Weekly Update - December 3, 2020

Dear St. Lukers,

We can’t thank you enough for your incredible generosity on #GivingTuesday. We know 2020 has brought unexpected challenges and financial uncertainty so your faithful gifts are all the more appreciated this year. If you didn’t have a chance to join the #GivingTuesday movement, you can still share a special gift. Your contribution of any amount restores hope for families facing homelessness and job loss, and children who don’t know where their next meal will come from (see chart below for suggested giving amounts).

Restoring Hope

Your stewardship also ensures the continued operation of vital facilities and ministries through St. Luke’s Operating Budget (see chart below for suggested giving amounts).

Advent Offering

Gifts to St. Luke’s are tax-deductible and a great way to kick off a season of giving. You can even download a certificate for a meaningful Christmas gift if you’d like to donate in honor of a loved one.

We have just a few Advent Offering boxes left so if you haven’t picked one up, please visit the table in Building C. Each week in Advent, add your coins, bills, or checks as an extra Celebration Offering to help St. Luke’s finish 2020 strong.

In case you missed the Stewardship thank you video streamed live on Facebook last month, we encourage you to watch and hear all the ways your gifts have made a Kingdom difference this year. Looking ahead to this Sunday of Advent we will “gather” at the table to participate in communion whether you are joining us for worship online at 9:30 a.m. or on-campus at 11:15 a.m. Read Isaiah 40:1-11 in preparation for Sunday’s message that will remind us that hope and comfort are coming…not in the form of Christmas presents but in the form of a Christmas promise:

“The Lord’s glory will appear, and all humanity will see it together.” ~Isaiah 40:5

Hope to see you Sunday, because it’s not St. Luke’s without U!

Grace and peace,

Crystal Edwards and Alan Skaggs

Co-Chairs of St. Luke’s Stewardship Committee

Click the image above to learn more about connecting to one of the classes or programs you can participate in online or listen to on the phone. If you need help connecting to one of the groups on the schedule, email Liz Vasquez or call 407.876.4991 ext. 216.

Live Online Worship Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

On-campus Worship Sundays at 11:15 a.m.

Click here to watch last Sunday's worship service

St. Luke's in Review

Community Resources

View COVID-19 Resources

Looking Ahead at St. Luke's

Families are invited to weekly outdoor Advent worship! Bring some chairs, wear your mask, and enjoy these socially distant services under the lights on December 6, 13, and 20 starting at 4:00 p.m. Click the button below to register and learn more:

Caregiving event Arena registration link

TwELF days of christmas event webpage link

Reserve Tickets for TwELF Days of Christmas

Volunteer elves are needed at St. Luke's TwELF Days of Christmas event! Be a friendly face that welcomes guests at this drive-thru experience, and help spread Christmas cheer.

Volunteer for TwELF Days of Christmas

❤️ Donations Needed 💚

To transform the St. Luke’s campus into a Christmas wonderland, we need as many outdoor Christmas lights and decorations as we can get! Here's how U can help:

1) Visit our Amazon Wish List here to see what kinds of things we’re looking for, buy them right off the list, and have them shipped directly to St. Luke’s!

2) Once you see what we’re looking for on the wish list, you can purchase similar lights/decor at a local store and drop off your donation at the church office (please note that it's for TwELF Days of Christmas)!

Questions? Have another decor item you’d like to donate that isn’t on the list? We may still need it, just contact Ben Adams.

Tuesday food distribution event page link

Learn about the weekly free food distribution at St. Luke's for our neighbors in the arts community, and how to donate, by clicking the button below:

Learn Ways to Support Artists

Join the UMW for the Holiday Red and Green Dot Sale at the Marketplace Gift Shop from December 7 through December 22! You will find an array of holiday arrangements and decorations, home and kitchen decor, and more at bargain prices, so come for a holiday shopping spree!

Gift Shop Hours:

Mondays and Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Special extended holiday hours:

Sundays from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. (December 6, 13, and 20 only)

Visit the Gift Shop in the Annex (old Shepherd’s Hope house) behind St. Luke’s, down the gravel road. Click the button below for more details:

UMW Marketplace Gift Shop

Give to St. Luke's Ministries

October 2020 Financial Update

Giving through October 2020 (less PPP): $2,748,197

Giving is up 2.66%

Expenses through October 2020: $2,930,287

Expenses are up 4.55% due to lack of income from revenue producing ministries because of the pandemic

Without the PPP funds, we are in an unfavorable 2020 YTD position of -$189,090

With the PPP funds, we are in a favorable 2020 YTD position of $379,910

Year-End Giving

As December 31 approaches, consider giving a year-end gift to support the St. Luke’s ministries you love. To be recognized in the 2020 tax year, all gifts must be given on or before Thursday, December 31. Gifts can be given during on-campus worship by Sunday, December 27, postmarked on or before December 31 and turned into the metal drop box outside Building C, or completed online by 11:59 p.m. on December 31. Text SLUMC to 77977 for a link to give online. Contact Andrea Whisnant by December 23 for instructions if you’d like to make a non-cash gift of stock.

Click the button below to start giving online or call the finance office at 407.876.4991 ext. 227 to learn more about additional ways to give.

Click to Give

Ministry Links

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