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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, If you look at the Church calendar for June you will notice that June both opens and closes with martyrs. At the beginning of the month we remember the martyrs of Lyons, who perished in a fierce persecution, whipped up by a mob at what in those days was called Lugdunum in Gaul, now called Lyons in southern France. Next come the martyrs of Uganda, much nearer to us in time. They were mostly young pages slaughtered by the king of Buganda (now part of Uganda) in the late 1880s in his effort to stamp out Christianity there. At the end of the month come Saints Peter and Paul, killed at Rome by the Emperor Nero around AD 65. The day after on the calendar commemorates the hundreds of early martyrs at Rome. All of these people died for their faith. They could in many cases have avoided death had they been willing to renounce Christianity. They did not renounce it, and indeed in most cases made very public affirmations of their faith. Their names have been honored in the Church ever since. Here today in Milwaukee there is no danger in letting people know that you are Christians. Yet you may want to ask yourself how many of your friends and acquaintances know that you are Christians. Even better, how many of them know that you are Episcopalians, and go to St. Luke’s? I would guess that many people know what party you vote for, what team you support, and your favorite beer, and do not know which church you go to. What does this say to people about what is important to you? Episcopalians are not given to marching up and down with placards or handing out pamphlets, but perhaps we go a little too far in being low key. We happily invite people to a ball game, to a movie, to a restaurant, to a party, and somehow hesitate about inviting them to church with us. We all know people who obviously (from what they say) believe in God but who are not members of a church, or who may say they belong to such and such a church but admit they have not been near the place for years. In terms of Church they drifters or homeless. Why not suggest they join us one Sunday morning at St. Luke’s? For some, perhaps even for many, this will be the right moment. That is up to the Holy Spirit. All we can do is provide the opening, but that is important. Yours in Christ, Fr. Michael + Treasurer’s Report Income $9,881.75 Expense ($13,439.18) Difference ($3,557.43) UTO INGATHERING NEWS On May 10th, we collected $207.52 for UTO
(United Thank Offering) Ingathering. The total amount raised, to date, for the Roof Fund is $3,710.00. Our goal is to raise $60,000-$100,000.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.
Numbers are given out at 5 PM and sign-in begins at 5:30 PM. The medical staff will see patient’s from 6 to 8:30 PM. For more information, please call 414/481-1778 or see their website at www.opendoorfreeclinic.org.
FRESH RHUBARB CAKE 4 c. fresh rhubarb Cut fresh rhubarb into 1-inch pieces. Place it in an ungreased 8 x 13-inch
pan. Layer strawberry Jello granulates over the top. Pour cake mix over that,
then ˝ c. water, butter/margarine and walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees until brown. Combined donations from friends at St. Luke’s and Lakeview School, raised $475 for the ABTA, Walk/Run, Strain for the Brain held on May 9th. All money raised goes to the research and treatment of brain tumors. Hopefully, finding a cure will happen also. As a proud mama, Courtney took 2nd place only to be beaten by a 6’2" long legged male! Thank you to my (our) St. Luke’s family. God Bless, Melanie, Courtney, Andrew & Ben Susedik HAITI OUTREACH PROJECT Thank you for your willingness to help sponsor 2 children, a boy and a girl. The children can not go to school unless they have shoes and a uniform (such as a blouse or a shirt and a jumper or trousers.) If you can recall we collected vitamins a year ago. It has been over 20 some years since efforts to provide materials to the village of Jeanette. Jeanette is a village up in the mountains, over rut filled dirt roads. With our help things have improve their conditions. Go look at the bulletin board at the bottom of the stairway leading to the undercroft. Two pictures of the children assigned to us as sponsors are posted there. It is recommended that no cash be sent. Only prayer books and cards are most welcome to be sent to the sponsored child. Bishop Steven Miller had an opportunity to visit Haiti this past February. Experiencing the conditions of Jeanette. Some of the past sponsorships have built water systems, a hospital, health clinics and a school. One project has