November 2022 Cross Connection
A Letter from Pastor Frye
Dear Family and Friends of St. Luke,
The month of November is full. There is much to observe, celebrate, and commemorate. We begin with All Saints Sunday, then Christ the King Sunday, then our National Day of Thanksgiving, and finally, we end with a beginning as we enter the Season of Advent. It is a time of transition. The days grow darker, the weather, colder. Sometimes we can become overwhelmed, distracted, and unsettled.
During Stephen Ministry Leader Training in these weeks, I have been reading the book, Speaking the Truth in Love. About two thirds of the way through, the following illustration is shared:
Once when Leonardo da Vinci was working on his painting “The Last Supper,” he became inordinately angry with a certain man. Losing his temper, he lashed the other fellow unfairly with harsh and bitter words. Returning to his canvas, Leonardo attempted to work on the face of Jesus but was so upset he couldn’t compose himself for the painstaking work. Finally, he put down his tools, sought out the object of his wrath, and asked his forgiveness. The man accepted his apology, and Leonardo could then return to his workshop and finish painting the face of Jesus. *
I wonder if being preoccupied with many things, we overlook the one thing needful at the center of our life together. We are called to be the face of Christ to a world in need of good news. Yet, stuck in our own grudges, and campaigns of suspicion, we can be rendered unrecognizable.
This month is a suitable time to remember the following: First, both our connection to and participation in the great cloud of witnesses; secondly, our status as children of God and fellow citizens of God’s Kingdom in Christ; and finally, our calling to long for and prepare the way of the Lord in our life together for the sake of the world.
I encourage us all to take the time necessary to see our relationship with God in Christ and with one another not just as one option among many, but as the central and preeminent reality of our lives. We need to return to our canvas and finish our work. God is a God of means. It is God’s work, our hands.
In Christ’s love for you,
Pastor Christopher Frye
*Koch & Haugk, Speaking the Truth in Love: How to Be an Assertive Christian. (Saint Louis: Stephen Ministries, 1992) page 143.
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Worship
Sundays and Special Days
Sunday, November 6: All Saints Live it up this Lord’s day. -Our God is the God of the living.
Second Sunday Sunday, November 13: 23rd Sunday after Pentecost – The baptized rally around the invitation of the apostle: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.”
Thursday, November 17: Prayer Vigil for Our Hurting World – At Menno Haven Life Center/ Event Center Room 3pm. Join us after the service for S’MORE HOPE at the Firepit.
Sunday, November 20: Christ The King – It appears utterly contradictory that a king should be crucified with a criminal.
Wednesday, November 23: Thanksgiving Eve Service – The Conococheague Mission Cooperative will be joining together for a Thanksgiving Eve service. Join us at Calvary United Methodist in Fayetteville (150 Norlo Dr.) at 7:00 pm on November 23. Bring a few non-perishable items for an offering.
Sunday, November 27: First Sunday in Advent – The new church year begins with a wake-up call.
2nd Sunday Fellowship & Outreach in November
Join us November 13 for our 2nd Sunday Fellowship following worship in the Fellowship Hall.
Sunday Worship Services
10 a.m. every Sunday, In-person and online
Wednesday Healing Services
We have a weekly service of Prayer, Healing, and Holy Communion every Wednesday at 11 a.m. This simple service is a great way to connect with a smaller group of people in a supportive environment.
Wednesday Prayer Service
Zoom Prayer & Share continues to be a great opportunity for people to connect and share their prayers and praises. We meet on Zoom each Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm. During Advent we will take a break from Zoom Prayer & Share so people can enjoy the Wednesday evening Advent services being offered. See you again January 4th, 2023!
Choir
Choir Rehearsal, Wednesdays at 6:30 pm
“St. Luke’s Singing Circle” Voice Class, Sundays after service
Hearing Assist Now Available During Worship
- Do you have hearing aids that are Bluetooth enabled? Do you not have hearing aids but would like to wear a headphone system to help boost your hearing during worship? Do you not have hearing aids but need a little boost with sound anyway? All three options are now available! Please catch Shelly Davies before or after service for more information.
Support
Deaths
Herbert Faust – October 5, 2022
Combined Choir Opportunity
If you’d like to join a combined choir from all the CMC churches for the Thanksgiving Eve service, please arrive at 6:20pm to the Calvary UMC choir room. Practice the hymn ahead of time – “For the Beauty of the Earth”, hymn 879 in the red hymnal.
“Begin the Blessed Season” Dinner
Join us to begin the season of Advent with an evening of fellowship. Sunday, November 27 @ 5:00pm we will have dinner together – pizza, salad & dessert. Sign up on the bulletin board so we know you’re coming!
A Contemplative Advent Midweek Series: Make Way for Holy Disruption
November 30 Otterbein United Methodist Church
61 West Main Street, Fayetteville
December 7 St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fayetteville
44 East Main Street, Fayetteville
December 14 Scotland United Methodist Church, Scotland
4040 Main Street, Scotland
December 21 St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church
(Blue Christmas Service) 2695 Luther Drive @ Luther Ridge
Card Showers
If you’d like to request a special card shower for a special someone, please reach out to the office at St. Luke!
If interested in sending cards to new members, I have their address labels already clipped in packs for on the table outside of Nave. You can add them to your Church directory.
If you need an address for other occasions, births, baptisms, special birthdays, or anniversaries or just to let someone know you’re thinking of them please call or email Christine at Church office.
