A Note from Pastor Bill

Dear St. Luke’s Saints:

I apologize for the lack of enews last week. Kim and I were in California for a family wedding that I performed in Monterey. The round trip flight across the country reminded me of how wonderful our nation is in many ways. The sky was nearly cloudless for most of the flight. We took off with a view of the Atlantic Ocean and landed within view of the Pacific. We literally saw America “from sea to shining sea.” In between were the lakes of Florida, the hills of Georgia, the farmlands of the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and the desert of Nevada. Virtually cloudless (and spacious) skies both going and returning gave us an incredible view of the majesty of our beautiful country.

But beyond the breath-taking landscape we saw from the air were the close up views we had of the Pacific Coast, with sea lions competing with me for “talk time” during the outdoor nuptials adjacent to Monterey Bay. A few more days in northern California, even with the 800 fires blazing, provided us with a lasting memory of the handiwork of God.

One of the things I reflected on one day out there was that all of the people we met were Americans. We are indeed a melting pot of ethnicity. Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, Euro-Americans, Caribbean-Americans, and any other hyphenated group you can name are all united in this land that from the air has no state boundaries or racial divisions. I am grateful that I live in such a land. It makes getting along a challenge, but there is a greater good in having such a rich and diverse population.

This weekend we will celebrate another national anniversary, and when we come to worship and Holy Communion on Sunday we will be thinking about the way in which Jesus has brought together an even more diverse “population” into the Kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:19 says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.”

Read Ephesians 2:11-22 in preparation for worship at both the Central and HopeSpring campuses. And have a wonderful 4th of July giving thanks for purple mountain majesty, amber waves of grain, and steamy Central Florida cookouts.

With faith, hope, and love,

Bill