Give Thanks for the Life of a Saint

Transcription

1 Pastor David Tatgenhorst 568 Montgomery Ave Resources The pastor recommends Educated, A Memoir, by Dr. Tara Westover. This memoir tells the story of the author s upbringing in Idaho in an isolated Mormon family. The story of the abuse she endured and managed to escape from makes for a gripping experience. She takes pains to make sure she is telling the truth not just as she remembers it, while acknowledging what memories of hers her family dispute. Children s Movie & Game Night Friday, Nov. 9, 6:30 pm Blood Drive Wed., Nov. 14, 10 am-3 pm Lurwick Hall sign up sheet in back of church Simpson House Benefit Dinner (honoring Betty Marmon) Thurs, Nov. 8, 6 pm From Pastor David Give Thanks for the Life of a Saint If St. Luke United Methodist Church had a process for someone becoming a saint, you can bet the road to sainthood for Kathy Taylor would be very quick. Kathy s love suffused this congregation and helped to give the church a loving and welcoming atmosphere. We named our yearly award after her because of her reputation for mission. The Kathy Taylor Award for Community Service has been given to 10 wonderful individuals over the last ten years to honor Kathy s constant service and prayer. For years, I would receive a phone call at church early on Sunday morning, every Sunday. In her bubbly voice on the other end of the line, she would say, I just wanted to let you know I m praying for you this morning! And I know her prayer for me and my partner and my son were sincere and constant, partly because she let me know her doubts when she wasn t sure. We had disagreements over the years to the point that I had to sincerely ask her to let me be her pastor. We both worked to be able to let that trust deepen and last. I think it really took hold though when she was in a car accident while she was in the back of a van on a mission trip in Kentucky. She was in the hospital for weeks, and I got to go and visit her. Then we managed to get a hospital ambulance to transport her back to Philadelphia, where she fully recovered. Kathy taught me to pray. She knew that prayer is more listening than talking. She would pray every morning and listen for God s direction for that day. She would be so pleased when she felt like she was in the right place at the right time, which happened more often than not. She would say, I felt God telling me I needed to visit her. And she was right on time. She stood about as tall as my belly button, but I looked up to her as model disciple of Jesus, a purveyor of prayer and hope and compassion. This Sunday, November 4th, at our 10 am service, we celebrate her life as one of the saints.

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 three things that give me hope this month: New Members Class: Ann Abbott, Scott Cooper, Terri Leone, Noah Nichilo, and Maria Wilson - and Maggie & Ben Rev. Mark Tyler at the vigil for the Tree of Life at Rodeph Shalom Synagogue. the responsiveness of people in our community to the Whites Confronting Racism workshop we are organizing, and the support from DS Dawn Taylor-Storm St. Luke members are invited to challenge anti-semitism. Show Up for Shabbat at area synagogues, on Friday, Nov. 2nd & 9th (80th anniversary of Kristalnacht) Beth David ReformCongregation 1130 Vaughan Lane, Gladwyne, PA :15 vegetarian potluck Shabbat dinner 7:00 service. Transitions In Memoriam Kathy Taylor October 24, October 24, 2018 Gratitude Thanks to Rick Hellberg and Tammy Stephens for organizing and thinking about our stewardship campaign for this fall. Thank you to Jon Cumming for painting the sign for the front of the church. It will be bright blue again! Thanks to Marilyn, Lauren, Lauri, Cathy, Anne, and Elaine for representing St. Luke at Charge Conference at Wayne UMC. You should see what Wayne UMC did to their parlor! Thanks and welcome to John Douglas for washing doors, Fred Vivino for planting and tending plants, Bill & Charlene Reim for spreading mulch, and for putting up the shelf in pastor David s office! Thank you to Anne Kybert for attending a vigil at Beth Am Israel synagogue to express solidarity with Jewish brothers and sisters in the wake of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Thanks to Marilyn Arnott, Anne, Rick and Lisa Hellberg for attending the book launch for Joe Nyce s Mary s Lament. Thank you to Pastor Joanne and Matthew for a beautiful harvest altar. Thanks to Carolyn Harmon for help with the blood drive and always thinking about the children. Show Up for Shabbat Friday, 11/2: 6-7:15 pm Beth Am Israel, 1301 Hagys Ford Road, Penn Valley, PA Narberth Havurah Friday, 11/2, 7 pm The Church of St. John, 404 Levering Mill Rd., Bala Cynwyd, PA Main Line Reform Temple, 410 Montgomery Ave., Wynnewood, PA 19096: 11/2, 6:30 pm Family service; 11/9 8 pm Commemoration of 80th Anniversary of Kristalnacht.

3 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. Thank You for Lives Well Lived November 4, 2018 All Saints Sunday, Holy Communion We celebrate the lives of the saints in service this Sunday, people who lived among us, who we dearly mourn and miss. We will name the names of others who died in the past year, celebrities and famous people, all, like us, a mix of saint and sinner. We will particularly celebrate the lives of Jim Lomax, Pat Graham Reim, Clyde Shive, Kathy Taylor, and Bob Woolston who died this past year. We will break bread in their names and in their presence as part of the great cloud of witnesses who now hold us accountable in our faith. The sermon, The Value of a Human, will be a particular testament to Kathy Taylor who died just last week and who was a model in faith for so many of us at St. Luke. The Men s LIFE group will gather for breakfast at 8 am. Read: Isaiah 25:6-9; John 11:32-44 November 11, 2018 Consecration Sunday, Veterans Day On Consecration Sunday we will be thinking about A Proper Sacrifice. We dedicate our pledges to God through the church this Sunday. Please send or bring your pledge cards to church by the eleventh. On Veterans Day we recognize another kind of sacrifice given by men and women who serve the country. The Parents' LIFE group meets after church today. Read: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Mark 12:38-44 November 18, 2018 Gratitude Sunday 141st Anniversary Sunday - Anniversary Luncheon On the 141st anniversary of the church we gather at St. Luke with friends old and new to celebrate God s faithfulness over so many years on our busy corner in Bryn Mawr. The sermon title A Church of Soul and Spirit, Flesh and Bone comes from the wonderful Ken

