EPISTLE FOR WEEK OF May 23
Please hold in prayer:
Nenette Ward and family, on the loss
of her husband Charles Ward
Walter Timberlake and Lucille Timberlake
Evelyn Deforest
Marcie (Marianne Dorman’s sister)
Blaine Pace
Martha and George Ramsay
Max and Marilil Rychlik
Lucille Barrick
Frances Hall
With Babies come joy, laughter and love…
With babies come blessings from above.
All are invited to a Baby Shower
For Camille Macon on Saturday, June 5th
at St. Luke,10 am-12 pm in the Fellowship Hall.
Please R.S.V.P. with Barbara Wordenat 512-288-1131
(after 6 pm)Camille is registered at Babies-R-Us and Target.
Please note: The church office will be closed
May 31-June 4, for Memorial Day and annual conference,
which Sarah and Dianna will attend. John C. will be at home
andon call, in case of need—657-6766,
Dancing the Days…
Hello Friends!
I’ve had more than 400 of these “conversations” with you and God in this venue, for most of the more than 400 weeks we’ve been together as faith friends on a spiritual path.
That’s really how I’ve experienced the crafting of these reflections—as if you, God, and I were together, looking around at life, taking it in, and thinking about what holy wisdom there might be for us to glean, so as to build each other up in love, and grow in Spirit.
This morning John and I walked down to Nau’s for breakfast (one of many neighborhood rituals we’ll dearly miss), and happened to sit next to a friendly gentleman, a neighborhood resident since his childhood in the 1940’s.
He was on his third coffee refill, waiting for his wife to finish her chat with a friend, and a few minutes into our conversation he looked around at the tables, booths, and stools where folks were eating, sighed, and said, “I’ve been coming here so long, I can practically hear and see the ghosts of the old regulars here. There was a Carl, who was a photographer, and another Carl, who was a wheeler-dealer—characters. Lots of characters here….” Now by “character” I know this fellow meant those who were especially “colorful”—but aren’t we all characters, really, with our own colorful, unique parts in the story?
The cast of characters who have played and continue to playtheir inimitable, invaluable roles in the St. Luke story continue to bless the ever-evolving, God-blessed journey that is this church—and I, too, experience the blessed memory of some saints who have transitioned to the next plane, while I’ve continued to experience God’s love through the ever-evolving cast of characters moving in and through our faith community. From Anna Mae to Mathew’s and Camille’s baby-to-be, I’ve learned more about being human, and being Christian, from every precious life story—even those not yet written.
I’m delighted to see the kids and Mary working to create photographs, attach names to faces, and post those for the new pastor and everyone else to see some of the “members of God’s family,” as the project heading proclaims.
I’m also glad to see the images of past and present blending artfully on our new blue wall—signs of life, love, and dedication to walking the walk of celebration and service to the living God, the loving Christ, the energizing Spirit.
It’s strange, today, to be writing my penultimate column of this sort—bitter-sweet, to say the least.
And I do look forward to being with all you characters who gather with me in worship this week and next week—and to treasuring the ties of friendship, memory, love, and learning that will bless my story for (at least) the rest of my mortal days.
As the wonderful old hymn reminds us:
“Blessed be the ties that bind our hearts in Christian love—the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.”
Shalom
Sarah+
You are cordially invited to attend…
OUR
FAREWELL DINNER
for
Sarah Currie
and
John Campbell
This Sunday, May 30, 2010
St. Luke UMC Fellowship Hall
Following Sunday Morning Worship Service
Potluck Dinner
Please bring a side dish or dessert of your choice to share.
(Meat, bread and drinks will be provided.)
Sarah’s last Sunday at St. Luke is actually June 6th
but we are celebrating her and her ministry with us.
Please join us as we say good-bye to Sarah and John
and send them off with our love and best wishes
for the next phase of their lives
at Wimberley United MethodistChurch.
Please join us for…
OUR WELCOME DINNER
for our new pastor and his wife,
John and Sara Reynolds
Sunday, June 13, 2010
St. Luke UMC Fellowship Hall
Immediately following
Sunday Morning Worship Service
Spaghetti Dinner provided for everyone!
Please enjoy a nice meal and help extend
a very warm St. Luke welcome to our new pastor. Let’s all get a little better acquainted with the Reynolds Family as we transition together into a new era of ministry and outreach for our church.