THE OUTLOOK - St. Luke's UCC
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THE OUTLOOK
St. Luke's United Church of Christ Rev. E. Paul Emily, Pastor
727 N. Main Street, Independence, MO 64050 Nanette Moore,
Phone: 461-0302 Administrative Assistant &
Pastor’s Phone 816-379-5726 Director of Christian Education
e-mail: stlukes@stlukesuccindep.org Margie Foley, Organist/Pianist
www.stlukesuccindep.org David Lyon & Ralph Koch,
Pastor Emeriti
March 3, 2019
So. Winter seems to rage on. And on. But whatever the weather, the season of Lent has
arrived. It is time for us to turn our attention and our hearts toward God. Lent is a time of
focused and intentional devotion in our spiritual lives. While Lent is a journey with a singular
and shared focus: the cross and ultimately the resurrection on Easter, there are a lot of paths
that lead us toward that focus; a lot of angles from which to pursue that focus.
There’s an old Robin Williams and Robert De Niro movie called Awakenings. It is a depiction of a doctor’s
extraordinary work in the Sixties with a group of catatonic patients he finds languishing in a Bronx hospital. The
doctor defies the skeptics and treats the patients with a drug that had been used to treat Parkinson’s disease at the
time. Miraculously, the patients began to awaken—most having been catatonic for decades. To facilitate their
reintegration into daily life the doctor took them to his favorite place—a botanical green house. The problem was, the
patients found it dull in spite of the doctor’s passion. Having been “gone” for so long, they wanted to sing; to dance.
This scene has always stuck in my mind as a pastor. It stands as a reminder that there are various passions that lead
each of us to a fuller life and a fuller understanding of God. Yet, when it comes to church, we all too often are offered
only one path. We assume everyone will share an equal passion for the path that is meaningful for us. We forget to
validate other paths by which others travel their own faith journey.
With this in mind, I am working on a Lenten Season that will explore a variety of options as we move toward the
cross and the glorious resurrection of our Lord. During our Tuesday evening Lenten Studies, we will be surveying
these various flavors of spirituality and determining which ones are familiar to us, fitting our own individual tastes.
We will probably see some options that we are inclined to avoid and others that our curiosity entices us to explore a
little more. We will come to better understand ourselves and realize we can all have a growing life of faith that fits
our taste.
Sunday morning worship during Lent will also feature various approaches to worship, realizing that personal tastes
differ as do our passions. We will see that Jesus had a taste for solitude that some may identify with more than others.
On March 17th we will dedicate our new baby grand piano in a service that will be a delight for those who have a taste
for beautiful music. On March 31st, our guest pastor will be Rev. Andrew Bolton, who will bring us a service with a
taste for justice.
Along with the Tuesday evening Lenten Studies and Sunday morning worship services, there will be a “menu” with
options to satisfy a variety of tastes. Some options will include:
a book study during Sunday School for those with a taste for thinking
a hike—probably at Burr Oak Woods—for those with a taste for nature
a visit to Powell Garden—for those with a taste for nature but prefer sidewalks and a tram
a labyrinth walk—for those with a taste for quiet reflection
(or a labyrinth sit for those who have a taste for that but would rather sit)
a service project—for those with a taste for service
Other opportunities are planned for Holy Week that will expand our approaches to experience the passion of Christ.
Watch for details and dates in the bulletin and on Facebook and participate in any or all events that suit your taste.
I hope you will be a part of this Lenten journey as we
“Taste and see that God is good!”
May it be understood that any pictures/videos taken during any church event may be used for promotion.
If you are not in agreement with this notify the church office.
