April 2022
St. Luke United Methodist Church
Message from the Pastor
A Ukrainian refugee family arrived in Poland with a newborn baby girl, named “Miroslava,” meaning “the peace-loving one.” When the family arrived in Warsaw, they were taken in by the local United Methodist Church. You can see a photo of the family below.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates 3.7 million Ukrainians have fled as refugees into neighboring countries, an overwhelming number of which are women and children. Of these, more than 2 million have taken refuge in Poland and more than half a million in Romania. The United Methodist Committee on Relief has sent relief grants to the Central and Southern Europe UMC office for churches offering help to refugees in Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Hungary.
In Romania, UMCOR will help with the church’s latest project to hire a psychologist and a lawyer, both Ukrainian, to assist refugees with trauma and resettlement. UMCOR will also help to increase the capacity of the Romanian UMC to provide housing, food, psychosocial assistance, as well as community building and social integration.
Two long-time UMCOR partners, ACT Alliance (Geneva) and the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), have received or are in negotiation to receive major UMCOR support for a variety of efforts. UMCOR is working to provide safe spaces for women and children, safe and reliable transportation, and dissemination of information to help women and children recognize and avoid situations that expose them to abuse and trafficking.
United Methodists in Sibiu, Romania raised funds to help a small orphanage in Kyiv, Ukraine, travel with children across the border into Romania earlier in March. The Rev. Cristian Istrate and his church prepared space and welcomed them warmly, taking extra steps to contact the Romanian authorities and Ukrainian consulate to ensure their safety as they travelled and prevent them from being abducted. You can see a photo of the children below:
In Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Poland, refugees are being accommodated in church buildings and in the private homes of church members.
All of us can do something to help, by praying, by staying informed, and by making a gift to support the work of Methodist churches and affiliated non-profits on the ground. During this season of Lent, a season of spiritual preparation before the celebration of Easter, God is calling us to make sacrifices for the sake of our faith. My challenge to my congregations has been to give at least $40, a dollar for every day of Lent, to a non-profit of your choice. If we give up luxurious foods for that period of time (such as sweet treats, meat, and dairy), we will have plenty to give to others who have so little.
Support for UMCOR’s ongoing efforts to offer help and hope to refugees from Ukraine can be given through Advance #982450: https://umcmission.org/advance-project/982450/
The crisis in Ukraine can help us focus on what’s most important in our lives: Being the living Body of Christ for others. It is our calling to be agents of grace, hospitality, and healing. Acquiring more possessions, status, or power matters little compared to this holy work. Jesus showed us to the way. All we have to do is follow.
Peace be with our world,
Pastor Brad
Lectionary Readings for April
Sermon Series: The Core Message of the Early Church
Sunday, April 3 — Fifth Sunday in Lent / Palm Sunday
Luke 19-20 — Jesus Enters Jerusalem, Clear the Temple,
and Engages in ControversySunday, April 10 — Passion Sunday
Luke 21-23 — Jesus Celebrates Passover and is Betrayed,
Arrested, Denied, Taunted, Put on Trial, and KilledSunday, April 17 — Resurrection of the Lord / Easter Sunday
Luke 24 — Jesus Appears to His DisciplesSunday, April 24 — Second Sunday of Easter / Pentecost Sunday
Acts 1-4 — The Holy Spirit Falls Upon the Early Church;
Peter & Paul Become Spiritual Leaders
The Mission of St. Luke UMC is to be a Place to Belong, Believe, & Become Disciples of Christ
OPPORTUNITIES TO BELONG
Everyone is invited to our Passion Sunday Potluck and Easter Egg Hunt on April 10 following worship service. Adults are asked to bring their favorite dish to share, and all kids are asked to bring one dozen treat filled plastic eggs and a basket for the hunt. Invite a friend or neighbor!
United Methodist Men will meet Tuesday, April 12, at 6:00 at 1st UMC.
