September Newsletter. Resources. Pastor David Tatgenhorst 568 Montgomery Ave From Pastor David

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1 Pastor David Tatgenhorst 568 Montgomery Ave Resources The pastor recommends Deep Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in United Sates History and Life, by David Billings. David is a retired trainer with the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond and a United Methodist pastor. He will be speaking about his book at First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) on Martin Luther King weekend. The book contains stories from his life growing up in Mississippi and reflections on his life s work. I also recommend Yes! magazine. It s a quarterly magazine dedicated to positive stories and ways to care for the world. You will find stories on strategies to turn trauma into strength, about local farms and markets, and about local heroes throughout the US. Its pages will lift your spirits. From Pastor David The Season of Creation, a Time of Harvest Lord, it is time. The summer was very big. Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the wind go loose. Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavy wine. Rainer Maria Rilke I read this poem every fall and every year it gets more poignant and meaningful. It is a sad poem, but has a great appreciation for the harvest and beauty of the summer and abundance of God s creation. Our farmers market on this day of sunshine is packed with people, as well as late summer corn, juicy tomatoes, sweet peaches and bright green lettuce. Who could ask for more? Yet the poem also has this deep sadness that these gifts have an ending. We wish we could enjoy them forever. Still, we claim two more southerly days and we live in the abundance of the harvest, living into the gratitude and presence which is eternal life. I look forward to our fall worship - to the September Season of Creation. Each Sunday we celebrate an aspect of God the Creator, glorying in the harvest, the mountains, the sky, and the animals. We celebrate each aspect of creation for itself and as a symbol of the abundance of the Spirit. You are invited to bring gifts to share most of the Sundays of September. The first Sunday is communion Sunday. Our special communion offering will go to help folks in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference churches who are recovering from the flooding from this wet summer. Tremont, PA was especially hard hit, so many of our gifts will be distributed through St. John s Church in that area. That first Sunday we will also have a harvest altar as we worship in our summer circle for the last time this season.

2 What Gives Me Hope Pastor David Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you. - 1 Peter 3:15 Being hopeful (which is not to be confused with being optimistic) in this world is not easy. Hope requires some effort and some practice, but if we put that energy into looking for what gives us hope, we can develop it as a habit, like a muscle memory. What gives you hope this month? Here are four things that give me hope this month: the beauty of the mountains on Scotland s Isle of Skye and the fun and renewal of hiking with my partner, and my brother s family. helping friends to dig deep to change their lives and relationships and their help for me. loving and supporting Pat and Bill through her difficult time of transition. 350.org s campaign in Vietnam to raise awareness about the devastating health effects of coal-fired power plants, leading to Vietnam s Prime Minister halting new coal plant development and reviewing the country s national power development plan. akid= zldj9m &rd=1&t=11 The second Sunday, we welcome back the choir and dedicate the sanctuary and teachers for a new season. If you have collected any water from your vacation travels, you may add it this Sunday to the baptismal font. We remember our baptism as we bless the choir and the teachers. (You can also bring water that symbolizes any travels and add your memories to the font.) The fifth Sunday, September 30, will be the climax of the Season of Creation. It is Bring a Friend to Church Sunday and we will have a shared luncheon after church, so we ask you to bring food to share this day at our Homecoming Luncheon. I look forward to having the screens back so that I can (subtly) share pictures and highlights of my trip to Scotland this summer. Transitions In Memoriam Pat Lefferts Graham Reim September 11, August 21, 2018 Celebration of Life: September 15, 11 am Gratitude Thanks to Pastor Joanne, Lisa Santomen Hellberg and Melaina Trice who preached for Pastor David while he was on vacation. Thanks especially to Lisa who finally took the plunge to risk trying on the vocation which her father plied week after week for years. Thank you to Bill Reim for his constancy and care for his beloved Pat for the last year. Thanks to Charlene, Anne, Lyn, Terri and all the others who supported him and her and kept them in prayer. Our prayers continue for all who mourn and celebrate her life this month. Thanks to Matthew Phillips-English for setting up auditions and working to make sure our choir is ready for a new season. Thanks to the Music Team for their support as well. Thanks and welcome to Charlie Schultz and Erin Kodis as they have stepped in and become part of our community. Thank you to Carolyn Harmon for leading our Garden Care Summer Day Camp, and to Tammy, Sherry, Lauri and especially to Cayla for helping to make the camp work smoothly.

