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“Good News of Great Joy for All People!”
The Angel’s announcement to the Shepherds is for you too! Gathering as a Church Family and welcoming all who join us: Candlelight Worship and Communion at 2:00, 4:00, and 10:00 PM. Completing our Advent Theme: Christ Be Our Light, there is a special gift for all who attend. A remembrance of The Light that Shines in the darkness did not overcome it. Come and See! Thank you to those who are helping make our Christmas Worship Wonderful: The Choir, Jubilee, Altar Guild, Communion Assistants, Ushers, Tech Team, Worship Assistants, Lectors, Treat Team, Dishwashers, Tellers, Welcome Desk Hosts, Greeters and Staff. There are still a few spots for you at 4:00 PM: Video Tech and two Communion Assistants. No Experience Needed. Contact the church office today: 952-881-5801 or [email protected] “Let us go with haste and see this thing that has taken place… Born this day is a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord!” Prayers and Blessings to you and yours, Rob
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"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year," attributed to 16th-century poet Thomas Tusser.
It's a proverb encouraging people to enjoy the unique festivities, generosity, and goodwill of the holiday season because it happens annually, urging them to seize the moment and appreciate the special time. For us it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, The Christ-Child, Messiah, Emmanual – “God with us.” Jesus embodies the love of God. A love that welcomes the Shepherds who by this time in history had become outcasts. A love that welcomes the Three Kings, Wisemen, Magi, who traveled a great distance following the star. They interpreted the star as a sign of a new king's birth and believed they were being divinely guided to find him. Here at St. Luke’s, there are six opportunities to celebrate Christmas in the weeks ahead 1. St. Luke’s Preschool Christmas - Thursday, December 18 at 10 AM 2. Lessons and Carols – Sunday, December 21 at 8:30 AM 3. St. Luke’s Children’s Pageant – Sunday, December 21 at 10 AM 4, 5, & 6. Wednesday, December 24th - Christmas Eve Worship at 2:00, 4:00, and 10:00 PM. Let us welcome all who come with God’s Love… Making space in the parking lot and in the sanctuary. If you are able, park further away from the main entrance. Door F will be open for the 2:00 and 4:00 PM worships. Making space in the sanctuary. Please do not ask someone to move if the person is sitting in “your” place. That is actually a comment on our Facebook Page, from a long time ago. Thankfully I reached out to the person and they attended again, finding us to be much more welcoming. Making space in your conversation. I encourage you to identify someone you do not know and introduce yourself. I like to call it the 2-minute rule; take the first 2 minutes after worship to welcome someone you do not know. The Community Life Team will have treats available. Make space in your heart. Enjoy Christmas again, for the first time. How will the story speak to you differently this year. You have six opportunities. Make space for loved ones. I still remember the last Christmas's with my parents, my niece, my in-laws. Christmas comes but once a year, and one Christmas might be the last. Prayers and Blessings to you and yours, for a very Merry Christmas… by Mark Roberts
There are many things this time of year that trigger fond Christmas memories for me: the smell of cookies baking; the warm glow of Christmas tree lights illuminating the house; the first few notes of Christmas songs by the likes of Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams or the Carpenters. These memory triggers are thanks to a childhood steeped in Christmas traditions such as driving around to see Christmas lights, shopping trips to Southdale with my mom or dad, and the general anticipation of the season as a kid. In addition, there was the annual trek to downtown Minneapolis to walk through Dayton's eighth floor exhibit, and in later years to also watch the Holidazzle parade. Christmas Eve was full of its own rituals, celebrating at my Grandmother’s house with aunts, uncles and cousins with a traditional dinner of Swedish sausage, Swedish meatballs, and rice pudding. After dinner, my parents would bring us to St Luke’s for Christmas Eve service, complete with the candlelight singing of Silent Night. Over the years, many of these traditions have changed or gone away: mall shopping has been replaced with online clicks, Dayton’s became Macy’s and the 8th floor Christmas display came to an end in 2016, and the Hollidazzle parade went dark in 2013. My grandmother died years ago, and the Christmas Eve dinner moved and changed. New traditions have arisen to take their place. But the tradition of Christmas Eve service at St Luke’s has remained an important part of Christmas for me. The congregation has changed and the look of the sanctuary has evolved over the years, but the feeling of an extended family has carried on, and the magic of the Christmas story continues to shine. And Silent Night is still sung by candlelight. Ultimately that is the Christmas message in a nutshell: God’s love for us, packaged in a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manager, meant to bring hope and joy to all generations, has carried on for over 2000 years, despite an ever-changing world. It is the ultimate Christmas tradition. Whether this will be your first Christmas Eve at St Luke’s, or your 5th, or 10th or 59th, or too many to count, I invite you to take part in the magic that is the Christmas story and hearing it again side by side with family and friends. With services at 2:00, 4:00 and 10:00pm, and the option to watch online, I hope you find a way to worship with your St Luke’s family. Hello! I am Heidi Heitzman, and I’m excited to join the team in an office support position and be part of this church community. My faith has always been an important part of my life, so it’s a blessing to step into a role where I can support the work God is doing here. My husband, Mike, and I have been married for 24 years, and we have two wonderful kids, our son, Nathan, who’s a senior at the University of Minnesota, and our daughter, Paige, who’s married to Reid, and they recently welcomed a baby boy, Theo, who is now 11 months old. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone and doing my part to help things run smoothly each day.  followed by our dessert reception.
