| 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 Saturday 8 – Girl Scouts – Johnson Hall 9-12 Vestry Retreat – Sprague Room 10 Morning Prayer at Croasdaile 1 pm St. Luke’s Walkers – Brumley Forest Nature Preserve Sunday 9:30 In-person Worship The Rev. Dr. Rhonda M. Lee, Preacher/Celebrant 9:30 Godly Play – Johnson Hall 10:30 Spring Congregational Meeting – Nave 12:30 Girl Scouts – Johnson Hall Monday 6:30 Vestry on Zoom Tuesday 6:30 Men’s Dinner – Johnson Hall Wednesday 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 8 – Garden Work Day New This Week This is a reminder that St. Luke’s Walkers will be hiking on Saturday, May 14th, at 1:00 in the Brumley Forest Nature Preserve; the rain make-up date is the 21st. Here is the site description – Explore Brumley Forest Nature Preserve North | AllTrails. If you wish to join us, please let Karen Gray or Bill Gutknecht know by May 13th. Of course, if you just happen to be free on the 14th, please join us. The starting point is about 1500 feet west of University Station Road on Old NC 10; it’s at the northern parking lot, 3620 Old State Hwy 10. If you wish to carpool, please be at St. Luke’s by 12:20. Our interim rector, Rhonda Lee, will be on vacation from Monday the 16th of May through Saturday the 21st . If you have a pastoral need during that time, please be in touch with Senior Warden Lisa D’Amico, Junior Warden June Santa, or Priest Associate Jim Craven. Thank you, and God bless you all We would like to honor our High School and College graduates in our June newsletter. Please contact the church office with that information. We would also like to know what college they will be attending in the fall or what plans they have after college. (We will honor our High School Graduates who are attending college in the fall with a scholarship later this summer) (Newsletter deadline is May 22) The clergy and vestry have resolved that masks will be optional in worship for fully vaccinated participants. Regardless of vaccination status, masks will continue to be required when singing at this time. Diocesan policy requires that unvaccinated persons wear a mask at all times during worship and in meetings. 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) and strongly recommending masking for choirs in rehearsals and when singing in church service). 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 to refrain from passing of the peace 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.) During the Eucharist, the consecrated wine will be available to all and communion will be received around the altar rail. Reception of the Blood of Christ will be by intinction. Only the priest (or lay eucharistic minister) will lightly intinct the wafer for you, and then drop the wafer into your hand. Communicants will not intinct their own wafers. If you want to receive the wine, please approach the priest with your hands cupped in front of you, as most of us typically already do. If you do not want to receive the wine, please approach with your hands together as if in prayer, and then open them to receive the dry wafer. Please remember that the consecrated bread (or wine) alone does constitute full Communion, and you may receive the wine, or not, as you feel led. We believe this practice of distributing the wine, from a silver chalice and without the priest’s fingers touching the wine, is as safe as we can make it. Sound System Update – The sound system is up and running but there are a few kinks to work out. Please be patient with audio feedback and high-pitched squeaks until we can fine-tune it a little better. Since the sound is coming from ceiling speakers now and not portable ones on the altar, it may be a little difficult to hear on the livestream or with some types of hearing aids. Again, we are looking into ways to make that better and pray your patience. Thanks! Lisa D (and the sound crew). Our first St. Luke’s Garden Workday is Saturday, May 21 from 8 to 10 a.m. Plenty of shady, sunny, low or high energy tasks for all. You might want to gather the pinecones by the Gray Building so they don’t hurt little hands. Or weed-eat the grass/weeds in the same area. You might want to pick out the weeds in the liriope by the office door. Or help plant the new “miss Huff” Lantana. Something for everyone and no green thumb is necessary. Please bring a hat, water, and small tools for pulling weeds or pruning if you have them. Patty Michaels is the workday leader – grab her if you have any questions or email at pmnichaels45@gmail.com . LocoPops for Pentecost! The LocoPops truck will be visiting St. Luke’s for Pentecost on Sunday the 5th of June. Please plan to join in this festive outdoor celebration to mark the end of the Easter season. Immediately after the service that day, we will gather on the lawn (or in shadier spots if you prefer) for delicious paletas (Mexican ice pops) and conversation. Please bring your own