Message from the Pastor

What do you do after you’ve suffered? The story of Naomi, in the Old Testament book of Ruth, is a story of suffering and survival, leading to eventual happiness. Naomi is forced to immigrate because of a lack of food, her husband dies, her sons die, and she decides to move back to her homeland, alone. But her daughter-in-law Ruth won’t leave her side. Ruth insists that their relationship must endure beyond tragedy:

“Where you go, I will go;

where you lodge, I will lodge;

your people shall be my people,

and your God my God.”

After suffering, we need each other. We need faithful commitment. Life is hard; we need people who stick with us; and we need to stick with others.

Ruth had faith—not absolute certainty, but faith—that by committing to Naomi, something good would happen. Naomi couldn’t promise Ruth anything—not another son to marry, not a job or a roof over her head. So Ruth’s fidelity to Naomi was a gift—an act of grace—not a payment to get something in return.

From this relationship of gracious fidelity came the grand-father of King David. Ruth was married to Boaz, and she bears him a son, Obed, who’s the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. And as Matthew’s gospel points out, Ruth is therefore in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

“Naomi took the child Obed and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse.” The townswomen said, “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.”

I’m inspired by this story, because of the plans that Kathleen, Edith, and I have for our family. We hope to adopt a child—a son—this coming August or September, whenever the baby is born.

The child’s biological mother lives in Mississippi, we’ve met her, and we’ve said how much this gift would mean to us as a family. However, the mother has the right to keep the child she bears, and we will absolutely respect that decision, if she decides it is best.

Nevertheless, Kathleen and I feel that it is time to let our friends and family—including our church families—know what our plans are. We will rely on your help as we raise a second child, and we will appreciate your comfort and understanding if it becomes a longer process than we hope it will be.

We’re protecting the privacy of the birth mother as much as possible, and indeed there’s not a whole lot of information to share. We have sped through the paperwork of our “home study” so that the adoption can go through the legal process as smoothly as possible. We’re beginning to re-assemble our baby equipment to prepare for another infant. We’ve told Edith, and she’s very excited about the possibility of having a baby brother.

If the time comes that we’re given a second child, I’m sure we’ll have a celebration, a baptism, and a baby shower. Kathleen and I will both take time off work, but we’ll keep you “in the loop” and introduce the baby to our church families as soon as possible.

We moved to Cleveland with the thought that this town would be the perfect place to have a second child, and we still believe Cleveland—and our churches—will be a warm, nurturing environment for another member of the Corban family, just as it’s been supportive of us for two years.

I write this column on the 11th anniversary of our wedding. I’m so glad Kathleen married me, and I’m so proud of how resilient, wise, and caring she is. She’s an excellent mother, and anyone she nurtures will be blessed.

Peace,
Pastor Brad

Lectionary Readings for June

Sermon Series: Christianity and World Religions: Questions We Ask About Other Faiths

Sunday, June 6 - Second Sunday after Pentecost
”Hinduism”
Ephesians 2:1-10
Sunday, June 13 - Third Sunday after Pentecost
”Buddhism”
Romans 8:18, 28; Philippians 4:6-7
Sunday, June 20 - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
”Judaism”
Mark 12:28-31
Sunday, June 27 - Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
”Islam”
Genesis 17:18-20

The Mission of St. Luke UMC is to be a Place to Belong, Believe, & Become Disciples of Christ

OPPORTUNITIES TO BELONG

UMW Grace Circle will meet Tuesday, June 1, at 10:00 a.m. in the church library.

The Annual Conference of the Mississippi United Methodist Church will take place this year June 23-25. All sessions will be virtual and you can follow the proceedings from the Conference website.

The photos in the St. Luke Scene section were taken May 16 at our first Potluck Meal in a long time. St. Luke folks enjoyed delicious home cooking and visiting after a hiatus of over a year. It was a beautiful day, and many chose to sit at tables in the church courtyard, where they could hear the sounds of our new fountain. After the meal, everyone gathered outside to take part in the dedication and blessing of the new portico, built with funds donated in memory of Gerald Jacks and Jean and Troyce Taylor. Many thanks to Kay Daves and her kitchen team for the preparation and clean-up, and to all those who participated.

OPPORTUNITIES TO BELIEVE

Vacation Bible School Arts Camp will be held Saturday, June 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. If you have a child or grandchild going into 4K up to 7th grade in the 2021-22 school year, please go to stlukecleveland.com for more information and to sign up. Children will be split up into four age groups and placed at the campuses of the four cooperating churches—St. Luke, 1st United Methodist, 1st Presbyterian, and Calvary Episcopal.

OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME DISCIPLES

The 2021 Mission Offering for Annual Conference has been designated for MS Disaster Response. Mississippi has had many natural disasters over the past few years and, because of the the generosity of local churches, the MS Conference has been able to help provide relief to the families affected by those disasters. If you can contribute to this worthy and quite necessary effort, make your check payable to St. Luke and note on the memo line “MS Disaster Response.” The deadline to give is June 20.

In preparation for our Christmas in July project, please help us identify a child or a family who may need assistance obtaining school supplies. It could be a family in your neighborhood, your child’s classmate, or, if you are a teacher, a student in your class or your school—any situation where you know the family is struggling to provide and could use some help. Please consider acting as a sponsor for that family. You can contact the church office for more information or to add a family to the list.

Easter is a whole season of the Christian calendar, not just a single day. To celebrate, we’d like to re-use your empty Easter eggs for a hospitality project at the church playground. We’ll take those empty eggs, put small toys inside, and hide them on the playground for kids to find, with a note inside wishing them a Happy Easter from St. Luke UMC. If you have any extra plastic Easter eggs you don’t need, please donate them to the church and we’ll put them to good use.

The St. Luke Blood Drive, coordinated by UMW and in cooperation with MS Blood Services, will be Tuesday, June 29, in the Fellowship Hall. More details will be available at a later date.

We’re still collecting bags of apples and jars of peanut butter, as well as other canned/stable goods, for the Helping Hands food pantry. Please bring your contributions on the second Sunday of each month and leave in the collection box in the narthex. The need in our county is great, and this is a concrete way we can help. We also still take up an extra offering on Dollar Sunday (also the second Sunday of the month) to help provide funds for the pastor to use when we learn of emergency needs among those in our community. Look for the wicker basket in the narthex.

The St. Luke Scene

Memorials

By:
Cary Norquist & Family

Don Conger, Gloria Cranford

Gloria Cranford

For:
Jean Norquist

Took Mason

Margie Hackney

Robert Johnston

Attendance and Offering Report

June Birthdays

Betty Hill
Stella Perez
Charles McAdams
Chelsea Melton
Sandi Melton
Taylor Anderson
Brittany Runnels
Damerio Taylor
Gloria Cranford
Lauren Williams
Will Jacks

6/01
6/02
6/03
6/15

6/19
6/21
6/25
6/26
6/29
6/30

June Anniversaries

Brad & Kathleen Corban
Melanie & Woody Earls
Chris & Julianne Bailey
Charles & Mary Dalton
Beau & Chelsea Melton
Candy & Kevin Vickers
Josh & Megan Armstrong
Bob & Florence Jo Corban

6/01
6/04
6/05
6/10
6/17

6/18
6/21

Contact Us

Newsletter Blog

June 2021

June 2, 2021St. Luke United Methodist Church

Message from the Pastor

Lectionary Readings for June