Love the statement, “Let our lives be full of both Thanks and Giving.” We will be doing both during our Thanksgiving Eve Worship, living out the Great Commandment. Loving God - in Worship, giving thanks for our blessings. Loving Our Neighbors – by sharing our blessings with others. How we will do that is by having a collection for VEAP, our local food shelf and social service agency. www.veap.org Presently, the items most needed include: · Whole grain rice (1-2 pound bags) · Whole grain pasta · Hearty soups (high protein, low sodium) · Whole grain cereal (Shredded Wheat, Kashi, bran cereals, Chex, etc.) · Canned proteins (meat and beans) · Canned fruit and vegetables · Toilet paper · Paper towels · Diapers (size 5-7) and baby wipes · Cooking oil · Coffee · Baking essentials (flour, sugar, spices, baking soda and baking powder) · Laundry detergent · Dish soap · Personal care items (shampoo, toothpaste, hand soap, shaving cream, toiletries, etc.) · Gluten-free products (whole grains like brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, cornmeal; nut flours and butters; rice crackers, GF snacks, etc. Check for gluten-free product label.) · Birthday candles, cake frosting, birthday-themed napkins/plates, cake mix, small birthday party favors like chalk, bubbles or bags of balloons · Dog and cat food (particularly wet food, treats, litter, etc. · Paper bags and re-usable, cloth totes (We’ll always take your extra paper grocery bags. We are not accepting plastic bags). In addition, there will be a basket for financial gifts. So as you go shopping for your Thanksgiving meal, add some of the items above to share on Thanksgiving Eve. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” – Hebrews 13:16 Happy Thanksgiving! Ongoing Prayers and Blessings, Rob What Part Will You Play? Sharing Our Love in Christ 2026 Commitment Sunday November 23, 202511/18/2025 Diane LaFontaine, Council Representative for Stewardship
I think the music at St. Luke’s has always been one of our strengths. When Bells of Praise play, as they will this Sunday, each ringer has a part to play. Those parts create harmony and beautiful music. If one of us is missing, the music is incomplete. The same is true of Choir and Jubilee – all the parts are needed to create the chords that make the music excellent. If a part is missing, the music lacks the harmony and isn’t as lovely as it can be. The same is true of the church. We all have a part to play to create and experience the full beauty of St. Luke’s, helping us live out our mission… St. Luke’s is a Welcoming and Growing Community of Faith, busy Making Christ Known to the World. You have a part to play in helping make Christ Known. God has gifted you with talents and if you’re not using them, you’re missing out on the beauty of participating at St. Luke’s, and as a church we aren’t as complete as we could be. To help figure out your part, there is a “Get to Know St. Luke’s” handbook at the Welcome Desk for you to learn about all the opportunities for you. You can also go to our website: www.stlukesbloomington.org. We also have financial gifts from God that are intended to be shared. Are you doing your part at St. Luke’s? Thinking about the music program, all the music we sing, and play was purchased at some point. We have paid music staff. We pay a fee to have the software to run the screens so we can display the words of the songs, and those words are purchased with an annual license. Just like at home, very few things at church are free, even down to the little golf pencils in the pews. We had a baptism last week and another this coming Sunday. The Bibles we give those children are the first of 5 bibles that are purchased for each child. We have a mortgage to be paid each month that you can commit to, and the operating fund that pays for everything else. If you value St. Luke's, our worship, ministries and mission, please play your part in supporting them with your 2026 commitment, of your time, talent, and treasure. 100% participation would make for stunning results! Your church council members have submitted their ministry budgets for the next year. The staff tries to maximize ministries with the budgets they receive, being faithful with your dollars. Imagine the ministry we can do to help Make Christ Known, if everyone does their part, to support the mission of St. Luke’s! If you haven’t already, please prayerfully consider your contributions to St. Luke’s for 2026. This Christ the King Sunday, November 23, during worship you will be invited to bring your 2026 Commitment Cards to the baptismal font. Claim your part in Sharing Your Love in Christ at St. Luke’s. When I was asked to represent Stewardship on St. Luke’s Council, I thought “What?! I don’t know anything about stewardship.” The more I thought about it and prayed about it, I realized that I did know something about stewardship and I could support that ministry on Council. I think our lives are all about stewardship.
