Week of May 29, 2016

Transitions DEATHS William Ray Guy

May 16, 2016 father of Gretchen (Rob) Waudby grandfather of Hannah and Robert

Maggie Beveridge Mancuso

May 15, 2016 daughter of Bruce and Alan Mancuso sister of Stephen, Addie, and Brucie

Joseph Bernard Schilleci Jr.

husband of Catherine Ann Schilleci father of Phillip (Suelin) Schilleci and Joseph (Sara) Schilleci; grandfather of Elliott, Catherine, J.J., and Maggie Brother-in-law of Paul F. (Emily) Elliott uncle of Paul P. Elliott and Anne (Matt) Tapley Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Saint Luke’s Mission Statement To be an open, inviting, and serving community in which Jesus Christ is the center of our life and the gospel is modeled and proclaimed in Word and Sacrament.

Who Are You and Who Am I? A sermon preached by the Rev. Mark LaGory on Trinity Sunday, May 22, 2016. Today is Trinity Sunday, the day when the lowest person on the totem pole, that would be me your deacon, gets to tackle the greatest mystery of our faith. One God in three persons, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

When talking about the Trinity, it can get very deep, very quick. I’m no theologian, so I’d like to start on the shallowest end of the pool before wading in too deep. Some of you may remember Father Guido Sarducci from Saturday Night Live. Sarducci was the fictional chain-smoking, wise-cracking priest who supposedly worked as a gossip columnist and rock critic for a Vatican newspaper. In one of my favorite bits he’s sitting at the news desk on the set of the show and Hymn 423 [the Sequence hymn you just sang] is playing in the background…”Immortal, invisible, God only wise”… while he asks in his thick Italian accent “If God made a man in His own a image, why aren’t we all, like… invisible?” Silly eh? But the question of God’s nature and ours, and the link between the two, is far from trivial or silly. Who is God and who are we? St. Francis of Assisi was said to have prayed that question over and over again at night: “My Lord and my God, who are you and who am I?” If indeed the premise is correct that we are shaped in God’s image, what makes us a chip off the old block? What is it that makes us in the likeness of the Holy? And what can the Trinity tell us about it? The traditional approach to the Trinity, the one contained in the Creed we recite on Sunday is helpful in answering that question, but not sufficient. This approach focuses on the question of what or who God is, and yields a sermon continued on page 6

Upcoming Events Living out Faith in the Public Sphere as 21st Century Anglicans Sunday Mornings 9:15am to 10:15am, Founders Room Taught by Nate Darville

What do the Bible, Church Tradition, and the Book of Common Prayer have to say about politics, economics, or social issues? In an increasingly polarized political culture, it is becoming more difficult to discuss these issues as Christians in America. This course seeks to provide an introduction to the rich tradition scholars call ‘political theology’ in order to better understand how to live publicly in a way faithful to the Gospel. Childcare is provided for children 4K and younger. This Sunday’s topic is Augustine and Calvin’s influence on American Politics

Volunteers Needed for Norwood’s Junior Master Gardener Program

The week of June 13-17th is St. Luke’s Volunteer week at the newly reopened Norwood School’s Junior Master Gardener program. We need volunteers from June 14th to 17th from 8-11am to serve as tutors (10-15 volunteers a day) for elementary and middle school children in the program. And they also need garden instructors (3-5 volunteers) from 1:00-2:00. If you are interested please call Mark LaGory at 802-6205 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Vacation Bible School Monday, June 6 – Thursday, June 9 Pray For Vacation Bible School

Sunday Lectionary Readings May 29, 2016 Second Sunday after Pentecost 1 Kings 18:20-39 Psalm 96 Galatians 1:1-12 Luke 7:1-10 O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Holiday and Summer Schedule Changes We will not serve breakfast this Sunday, May 29. Service of the Word is taking a summer break and will resume on August 14 Join us for Sunday Services in the Nave: 8:00 The Church offices will be closed on Monday, May 30 for Memorial Day.

