Early in July comes the feast of the interestingly named St. Sexburga, retired queen and abbess of Ely who died around Ad 700. She was the daughter of a saint and had four sisters who were saints, two daughters who were saints, and three grandchildren who were saints. It seems remarkably like a sanctity gene ran in this royal family (her father was King of East Anglia), but we know that sainthood is not hereditary. Yet by all accounts there is no reason to doubt that all these princely people were indeed very holy and devout by the rough standards of their barbaric age, and probably deserve to be remembered as saints. However that leaves us asking what was it that produced so many saints in one family.

While holiness is a gift of the Holy Spirit, the human contribution is example. Sexburga became an abbess but on hearing that one of her sisters was much saintlier she resigned as abbess and went to be a simple nun in her sister’s convent (where after her sister died she eventually became an abbess again). The power of example is often underestimated.

Yet in families today it is the most permanent influence on our children. We can give children all the good advice in the world, we can hold up to them the highest ideals and motives, but they look at what we do not at what we say. We can tell them that going to church is important but they notice when we decide not to go this Sunday because……

[insert your own excuse]. On vacation when we list all the sights we want to see and the things we want to do, how often do we find out where the local church is and what time are the services? How often do we say grace before meals at home, or is it that we only give thanks to God on special occasions that we have food on our tables?

It is not just that children watch. All the people we meet form opinions about us from what we do not from what we say. St. Paul reminds us that we are ambassadors of Christ.

We represent Christ in the world. We are probably not going to become sainted down the road but we are still in the business of trying to live like saints. That does not mean that we should walk about with seraphic expressions all the time gazing skyward. It does mean that we should take our faith seriously as something that informs all of our conscious life, that our behaviors when we think about them are at the very least in some pale way reflecting God’s love for all his children. A good start is to avoid judging others, and even more important perhaps not to look down on others. We need always to remember that God sees into the heart, and that we are all in need of his grace and forgiveness. If we recognize that we are all children of God then we can learn from each other more about what that means, and by our own example we may help others to come to Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Michael +

Submitted by
Marge Kiss

Effective August 2009, we will be e-mailing the newsletter to those people who want the newsletter e-mailed to them. For those who do not have e-mail or those who do not want the newsletter in this manner will continue to have printed copies (named) and available in the narthex. This change will save St. Luke’s money. We need to be careful stewards of our limited resources. Thanks.

If you missed the Trinity Sunday service on June 7, you missed a wonderful, loving, and inspiring service.

The Sunday school kids performed the service with readings, singing, ushering, bringing the elements to the altar, and the release prayer at the end. We should feel proud and grateful to our teachers for their guidance and the children for their participation. The wonderful words from the teachers moved me to tears.

This is what church is all about, being united and loved in our thoughts, feelings, and caring. St. Luke’s on Sunday is the church I want to be part of. Please keep that feeling going by being a real part of our future.

Respectfully,
Marge Lower

A wife invited some people to dinner.
At the table, she turned to their six-year old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"
"I wouldn’t know what to say," the girl replied.
"Just say what you hear mommy say," the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

Submitted by,
Marilyn Schrader

Thanks to everyone who helped with the June 6^th Rummage Sale. There were a lot of treasures stored in the ‘rummage room’ to unpack, sort, price and organize. We finished the job in record time and actually had time to sit and socialize for an evening.

The actual sale on Saturday was a huge success and we were able to add $1,200.00 to the roof fund, which Camille has generously offered to match.

A big thanks also goes to Mike Bossow. He made the hanging signs that were displayed on Clement Avenue a few weeks prior to the sale and the two signs directing people to the proper entrance.

Please continue to save and donate your gently used items to the next sale in October!

Submitted by
Pat Mueller & Pat Kuenstler

CONGRATULATIONS! Courtney Susedik took 9^th place out of 2,183 women runners in the Madcity Marathon. She ran 13 miles in one hour and 31 minutes.

Submitted by
Melanie Cornale-Susedik

Dear St. Lukes’ friends,

The response to the United Thank Offering ingathering was so warmly received. We want to thank all of you who helped to make a difference in some parish somewhere.