OPPORTUNITIES TO BELIEVE
The final Lenten Luncheon will take place at 1st UMC on Wednesday, April 6, at noon. St. Luke is in charge of the meal, and a love offering for charity will be collected. Please contact Kay Daves if you can help serve.
We hope you can attend the Maundy Thursday service on April 14 at 6:00 pm at St Luke, and the Good Friday service on April 15 at 6:00 pm at First UMC.
Please join us in the Courtyard at 8:30 am on Sunday, April 17, Easter Sunrise Service. A finger-food type breakfast of donuts, muffins, and fruit will be available in the fellowship hall afterwards.
OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME DISCIPLES
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN – It’s that time again!! Time for the spring No-Bake Sale. We help support 226 projects or people in 34 countries. Giving also provides scholarships to 157 students enrolled in institutions of higher education in 24 countries. In 2020 and 2021 Mission Giving also supported eight regional missionaries. Their work in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Philippines focuses on gender justice, economic empowerment and leadership development for women and youth. In the United States, Mission Giving provides vital support for national mission institutions and other U. S. ministries as well as spiritual growth programs, membership nurture, and opportunities for leadership development, mission education and service and advocacy. Mississippi has four mission institutions that receive support from our National Organization – Rust College, Bethlehem Center, Wesley House, and Moore Community House. Also supported is Deaconess, Erie Stuckett.
Church members and those who attend regularly will receive a letter and a stamped, addressed return envelope in early April asking you to give to the Spring No-Bake Sale. Proceeds for this sale go to United Methodist Women to support Mission Giving highlighted above as well as our local mission giving to Helping Hands, Wesley Foundation, Zoe Ministries and others. The No-Bake Sale end date is April 24.
United Methodist Women are grateful for the wonderful way we are supported by our church family. If you have questions about our mission work, please talk with President, Jackie Pennington.
Sunday, April 10, is the deadline to donate towards a “Virtual Easter Lily”. Donations will go to Camp Lake Stephens. If you would like to make a donation of $10 per virtual lily in memory of a loved one or in honor of someone who is special in your life, please call Lisa in the church office. Forms are also available on the table in the St Luke narthex if you would like to fill one out and place in the offering plate, bring to the office or mail to the office.
Don’t forget that on the second Sunday of every month we collect bags of apples, jars of peanut butter, and also canned good for the Helping Hands Ministry. That day is also our Dollar Sunday, when you are invited to drop a dollar or two into the basket in the narthex to help support our Compassion Fund, which the pastor uses at his discretion to help those in need.
The UMM are having a “High on the Hog” Easter Pork Loin Sale. Smoked herb encrusted pork loins can be picked up at 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 16, at First UMC. Cost $30. Tickets are available in the St Luke office.
Vacation Bible School will be hosted by and held at First Presbyterian Church the week of June 26-30, from 4:30-7:00 pm. If you would like to volunteer to help with VBS, forms are available on the table in the St Luke narthex. Please fill one out and give to Pastor Brad or the church office.
Worship Greeters are needed for June, July, and September - December! If you can help welcome people to the worship service, pass out bulletins, help people in and out of cars, direct visitors to pews or various areas of the church, and help pass the offering plates, please contact Bobby Horton or the church office.
Update on Conference and Global Church Affairs
The General Conference of the United Methodist Church has once again been postponed because of logistical problems worldwide that complicate the ability of representatives to gather. Shall we say 2023 or 2024? The issues that the Church has before it will not be settled in the near future.
Bishop Swanson will be retiring and we will either have a new bishop appointed or the Mississippi Conference will be required to share a bishop with an adjoining Conference until a successor can be appointed. The appointment process is currently ongoing.