We are stewards of God’s creation through our rain garden and taking care of our property. We are stewards of our beautiful building by continuing to maintain and improve the property. This allows us to host events like voting and blood drives, VBS and Trunk or Treat, organizations like Learning Tree, Angelica Cantanti, and 12 step groups that use our building. We steward our homes by taking care of them. We steward our time with work, volunteering, family activities, rest and relaxation. St. Luke’s as a collective stewards of our time, our talents, and our money. Here’s a list of some but not all the things: · Exodus Lending · Wednesday night meal · Volunteer and donate to Feed My Starving Children · Fisher House · Loaves and Fishes · Meals on Wheels · Make sandwiches for The Sandwich Project · VEAP · Ebenezer Glenn Orphanage · Oasis for Youth donating clothing and monetary gifts. · Knitting ministry · Quilt recipients: Lutheran Social Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Lutheran Disaster Response · Care Team visiting our homebound members · and more… I think it’s exciting to be part of a church that cares so much about the needs of others and are actually doing something about it! Because of our online presence, anyone anywhere in the world can join us for worship and participate in many of these ministries. So, here’s the deal. I hope you're feeling grateful for this amazing church. If you aren’t involved in some way, please get involved. You can help with property, Wednesday Night Church meals, Tech Team, and our many ministries, join the knitters, altar guild, oh! join me for stewardship! We are encouraged to steward our resources. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, worried about saving for a child’s college or your retirement, a new car or down payment on a house, I invite you to attend the Financial Purpose class here in January. It’s just 4 sessions and we’ll learn how to become debt free, have savings for the future, and give cheerfully. It’s made a huge difference in my financial life and I’ll be glad to share with you how if you want to speak. It is transformational! If you’re not currently giving to St. Luke’s, I invite you to start by giving $1 a day. On Christ the King Sunday, November 23, during worship you will be invited to bring your 2026 Commitment Cards to the baptismal font. I look forward to you joining me, God bless. We find that we now have an urgent need for at least 5 new Altar Guild members. We are not the traditional women-only group as our current membership includes several couples. Going forward, we are encouraging couples and families with confirmation-age children to serve St. Luke’s by preparing our altar area for weekly worship, communion, and holiday Sundays.
We have a core group of experienced members who are anxious to train and assist new members. Although Altar Guild meets, as a group, once a month to review the past month and prepare for the next, only one person needs to represent each couple or family at the meetings. The meetings are at 6:30 pm on the second Monday of the month, September through May. We work in teams and pride ourselves on being flexible, available, and helpful to each other. We really need to increase our membership and know that you will find it a joyful and fulfilling way to serve our congregation. In summary, St. Luke’s Altar Guild works together to care for the altar area and prepare for worship, including:
Please contact us with your interest, questions or concerns. We would love to have you come to our next meeting and check us out. Vi Rozek ([email protected] 952-393-2259) Bette Gamboni ([email protected] 952-888-8317) This Sunday we will remember those who have gone before us; those who have entered into the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” (Hebrews 12). We give thanks for their lives. We share this belief each and every week when we pray the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in…the communion of saints.” The communion of saints includes all who place their hope in Jesus Christ – the living and the dead. One of my favorite quotations is from Saint Teresa of Calcutta, ‘holiness is not the luxury of a few people, but a simple duty for you and me.’ We are all called to become saints, and we can accomplish that by striving to follow God’s commands and be united within God’s love. To be holy, to be a saint, means allowing God ‘to live Jesus’ life in us’ as Mother Teresa taught.” Please join us this Sunday, November 1 at either or both worship times – 8:30 and 10:00 AM, when we will lift up those for whom we will celebrate their life and resurrection, from All Saints 2024 to All Saints 2025, here at St. Luke’s; both members and nonmembers alike. We will say their name, show a picture, light a candle, and toll a bell for each one. There will also be a candle table in the lobby for you to remember your loved ones. As we remember those who have died, may we offer ongoing prayers and blessings for their family and friends: Judy Dahlen, Rita Minsaas, Kathryn Nave, Laura Bodger, Gerald Boyle, John McWilliams, Karol Schmidt, Donald Kappers, and Nancy Dagen Special Emergency Request! |