Pentecost II Cross Connection
Presiding Bishop Eaton joins Christian leaders to issue statement against Christian nationalism
8/2/2019 12:35:00 PM
CHICAGO — The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has joined Christian leaders in a statement against Christian nationalism.
As Christians, our faith teaches us everyone is created in God’s image and commands us to love one another. As Americans, we value our system of government and the good that can be accomplished in our constitutional democracy. Today, we are concerned about a persistent threat to both our religious communities and our democracy — Christian nationalism.
Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation.
As Christians, we are bound to Christ, not by citizenship, but by faith. We believe that: People of all faiths and none have the right and responsibility to engage constructively in the public square.
· Patriotism does not require us to minimize our religious convictions.
· One’s religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one’s standing in the civic community.
· Government should not prefer one religion over another or religion over nonreligion.
· Religious instruction is best left to our houses of worship, other religious institutions and families.
· America’s historic commitment to religious pluralism enables faith communities to live in civic harmony with one another without sacrificing our theological convictions.
· Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and often leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups as well as the spiritual impoverishment of religion.
· We must stand up to and speak out against Christian nationalism, especially when it inspires acts of violence and intimidation—including vandalism, bomb threats, arson, hate crimes, and attacks on houses of worship—against religious communities at home and abroad.
Whether we worship at a church, mosque, synagogue, or temple, America has no second-class faiths. All are equal under the U.S. Constitution. As Christians, we must speak in one voice condemning Christian nationalism as a distortion of the gospel of Jesus and a threat to American democracy.
More information is available at https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/
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Worship
Sundays and Special Days
August 11 *12th Sunday after Pentecost; Jesus says that the bread he gives for the life of the world is his flesh, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life now and will be raised on the last day. 2nd Sunday Fellowship
August 18 *13th Sunday after Pentecost; Wisdom prepares a feast, sets her table, and invites all to come and eat her bread and drink her wine.
August 25 *14th Sunday after Pentecost; In today’s gospel many people take offense at Jesus’ invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood; even many of Jesus’ disciples peel off.
September 1 *15th Sunday after Pentecost; Jesus protests against human customs being given the weight of divine law, while the essence of God’s law is ignored.
September 8 *16th Sunday after Pentecost; James tells us to stop showing favoritism in the assembly, treating the rich visitor with more honor than the poor one. God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday, 2nd Sunday Fellowship, Faith Formation Kick-off!
September 15 *17th Sunday after Pentecost; Three weeks ago we heard Peter’s confession of faith as told in John’s gospel.
September 22 *18th Sunday after Pentecost; Today we hear James warn against selfish ambition, while the disciples quarrel over which one of them is the greatest.
September 29 *19th Sunday after Pentecost; Someone who isn’t part of Jesus’ own circle is casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and the disciples want him stopped.
Choir
Choir is coming soon-get ready! Think about whether you’d like to be a part of the choir this year!
Sunday Worship Services
10a.m. every Sunday; In-person and online
Wednesday Healing Services
We have a weekly service of Prayer, Healing, and Holy Communion every Wednesday at 11a.m.
Zoom Prayer & Share
Prayer & Share happens via Zoom every Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Join us!
Vespers in the Park
Join us for worship and fellowship, with snacks! Last vespers for the summer season is coming up August 17(Pavilion #3), at 6:00 p.m. at Greene Township Park. Invite a friend!
Church Records
Deaths
Diane Winsboro—May 28. 2024
Sam Furry—June 19. 2024
Weddings
Michael Peters & Katie Staggs – July 27, 2024
New Members
Were received on June 9, 2024
Connor & Whitney Waters
Dolly Oyler
Tilman & Nancy Frye
Stewardship Report
Thank you! We are grateful for your generous giving to support St. Luke’s ministries & mission. Your contributions continue to grow our community.
| June 2024 | YTD 2024 | |
| Total Income | $50,645.99 | $224,044.13 |
| Total Expenditures | $51,836.95 | $238,296.86 |
| Net Income | -$1,190.96 | -$14,252.73 |
Education
Tuesday Bible Study
Tuesday Bible study, led by Pastor Frye, will start up again on September10. Join us at 1:00pm each Tuesday at St. Paul Lutheran in Fayetteville for a time of fellowship and study. All are invited!
Adult Faith Formation
Join us for our first adult faith formation class of the 2024-2025 year – Starting Sunday, September 15 @ 8:45am
Embrace the Purpose of the Holy Spirit
“I looked at Christ and the dove of peace flew into my heart. I looked at the dove and it flew away.” -attributed to Charles Spurgeon
Over 8 weeks, September – November, learn more about the Holy Spirit and questions like:
What is the baptism with the Spirit?, What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?, What are the fruit of the Spirit?, and many more!
Faith Formation Kick-Off
Join us Sunday, September 8 @ 8:45 am in the Fellowship Hall for our kick-off of learning for the new year! All ages are invited! Fun, fellowship, learning, and food!
