It was beautiful to begin to see people face to face and connect in fellowship as we gathered safely to worship in different ways. I want to personally thank our entire staff and the hundreds of St. Lukers who volunteered to host, collect offering, register, dance, sing, play instruments, create art and construct scenic design, and use technical expertise to bring everything to life. New people were reached through your passion and time offered; St. Lukers reengaged as 30 new partners joined the church with 4 adults being baptized for the first time. Hallelujah – Christ is alive and working through our congregation. What a gift to be a part of Revealing the Kingdom of God happening in our corner of Orlando.
This week we begin a new series to help us dig deeper into our yearlong theme of Living the Story as we come alive and find our place as the Hero’s sidekicks. Each week we will focus on particular people in the New Testament who came alongside Jesus to use their gifts to continue to develop the plot line of love and resurrection He wrote with Easter Sunday. We will also share about the spiritual gifts those persons might have been given by the Holy Spirit and the ways those gifts are used.
We live the story of God’s Resurrection best when we:
- LEARN the story of God and ourselves
- ENGAGE the story in our everyday lives
- LISTEN to the way others experience God and their story
- ECHO the story through our witness and service
This is a new day, and the perfect time to get into this discipleship rhythm. We will be helping St. Lukers of all ages move through this rhythm focusing on the same Scripture, teachings, dialogue and ways to serve throughout the entire year. Now is a great time to start a new pattern of your faith journey!
I can’t wait to celebrate these 50 days of Easter with you as we head toward the powerful day of Pentecost. See U Sunday in worship as we Engage the story of Stephen from Acts 6 and 7.
Grace and peace,
Jenn.
