Dear St. Lukers, 

All I can say after last Sunday is WOW. St. Lukers are ALL IN for children. Pastor Jenn and I were blown away with how you all took seriously the Spirit’s movement in our community on Sunday (and I think our local grocery stores were too!).  

It was amazing how many items showed back up – and volunteers to help with them! – to fill our Bags of Grace. Because of you, we have 313 bags to offer our community to help Restore Hope this summer. Thank you, St. Lukers, for being ALL IN! 

One of the most beautiful parts of Sunday’s experience were the stories I heard about what happened at the grocery stores, though. There was suddenly this organic community of St. Lukers covering the aisles, with choruses of, “What do you have left to get? Oh, that’s over there …” We filled our grocery stores with joy and excitement on Sunday – that’s the kind of experience that ensures when our community thinks of St. Luke’s, they say that “St. Lukers go ALL IN.” 

Last week’s experience is the perfect introduction to our new series we begin this Sunday, God’s Park. We’re going to continue to talk about what it means to be all in – all in for welcome and hospitality, all in for reaching new people in new places in new ways – all in for investing in others.

Around here, when you talk about “going to the park,” for most of us that brings up images of castles, churros, waterslides, and wizards. 

While I am as big a fan of our theme parks as any of us, I recognize, though, that there’s a difference in purpose between our beloved theme parks and what a park in God’s Neighborhood looks like. 

While theme parks are built to entertain, God’s Park is built to foster relationships. While theme parks are built for us to consume their products, God’s Park is designed for all of us to contribute to the community. While I can be anonymous and disappear into a crowd in a theme park, in God’s Park, it’s important that I am known and seek to know others. While I have no responsibility to help fellow park-goers engage in activities at a theme park, in God’s Park, it’s my responsibility to see who is missing, lost, or excluded.

Join us this Sunday as we look at the first lesson from God’s Park – you have to GO! I hope you’ll show up this Sunday as we talk about the importance of showing up in the world – and be ready for our next #stlukersgoallin call to action!

Blessings,

Pastor Melissa

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