St. Luke's News
Dear People of St. Luke’s,
Holy Eucharist is our “central
act of worship” as Episcopalians.
We celebrate the Holy Eucharist
every Sunday, week after week.
Later this month we will take
some time to reflect on and better
appreciate what we do when we
gather as Christians every Sunday
morning. Starting Sunday, August
17 during the adult Christian Education
class at 9:15 we’ll talk
about the mechanics of worship:
sitting, standing, kneeling, crossing,
genuflecting. On the 24th
we’ll identify particular questions
we have about the service. On the
31st we will look at our sacred
space with its symbols and structure.
On September 6 a recent art
history graduate will talk about
Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last
Supper.” On August 24th we will
have an instructed Eucharist at
both services where I will pause at
each point in the service to talk about what it means. We will have some materials
for parents, grandparents and godparents to take home to share with
children and grandchildren. This time is set aside for us to remember what we
already know: that the assurance of God’s love for us is present in a real, tangible
way every Sunday, week after week, now and for ever.
Our own Beatrice
Romanowski wrote a lovely poem titled “The Holy Eucharist”:
The table is set
Here in my house.
Enter and be seated.
Hands held in prayer
Open the door to
Love from Jesus to
You.
Each part of the service
Unfolds old meaning
Carried through centuries,
Holding precious truths.
Adult to child, so through time,
Retelling the Great Story,
Illuminating the
Sacrifice made on
The cross.”
Beatrice Romanowski
Fairview, NC 28730
c) March 4, 2007 Revised
May God’s peace be with you,
-Patty
The Rev. Patricia W. Mouer
Rector
P. S. Check out the first letter in each line
Dear Church Family,
The past few
years have been very difficult for Jonathan
and I. I want to thank all of you for
your love and support. Your prayers have
been especially appreciated. Over the
past several years my brother, Jeff, has
been on our prayer list and many of you
have prayed diligently for God's will to
come to him. Jeff died on June 23rd. I
know in my heart that your prayers are
what kept him alive during the waiting
process. His loss has been especially
difficult for me, his wife, Jonathan, and
all who knew and loved him. Our thanks
to all of you for your prayers and your
kind expressions of love and sympathy.
Peace in our Lord and Savior,
-Ed Crenshaw
From our Sr. Warden...
I’m wearing a button that reads,
“We teach best what we need to learn
most.” Acknowledgement of one’s own
shortcomings demands accountability for
addressing them, so I share this lesson
that I recently received. I invite all of
you to help me with the accountability
piece!
Marianne Williamson wrote in Illuminata,
“We were born to make manifest /
the glory of God that is within us. / It’s
not just in some of us; / it’s in everyone.
“ My attempts to reveal that Divine
light in my soul have routinely manifested
in service to others. I’m fortunate
to have the time and resources that allow
me to volunteer for so many good
causes. I’m blessed to have talents that
can be of service to our church. It’s a
privilege to give time to my son’s school
on a daily basis. Yet I felt depleted and
drained for months. I found myself
wondering if I’d ever find fulfillment
and reward for all that I was giving. I
put on excessive weight in a short period
of time, and felt my energy draining
from me. Many of my volunteer activities
that were once a source of light and
joy were beginning to resemble heavy
obligations.
Considering the nature of my volunteer
activities, my borderline depression
was a bit ironic. I’m no stranger
to depression, and my past dips to the
bottom of the pool have taught that
the symptoms are indicators of a life
out of balance. Instead of taking the
dive, I took measures to discern what
was out of whack. I thought I’d been
evenly spreading my talents in serving
my church and strengthening my
soul as Sr. Warden, and in cultivating
a new school that embraces an integral
philosophy (which emphasizes
the physical, emotional, mental, and
spiritual dimensions of the self in
relationships with others, the larger
world, and God.) What I discovered
was that I wasn’t doing anything for
myself! I’d completely neglected to
nurture the Divine light in my soul.
Revealing the Divine light and nurturing
it aren’t always embraced in
the same energy of service to others.
Take for example the Commandment,
“Love thy neighbors as thyself.”
