​My parents were fans of the music group, The Carpenters. They had a number of their albums, but the one I liked most was "A Song for You." The first song on the B side was, "Bless the Beast and the Children." I would play it again, and again, and again. Follow the link to hear the song on youtube, with lyrics, so you can sing along. https://youtu.be/AhR36gV6vW4

This Sunday, we will be blessings the Beast and the Children at our 10 AM Outdoor Worship. (Weather Dependent)

During Children's Time, Emily Schoeller, St. Luke's new Director of Children's Ministry will invite children to bring up their backpacks, receive a backpack tag, and receive a blessing...

"God of all wisdom and knowledge, bless and guide (Name of Child) in her/his learning trusting that the Holy Spirit protect and guide them, in Jesus name. Amen"

Following the Lord's Prayer people can bring their pets up for a blessing...

"Loving God, you created all things for your glory. Thank you for (Name of Pet). Bless us in our companionship to know, love, and care for one another. Amen."

I look forward to seeing all who are able to attend. If you are unable to attend, I encourage you to share the blessings in your home.

NOTE: 8:30 AM Worship will be in the sanctuary.

Rob Norris-Weber, Pastor
​

Giving on a budget

Like many people, for most of my adult life I lived paycheck to paycheck with just enough money to get by.  I would tuck away small amounts whenever possible - saving for the inevitable rainy day or for a large, planned expense.  While I didn’t have a lot of money to give, I always had the heart and desire to give to others less fortunate than me; this desire was instilled in me by my parents.  

I grew up in a large family of limited means, but my parents always opened their home to others in need, they shared the bounty of their garden and the fruits of their labors.  My parents worked at the Masonic Home, but we lived nearby on a large farm with a stream-fed pond and acres of grass.  With those natural resources at his disposal my dad raised beef cattle for the missions through Steer Incorporated. It was one way he could help others - making a big impact for a relatively low cost.  It also fulfilled his lifelong desire to farm and practice animal husbandry.  He grew and baled his own hay and alfalfa, treated animals with his own vet services, and put a lot of love and sweat equity into raising his herd of 30-60 cattle.  It was just one way my dad found to “give on a budget”.  

Since I was blessed with a small pocketbook and a large heart, I was always looking for ways that I could be of service or help others without a large outlay of cash.  A few years ago, I heard about Scrip - a fundraising program that was being used at the churches that my friend and my sister attend.  Scrip is a gift card program - participants purchase gift cards and their organization (St. Luke’s) receives a rebate based on those purchases.  I loved the idea that I could purchase physical or eGift cards for stores or services that I was already using, but now St. Luke’s would receive money for my expenditures.

Example of how I use Scrip: 

I regularly shop at Cub Foods.  Cub offers a reloadable card through Scrip, so after receiving the physical gift card from Scrip, I have continued to add funds to the card via Scrip’s RaiseRight App on my cell phone.  Funds can usually be added to cards in $10 increments.  Cub offers a 4% rebate, so St. Luke’s receives $4 for every $100 added onto my Cub card. From November of 2020 to date, St. Luke’s has received $100 in rebates just from purchases that I made on my Cub gift card.   I also use Scrip cards when shopping at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Land’s End, Home Depot, Amazon, Taco Bell and Red Lobster.  I love that I can contribute to St. Luke’s coffers while stocking my cupboards and filling my belly.

Since November, I’ve been doing a (very) slow roll out of the Scrip program to members of St. Luke’s.  With seven families participating, to date we have raised over $550 in net proceeds for St. Luke’s.  If you are interested in the program, you can check out their website at: www.shopwithscrip.com. You can learn a little bit about the organization under “About Our Company” and review the retailer list (approx. 700+ vendors) and the types of cards offered under “Quick Links”.  You can also contact me at bevyb2@hotmail.com for more information or to request an invitation to enroll in St. Luke’s Scrip program. 

Blessings,

Bev Brosam
Missions                               ​

St. Luke's has been supporting the mission of Loaves & Fishes (L&F) for many years. The L&F mission is: "To provide healthy meals to Minnesotans in areas where need is greatest". L&F is guided by their vision that all people, regardless of socioeconomic, cultural, religious, or ethnic background, deserve to meet their basic needs for food, dignity and respect. There are no questions asked or requirements to meet to receive a meal.

As an organization, L&F provides help to meet the community challenges of:
Food Insecurity & Hunger
Poverty & Homelessness
Aging Population & Isolation
Food-Related Health Conditions
 
Their free meal program was founded in 1982 with one dining site each in Minneapolis (St. Stephen's) and St. Paul (Dorothy Day Center). Today, they are providing thousands of meals daily, are present across Minnesota, and are the largest open to the public free meal program in the state. While staying true to their core mission of serving home-cooked meals daily at dining site locations, they have strategically cultivated new initiatives, supported by their expanding food rescue operation and an ever-increasing number of pounds harvested at their own local farm and gardens. They began bringing meals to those who are hungry but couldn't get to one of their dining sites in 2015. Today, their street outreach delivers almost 500,000 meals annually to people found on the urban streets of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

L&F serves the 7-County Metro area with 29 dining locations and 6 greater MN dining locations. The third Wednesday of the month, St. Luke's has the opportunity to meet our Mission of Making Christ Known by serving at their Hope Presbyterian Church location in Richfield. This site provides a meal M-F 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm. We provide the food, prepare the meal, serve the meal and clean up after. Since COVID-19, this site has been a drive-up service. Meals are provided in take-home containers.

The annual St. Luke's Poinsettia Christmas purchase is a fundraiser to support our work with L&F's. Those funds and any other dedicated L&F donations at church go to supporting these meals. Before COVID-19, on our Wednesday of service we served on average 75-85 people. Once COVID-19 hit our numbers went up to 150 or more. Currently around 130 people are served a hot meal by St. Luke's each month (greater than 1500 meals a year). There has been a number of dedicated volunteers from St. Luke's over the years helping to provide this Mission outreach and I am thankful for each one of them.  
 
Blessings,
The St. Luke's Missions Team