Outreach
Annual Church Picnic
Saturday, September 14 @ 5:oo pm, join us at Greene Township Park in pavilion #3 for food and fellowship. Bring your place setting and a side dish or dessert to share. Fried chicken and drinks will be provided! Sign up on the bulletin board.
SAVE the Date-Mortgage Payoff Celebration
We are anticipating the payoff of our mortgage and want to celebrate! Save the date: either Friday, October 18, (St. Luke Day) or Sunday, October 20, for a time of fun and celebration!
Stephen Ministry
Consider reaching out to our community through Stephen Ministry. If you feel a tug at your heart, speak to Carol Angstadt, Cheryl Vorhauer, or Pastor Frye for more information.
God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday
Sunday, September 8 we will be celebrating God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday at St. Luke with a day of service. Following worship, join us for 2nd Sunday celebration in the Fellowship Hall, followed by a time of packing personal care packs for our migrant workers in our community. All materials will be provided for packing—just bring your hands and willing hearts!
Pentecost Projects
“God’s Work. Our Hands.”
Fruitbelt Farmworker Christian Ministry
This ministry supports people who come to our area to work in orchards and agricultural fields. The ministry provides pastoral care, recreation, advocacy, and comfort items such as personal care kits, blankets, hoodies or sweatshirts & hats.
As one of our Pentecost Projects and our “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Project we will be collecting items throughout the summer. We will get together to pack personal care packs on Sunday, September 8 following worship. Please join us to help pack. You can also choose to donate items for warmth, as listed below.
PERSONAL CARE KITS
either completed kits or items to be assembled into kits – No trial sizes, please!
Shampoo, Razor, Toothbrush, Soap, Shaving Cream, Toothpaste, Bath towel, Comb, Deodorant
FOR WARMTH
new or gently used Blankets, Sweatshirts, Hoodies, Knit hats
We will also be visiting one of the Migrant communities later this summer. Look for more details to come!
Place items in labeled bins located by the keypad door. Financial donations for purchase of items can also be made. Make checks to St. Luke with ‘FFCM’ in the memo line.
Chambersburg Homeless Shelter
The Franklin County Homeless Shelter provides temporary emergency lodging for individuals who have lost their homes. The shelter serves families as space is available. The stay at the shelter for an individual or family is brief, usually 14 – 30 days. The staff works with their residents to find affordable housing.
SHELTER NEEDS
toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, plastic utensils, cleaning supplies (anti-bacterial spray), and canned soup.
Our donations help the shelter meet immediate needs, while focusing their limited resources on finding permanent solutions for the homeless.
For more information go to www.sccap.org/ homeless-services
Place items in the labeled bins located by the keypad door throughout Pentecost.
Widow’s Project
Many Tanzanian widows in the Mwakaleli District of the Konde Diocese, which includes the Kandete Parish (our sister congregation), have very little or no support. They now can participate in a micro-bank from which they get a loan to start a small business.
The business may be a bakery, food cart, growing produce, raising animals, sewing, or similar home-based endeavors. After several months of running their business, the widows are able to pay back their loan – making this a project that keeps giving.
Rev. Kumbuka Mwasanguti, District Pastor, spearheads the project. Donations will expand this opportunity to more needy widows.
Make checks to St. Luke with “Widows’ Project” in the memo line.
Council Highlights
May 2024
· Scholarship committee will be Brad Bolinger, Jodi Forrester, & Kay Gauthier
· Website Analytics—72% increase in usage over the same time period last year
July 2024
· College scholarships for the 2024-2025 school year were awarded to Jake Corwell, Joe Corwell, Luke Davies, Rowan Frye, Ella Jones, Scott Pettyjohn, Stephen Pettyjohn, & Lorpu Yanquoi
· Vespers services continue through the summer
PowerPacks
PowerPacks are starting up again! If you don’t know what a powerpack is, it is a bag with weekend meals for the children in our three local elementary schools. experiencing food insecurity. We provide two breakfast items, two lunch/dinner items, two snacks, two fruits, and two drinks for each child. Between the three schools, we provide meals for over 100 kids each week. We work in conjunction with Mt. Pleasant UBC (on the corner of Mt. Pleasant & Black Gap Rd. ) and alternate months throughout the year. This year, we will start in September and finish off in May.
The PowerPack team meets each Thursday at 9am to pack the 100 bags. We usually spend between 30-45 minutes packing, which is record time according to other PowerPack groups who spend upwards of 3 hours packing less meals! Our team does an amazing job and you are invited to join us anytime.
If you are interested in donating, you can do so by providing cash or food donations. Items needed are individually wrapped items such as fruit cups, snacks (cookies, chips, crackers), mac & cheese, ravioli, juice boxes, milk boxes, breakfast bars, pop tarts, mini cereal boxes, etc. For a full list, check out the Outreach bulletin board at St. Luke.
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]