The deadline for the next Outlook will be March 20, 2019
JUSTICE
LENTEN STUDY BO
TAN
IN G Tuesdays at 6:30 pm ICAL G
HIK
AR
Light refreshments served DE
N
(There will be no meal served this year)
LABYRINTH
March 12th
March 19th DY
March 26th (no Study this night) U
ST
April 2nd O K
SIC April 9th BO
U
M April 16th
During our Tuesday evening Lenten Studies, we will be
surveying various flavors of spirituality and determining
which ones are familiar to us, fitting our own individual
tastes. We will probably see some options that we are
inclined to avoid and others that our curiosity entices us to
explore a little more. We will come to better understand
ourselves and realize we can all have a growing life of faith
TION SERV
MEDITA that fits our taste. ICE PR
O
JECT
ASH WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, March 6th, 7:00 PM
For many people this is one of the most solemn and meaningful services
of the year. This year, it will be made even more meaningful by using the
ashes that were created from our Dreamer’s Burning of the Palms Service
that was held this past fall. You are encouraged to join us and to bring
your children.
PIANO DEDICATION
The new piano in the sanctuary will be dedicated on Sunday,
March 17th
during worship.
As part of the dedication, anyone who has the ability is invited to play
during the service. Please contact Carol Lyon, Linda Drown
or the church office to be included.
You won’t want to miss this special service of
worship, and music.
KID’S CLUB
Inviting all kids in 2nd—5th grade,
to join us on the 3rd Sunday of the month
for lunch, activities, devotions and fun.
We will meet from noon (right after worship) until 1:30 PM.
The next meeting of the Kid’s Club will be March 17th.
Blue Springs
Terrace
13th Annual
Breakfast Buffet
Saturday,
March 23,
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
2019, BEGINS
8 am—1 pm March 10, 2019
Donations Accepted Don’t forget to set your clocks
Bring your family and friends. forward 1 hour.
The menu features: Pancakes, Sausage,
French Toast Casserole, Biscuits & WELCOME
Gravy, Egg & Ham Casserole, Coffee to Margie Foley
Cake, Fruit Bowl, Coffee, Milk & Juice who has accepted the
position of Organist/
Blue Springs Terrace, 312 SW 19th Pianist
Terrace, Blue Springs, MO She began her permanent
duties as of March 1st.
LILIES
ON
SALE
Easter Lilies
will be on
sale
Sundays, March 10th & 17th, before and
after worship. Lilies will be $12/each.
For more information see Nancy Meyer.
Louise Ahrens Romadeane Rudzik Bill Kuenne Frank Rohlfing
Ken Bergman Linda Drown Mike Moore Rhonda Smart
Coeanna Obermeyer Mike Klein Chelsea Arnold Connie Smith
Jamie Goldesberry Sharon Franciskato Jim Lucas Marguerite Adair
Wini Baker Jason Smart Ella Marie Sehrt Evelyn Fifield
Helga Day Brandon Borgman Julie Filbeck Marguerite Karl
Evelyn Thomas Helen Koch Wes Darneal Alberta Franciskato
Faith Wildschuetz Burdette Obermeyer Jim Dillie Peace for our World
2019 Camp Mo-Val
Program
and Schedule
Peace Works
brochures are available in the hallway.
Contact the church office
for more information.
Social media is becoming
ONE GREAT more and more important in
HOUR OF churches. The church website
is called the "Front Door to the
SHARING Church" by many experts
because visitors usually check
out a church's website before deciding to
Offering attend. St. Luke's has a website
will be taken (www.stlukesuccindep.org) and a Facebook
page. You can see Sunday morning services
streamed live on Facebook by visiting our
website. Advertising on Facebook is a way to
March 31st reach many people at a much lower cost than other
alternatives. Currently, our website costs a little
less than $700 a year which includes a hosting
company's services, security, and our domain
name. This cost is being paid from the earnings of
the Memorial Fund for Church Program. We have
not spent much money on Facebook advertising
due to budget constraints. If our budget would
allow, increasing advertising might enable more
people to find out about our wonderful church.
Through January, our Current Expense offerings
including Sunday School totaled $94,475. The
Knapheide/Twiehaus Fund contributed an additional
$10,640 toward our Current Expenses. These
contributions resulted in a shortfall of $20,013 when
compared to our budgeted Current Expenses. This
is an increase in our deficit of over $4,500 since the
end of December. Thank you for your ongoing
support of St. Luke's!
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