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VBS is coming soon and our church will be packed full of eager children experiencing the joy of Vacation Bible School! This year’s theme is Submerged: Finding Truth below the Suface. We pray that the love of Christ will touch each child, teacher, and and helper during this busy week.

Parish-Wide Supper, Wednesday, June 8 Graham Hall - 5:30pm All ages are invited for supper to gather with friends and find out what our children are experiencing in Vacation Bible School.

Announcements Volunteers Needed for Family Promise

We will host Family Promise guests at Saint Luke’s for the week of June 26. Check out the board in the Commons and volunteer for a spot. We need people to set up and take down rooms, prepare and serve meals, spend the night, play with children, wash laundry, and more. For more information, contact Kim Kimberlin: 529-9510 or [email protected]

Are You the Parent of a Future Acolyte? Our young people are encouraged to participate in our Sunday worship services through the Acolyte Ministry. Girls and boys, rising seventh through twelfth grades, are invited to serve. If your son and/or daughter is interested in being an acolyte, please contact Bryan Miller: [email protected] or 802-6217.

Parents Of Graduating Seniors, Share Your News With Us! Last Call for Your Child’s Name to be included in the Dialogue!

As a parish family, we would like to recognize your son or daughter and note in the Dialogue where they will attend college in the fall. Please contact Sandy Porter with the information: [email protected] or 802-6207. Be sure to include:

• your son’s or daughter’s full name, • parents’ names, • college they will attend, Please submit this information no later than Friday, June 3.

We Need More Volunteer Receptionists Could you serve 1 to 2 days a month? Our volunteer receptionist are the first voice and the first face of Saint Luke’s to new visitors and callers. Their service is also critical to the day to day operations of the church. We need to add some more folks to our wonderful team, and we would like YOU to consider this ministry. No prior experience is necessary. We need volunteers for both morning and afternoon shifts; you can serve once a week, once a month, twice a month, or whatever suits your schedule. When the phone is not busy, many of our volunteers use the time to read or catch up on writing their thank you notes and letters, or even doing needlework. We have WiFi connection for those who need it. This ministry is a fun way to serve the church while interacting with fellow parishioners and visitors. To learn more, contact: Melinda Powers: 879-0823 or [email protected] Melanie Salem: 968-077 or [email protected]

May Outreach Collection

Books for STAIR

We are collecting funds to buy books for the STAIR Tutoring program in Norwood. Books are $10 each and can be made payable to Saint Luke’s, with STAIR books in the memo line. Place your check in the basket by the STAIR collection board in the Commons by the entrance. If you cannot be at church, you can mail a donation to the church—$10/book. STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading) is an after school tutoring program for second graders who attend Birmingham City Schools. The books we are collecting this month will be for children in the Norwood area. For more information contact Mark LaGory: 802-6205 or mlagory@saint-lukes. com.

Announcements Looking for a Summer Bible Study? Come to Pondering Scripture

We gather to gain a deeper understanding of scripture, with teaching, discussion, and prayer. We currently are studying the Book of Hebrews. Newcomers are welcome to join at any time, and drop-ins are welcome. Two opportunities are available for this class: Mondays at 9:30am in the Small Dining Room OR Wednesdays at 1:30pm in Room 214. The Monday group will not meet on Memorial Day, Monday, June 30. Open to all ages. For more information, contact Sandy Porter: 802-6207 or [email protected].

Looking for a Great Way to Enjoy Camp McDowell This Summer?? Diocesan Homecoming (June 10-12, 2016) is just about the best summer vacation opportunity around! Formerly known as “Camp Day”, Diocesan Homecoming is the evolution of Family Camp - where old friends gather and new friends meet in God’s Backyard to rest, play, worship, and ENJOY GOD’s CREATION with others. It is open to all ages and we encourage you to bring your family and friends. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Activities will include the Ropes Course, swimming, boating, arts & crafts, a visit to Camp McDowell’s farm and many more! All are invited to come for the day, stay one night, or come for the whole weekend! Register at www.campmcdowell.com. For more information, please contact Georganne Perrine 205-358-9230 or [email protected].