3 Thank you to Ariel Gonzalez for organizing St. Luke people to participate in the Trans-Health conference. Thanks to Marilyn and others for volunteering. Thanks to Marilyn Arnott for representing St. Luke at the Summer Music Institute in July. Some people at St. Luke are finding new and better ways to pay their pledge to make sure their support for our community continues through the whole year. You can set up your bank account to make a regular contribution. Most banks can make these arrangements online with no cost. This way you save the fee that St. Luke pays for our online gifts. And your contribution can be automatic so you don t even have to think about it. Please add your gratitude or prayer requests in a note, or at the bottom of your bulletin each Sunday. Place in the new bulletin feedback box in the back of the sanctuary. You may ask questions or give feedback about songs that you like or that are difficult to sing. Any suggestion or feedback is welcome.. May generosity be our watchword! We will share from our plenty. We will give for those in need. We will praise lavishly. We will encourage frequently. We will care passionately. We will love wholeheartedly. Find our online donation site at The first time you make a gift, you input your routing information from your bank account, and after that you can make gifts any time you want without a checkbook or credit card! Thanks for your generosity to St. Luke ministries. September 2, 2018 Celebrating God the Creator in the Harvest Season Season of Creation Holy Communion Every September, St. Luke celebrates God the Creator in a Season of Creation. We have special seasons during the year to celebrate God in Christ, and God the Spirit. A few years ago, a group of people suggested celebrating God the Creator in a special season in September and the practice has been growing. There is a special alternative lectionary for the Season of Creation, but this year we are going to use the regular lectionary in line with suggestions from the United Methodist Discipleship Ministries. For the first Sunday in September, we will recognize the new season with Holy Communion on Planting Sunday with a sermon titled Good Beginnings. The sanctuary will be returned to its fall configuration after church today. The Men s LIFE group will meet at 8 am this morning. Remember that we often have visitors during this season and they tend to come a little early. It helps if our dear, usually tardy, members come a little earlier this month to be there to welcome new friends! Our communion offering today will go to help people in Pennsylvania who are recovering from flooding from the bad storms this summer. Read: Song of Solomon 2:8-13; James 1:17-27 September 9, 2018 Season of Creation: Mountain Sunday This Sunday is the day we welcome back the choir and dedicate our teachers and sanctuary for a new season of ministry. We sing Draw the Circle Wide as we include new people in the circle, in our choir and in our ministries. The creation theme for this Sunday is Mountain Sunday and the sermon is Protection and Care. This is the Sunday to bring water from your vacation (or symbolic of your vacation) to add to our baptismal font and to represent God s love from all over the creation coming back into our circle. You may also bring food items for the Food Bank this Sunday. The children bring the grocery cart forward on the second Sunday to collect our donations for the Narberth Food bank.

4 From 1:30 to 4:30 this afternoon Anita Friday begins her insightful series of workshops on racism. Held for three consecutive Sundays in Lurwick Hall, the workshop will attract people from all around our community. The cost is $100 for the three week series and the space is limited, so please sign up ahead of time. Read: Psalm 125, Mark 7: September 16, 2018 Season of Creation: Sky Sunday Humanity is called to be a good steward of God s creation. The theme of today s service is Sky Sunday and the sermon is titled Dominion and Exploitation. We will confess in a variety of ways that we have not lived up to our responsibilities as stewards and think about how we might encourage better care in our community and our world. Church Council will meet after the service today to plan for fall ministries. Read: Psalm 19; Mark 8:27-38 September 23, 2018 Season of Creation: Harvest Sunday This Sunday is Harvest Sunday. The sermon is Cultivation and Fruits. We give thanks to God for our partnership in tilling and caring for the earth and for the fruits of that partnership. After a brief time for bagels and conversation, we hear today from Dr. Joe Nyce, author of the soon-tobe released Mary s Lament. Joe sang for years in the St. Luke choir and led a class after church in which he developed many of the ideas highlighted in this novel. That class is acknowledged in the book, so we invited Joe to talk about the book and to do a book signing this Sunday. At 4:30 this afternoon, we head down to the Grace Cafe at Arch St. Church in Philadelphia. St. Luke is supplying green bean casseroles again. Thank you for your help in this important ministry of feeding. Read: Psalm 1; Mark 9:30-37 Sept. 30, 2018 Season of Creation: Blessing from the Earth Homecoming Luncheon; Bring a Friend to Church Sunday The fifth Sunday in our Season of Creation Celebration will be a Blessing from the Earth. The sermon is Who Blesses? Today is Bring a Friend to Church Sunday so please make new friends this week and invite them to worship with you this Sunday. After the service we will gather in Lurwick Hall for our annual Homecoming Luncheon. All month we look forward to this Sunday and extend invitations to visitors and guests to join us for food, fun, and fellowship. Read: Psalm 124; Mark 9:38-50

5 Planning Your Will? Keep St. Luke Ministries Alive for Decades Name St. Luke in your will as a beneficiary of your investment account. Don t forget to fill out the Five Wishes form to act as your living will. Find our online donation site at The first time you make a gift, you input your routing information from your bank account, and after that you can make gifts any time you want without a checkbook or credit card! Thanks for your generosity to St. Luke ministries. Questions? Talk to Jim McDermott or Rick Hellberg