Attention all St. Lukers!! Join us this Sunday!!
We are so excited for this Sunday as we have the opportunity to host Florida’s new episcopal leader, Bishop Tom Berlin. If you were a part of St. Luke’s in 2020, we got to know Bishop Berlin as the author of the book “Reckless Love,” which was a part of our worship series that fall. Bishop Berlin at the time was the Lead Pastor of Floris UMC in Virginia, and we had the chance to interview him on Zoom and share those video clips on Sunday mornings. He was just elected as the new Bishop at the 2022 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference and appointed to be our leader beginning January 3 of this year.
He will be preaching for us at both the Contemporary and Traditional worship services at 9:30 a.m., and then at a combined service in the Sanctuary at 11:15 a.m. He will be sharing Scripture from Matthew 5:13-20, emphasizing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount teaching about being salt and light.
This past Sunday, we asked another discovery vision question to help determine our gifts and strengths as a congregation. We asked when you have experienced Jesus moving among us, or a glimpse of the Kingdom of God at or through St. Luke’s. If you haven’t had the chance to answer, we invite you to click here and participate in the online poll, which will be open until next Monday.
This week, Bishop Berlin will kick off the next phase of our vision process as we begin to Dream about how our gifts and strengths may meet the needs of our community and congregation. How is God calling us to be salt that “brings out the God flavors of the world,” or be light so people see “God’s colors” in their lives (for a different take on Matthew 5, read Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase by clicking here). What are the particular ways we will be salt and light in the coming few years as we seek to live into our purpose statement to Awaken Disciples to reveal the Kingdom, and Reveal the Kingdom to Awaken Disciples through our particular Core Values? After worship we will be sharing information and education throughout the week of some of the needs we know our congregation families and community has, and get us thinking about where God’s salt and light is needed. Make sure you watch your email, check out social media, and look for information around our campus as the week progresses.
But it all starts with worship this week with Bishop Tom Berlin. We cannot be more excited to have him share the gospel with us and for him to see St. Luke’s in action. We hope you will try to attend in person and maybe even bring a friend for this special day of worship!
Grace and peace –
Your Clergy Team