For all of us this will be our first September without our beloved deacon John. Even though his health had prevented him from being with us for much of the last year or so, he still appeared in our minds when we pictured St. Luke’s. John was deacon here for 48 years. Priests came and went but John remained, and its is no exaggeration to say that at times it was John who held the parish together. His personality and his tenure here both qualified for the word venerable, and it is not going to be the same without him.

Yet John’s passing reminds us that the Church has a life of its own which is independent of individual ministers and laity. The Body of Christ, to use Paul’s phrase, is the Church both in heaven and on earth. It is a divine institution that remains always the same in its purpose while adapting its approaches in each changing generation. Individuals pass across the stage in its story and have their different roles.. St. Augustine compared members of the Church to stars in the sky, all shining in the same heaven but each with a different splendor. Yet all these different lives contribute in their own way to the continuing story of the Church. At the same time the Church moves on through each passing age, adapting where it needs to while holding firm to its timeless mission.

The transitions are not always easy. We love to hold on to what we are used to, just as we want to hold on to the people we have known and loved. We feel threatened when the old and tried is replaced by something strange and alien to our habits. New liturgies, new practices, new tolerances, can cause us heartache and regret. We need to remember that there was a time when the Church accepted slavery, when its services were in a Latin which few could understand, when only the sons of princes and nobles could ever be bishops, and when those who differed from the prevailing view might finish up being burned for their unbelief. It was not that there was a lack of faith, and certainly not that there was any doubt that they all had the right answers. Yet those ages passed away. Today we are also often just as certain that our current traditions are just as final and God-given.

Sometimes the Church has led change in society; sometimes the Church has lagged behind change in society. But change one way or another is inevitable, whether it is the passing of a beloved deacon in one small parish or in the broader issues facing the Church today. As Christians we should not be afraid of change. The Apostles and the earliest Christian missionaries changed the world. They did not always agree about the direction or pace of the changes they were making, and some perhaps would have denied that they were indeed making changes. But they all went forward in faith. Therein lies the key. Today we know at St. Luke’s that while we will miss John very much we will still go forward in faith. The greater Church also goes forward in faith, knowing that whatever changes we are faced with we will not be alone but will walk as children of God and in the light of his guidance.

Let us pray that we will never feel secure enough to deny our need for that guidance, or despairing enough to feel that we have lost it. Faith is about trust. John had such faith in large measure. Let us imitate him as we go forward.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Michael +

For the Outreach Committee, this is a season of raising community awareness of St. Luke’s. August 9^th is National Day Out at South Shore Farmers Market, and St. Luke’s will have a booth presided over by Mary Arriola, Marge Lower, and Larry and Dana Washburn. We only hope that community awareness will soar as high as the bubbles we are giving out to all kids, ages 3-70!

Plans are underway for the Bayview Bash on September 13th. This fun celebration should have many prospective members for St. Luke’s, so we are all very hopeful. We’ll have more details later, but we could certainly use good ideas from other St. Luke’s ‘Out Reachers!"

One of our proposals for these various events is a banner to announce our presence. Dana and Krislyn are working on this project. Please keep it – and them – in your p4rayers.

St. Luke’s will host a Food Drive in September, with a special emphasis on involving the immediate neighborhood. Mary Arriola will work with Bobbie on a special flyer, which we will distribute to our neighbors. Dana will arrange a time for us to serve at the Gathering, at which time we will offer our donations. As you consider your donation, please keep Matthew 25:40 in mind..

Krislyn and Dana are working on packets for newcomers so that we may have something tangible to offer visitors at St. Luke’s. Krislyn and Dana will be approaching various members of the parish to obtain necessary information.

The Committee also held a general discussion concerning its future. It was the consensus of the group that there should be two committees: Outreach and Fellowship. Having double duty, so to speak, means the Committee really doesn’t have sufficient members and/or energy to do both jobs as they should be done. Therefore, there should be two committees so that the Outreach Committee can concentrate on…outreach!

May the peace of God bless each of you so that you want to reach out and share it!

Yours in Christ,

Andrew Eagan

Sunday, August 17^th I received an e-mail regarding the second year on my journey to the diaconate.

September 13 and 27
October 4 and 18
November 1 and 15
December 6 and 20

Period 1 - 9:30-10:45
Period 2 - 11:00-12:15
Period 3 - 1:00-2:30

We will be starting each class day with Morning Prayer: each of the postulants will take turns leading it. I volunteered to do the Morning Prayer for our first class on September 13.

Dr. Tom Ferguson will be teaching Historical Theology. Deacon Rodger Patience will be guiding us in Homiletics. I had both of these instructors last term and they are incredible.