I’ve routinely internalized
those words as a directive for service
to others. What I’ve come to realize
is that I typically treat others far better
than I treat myself! Thanks to the
wisdom of a sage and a mystic who
told me that I’d better not love my
neighbors as myself lest I do them
harm, I’m determined to take better
care of myself – to nurture the Divine
light within. My son and my neighbors
deserve that!
So here’s how my life is different
today: Joyful music plays in my home,
I take leisurely walks with my dogs, I
make enormous salads with exotic ingredients
for dinner and keep a pitcher
of water in the fridge full of sliced oranges;
I’m making time to read a book
that makes me laugh out loud; I spend
time experimenting with watercolors
with my son. I look for beauty and find
a hummingbird nest outside my window.
In all these things I feel gratitude,
and I’m feeling lighter and brighter
each day.
My teacher helped me to understand
that experiencing joy and fulfillment is
the result of nurturing the Divine light
within and trusting God to guide
us. The reward for doing so is the ability
to serve others!
-Ginny Hunneke
Sr. Warden
St Luke’s book reading group is
now meeting on the 2nd and 4th
Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:00
pm. The Great Divorce by CS
Lewis is currently being
read. You may join in at any time
as the current chapters are short
stories in themselves. We are
truly honored to have The Rev
David Mosher in our group. He
has studied CS Lewis extensively
and taught courses on The Great
Divorce. We will meet on 8/12 at
the Metcalf’s and on 8/26 at the
Mosher’s. Contact Owen Halpeny
for details.
Birthdays
August 8 Nancy Davis
August 10 Taulbee Luther
August 11 Daniel Savage
August 14 Tammy Young
August 15 Stephanie Worley
August 19 Angela Shields
August 21 Margot Cain
August 22 Doug Aanonsen
August 25 Margie Connolly & Wade Mouer
O God, our times are in your hand: Look with favor, we
pray, on your servant N. as she begins another year. Grant
that she may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen
her trust in your goodness all the days of her life; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Anniversaries
August 7 Jeanne & Alex Harbison
Grant, O God, in your compassion, that N. and
N., having taken each other in marriage, and affirming
again the covenant they have made, may
grow in forgiveness, loyalty and love; and come
at last to the eternal joys which you have promised
through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hello everyone at St. Luke’s, I hope everything is going well for you all. I’m Christopher Cordell, the proud recipient of your $1000 scholarship. I’d
like to take this opportunity to let you all know how much I appreciate it, and how my first year at UNC Charlotte has gone.
Before I got to UNCC, I was about as scared as any incoming-freshman could be. The new possibilities of what I was
doing excited me, and at the same time I was scared about, not only moving to a big city away from my parents, but also not
knowing if the success I had had in high school would carry over to college life. Needless to say, I was extremely relieved
when things started falling into place. I met three other guys that are quite a bit like me, all three in engineering as well.
We’re very good friends, and will be living in an on-campus apartment together this coming year. I was also pleased to find
out my classes were just a continuation of what I was able to do in high school, and my grades went the same way. I managed
to pull off a 3.4 GPA first semester, making the Dean’s List, and a 4.0 GPA second semester (that I really had to work
for), making the Chancellor’s List. This coming year is supposedly the toughest academically, so I’d appreciate you all
remembering me with that.
Not only did I have really good classes, but my professors were some of the absolute best “teachers” I’ve had at any level
of school. My advisor, Mr. Blackmon, taught my Intro to Engineering class, and you won’t find more of a “Superman” of
engineering than him. Likewise, my chemistry professor was rated as the best professor in the South in 2007, and he lived
up to it. I have been very pleased with my choice of university, and I’ve had a great time there to this point…however, I
should point out that cafeteria food is in fact NOT good, no matter where you go.
The scholarship you decided to award me with has played a huge part in allowing me to go to the school of my choice.
It’s truly amazing how expensive things are. Books alone cost $700 my first semester, $800 second semester, and should be
about $1200 the first semester of this coming year. Your scholarship has helped soften the blow of these expenses so much,
so I’d just like you all to know how much of a difference you’re making in my life with the help you’ve provided. I’d like
to take a lesson from St. Luke’s generosity one day and help some other student with more potential than money get the
opportunity you’ve allowed to me.