4 Medema anthem, Come Build a Church. Jesus predicts in our assigned reading in the Gospel of Mark that the building will be demolished, but the ministry of the church is stronger than even the most awesome structure. Please bring food to share at the anniversary banquet after church today. On this Sunday before thanksgiving we give thanks for our community and the ministry that we get to do in God s name. Read: I Samuel 2: 1-10; Mark 13: 1-8 November 25, 2018 Reign of Christ Sunday We try to be flexible with our language at St. Luke, being sure to include women where they have not traditionally been included for most of the history of the church. This Sunday, for instance, has been called for centuries Christ the King Sunday. This Sunday we will sing some of the songs that use King language in them, but we call the celebration Reign of Christ Sunday. Using kin-dom and reign instead of Kingdom helps us to realize that Christ s presence among us involves a building of community rather than a creation of a hierarchy. Some of us may find comfort in the traditional language in its implication that we can rely on God as ruler of all, while some may balk at outmoded image and system of government. Either way, in our scripture reading, Jesus rejects the title of king and envisions a different kind of future. The sermon is titled, Singing in the Reign. This Sunday is recognized in many churches as Student Sunday because college student often come to visit while they are home for Thanksgiving. United Methodists collect a national offering to support scholarships for young people in our midst. If you would like to join that offering, please use envelopes from the pews. Wednesday through Friday this week, St. Luke will host a Whites Confronting Racism workshop in Lurwick Hall. Fifteen pastors, rabbis and congregants from area religious institutions will engage in intensive training which leads to a life-long commitment to end racism in our society. Thank you for your prayers and support this week. Read: Psalm 132:1-12, John 18:33-37 WISH LIST Request from Pastor David: We all enjoy seeing photos of St. Luke events on our screens each week. Sometimes it s difficult for me as pastor to get around to taking pictures when there is so much going on. I m wondering if one or two people would like to take pictures on a regular basis of special events at the church. Last Sunday, for instance, we had the lovely Homecoming Luncheon at the church. We had so many visitors that I forgot to take pictures. I would love to have pictures with visitors with their permission, when we have an event like that. Thanks for any help you can offer with photo-taking. Please talk to Pastors David or Joanne.

5 Notes on Stewardship - November, 2018 Applying Bible Principles November Newsletter The truth of the temporary status of our financial resources was brought home to a pastor who needed a dark suit to conduct a funeral. He had very little money, so he went to a local pawn shop where he found a like-new suit in just the right size at a very inexpensive price. As he paid for the suit, he asked the clerk how the pawn shop could afford to sell the suit at such a low price. The clerk smiled and admitted that all their suits had once been owned by a local mortuary that had gone out of business. The minister felt a little strange wearing a suit that had once been part of a funeral home s inventory, but he quickly set aside his apprehension since the price was so low and since no one would know. Everything was fine until in the middle of the funeral service, he casually started to put his hand into the pocket of the pants only to discover there were no pockets! What an object lesson he received that day as he preached about the importance of living in the light of eternity while wearing a pair of pants without pockets! All of us know the old saying, You can t take it with you. That s why whatever we are going to do with the financial resources God has entrusted to us has to be done in this life. In fact, whatever we intend to do for the Lord with our money, we need to be doing now. Or as one person observed, Do your giving while you re living so you ll be knowing where it s going! How we use the money which God has given to us is an indicator of our priorities. Our checkbook will reveal clearly the things that are really important to us. How we spend our money is, in fact, a barometer of our spiritual temperature and of our personal faith. You see, it doesn t take a lot of faith to make a rational, logical decision concerning our giving. As we review expenses and anticipated income, we can easily find the balance and base our commitment on the numbers alone. But exercising faith, looking to God as our Source to provide above and beyond what we might reasonably be expected to give, well that s another story. Remember, giving is not to help poor God pay the bills. Giving is not because God needs anything from us. Giving is God s way of growing Christians. Every time we give for God s glory from hearts that have been redeemed by God s love and grace, we give away a little of our selfishness. Every time we give of our resources that have been loaned to us by God, we grow in grace and in our walk with Christ. Thanks for your prayers, your gifts, and your service this month as you make your commitment to God for Please send in your commitment card or bring it to the Consecration Service on Sunday, November 11th. Thursday, November 15, 6:30 pm: Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner at St. Mary s Episcopal Church in Ardmore. Bring dessert if you would like to donate something.

6 November 2018 Sun Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat a Men s LIFE group 10 am All Saints Sunday Election Day 7:30 pm Exercise Your Faith LIFE group 6 pm Embracing Life Dinner benefit for Simpson House 6:30 pm Movie & Game Night 8 pm Main Line Reform Synagogue 8:30 am-3 pm FaithSharin g Event at Hopewell UMC a Consecration Sunday; Veteran s Day 10:30 am Women's lunch 10 am-3 pm Red Cross Blood Drive Parents' LIFE group 11:30 am 6 pm Way Forward Ardmore 7:30 p Life group Leaders in Lurwick Hall 7 pm Leadership Team am 141st Anniversary Sunday 10:30 am Women's lunch 7:30 pm Exercise Your Faith LIFE group Thanksgivi ng 11:15 Luncheon 6 pm New member s Class am Reign of Christ Sunday 7 pm RUM- EPA Media UMC 10:30 am Women's lunch

7 Funeral for Kathy Taylor 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. Questions? Talk to Jim McDermott or Rick Hellberg 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.