| 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 Sunday 9:30 In-person Worship signup here The Rev. James B. Craven, III Preacher The Rev. Dr. Lauren Winner, Celebrant 9:30 Godly Play – Johnson Hall 10:30 Youth Group Wednesday 8:45 Staff Meeting on Zoom 11:30 Prayer and Share on Zoom 6 Bell Rehearsal 7:30 Choir Rehearsal Thursday 7 pm Bible Study on Zoom Friday 1:00 Connections and Support Group by Zoom Saturday 9:30 Girl Scouts – Johnson Hall 1-4 Lenten Quiet Day – Sprague Room |
| New This Week |
| Dear friends, As you know, our wonderful children and youth minister, The Rev. Laura Thornton, has resigned from St. Luke’s to answer a long-discerned call to open a retreat center in Warren County. Laura’s last day with St. Luke’s will be Palm Sunday. We are sad to see Laura go, and we give thanks for her ministry with us and look forward to seeing her new venture develop. We would like to offer Laura a cash purse as a parting gift. If you would like to contribute to this gift, please contribute online at www.stlukesdurham.org, in ACS, put a check in the offering plate, or mail a check to the church. In any case, please clearly mark your contribution “Gift for Laura.” With thanks, in peace, Rhonda Attention all PayPal payers! We have a new QR payment code for St Luke’s! For now please use this link https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=XEKW3QU38GWNC until we update our website. Thank you for your patience as we update our social media platforms and for your attention regarding this matter. . St Luke’s held its first in-person Annual Meeting in two years last Sunday after church, with ~70 parishioners in attendance. Interim Rector Rhonda Lee installed the current Vestry, Senior Warden Lisa D’Amico gave an explanation of the transition process, and Treasurer Julia Hoyle presented an overview of the 2022 budget. Detailed reports by the Interim Rector, Senior and Junior Warden, Children and Youth Minister, Music Director, and Parish Administrator, as well as a detail of the budget were provided in a packet of printed material. If you were not able to attend the meeting, we encourage you to pick up a copy of the reports from the office or call or email Kathy to send them to you by mail. Regular updates on the transition will be made during worship announcements and available with the “Rector Search” button on the home page of the web site. The clergy and vestry have resolved that masks will be optional in worship for fully vaccinated participants. Masks will continue to be required when singing at this time. Diocesan policy requires that unvaccinated persons wear a mask at all times. In making this decision, we have taken into account the facts that Durham has lifted its mask mandate, and our bishops have left masking requirements up to local discernment (while requiring masking for unvaccinated persons). One section of distanced, pod seating is available with no kneelers. Fully vaccinated persons may still choose to mask during worship, even when not singing. When considering whether or not to mask, please take into account your own risk factors and the possible vulnerability of your neighbors. And please be kind to each other always, as we move into a phase where some of us will be masked and some of us unmasked. Please remember: No gathering can be completely safe. Unvaccinated people remain more susceptible to contracting COVID-19, and to severe disease, hospitalization, and death. Singing and removal of masks can increase transmission. We will continue Sign-Up Genius registration, for now, to facilitate contact tracing if needed. We will continue to refrain from passing of the peace for now. We will continue to offer only the host at communion for now. The offering plate will remain at the entrance, not passed, for now. We will continue virtual worship offerings (as we started before Covid.) |
| Announcements |
| It’s time to restart our StL Walks. Our next hike will be on Saturday, April 9, at 1:00 p.m. Weather makeup day is the 23rd . We will be hiking in the Seven Mile Creek Natural Area. The trail is only about two miles long. Karen says it’s “a wonderful, easy, wide, well-maintained trail.” Here’s the site description – http://www.orangecountync.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Seven-Mile-Creek-Nature-Preserve-20 . It’s three miles south of Occoneechee Mountain and part of the Orange County system. If you wish to join us, please let us know by April 6th . Of course, if you just happen to be free the afternoon of the 9th, please join us. We hope to see you on the 9th . Fall Fling scheduled!! Mark your calendars and hold on to your donations for the Fall Fling (huge yard sale) October 15th! Drop off scheduled for Oct 9-14 to Johnson Hall. The committee can use your help in planning for a safe, long-awaited, community sale! Please contact Joan Hodges, Lisa D’Amico, or Beth Bonner to help. All proceeds go to Outreach. Calling All Surveys! As we strive to re-engage all the programs and missions of St. Luke’s, please return your green survey (included in your newsletter and available in the narthex) by mail or in-person offering plate. The first 25 will receive a Mary Berry Shortbread cookie courtesy of the Stewardship Team. Food Pantry restock – We are restocking the Food Pantry for the families and folks who need a little help with groceries and other items. To contribute, please bring non-perishable food items (including canned meats), personal hygiene items (shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, hand sanitizer – travel size are easier to carry), paper bags with handles for sturdy pack & carry and drop them in the Narthex (entry foyer) near the office (playground side). Thank you. Questions? email Jan Freeman. Rector’s Discretionary Fund. This fund has traditionally been used by St. Luke’s Rectors to help local folks who reach out to us with basic needs in every day life. This includes homeless