Thank you so much, and God bless you all.
-Chris Cordell
Please remember in your prayers:
Our parishioners:
DJ Halpeny, Barbara Plimpton, Wanda Chaillett & Gig Nelson
Those who are home-bound, especially:
Louise Moretti, Bunny Evans, Lynn Bennett, Carleton Gray & Dot Summit
Wil Keith, our seminarian and his wife, Amanda
Our friends and family…
Betty Stewart and her son, Ian; Blair Miller and her family; Ed and Jonathan Crenshaw and their family; Tom McMillan (friend of
Kit Schmeiser); Lindsay (infant daughter of Sherry Shields’ co-worker); Barbara F (friend of Barbara Plimpton); Carol Carrington
(friend of DJ Halpeny); Rick Chamberlain (friend of the parish); John Overby (friend of the parish); Charlotte Soule (daughter of a
friend of Sherry Shields); Shiela & Sarah (granddaughters of Maureen Mosher); Wilma & John Pope (parents of Kit Schmeiser);
Fred & Marcia Parker (friends of Beth Savage); Celia & Jerry (friends of Wanda Chaillett); Martha Lewis (sister of Louise Hamilton);
Hoyt Wilkie (father of Jan Trantham); Jeanne Gagnon (aunt of DJ Halpeny); Bobbie Tinsley (friend of Wanda Chaillett);
Kathy Fayssoux (sister of Alice Sluder); Jeannette (friend of Margot Cain); Charlie (brother of Bob Cain);
Don Gregory (brother-in-law of Lois Brown); Andy Connolly (brother of Margie Connelly); Earl Shelton (son-of-law of Lois
Brown)
AA and recovery groups; Mission Manna (ministry in Haiti)
Those serving in the military, especially 2nd Lt. Bobby Fertig (grandson of Margot & Bob Cain)
Those who have died, especially
Marjorie Ostborg (condolences may be sent to Sigrid and her family c/o Wanda Chaillett)
Jeff Crenshaw (brother of Ed Crenshaw and uncle of Jonathan Crenshaw)
Barbara Wood (friend of Barbara Plimpton)
Ruth Minnich
Michael Daly (step-father of Blair Miller)
Robert Stewart (husband of Betty Stewart)
Summer potluck lunch!
Sunday, August 24
after the 10:30 service.
Bring your favorite summer food
and a friend!
Parish Leadership changes
St. Luke’s has had some leadership changes in the past month. After faithful service for 7 years Andy Anderson has resigned as treasurer. Owen Halpeny will be the interim treasurer through the end of the year. After 2 years on the vestry Vic Trantham has resigned his position; Jeanne Harbison will be the fellowship liaison on the vestry. After 3 years of publishing and distributing the parish newsletter Steve Savage is resigning from the newsletter; we are looking for someone to do the newsletter (a year at a time). Many thanks to Andy, Vic and Steve!
Audit Committee continues its review
The parish financial review continues with the audit committee examining and organizing parish records. The committee will make recommendations to the finance committee and the vestry about how we can be the best stewards of the gifts that God gives to us at St. Luke’s. Thank you to Kathryn Brightbill, Owen Halpeny and John Overby for their time and attention.
Fellowship Committee
Do you like people and parties? Then the Fellowship Commission may be for you! This group plans and organizes parish events aimed at strengthening the Body of Christ by nurturing relationships within the parish and refreshing our spirits with fun. Examples include monthly potlucks, a Christmas party, St. Luke’s Day, Foyer Groups (supper clubs) and the XYZ group (seniors’ group). Please contact Jeanne Harbison if you would like to be part of a planning group.
Landscaping Committee
Many thanks to everyone who helped plant the shrubs in the area beyond the Garden of the Resurrection! The Landscaping Committee will water the shrubs for the next year to help them get fully established. We have more planting to do in that area, but we will wait until we have more funds. In the meantime, if you would like to make a contribution in memory of a loved one, please contact DJ Halpeny.
We are stewards of all God’s creation…..
Mark your calendars for the Blessing of the Animals at 10:30 on Sunday, September 28.