stand down for veterans 2021
TRANSCRIPT
Page 1 May 2021
STAND DOWN FOR VETERANS 2021:
Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois is planning the 2021 Stand Down for Saturday, October 16 at Dozer Park in Peoria. This is subject to change based on COVID-19 restrictions, but if an ‘in-person’ event can’t be done they will do a remote event similar to the 2020 Stand Down. The St Luke Union Missions Team has supported these Stand Downs for several years.
Goodwill has need for the following items:
Men’s and Women’s deodorant
Lotion
Winter gloves (XL or larger)
Female undergarments
Feminine hygiene supplies
Disposable body wipes
Nail clippers
Diabetic socks
Johanna Wagner, director of Program Services at Goodwill, has asked specifically for diabetic socks. A donation bin is in Fellowship Hall, at the top of the stairs.
As always, thank you for anything you can provide.
-Jim Munro
Page 2 New Directions
MOBILE HEALTH CLINIC:
The Mobile Health Clinic will be available 9a to 4p the third Monday of each month at Woodhill Towers, on the corner of Wood and Main Street. The clinic provides:
Treatment of acute illness
Physicals, wellness care, and assessments
School and sports physicals and immunizations
Lab testing
Referrals and applications for social services
Unite Way, OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, McLean County Health Department and Chestnut Health Systems will also be available to provide nutrition and health information, diabetes pre-vention, FQHC information, and assistance signing up for Medicaid.
Visit Carle.org/mobilehealth for more information.
PLASTIC CAPS/BAGS:
Marcia Nagy is collecting plastic caps and bags to make benches for the Sugar Grove Nature Center.
Please bring items to the church office.
Page 3 New Directions
SCRIP SUNDAY:
Sunday, May 16th will be SCRIP Sunday. SCRIP is a no-selling fundraiser that allows the church to raise money to help support our youth for their Group Mission Trips. With SCRIP, you purchase gift cards from the SCRIP program at face value and the church receives a rebate.
JOKE:
A kindergarten teacher was observing her class-
room as the children drew pictures. The teacher
would occasionally walk around and see each
child’s artwork. As she approached one little girl
who was working especially hard, she asked what
the drawing was.
The little girl told her: “I’m drawing God!”
“But sweety,” the teacher replied, “no one actually
knows what God looks like.”
Automatically, the little girl continued drawing and
said, “well, they certainly will in a minute!”
CPR/AED CLASS:
St Luke Union Church and Boy Scout Troop 19 invite you to join Bloomington Fire Department for CPR/AED training. There is no cost to partic-ipate unless you need a certification card ($17). We are limited to 15 participants (10 church, 5 scout leaders). Let John Boerner (309-287-2879) know that you are interested. CPR/AED St Luke Union Church
Tuesday, May 4 7-9 pm RSVP required
CONFIRMATION:
On May 16th, we will confirm the following St Luke Union Church Youth: Robin Stevenson Lillie Keeton Savana Southwick Cameron Luna Sloane Allison Alex Herren This will be a great day of celebration. Take time to congratulate these incredible children of God.
Page 4 New Directions
The world welcomes Renan Jace Gifford 8 lb 3 oz 20.25 inches Born 7:11 am April 29 to Ben and Tarynn Gifford Pastor Andy and Sandi are now grandparents! Let’s celebrate this great blessing!
Page 5 May 2021
Contact us! Rev. Dr. Andrew Gifford
Pastor
Katie Verplaetse
Office Manager
Website
www.stlukeunion.org
Like our Facebook page for daily updates on church news, events, & Reginald’s whereabouts! Sunday Wor-ship will go Facebook LIVE at 10:30a!
www.facebook.com/
stlukeunionchurch
YouTube
Search: St Luke Union
Church
Sunday Worship will be posted Monday by noon.
Church Office Hours
Monday: 9a-3p
Tuesday: 9a-3p
Wednesday: 9a-3p
Thursday: 9a-3p
Friday & Saturday: closed
Worship
Online + In-Person
Sunday: 10:30a
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Lexi Dornbush—2nd
Adam Moret—2nd
Megan Rios-Paterson—4th
Midge Unwin—4th
Andy Kubiak—5th
Bryan Prochnow—6th
Alexander Johnson—7th
Linda Sellberg—8th
Colton Mason-Barnes—9th
Wyatt Klapp—10th
Heather Paterson—10th
Doug Ferrier—11th
Aiden Wright—11th
Zoe Noland—13th
Sandy Allen—15th
Tom Sellberg—15th
Amanda Garard—23rd
Sanae Ferrier—24th
Lynn Warner—26th
Lisa Dornbush—28th
Talia Claucherty—31st
Penny Kellogg—31st
Financial Corner
Receipts are higher than budgeted because several members gave a year’s
worth of giving in January. Thank you for everyone’s continued generosity to-
ward supporting the ministry and mission of St. Luke Union Church! Offerings
are taken in person through the church office or mail slot on the north side of
the building or via PayPal; the PayPal link is available on the home page on the
website. Thank you, again!
$92,595
$57,761
$63,402
$87,924
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
David & Jennifer Claucherty—20th
Brian & Darlene Trower—22nd
Brent & Jan Paterson—25th
Megan & Fred Rios-Paterson—25th
John & Susan Boerner—26th
Ben & Tarynn Gifford—27th
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Page 6 New Directions
This is the month when many celebrate the last day of school. In the strange world of COVID, this day may not mean much, but there will be graduations and the beginning of summer adven-tures. Things are beginning to open up. More and more people are receiving their freedom shots and have become more comfortable returning to a nor-mal rhythm of life. It’s almost summer, and all the things that come with this time of year are begin-ning. There is also something I expect to see more of in the coming days. I expect to begin to see peo-ple returning to regular worship and seeing people who have found St Luke Union Church virtually in the last year. People will begin to church shop and see if we are as great live as remotely. Church shopping is an interesting phenome-non and is something that began to occur in the early 1980s. At this time, people began to disre-gard denominational loyalty and instead look for church homes that fit the needs of their personal faith journey. A place that provided programs for their children and ones that allowed them to be challenged. A place that was not their parent’s church but rather one that promoted their own identity. I have had many conversations with people who have looked at St Luke Union Church to be-come their church home, and the reason for not joining differ as much as the people speaking the words. The conversations with those who wish to become a part of our wonderful family all have one central theme. That theme is that we are a commu-nity of faith that is warm and inviting, we seem to care, and we support one another. I agree with these comments about our body of Christ, but I al-so believe we can do better.
We can do better to introduce ourselves to any visitor by inviting new people to sit with you (at a distance) and be available to answer any ques-tion they have about the service. We can show new people where the nursery is, where the bathroom is or where we share fellowship. We can also invite the new friends we meet and share our own person-al stories of faith. This summer is when things will get back to normal, vacations will be taken, and fun activities shared, but this summer will also be when the church looks to attract and welcome new persons to the body of Christ. It’s when we need to stop peek-ing through the glass in the front doors to see who might be coming but rather burst open the doors, stand at the corner, and wave people to come in. The challenge for every church member this summer is to invite and bring at least one visitor to worship. Let them experience the love of God we encounter every day. Peace Rev. Dr. Andrew Gifford
TRIVIA:
The disciples chose seven spiritual men to serve the poor on behalf of the early church. Among the chosen was Stephen, who was arrested for blasphemy and brought before the high priests, where he made a speech about the persecution of earlier leaders and the crucifixion of Jesus. What happened to Stephen?
He was executed and became the first Christian martyr