At the request of the Bishop, Rusty Keen will be leaving his position as District Superintendent of the Greenwood district and will be assigned to First Methodist is Tupelo. In the Mississippi Conference there is a shortage of pastors able to fill all pulpits, so the Greenwood and Hattiesburg Districts will not be assigned a DS next year. The Bishop has appointed a District Realignment Task Force that will study this issue, but will not have enough time to report back before the 2022 Annual Conference. Fewer Districts with redrawn boundaries will likely be the result. In the interim, the Greenwood District will probably share a DS with an adjoining district—most likely the DS in Senatobia.
Until the Conference acts on the recommendations of this Task Force, the District office in Greenwood will remain open and continue to handle District affairs through that office in cooperation with the shared DS. The Greenwood District cannot be dissolved before 2023 Annual Conference or until the Annual Conference adopts the guidelines for reorganizing the Conference. It may not be dissolved at all if it is a District surviving reorganization.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bishops of The United Methodist Church in their March 15 called meeting discerned pathways for churches choosing disaffiliation and separation. The bishops have met two consecutive weeks to discern pathways forward in these changing times. The bishops affirmed by an overwhelming majority that paragraph 2553 in the Book of Discipline would be the primary paragraph used for disaffiliation and separation. Please see this link for details: UMC.org
DSU Wesley Yard Sale
Calling All Graduates
We will recognize all high school and college graduates during the worship service on May 15. If you have a child or grandchild who will be graduating this year, please contact the church office with their name, school, degree (if applicable)., and future plans (for high school graduates).
This year we have four St. Luke members who will be graduating from high school: Neely Anderson, Eliza Hardy, Carlie Rogers, and William Wessel. We will honor these four at a reception/potluck following the worship service May 15. If you wish to give them graduation gifts, there will be a gift table set up in the Fellowship Hall.
Upcoming Dates for your Calendar
April 2
—DSU Wesley Yard Sale, (904 S. First St)
April 3
—Church Council, 11:35 a.m. (Fellowship Hall)
April 4
—Spirituality Class, 7:30 p.m. (St Luke)
April 5
—UMW Grace Circle, 10:00 a.m. (St Luke Library)
April 6
—Lenten Luncheon, noon (First UM), meal by St Luke
April 10
—Passion Sunday Potluck & Easter Egg Hunt, 11:35 a.m. (Fellowship Hall)
April 11
—Spirituality Class, 7:30 p.m. (St Luke)
April 14
—Maundy Thursday Service w/Communion, 6:00 p.m. (St Luke)
April 15
—Good Friday Service, 6:00 p.m. (First UMC)
April 16
—UMM “High on the Hog” Easter Pork Loin Sale, 2:00 p.m. (First UMC)
April 17
—Easter Sunrise Service, 8:30 a.m. (St Luke Courtyard)
—light breakfast afterwards
April 17
—Easter Worship Service, 10:30 a.m. (St Luke Sanctuary)
Memorials and Honorariums
By:
Frances & Jim Tims
In Memory Of:
Estelle Graves
Attendance and Offering Report
Mar. 6
Mar. 13
Mar. 20
Mar. 27
Monthly Total
Monthly Budget
General Fund
$ 13,928
$ 2,455
$ 629
$ 527
$ 17,539
$ 20,872
Special
Fund
$ 120
$ 1,249
$ 0
$ 338
Sunday
School
20
14
29
27
Worship
48
42
50
60
Online
72
101
64
43
Special Offerings:
Kairos Outside of Central MS
UMCOR Sunday
UMCOR: Ukraine Relief
”Virtual Lilies” for Camp Lake Stephens
$ 120
$ 200
$ 520
$ 270
April Birthdays
Dillard Melton
Carlie Rogers
Steve Lewis
Mike Gressett
Bob Corban
04/12
04/16
04/19
04/26
04/29
April Anniversaries
Bertha & Glynn Neal
Sheryl Stump & Rick Torgerson
Billy & Laura Bassie
Beverly & Bob Card
Elaine & Larry Lambert
Brittany & Will Dean
04/09
04/13
04/18
04/18
04/20
04/27