Dr. John Zemler will be reflecting with us on the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.

You are already aware that I am in the process of doing my 200 hours of Clinical Pastoral Training at Casa Maria.

During Lent (2009) I will be assigned a parish for my internship and will be there about 3-6 months. It is all just gong so fast. I know that you are keeping me in prayer as I am keeping you.

Peace.

Marge

The month of September is designated as food drive for The Gathering. We all need to bring a non-perishable item or 2 for this collection. These will be a basket in church for the brought items. This is an Outreach project where we can help others less fortunate than us.

"God says feed the hungry"

Margaret Lower

Thank you one and all that submitted a favorite hymn to be included in the summer service schedule. I am sure that your favorite is also the favorite of several others in the congregation. Thanks also to those that included a little background as to why a particular hymn meant so much to them. Let me know if you are interested in repeating this project next summer.

Come one and all to the front of the church to sing in the choir. We are a friendly group that meets after coffee hour about 10:45 am until about 11:30 am. We welcome anyone that can carry a tune. Soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices are all needed. The choir leads the congregation in singing the liturgy and hymns during the service. When able a special anthem is offered at the offertory. Our first gathering will be on September 14, 2008. Join us for the best seat in the sanctuary

A COUPLE OF ANNOUNCEMENTS….

ST. ALBAN’S, SUSSEX

ST. MARY’S, DOUSMAN

Thank you!

Barbara J. Klauber, Administrative Assistant

Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee

Bible study will start on Tuesday, September 9 at 7 PM in the Vicarage. This fall the Bible study group will study the Book of Job

Outreach Committee Meeting Minutes

Sunday 8/3/08

Present: Mary Arriola, Andrew Eagan, Marge Lower, Dorothy Morrison, Dana Washburn, Larry Washburn, and Krislyn Holaday-Wondrachel

Next Potluck: Tentatively scheduled for November 2. Also of note, John Halvorsen says the church wants to do a Fellowship Breakfast in conjunction with the annual Evangelism/pledge discussion in late October.

Farmer’s Market: National Day Out at the South Shore Farmer’s market is 8/9/08 from 8 am to 12 PM, located on South Superior street. The Committee is planning on having a booth there. The committee wants to hand out food (maybe cookies or candy) but we must check to see if this is allowed. Dana will make a sign advertising for a volunteer guitarist to play contemporary music.

Future St. Luke’s banner: Krislyn suggested that St. Lukes should have an official sign for these types of events. Dana suggested possibly changing St. Luke’s logo, and Kris will look into the cost and process.

Bay View Bash, 9/13/08. Dana will fill out and mail the application, and the committee approved the $85 entry fee. We will plan setup and shifts next time.

September Food Drive: Marge Lower will do a newsletter article about this. Mary Arriola will work with Bobbie to do a neighborhood food drive flyer, and we will try to distribute this to the surrounding houses. Marge will bring a wicker basket for the food. Dana will have to call The Gathering to set up a date for volunteers to serve there, and also to bring them our donations.

T-shirt sale: Dana will put in the order this week.

Diversity: Andrew reports that Pridefest was rained out and the future direction of this subcommittee is uncertain.

Veterans support group ministry: Andrew has not received any response to his insert in the newsletter.

Social club outing: Marge Lower has not received any response to her newsletter bulletin, and so she will run it again next month.

Materials: Krislyn presented an option for us to have small Welcome folders printed with tiered information about our church. The price for 100 folders will be $198 plus shipping for professional folders and business cards. The committee agreed to this expenditure, so Krislyn and Dana will work together on drafting the materials. They will consult with people within our church on the content of insets.

Direction of the Outreach Committee: A general discussion was had about the future of the committee and its current dual focus of fellowship (parish life) and outreach. Farther Michael has stated he would prefer Outreach focus only on that. Outreach would be free to focus on attracting and integrating new members. This would involve a split in the committee, and would necessitate handing over parish life duties to others. Committee members agreed that both aspects must be covered for the parish to grow. Members suggested bringing this discussion to Vestry and discussing the possibility of having someone else plan parish life events, i.e., potlucks and the picnic. Members also stated they believe outreach efforts could be aided by having an energetic deacon at our parish

The next meeting will be on August 31 after church

Please join us each Sunday during the month of October where a speaker will give a short talk regarding their experiences with Stewardship at Sunday Mass. On the fourth Sunday, October 26, we would like to give the congregation the opportunity to turn in their pledge cards as a Parish family. Also, after Mass there will be fellowship and a meal. More information will be forthcoming in the future.

Thank you,

The Stewardship Committee