First of all, those coins in the blue boxes added up to $47.50. That’s how pennies, nickels, and dimes add up when someone is saying thank you for a good thing that happened in their life that day. All together, we collected $277.82.

Thanks again, and do pick up a box to start collecting those coins for next November when we will again give thanks for all we have and think of helping out our neighbors who don’t have as much. Its called OUTREACH. It’s what Christianity is all about.

Sincerely,
Joan Luetzow, UTO Parish Coordinator

Noisy Collection Time. Noisy collection will be on Sunday July 19^th. All proceeds will go towards funding St. Luke’s involvement in Unity Lutheran’s Soup Kitchen. Bring your loose change. Quiet money will also be accepted.

CRUNCHY FREEZER CUCUMBER SALADYvonne Weis

2 qt. Thinly sliced cucumbers        1 sm. or med. Onion, thinly sliced
1 T. salt                                       1 c. sugar
½ c. vinegar

Mix cucumbers and onions in large bowl. Mix salt into cucumbers and onions. Let stand for 2 hours. Pour into colander and drain for at least 90 minutes. Do not rinse. Mix sugar and vinegar. Add cucumbers and onions to sugar and vinegar. Pack into containers and freeze.

Recipe Note: These cucumbers stay crunchy even after freezing, they bring back the taste of summer in the winter.

1 c. mayonnaise just enough milk to make
2 T. vinegar creamy
3 cucumbers, sliced
dash pepper

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, pepper and milk. Pour over cucumbers and mix.

ECW met on May 27^th. We gathered in St. Michael’s Chapel for the Wednesday morning service, and then adjourned to the GuildHall.

We learned about Anglican prayer beads. They are very symbolic having 33 beads divided into four weeks of seven, four cruciform beads representing the cross, and an invitatory bead.

Marge Kiss explained about the symbols and then taught us how to make our own prayer beads. We had fun stringing the small beads on thread that was a little too thick. Concentration was needed, but we still managed to visit and have a few laughs.

After working so hard on our beads, we went to lunch at Layton Gardens. We were happy when Father Michael was able to join us.

We have decided that making the prayer beads would be a good ministry for ECW. How nice it would be to have a gift of prayer beads when Father Michael makes his home and hospital visits.

We have some ideas for meetings in the future. Some will be on weekdays, and some on Saturday s so all the women of the parish can attend if they wish. We have been invited to visit and tour St. John’s Home and have lunch in their restaurant. Jan Scherr would be our personal guide. What a wonderful way to see the beautiful Episcopal Home. A date will be announced in the future.

ECW is a good way for all the women of St. Luke’s to get to know one another, learn something new, and have a good time, as well. Join us!

The Outreach Committee has been busy planning events for us to reach out to the community. Here are some dates:

Saturday, August 8: South Shore Farmer's Market for National Day Out. We will have a booth and hopefully many parishioners will be there to tell people about our church. Hope you can come!

Saturday, September 19: Bay View Bash. St Luke's will be there to spread the word about our Christian congregation. Please join us!

Saturday, October 3: Health Fair at St. Luke's. We will provide a variety of information to help the community focus on health for their mind, body and spirit. There will be info and activities for all. Hope you can be there!

We are very excited about these events, and you are invited to join us in the planning as well. Our next meetings will be on Sunday, July 19 and August 9. If you prefer not to plan but would like to volunteer your time please call Dana at 414-333-2459 or email at larrydana@wi.rr.com. Thanks for your support!!!

Respectfully submitted,
Dana Washburn
Outreach Committee Chairperson

Camille, who has generously offered to match every dollar raised up to $15,000 through May 19, has decided to extend the deadline to December 31, 2009. So, if we work steadily, we will certainly raise the needed funds by December 31, 2009….remember, every little bit helps! And thank you for your help!

Thanks to all who have generously given so far. Donation envelopes are in the back of the church and if you have any questions, please see Kris Holaday-Wondrachek.