What's Happening

As we begin week five in Lent, spend 5 minutes every morning for 5 days, praying these 5 prayer petitions.

1. 1. Give thanks for three personal blessing of which you are especially conscious today. This helps you move toward God by moving away from a sense of your own self-sufficiency.
2. 2. Ask God to help three people you feel need God’s help today. This moves you toward God by moving you away from self-centeredness.
3. 3. Ask God to forgive the pain you have caused other people. Ask God to forgive any specific sins that are weighing on you, and to give you the strength to forgive others the pain they caused you. This puts you squarely in God’s mercy and grace.
4. 4. Ask God to help one person you find it hard to like. Ask God to provide that person insights into his or her problems and difficulties. Ask for the power to let God’s love flow through you to him or her. Ask God to provide you insight into your own problems and difficulties. This reminds us we are all saints and sinners.
5. 5. Ask God to bless and guide your church family at St Luke Lutheran Church. Ask God to lead St. Luke in our vision to Seek God, Serve Others and Share Life. St. Luke is positioned to grow. Pray for growth both numerically; that we welcome and add new members, and spiritually; that we each grow in love, grace and mercy toward one another.

Lenten Prayer Exercise
Our prayer discipline in week five of our 40 Day Lenten prayer journey focuses on our congregation, St. Luke Lutheran Church. God has placed us in this congregation. We have been blessed to have our children baptized here, we have attended funerals, weddings and confirmations services at St Luke. We have knelt at the altar and we have received the sacrament of Holy Communion and heard the words of forgiveness. Our church is part of who we are as followers of Christ. We pray for our church.

1. 1. We begin by praying for the three parts of our church. The Churchwide office of the Presiding Bishop is in Chicago connecting some 8,000 congregations in the ELCA. The Southeastern Synod office is in Atlanta, serving four states under the leadership of Bishop Julian Gordy. Pray for our ELCA Bishops and Clergy. Pray for visionary leadership.
2. 2. Pray for our leaders here at St Luke. Many of us have served as officers in the church, on committees or as Sunday School teachers. We know our leaders give of their time and talent in service. We pray for God’s wisdom upon our leaders.
3. 3. St. Luke is known as a serving congregation. We host families in transition, we feed the hungry, we build homes, we serve near and far in the name of Christ. Let us pray for specific people we have served. Let us remember that ministry is about people.
4. 4. Pray for our visitors. It takes a lot of courage to enter a church service for the first time. How can you be a kind and welcoming face to a visitor? Most people choose to attend a church because of the invitation of family or friends. Pray for friends and family you can invite to attend St. Luke this Easter.
5. 5. St. Luke is a congregation of many. Each and every person is important to the life of our church. Our offerings and our time are vital to the continued success of our church. Pray for the people who sit around you during Sunday services. Pray for our St. Luke vision to Seek God, Serve Others and Share Life.

This year our Lenten Study will be Max Lucado's Before Amen. This is a 5 week, DVD-based study that will help you discover "that prayer is not a privilege for the pious or the art of a chosen few but a simple tool all believers have been given to have a conversation with God."

 Small groups are forming NOW! We have several groups meeting at the church as well as groups that will be meeting in homes around the area. Please sign up in the narthex or email Jennifer Wright (jennifer@stlukememphis.org) if you are interested in joining a group. Books will be ordered on Friday, February 5. Books will be $7 a piece.
St. Luke Sunday 9:45A (Women of Faith Class)
St. Luke Sunday 9:45A (Pastor Cliff)
St. Luke Tuesday 10:00A (Women's Bible Study Group)
St. Luke Wednesday 5:30P (Pastor Cliff)
Bartlett Sunday 6:30P (Gary and Pat Conway)
Collierville Monday Evening (Dale and Vikki Ernst)
​Covington Monday 6:00P (Aaron and Rachel Brock) 

The Stewardship Campaign this year is "Stewardship: Our Service For All," which was inspired by "[Their responsibility is] to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ" - Ephesians 4:12. After November, we should all be able to say "I want to help serve at St. Luke." The members of St. Luke have many members with exceptional God given abilities that should be shared with the church and our community. During the month of November, Stewardship has been showing how we can serve St. Luke and thank you for joining us as we give thanks to God for all the things He has given us.

Thank you for prayerfully considering your gifts to God through St. Luke for 2016. There will be an Estimate of Giving card in your bulletin this week. At the end of the service you will have an opportunity to place your card in a box for your confidential commitment. Thank you for answering God's call.

Southeastern Synod Assistant to the Bishop Dr. Ben Moravitz will present our message this Sunday at both services.
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Stewardship will be providing a dinner this Sunday, November 22, at 12:15P to give thanks for all that you as members St. Luke have given. Come out and grab a plate!

Stewardship will provide stuffing and potatoes. We are asking members to provide the following:
 
Last name begins with...      Please bring...
           A-G                                 Desserts
           H-N                                 Salads
           O-Z                                 Sides (other than potatoes and stuffing)

Lifeblood will be at St. Luke on November 15 from 8:30A—1:00P in the CFC.

Lifeblood is the Memphis region's only non-profit volunteer blood center, dedicated to meeting the needs of patients, healthcare facilities, medical professionals and the community at large. Every year Lifeblood supplies more than 100,000 units of blood and blood products for local patient transfusion.

Because Memphis is the eighth largest medical center in the United States and hosts the second busiest trauma center in the nation, the need for blood is constant. Unfortunately, over one-third of our blood supply is currently being imported from other volunteer blood centers throughout the country.

The donation process only takes about one hour and takes place entirely at St. Luke. Each donation of whole blood can help as many as 3 recipients - all of them our neighbors.

A sign-up sheet is located on the bulletin board outside the office. Please contact Jon Klein (jdklein18@gmail.com, 574-250-2597), the St. Luke Lifeblood Coordinator, with any questions.

We are planning a special gathering of the Women of the ELCA (WELCA) at St. Luke on November 14 at 9:30A. This event will be for women of all ages and is not just for those who are already participating in a WELCA group. Mark your calendars for a morning event that will include a presentation by speaker Karin Conlee, a light breakfast, and fellowship with your sisters at St. Luke. Feel free to contact Barbara Anderson if you have questions. Please sign up by November 9 on the communication card, email patti@stlukememphis.org, or call 756-8850.

The November and December schedule is out! Join us each Thursday at 10:00A (please note Nov 12 is 11:00A).

• Nov 12—Chuck E. Cheese's (11:00A)—Please bring money to buy tokens (check the website for coupons).
  
• Nov 19—St. Luke CFC—We will discuss our book and make a Thanksgiving craft.
  
• Nov 26—NO MEETING
  
• Dec 3—Kids Play—9155 Poplar Ave #27, Germantown, TN, 38139. $5 per child; parents are free.
  
• Dec 10—Playdate at Brandi Cowan's house—3932 Mallard Point Dr, Memphis, TN, 38128.
  
• Dec 17—St. Luke CFC—We will discuss our book and decorate Christmas cookies.

A New Members Class will be held October 4 from 4:00P to 7:30P for those interested in joining the Saints of St. Luke. Dinner will be served and the nursery will be provided.

Sign up on the communication card this Sunday. Call Patti in the office (901 756 8850) for more information.