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Thank you to everyone who has submitted an Estimate of Giving for 2022. So far, we have 334 Estimates equaling $2,249,117, which is an average of $6,733.88 per pledge! Last year we received 401 Estimates equaling $2,421,718.88, or an average of $6,039.20 per pledge. To date, our total is down $172,601.88 (67 pledges), but the average per pledge is up by $694.68.
Hopefully you received an Estimate of Giving card in person at worship, or in the mail with a pre-addressed envelope including pre-paid postage for return to St. Luke’s. If you have not yet sent in your Estimate of Giving, please do so today or click here to fill it out online. Thank you in advance for your faithfulness and support of St. Luke’s many ministries.
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Dear St. Lukers,
As I’m preparing to write the message for this week, the words of Youth Poet Laurette Amanda Gorman come to mind. “If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright!” What powerful words that deconstruct, challenge, invite, and paint a brighter future with just a few words! Her words inspire hope, and what a great reminder of our own congregational journey of Learn, Love, Live, Lead! It’s a good season to ponder on Amanda Gorman’s words as we journey through Lent!
The HOPE Gorman’s words embody is both nuanced and all-encompassing pointing to action, aspirations, human agency, and pathways. This Lenten season, we have an opportunity to prioritize hope. Your Lenten Offering is one way of making hope come alive. A portion of this offering will support the works of UMCOR in war-torn countries. A portion also goes to equipping and inspiring under-resourced youth to unlock their potential and define their pathways to the future through our Restoring Hope Initiative. We are getting close to reaching our goal of raising $15,000 – a little over $10,000 donated so far – thanks to all who have given to this Offering. If you’d like to help us reach our goal, you can do so by clicking here and selecting “Lenten Offering” from the drop-down menu.
Speaking of pathways for the next generation…
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| Staff Parish Announcement
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Staff Parish is excited to announce that we have hired a new Senior Director of Traditional Music! Josh O’Dell will be joining the St. Luke’s staff on May 8. Before coming to St. Luke’s, he served as Minister of Music at Thrasher Memorial United Methodist Church and Greene Memorial United Methodist Church, Chorus Master/Director of Education & Community Engagement at Opera Roanoke, and Director of Sales at the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. He also held a Music Faculty position at Radford University where he taught Music Theory. Josh has completed Doctoral Studies in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy, and holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Messiah University, a Bachelor of Science in Music from Radford University, and a Certificate in Sacred Music from Virginia Wesleyan University with additional graduate studies in Choral Conducting at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music. He has served as a clinician for church music workshops and as an Adjudicator for All-District and All-State Chorus Auditions, as well as serving as a judge for the Bland Music Competition for the Lions Club of Virginia.
In May 2017, Josh led the Thrasher Memorial Sanctuary Choir in a concert tour to New York City, where they premiered a new work at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. The choir returned to NYC in April 2018 to perform with the Virginia Wesleyan University Choir at Carnegie Hall. Josh will travel to NYC again this June to serve as the Guest Conductor for a choral concert with full orchestra in Carnegie Hall.
We are very excited to have Josh joining the St. Luke’s family and our Worship and Arts team. We know you will want to join us in welcoming him on May 8!
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| You are invited to a virtual Charge Conference on Tuesday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. to approve a cost of living adjustment for the appointed clergy. If you would like to attend, please email Scooter Leonard for the Zoom link.
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An all-new episode of Your Week with St. Luke’s is available now wherever you listen to podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and share with friends and family!
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Give to St. Luke's Ministries
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We ask that you prayerfully consider giving a special Lenten Offering to support the pilot “Unlocking R Potentials" after school workshop. Through this program, high school students who are under resourced and experiencing homelessness will learn “to identify, access, build, and apply resources for success in school, at work, and in life." To give, click the button below and select "Lenten Offering" from the drop-down menu:
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Click the button below to see all the ways you can experience Lent with St. Luke's, details on Holy Week worship and this year's Prayer Labyrinth, and more:
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Dance with us on
Easter Sunday!
St. Luke’s is looking for dancers to be a part of our Contemporary Easter worship services on April 17 at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. in Founder's Hall. We will be having a dance celebration to Danny Gokey’s song, “New Day!" A video link will be emailed to learn the choreography in advance.
If you are interested in joining us, click the button below to learn more and fill out the sign up form:
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Camp Counselors needed!
Click the button below to learn more and apply:
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VBS volunteers needed!
Click the button below to sign up:
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Click the buttons below for worship times, links to online worship and past worship videos, and the Ministry Guide:
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Click the button below for a variety of support groups, volunteer opportunities, and resources like:
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Click the button below for new studies, opportunities, and events for all ages like:
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| Click the button below for opportunities to serve our community like:
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