lawn chair or, for those who would like to sit on the grass, beach towel. This event will happen rain or shine. (The LocoPops have been partially funded by donations, and additional gifts to cover the cost would be welcome. If you mail or drop off an offering, or leave it in the plate on Sunday, please mark it “LocoPops.” Thank you!) Please be advised that the clergy will never ask for help, gift cards, etc. through emails or text messages. There have been more bogus texts being received. We ask that if someone attends a service and then tests positive for covid, that they please contact the Interim Rector or Sr. Warden for both pastoral care needs and also to inform others that may have come in close contact. Godly Play will happen on: May 15 and June 5. A special invitation: If you find your family at church on a Sunday when Godly Play is not planned, you are invited to enter the space with your child. Follow their lead, let them show you a story and ask them what they remember about that story. Use the art supplies and create something together. Or just pull out the Legos or clay and watch them play. There is no right or wrong, just enjoy the sacred space with your child. At some point you can ask them to put everything away and return to worship for communion together. (If you go to the classroom and another family is there, don’t assume they will watch your child, stay with your child and see what they would like to show you in the space). Announcements Congregational meetings coming up! This spring and fall, as part of her work as our interim rector, Rhonda will be facilitating two sets of congregational meetings focusing specifically on transition. Each meeting will last about an hour and a half. Each parishioner is asked to attend one meeting in the spring, and one in the fall. The spring meetings will take place on: Sunday 15 May right after church, in the nave Monday 23 May, 7 p.m., on Zoom Tuesday 24 May, 7 p.m., on Zoom Sunday 12 June right after church, in the nave. At the spring meetings, you will have the opportunity to share feelings, needs, and questions about transition at St. Luke’s. This sharing will take place in small groups and in the plenary. Everyone will be invited to speak; no one will be required to. Please plan to attend one of these meetings! Your voice matters in taking stock of who St. Luke’s is and who we want to be, as we prepare to develop a parish profile and to call a new rector next year. Vestry Minutes AvailabilityThe vestry meets the third Monday of each month. Minutes of the meetings are taken and hard copies for viewing are kept in the Kramer Room library. Because of COVID protocols and staff mostly working remotely, the church is normally kept locked.If you would like a copy of the minutes, please call or email Kathy (Parish Administrator) and request an electronic copy be sent to your email. Or, if no computer access, you may also request a hard copy be mailed to you. Thanks to all who have contributed to restocking our food pantry. What a bounty! Please continue your generosity! The need is great and we want to be able to say ‘yes’ when we get calls about food. Thanks again. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at jansweetchpa@gmail.com. Jan Freeman 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. . 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. 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. Full Article – Rector Search Update May 2022 The vestry has been developing some thoughtful questions to pose to Search Committee candidates (easy ones about prior committee experience, etc. – don’t let it scare you away if you want to be considered!). We are still in the Pre-Search phase and are hoping to review all Search Committee candidates over the summer and present the Search Committee chair(s) and full committee to the congregation by the end of the summer or early Fall. To that end, if you have given us your name, be assured we still have it and will be sending you the information form to fill out and send back soon. If you haven’t volunteered to be considered, you may receive a call from a vestry member asking you to consider being on the committee. We would like to build a committee that will represent the congregation broadly. In this interim time, please plan on attending the congregational meetings with our interim rector and vestry in May and June and then again in the fall (dates TBD). At the spring meetings, you will have the opportunity to share feelings, needs, and questions about transition at St. Luke’s. The congregational meetings Canon Catherine Massey will lead with the Search Committee in early 2023 will focus more directly on what kind of priest St. Luke’s seeks. Please join me and the vestry in praying for God to guide us throughout this process. Faithfully, Lisa D’Amico, Sr. Warden, St. Luke’s vestry |
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