M-Power Ministries Needs Volunteers to Help Tutor Adults The M-POWER Education Center is a comprehensive adult education program addressing the root causes of shortterm and long-term poverty. The Education Center provides academic, vocational and spiritual training to help men and women move from dependency to self-sufficiency. All MPOWER programs, including adult literacy tutoring and GED classes, are taught by in-class instruction and individualized tutoring. M-POWER’s Education Center cannot exist without the assistance of volunteers who work with students individually to improve their reading skills, math skills, and writing skills in order to take the GED. Here’s how you can help! M-POWER offers one-on-one tutoring to students in the adult literacy and GED programs. We need more volunteers who want to offer this individualized tutoring to our students by aiding in their reading skills through the adult literacy program, or assisting with math or writing skills in our GED program. We also need mentors interested in guiding our students through this academic process by providing spiritual and emotional support as they make the decision to better their life. God desires people to be whole. If you would like to learn more about this opportunity, please contact Thomas Smith: 595.5959, Ext. 208 or [email protected].

Do We Have Your Correct Information? We are in the process of updating our data base for our directory. Please let us know of any changes in your family’s information. Have you changed your phone number? Do we have your cell as well as your home phone number? Have you moved? Are you preparing to move soon? Are all of your children still at home, and are they all included in your membership record? We do not publish your emails in our printed directories; however, we do like to have a current email for our church data base. Please contact Nancy Cain with any changes and/or corrections: ncain@saint-lukes. com or 802-6200.

Announcements “OUR TIME”

A grief support retreat for rising 6th–12th graders healing from loss and an adult caregiver

June 3-5 at Camp McDowell

“OUR TIME” is a weekend retreat for youth (6th-12th) and their adult caregiver who have experienced loss of a significant person by death. At OUR TIME both children and adults have safe space and dedicated time to reflect on their loss and connect with others who grieve. Young people will have fun with camp-style activities such as hiking, swimming, and arts and crafts. Adult caregivers - in a concurrent program that is in a separate area - have the opportunity to step away from their daily routines for reflection and connection in a peaceful setting. Youth participants and caregivers come together on the last day for a group discussion, planting activity in the OUR TIME memory garden, and a celebration of life service. The OUR TIME staff (for both the youth and adult program) consists of licensed professional counselors and social workers,including Malcolm Marler, Director of the Department of Pastoral Care at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. College interns serve as cabin counselors for youth participants, providing companionship, fellowship and leadership. The cost is $140 per person, and $100 for each sibling. Cost (adults): $140 (double) $200 (single). Fee includes all meals, lodging, snacks, and program materials. Full scholarships are available if needed. To learn more and to register, contact Susanna Whitsett: 205.281.1903 or [email protected]

Encore Respite Care for Adults With Memory Loss Begins June 7, Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00am to 2:00pm Canterbury Methodist Church Do You Have a Family Member or Friend Experiencing Memory Loss Issues? Encore is a new ministry based at Canterbury Methodist Church whose mission is to enrich the lives of adults suffering memory loss through fellowship and engaging activities. Programs include cognitive stimulation, music, creative arts, exercise, recreation, and pet therapy. The cost is $40 per day and includes lunch. Encore also provides resources for families and Caregivers. A Caregivers Support Group will meet every Thursday, from 10:00am to 11:00am. To register a participant or to learn more, contact Patti Williams: [email protected] or 492-7004.

Encore Need Volunteers Volunteers are the core of Encore! Our team welcomes the time, talents and skills that volunteers provide to enhance the daily activities of Encore. Opportunities include a variety of different options, including providing group or individualized entertainment, assisting or leading daily activities, interacting with small groups of participants, or working with the Encore team on office and clerical work. For more information, contact Kristen at encorekristen@ gmail.com. You can also contact Salley Wilkerson at Saint Luke’s: 802-6209 or [email protected].

