Dear St. Lukers,
It’s been quite a month of focusing on being Change Makers. Many of you have been following along with our devotions and lectures through our Change Maker app. We are so grateful to Harris D’Ambrosi for creating this custom interactive tool for us to help encourage our spiritual growth. It’s a great way to interact daily with challenges, devotions, the podcast, and even being in prayer together as a community. Since it’s helped so many of us, Harris has graciously helped to add to its content for the next series called Love Boldly. You can register and be part of this amazing interactive tool that can be used right on your phone, tablet, or computer. I promise, it’s worth taking the time! Livetherhythm.app.
Over the next three months, we will be diving into our new denominational vision statement created by our Council of Bishops and Conference Table. This vision statement explains how United Methodists around the world, in our nation, and in our state will live out the mission of our church to “make disciples for the transformation of the world.”
Those three brightly colored, bolded phrases are the actions of people who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s what disciples DO, and you will notice they don’t do it alone, but are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Disciples love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously. And when St. Lukers love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously, we live out our mission to “Awaken Disciples to reveal the Kingdom” to be Change Makers.
Join us Sunday as we look at John Wesley’s three simple rules: Do no harm, do good, stay in love with God, each of which helps us love boldly. During the following weeks, we will consider what that looks like as the work of the church collectively.
Make sure you check out the Change Maker app and listen to Pastor Jad’s podcast, spend time in prayer and reflection over our life together questions, and read Romans 12 to shape your focus. This week, we will gather with all generations in both venues and celebrate giving Bibles to our kindergarteners, as well as joining around the communion table as the St. Luke’s family for the gift of Christ’s bold love found in bread and cup. It will be a special Sunday you won’t want to miss!
With Bold Love and great expectations of what God will do through us –
Jenn.