Prayer
Confidential prayer requests can be made online: StLukeChambersburg.org/connect
Education
YOUth
Family Hike, Pizza and Campfire
Join us for a hike around the creek and farms of Wilson College followed by a pizza dinner around the campfire, and of course s’mores!
Sunday afternoon, November 20 at 3:00pm. More details to come! All are welcome.
Families Celebrate – Advent
This a special time to anticipate the arrival of Jesus. Be on the lookout for another porch delivery of a bag full of activities and ideas on how to make this time special with your children!
Youth & Children’s Christmas Party
Join us for an evening of Christmas lights, nativities, ice cream, and cocoa. We will meet at the church and then drive together to view a few drive-thru displays, ending our evening with cocoa and ice cream. Be on the lookout for the date (December) to be announced! Sign-ups will be on the Bulletin Board or by calling the church office. All ages (under 18) are invited
Adult Faith Formation – Looking Ahead!
The Impact of Deuteronomy, 2nd Isaiah, & Daniel on the Gospels
November 6, 13 & 20
Led by Rev. Michael Brendle in the Fellowship Hall @ 8:45 am
Advent Reflections – You Shall Have a Song
November 27, December 4, 11 & 18
God promises, “You shall have a song” (Isaiah 30:29), even when things look the most bleak and hopeless. In a time like that, God provided a song about a servant who would bring justice and light to all the world. The lyrics of this song, recorded in Isaiah 42, are later echoed in the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Join us in the Fellowship Hall at 8:45 am each Sunday in Advent starting November 27. Books available from Shelly Davies.
December 25 & January 1 – No Faith Formation classes for all ages.
Good Gifts
Are you starting your Christmas shopping and just don’t know what to get for your loved ones this year? Why not consider donating an item in their honor? ELCA’s Good Gifts program has options ranging from as little as $10. Options include chicks, a pig, school supplies, a water filter, honeybees, Bibles, a motorbike, etc. These gifts are donated to families all around the world. During the season of Advent, there will be a tree in the Gathering Area at church filled with ornaments representing gifts. Our goal: clear the tree! By the end of Advent we’d love to see all the ornaments gone, representing that all the gifts have been given. More details will be available next to the tree and on the bulletin board by the Sanctuary, starting November 20.
Outreach
PowerPacks
We are packing for the month of November. Join us November 3, 10 & 17 at 9:00 am in the Fellowship Hall to help put together the packs. If you are interested in donating, please consider individually wrapped individual serving packs of cookies, crackers, chips, fruit cups, juice boxes, or cans of soup, pasta, or tuna. Thank you! Each pack will be delivered to a local school and taken home by a food insecure student so that they can eat over the weekend.
Fall Card Crafting
Our fall card making was postponed from October to Tuesday, November 8. Opportunities to join us and make some beautiful fall leaf cards are available that day at 2pm or 6pm. Sign up on the Bulletin Board. What you make, you take!
Pentecost Project Updates
Thank you for all your generosity throughout the season of Pentecost this year. We were able to deliver 49 personal care packs to Lutheran World Relief. We’ve raised $2985.07 For Lutheran Disaster Relief through Pentecost and you can always continue to donate to them all year long. The next few weeks in November is your last chance to donate to our Kandete Swing Project, after which we will forward the money to them to get started on the building of the playground. We’ve been able to collect $610, surpassing our $300 goal! Thank you so much. Any extra money will go to improving their project with other sports supplies to draw in the neighborhood kids.
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Leaders have begun the Bridge Leader’s Training. Please pray for Pastor Frye, Cheryl Vorhauer, and Carol Angstadt as they go through this course. Look for more details about Stephen Ministry to come in the next months!
2nd Sunday Fellowship & Outreach
Don’t forget – 2nd Sunday Fellowship & Outreach is November 13! Invite a friend or two to join us for worship and stick around after for fellowship and treats.
Congregation, Council, Committees
COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS September 2022
· A Task Force will be appointed to review the Mission Endowment Policy and to author a new more manageable policy
· A seminar for anyone wanting guidance with navigating the newly revised website will be offered in October
· Giving for August is up 2.33%. We continue to remain behind to the budget.
· The walk from the front door of the nave to the Memorial Garden has been completed. Additional fill and mulch will be done later. Consideration is being given to some additional railings.
· Services Planned – Advent, Blue Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day
COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS October 2022
· Regular giving is up .11%
· Proposed Spending Plan was presented to Council
· All Saints Service, November 1 for Luther Ridge, to be held at St. Luke
· Begin the Blessed Season Dinner – November 27 @ 5pm
· Walk around Wilson with Pastor Frye – Sunday Nov 20 @ 3pm
Fellowship Committee
The primary function of the Fellowship Committee is to provide activities for the membership of St Luke. In past years, activities have included some of our traditional activities: Easter Breakfast, Shrove Tuesday pancake and sausage dinner, church picnic, and Begin the Blessed Season Dinner.
The “Begin the Blessed Season dinner” was started many years ago as our way to begin the season of Advent. Over the years we have had many different menus, mostly keeping it causal. The last dinner was December 1, 2019 and the Fellowship Committee is anxious to get our St. Luke family together in 2022. We are planning a pizza buffet, please join us and stay tuned for more information.
Calendar
Visit our online calendar for the most current updates to meetings, events, and services.
Connect
2695 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202
717-261-1213
[email protected]