacher and Celebrant 9:30 Livestream worship on Facebook NOTE: Rhonda will be preaching from the altar without a mask starting this week to make it easier for everyone to hear the sermon clearly via livestream. For the protection of others present with her, she will remain masked for the rest of the service. 11 Coffee Hour on Zoom Tuesday 7pm Bible Study on Zoom Wednesday 11:30 Prayer and Share on Zoom 6:30 Arts & Music Committee – Kramer Room Friday 1:00 Connections and Support Group by Zoom Saturday 9 Vestry Retreat – Johnson Hall |
| New This Week |
| Annual Meeting rescheduled. St. Luke’s Annual meeting will be held in person on March 20th, immediately following the service. Our new interim rector, Rhonda Lee, is eager to meet all of us as soon and as safely as possible. On Sunday, January 2, 9, and 16 we will be activating the 11 am Zoom Coffee Hour as a way to “Meet and Greet” her. Please plan to join the Zoom meeting to get to know Rhonda and allow her to meet many of us in this virtual format. Sundays Jan 9, 16 11:00 am Coffee Hour Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81667411138?pwd=RnRBa3RyWHlaYTI5QVVsY3NzTWtIZz09 **TWO Coffee Hours on Sunday, January 16th! Please join Interim-Rector Rhonda Lee for a meet and greet at either of two coffee hour times on Sunday, January 16, 11 am and 1 pm. Bishops’ Ball is Back – In Person! For the first time in more than two years, Bishops’ Ball, one of the most beloved diocesan gatherings for youth, is back in person February 12, 2022. As we have since the start of the pandemic, the event has been adapted from its usual multi-day gathering to a one-day celebration at Holy Comforter, Burlington, in the hope it will help those attending feel safer and ready to enjoy being together. The cost is reduced, and the registration deadline extended to February 7. What is not changing is that Bishops’ Ball provides youth from across the Diocese an opportunity to engage with the bishops, attend workshops, and have fun and fellowship with their peers. This year’s event will include all the favorite activities: music, workshops, building community, worship and the dinner and dance. Learn all about this beloved event (and its extensive COVID safety protocols), and register the youth in your life today! Members of St. Luke’s and friends are warmly invited to the following event held by St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, Durham. No registration is necessary for this excellent formation opportunity. When: Thursday, 27 January, from 7 to 8:30pm What: What to listen for in the Gospel of Luke this year Taught by: Joel Marcus, member of St. Joseph’s and Emeritus Professor of New Testament & Christian Origins at Duke Divinity School. Why: In the lingo of the church, we are currently in “Year C.” That means that in our Sunday worship, we have been reading mostly from the Gospel of Luke since Advent began, and we’ll be mostly hearing from Luke on Sundays until next Advent. Joel will help us know what to listen for, including special Lukan emphases, such as the history of salvation and concern for women and the poor. Where: we hope in the sanctuary of St Joe’s (1902 West Main St., Durham), but we may decide to move to Zoom — closer to the time, you’ll be able to find up-to-date location information at Events — Welcome to Saint Joseph’s Episcopal Church (stjosephsdurham.org),or email Lauren Winner for a location update. |
| Announcements |
| On Tuesday, December 28, the Episcopal Diocese of NC released updated COVID protocols with the following recommendation: “Currently, the positivity rate for COVID-19 is over 7.5% in most of the Diocese. Due to the anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases in January following holiday travel and gatherings, and exacerbated by the highly transmissible nature of the omicron variant, these county by county rates are likely to continue to rise. [NOTE: On December 29 the positivity rate in Durham was 6.6%.] Though the daily number of new cases will likely rival and perhaps exceed the peak of last winter, hospitalizations and deaths are not increasing at the same rate. The rate of transmission will still present significant challenges to our healthcare systems….Therefore, in-person worship is not recommended for the next three weeks, through Sunday, January 16…” Based on this recommendation, and in consultation with parish lay and ordained leaders and our soon-to-be interim rector, we have decided to cancel in person services for January 2, 9, and 16. We will be livestreaming the Eucharist on Facebook and invite you to join us live at 9:30 am where you can greet one another and add prayer requests in the comments OR worship using the saved video at a later time on either Facebook or on the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/StLukesDurhamWorshipandMusic Update on Durham Episcopal Resettlement Coalition (DERC)Many of you heard the wonderful news last Sunday that Hope Galunas has found us a 2 bedroom apartment that will come open in mid-January. Finally, some reality setting in! We have a wonderful team of front line workers from the three churches, led by Bob and Mary Etta King, ready to work with a family as soon as they are assigned to us. Right now, we are turning to collecting household items, and looking for volunteer help moving, cleaning the apartment, setting up the kitchen and buying the first lot of groceries. There is a sign up genius where we are gathering furnishings: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA5A82BAAFF2-household. If you can volunteer to help, please contact either Joan Hodges, Jim Wise or Babs Wise. This has been a wonderful time for those of us working on the project to get to know fellow Episcopalians at St. Joe’s and St. Titus. A newer development is that St. Stephen’s wants to join in and are working on their funding. So, we may be looking at a second home soon. St. Phillips is also setting up a home, and will be joining us to share lessons learned. We hope soon to be able to physically actually meet all – once the Omicron surge has lessened. Thank you for your all your gifts: both goods, time, money, and prayer, we truly have felt the support of our parish in this effort. CONTACT UPDATES Up-to date contact information can be found online at ACS, or the ChurchLife App for your phone or tablet. Contact Kathy if you have any problems logging onto ACS. You can also ask Kathy to send you a paper directory if needed. |
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