individuals who come to the church, families we know needing food and other essentials, and various other needs of those in poverty in our community. Most recently we’ve made use of modest Visa gift cards, allowing recipients to apply funds where they’re most needed to remain capable of “normal” living. The RDF (and Interim Rector) has the advantage of not only being “discretionary,” but also able to be used quickly in emergency situations, something that has benefited many individuals. The Fund has been replenished by “loose change” in Plate offerings and by individuals donating directly to the Fund by check, ACS, or other means. At this time the “pot” is low and any help would be much appreciated. “In the in-between times” Parish Lenten Quiet Day Saturday April 2nd, 1-4 p.m. Interim rector Rhonda Lee will lead a time of prayer and reflection in the nave on Saturday April 2nd from 1 to 4 p.m. Together, we will read and reflect on brief Scriptures on the theme of “In the in-between times.” The afternoon will include some group conversation as well as time for individual or small group prayer and discussion. Please register at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4daeaa28a4fcc52-inperson or call the church office. And please tell a friend! There are many offerings around the Diocese. To keep up with the latest news about these and other events in our diocese, sign up for Please Note, the diocesan weekly e-newsletter. The link is here: https://www.episdionc.org/please-note/Here you will find information about the following and much more:Lenten Offerings beginning March 9. Register for the seriesThe Color of Compromise Book and Video Study. Register at https://tinyurl.com/2p86jrmh The Diocese of North Carolina is offering diocesan-wide adult confirmation preparation in Lent and Easter this year. For more information and to register: https://bit.ly/DioNC-ConfirmationClass2022 CONTACT UPDATESUp-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. |
| Full Article – Rector Search Update 16 March 2022 Introduction In the Episcopal Church, unlike some traditions/denominations as the Roman Catholic and United Methodist Churches, Rectors are not appointed, they are elected. There will be a formal, nationwide search process overseen by the vestry and carried out by a Rector Search Committee appointed by the vestry. This is somewhat analogous to a private sector search process, but different in that this search is about prayer, discernment, and being guided by the Holy Spirit. The vestry and Interim Rector, Rhonda, met with Canon Catherine Massey March 16th to begin discussion of the search process for a new rector for St. Luke’s. Timing and Expectations Coming out of Covid and reconnecting with our friends at St. Luke’s is the priority and focus now. In the coming months our Interim rector, Rhonda, will be helping us discern our identity, reviewing our ministries, and discovering what we find most important coming out of this pandemic. This will position us to be able to answer the important questions asked during the search process. There are many steps to the search process. We are in the very early stages and the vestry looks to form a Search Committee to walk through all the steps with us by late summer or early fall. If you have any suggestions of who might best serve on the Search Committee, please send me or June Santa (Junior Warden) an email. We are hoping for candidates from a broad spectrum of ages, interests and experience. Please note that the search committee will be composed of about 6-9 people, including some vestry members, so, although suggestions for members are welcome, not everyone who is mentioned will be asked to serve. But everyone in the congregation will have ample opportunity for input at many points in the process of finding a new rector. We will need your voices. Phase 1: Pre-Search ** WE ARE HERE Over the next few months, St. Luke’s will take the time needed to get used to gathering together again, while still engaging with those who can’t join us in person. The vestry will be collecting names of Search Committee candidates. Toward the end of the summer, the vestry will choose a Search Committee Chair (or co-chairs) and begin reviewing and considering how to get the best balance of voices from all parts of our St. Luke’s community. Once the Search Committee is chosen, they will begin their work with Canon Massey of gathering thoughts, hopes and dreams of who St. Luke’s is and who St. Luke’s wants to become. This data gathering, from all of you, will produce what is called the Parish Profile. This is what potential candidates will see when our position is posted. Phase 2: Active Search In the beginning of the year (2023), the position will be posted nationally and the Search Committee will begin receiving applications. They will begin the process of reviewing applications and interviewing. Visits to candidate’s churches will be made as the list narrows. While the committee will keep the congregation informed about the general progress of the search, the specifics of the search (the candidates’ names and current parishes, the number of candidates, or their demographics) will remain strictly confidential. After careful reflection and prayer by the Search Committee, the Active Search will conclude with the selection of a single candidate for the vestry’s consideration. Phase 3: The Call Upon approval by the vestry, the Sr. Warden will inform the Canon and the Bishop of the vestry’s desire to issue a call to the candidate. If the call is accepted, the new rector will be announced! We will continue to update you as we go through this process in the newsletters and on the website section,” Rector Search”. Please feel free to speak with anyone on vestry about the search process at any time. Please join with me in praying for God to guide us throughout this process. Faithfully, Lisa D’Amico Sr. Warden, St. Luke’s vestry |
stlukesdurham.org 