Movie Night at The Abbey Featuring 28 Days

Sponsored by the Diocesan Department of Recovery Ministries

Saturday, May 28, 5:00pm to 8:00pm

All are welcome. The Abbey has delicious sandwiches, snacks, pastries, coffee, and tea. Join us for a movie and discussion about living with the disease of alcoholism and living in recovery.

Who Are You and Who am I? sermon continued from front page perfectly recitable answer- God is one divine substance in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the chemistry of God if you will. And so if you want to think of the Trinity in that way, maybe the most helpful analogy is H2O. It is one essence experienced in three distinct forms: as a liquid, gas or solid; water, steam or ice. That analogy can help us understand how one thing, one essence, can exist in three distinct forms. But it is more than an intellectual aid; it can also be helpful in our spiritual lives. There are times in our everyday lives when one form of H2O better meets our needs than others--- liquid H2O can parch our thirst after vigorous exercise, while steam can warm us on a cold day, and ice can cool us when it’s hot. So also there are times in our lives when one person of the Trinity may be more needed than another. The other day someone said to me, “you know I’ve been told all my life to pray to Jesus, but I just can’t right now, I feel more comfortable praying to the Father than to Jesus. It’s hard to put into words, but I need an authority figure right now, a “daddy”. Is that heresy?” “No, indeed”, I said, “That is orthodoxy. God will meet you exactly where you are.” There is more than one door to the Holy. The Church calls them Father, Son and Holy Spirit; God in three persons. But there is another way of thinking about the Trinity; one that goes beyond the well-crafted words of our creed. Instead of trying to understand the unity of God in three persons as in a common substance, you can also look at this unity as existing in a common relationship. Instead of a chemistry of God, if you will, imagine a physics. God is relational. God is not just a being, but a way of being. Hence the phrase: “God is love”. When we say God is love, we are describing a relationship of perfect connection—a union between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is by nature a connecting force whose love is so great that it naturally extends beyond itself. God is the great web weaver, bringing people together. In this understanding of God, the love between the three persons of the Trinity is so great that by its very nature it must share its life and love with others. It’s love that can’t

contain itself. It is Big Love in the best sense of that term. And because this is the way that God is, we are included in the divine relationship. God is by nature “with”. God will not be alone. The story of scripture is that God is always with us. Love is a relationship; an action, not a feeling. And so it is with God’s love. God is active in the world as creator, redeemer and sustainer. We so often associate the word love with a feeling that we lose the real meaning of the phrase “God is love”. Perhaps a better phrase is that God is with us, always. God never leaves us. God is always fully present in our lives from the very worst of times to the very best. God is there, God is with. As St. Patrick’s prayer goes: “God above me. God below me. God behind me. God in front of me. God to my left. God to my right. God in every eye that sees me. God in every ear that hears me. God within me.” God is present, but not usually visible. “With” is an important word to help us understand the Trinity and to answer St. Francis’s question: “My Lord and my God, who are you and who am I?” God is expressed best by a “trinity’, because at God’s heart, at God’s very essence is this connecting spirt, this drive to be “with”. God could not be alone because it is in the very nature of God to be “with”. And because we are a chip off the old block, we too are by nature “social” creatures. We need to be with. Our need to connect is just as much in our nature as it is in God’s. I was reminded of that the other day when I heard a story on social media about Melvin and Doris from Little Rock, Arkansas, husband and wife for sixty years. Melvin has Alzheimer’s and had wandered away from home. He had been missing for several hours, and Doris was very worried so she called the police and they began searching. Eventually they found him more than two miles away from home, confused and lost. His name was Melvin, he didn’t know his address, or where he was, but he knew what he was doing. The officers said he was a man on a mission. He was buying his wife flowers for Mother’s continued on next page