had some difficulty. There had been a bad drought. There was no water for the cisterns that were built. They had 12 cisterns but only one has been operable. The cost of a cistern was $12.00. It is a terrible long way to carry water. Every one must help carry water to their village. Even the little children. West Bend’s St. James served an afternoon Tea for the benefit of Haiti on May 9th. St Mary’s church in Dousman is sponsoring a STRAWBERRY FEST FROM NOON TO 4:30 P.M. Oh, so delicious. Bless them. It is Sunday June 28th. They feature strawberry pies, strawberry sundaes, strawberry shakes and Scham Tortes. And strawberry short cakes, and jelly and jam. Besides these delicious treats—there is Haitian art for purchasing. A coffee that is bagged from Haiti is called ‘THE SINGING ROOSTER" You can purchase some or place an order. Alice Keagly has written a book about a pioneer family living in the Dakota Territory. We are offered a $2.60 commission from each sold book. Place you order on an e-mail www.authoralicekeagly.com. Quarterly newsletters are sent and I will share some of their updated news. YES, THIS IS AN OUTREACH PROJECT, as is KIDS KLOSET. Please remember those children we help Every Week. Your monetary gifts help when used items are not donated. We do appreciate the physical help of some of our parishioners. But projects can be share equally .Submitted by Yvette Presnell
One Sunday in a Midwest City, a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew, but were losing the battle. Finally, the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!" Submitted by, Education for Ministry (EFM)Education for Ministry (EFM) is a program of the School of Theology of the University of the South that provides theological education-at-a-distance for laity. Students sign up for one year at a time of this four-year program. It covers the basics of a theological education in the Old and New Testaments, church history, liturgy, and theology. Students meet regularly, usually once a week, in seminars under the guidance of trained mentors. The program grants a certificate at the completion of the four years and 18 Continuing Education Units for each year's work. Members of an EFM group experience community, challenge themselves in study, and learn ways to become more intentional and articulate in the ministries to which they are called in their daily lives. The EFM group meeting at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church is looking for new members to begin in September 2009. (The specific day and time will be determined later with input from participants.) There are two information sessions being offered at St. Dunstan's: Thursday, May 21, from 7-8 pm, and Sunday, June 14, from 1-2 pm. Please come to one of these sessions to learn more about the program. Time commitment, costs, financial aid, and student experiences will be discussed. If you have any questions please contact Gloria Alt at 608-370-6113, altmode@charter.net. St. Dunstan's is located at 6205 University Avenue, Madison. Camp Webb Sending your kids to Camp Webb is a great way for them to have a camping experience centered around God in God's creation. Each day at camp will have a theme, worship, small groups, fun and games and I'm sure they will make great memories. Please know that we are committed to getting every child to camp who wants to come, so please don't let money stand in the way! Scholarships are available. It promises to be a great summer and we hope your child can join us! For more information contact The Rev. Shannon Kelly at kelly@diomil.org or go to www.campwebb.org . Still looking for counselors at Camp Webb! Are you age 19 or older or do you know someone who is? Do you like working with kids? Do you like the outdoors? Do you want to have an awesome experience over the summer that will impact your life and the lives of those around you? Come work at Camp Webb! You can find out more information by going to www.campwebb.org or by contacting The Rev. Shannon Kelly at kelly@diomil.org Sunday, June 7-KINDERMESSE-Trinity Sunday. Please join us on Sunday, June 7 at 9 AM for the final day of
Sunday School. The children will participate in the service by being readers,
acolytes, and ushers. Certificates will be handed out to the students and cake
will be served during coffee hour after service. Sunday School will resume in
the Fall. Did you know that the Vestry voted to sponsor a child in Haiti? This outreach ministry started in 1986 between the Episcopal Diocese of
Milwaukee and St. Marc's Episcopal Church in Jeannette Haiti. In addition to the
Church there is also a Health Clinic and School with almost 600 children. |