Who Are You and Who am I? sermon continued from previous page Day. He told the officers he had brought Doris roses for Mother’s Day since their very first child was born. And so they found a shop for him to buy Doris’s flowers, and even helped Melvin pay for them. When the officers brought Melvin home and he gave her the roses, Doris burst into tears, hugged him, thanked the officers and said: “We have had a hard time struggling with this awful disease the last three years. He seems so lost some times. But I’ve learned something really important during this time--- the heart still remembers what the mind forgets. He still loves me, even though he has a hard time with my name.” It’s amazing what can happen when love becomes an instinct. If we are created in the image and likeness of the Holy, then we have the capacity to love instinctively, as part of our very nature. Melvin did, and so did those officers. We were created for a life of communion with others, not for self-seeking or self-interested action. That’s why Jesus asks us to die to self and follow him. When we do this we are born again. Baptism, after all is a symbolic drowning in which we are reborn into the Trinitarian relationship. Our call is to be “with”, rather than to set ourselves apart. The Great Commandment is: “To love God with all our heart and all our mind, and our neighbor as ourselves.” Christians are to be known by their love and service to one another. We are to be a visible presence in the lives of others. We are called to be with the ones who suffer or are in need. So many people these days feel judged, alone, unloved, and separated from others. What would the world be like if everyone knew that they were invited into this Trinitarian relationship with God and God’s people? The world would be a very different place wouldn’t it? Instead of building walls we would be building bridges. These are challenging times when we too easily blame the other for our problems. Times when walls make too many feel safe and sure of themselves. These are times

when empathy and even sympathy for those suffering or in need seem absent. We need to be more sympathetic and empathetic to those unlike us. But Trinitarian love is more than a feeling, it is an action. Trinitarian love urges us to burst out of our shells, out of our walls, out of our neighborhoods to be with those who may not be exactly like us. Trinitarian love is about relationship. It is about being a visible presence in someone’s life. It is about honoring the other by being with them in their suffering and their pain. Being with. At Saint Luke’s we offer many opportunities throughout the year to build these relationships. You can participate in the Family Promise Program and prepare and eat a meal with a homeless family or do homework or play a game with one of the children, or just simply talk with a parent. You can feed and eat with homeless men at Firehouse Shelter or homeless women at First Light. You can spend the night as a volunteer in one of the shelters. Or you might tutor a second grader after school in the STAIR program, or work with elementary school children this summer at the Norwood School’s Master Gardener program. Or maybe you’d like to help a family build their Habitat Home alongside members of the Jewish and Muslim faith traditions this Fall. There are so many opportunities here to be with a neighbor in need. Just look in the back of your service bulletin, or read the Dialogue, or even better pick up one of the blue service opportunity booklets on the visitors table. It is a wonderful way to live into Francis of Assisi’s question “My Lord and my God, who are you and who am I?”

Let us on this special Sunday remember the good news that is the Trinity. “There is one God, who is love.” We are created in that image, and so our job is really very simple. Love God and love our neighbor. That is our faith; that is our hope. That indeed is joyful news, hopeful news. Lord give us the courage to live out this good news in a world filled with fear and disconnection. Please.

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Dialogue Vol. 23, No. 21

SUNDAY—29 8:00 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I 9:30 am Living our Faith 10:30 am Holy Eucharist, Rite II 5:00 pm Holy Eucharist, Rite II MONDAY—30

Nave Founders Room Nave Nave

THURSDAY—2 FRIDAY—3 10:00 am Bridge

Tilson Room

SATURDAY — 4 For a complete listing of events, go to www.saint-lukes.com or check the totems in the Commons and 2nd floor.

Church Offices Closed

TUESDAY—31 6:30 am Men’s Bible Study 5:00 pm Women’s Lectionary Study

Tilson Room Tilson Room

WEDNESDAY—1 1:30 pm Pondering Scripture 6:30 pm Contemplative Eucharist

Room 214 Chapel