This Week at St. Luke’s

THIS WEEK AT ST. LUKE’S
In-person and Live-streaming/zoom gatherings from St. Luke’s. 

On Saturday, May 22, 2021 we resumed in-person worship. We will continue to stream in-person services at St. Luke’s, as well as the Daily Office, as scheduled. Please join us on our Facebook page for streamed services.  **(Note: if you are NOT a Facebook member, when you click on the link it will ask you to sign in or create an account, which you can ignore and just scroll down the page a bit till you see the service.)

Click here for a copy of the Book of Common Prayer!

Click here for a copy of Enriching Our Worship 1. This contains supplemental liturgical materials (i.e. Canticles) we occasionally use for Morning and Evening Prayer.

Daily Office: Morning and Evening Prayer – Morning Prayer at 9 AM; Evening Prayer at 5PM are live-streamed on Sunday; Tuesday through Saturday morning. 

SATURDAY, MAY 27 – BERTHA AND ETHELBERT

• 9AM – Morning Prayer  (Morning Prayer will not be live-streamed today due to Holy Hikes)
• 10AM – Holy Hikes at Frances Slocum State Park  

Click here for the Holy Hike Service Leaflet

SATURDAY, MAY 27 – THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST

Vigil of Pentecost Lectionary Readings

• 5PM – Holy Eucharist II (Vigil)

Click here for the 5PM service leaflet

Pentecost Day Lectionary Readings

SUNDAY, MAY 28 – PENTECOST DAY

See above for lectionary readings

• 9AM – Morning Prayer, Rite I  (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

• 10AM – Sung Holy Eucharist II with Baptism (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

Click here for the 10AM service leaflet

• 11:45 Episcopal 101 Class (Preparation for Confirmation/Reception)  Class is also available via Zoom. To access the class on Zoom, click here.
• 2PM – Holy Eucharist Rite II at Elan Gardens, Scranton (Jewish Home)

• 5PM – Evening Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

MONDAY, MAY 29 –  THE FIRST BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (No scheduled services this day). 

TUESDAY, MAY 30 – JOAN OF ARC

• 9AM – Morning Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)
• 5PM – Evening Prayer – (streamed on our parish Facebook page)
• 6:30 – Cypress House Board Meeting

WEDNESDAY, MAY 31 – VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Major Feast Day)

• 9AM – Morning Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

• 12:10 PM – Midweek Healing Eucharist  
• 1PM – Wednesday Lunchtime Bible Study  Our ongoing Bible study group meets each Wednesday at approx. 1pm BOTH IN KREITLER HALL AT ST. LUKE’S AND ON ZOOM. All are welcome to join in. To access the class on Zoom, click here.   
• 5PM – Evening Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

THURSDAY, JUNE 1 – JUSTIN MARTYR

• 9AM – Morning Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)
• 5PM – Evening Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)
• 5:30PM – Centering Prayer–  Our ongoing group meets each Thursday at 5:30 BOTH IN   THE CHAPEL AT ST. LUKE’S AND ON ZOOM. All are welcome to join in. To access     the “zoom chapel” click here.  Click here for a brochure on The Method of Centering Prayer.  

FRIDAY, JUNE 2 – BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS

• 9AM – Morning Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)
• 5PM – Evening Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

SATURDAY, JUNE 3 – THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA

• 9AM – Morning Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)
• 10AM – Pride Flag Raising at City Hall

SATURDAY, JUNE 3 – THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: TRINITY SUNDAY

Lectionary readings for The First Sunday after Penecost: Trinity Sunday

• 5PM – Holy Eucharist Rite II (Vigil)

Click here for the 5PM service leaflet  (Will be available by midweek)

SUNDAY, JUNE 4 – THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: TRINITY SUNDAY 

See above for lectionary readings

• 9AM – Morning Prayer, Rite I  (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

• 10AM – Sung Holy Eucharist II with Episcopal Visitation and Confirmation followed by parish brunch  (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

Click here for the 10AM service leaflet

• 5PM – Evening Prayer (streamed on our parish Facebook page)

Key Announcements 

►Our latest edition of the St. Luke’s Newsletter is hot off the press. Click here to see the MAY 2023 edition.

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St. Luke’s Church Geranium Fundraiser

May 28th is Pentecost Sunday, and the color is RED! To help St. Luke’s celebrate the season, we invite you to purchase red geraniums to place on the altar for Pentecost and to take with you after the 10:00 a.m. service on the 28th for use in your own gardens, or to donate to the church for use in the Warren Memorial Garden. This is a FUNDRAISER and all proceeds will benefit St. Luke’s Church. To order your geraniums, please complete the form below and place it in the envelope provided with your check or cash (made payable to St. Luke’s Church). Please place the envelope in the offering plate during the services May 13/14.  COST: $7.00 each, 2 for $12.00 or 3 for $17.00. DEADLINE FOR ORDERS: SUNDAY, MAY 14th. PLEASE USE THE ORDER FORM AND ENVELOPE PROVIDED OR CONTACT ROBIN O’HEARN AT 570-963-5407.  THE ORDER FORM MAY ALSO BE PRINTED OUT FROM OUR WEBSITE. 

It’s All About Love:  A Festival for the Jesus Movement

Across the church and around the world, we are hungry for revival and renewal. Join us for “It’s All About Love,” a church wide festival of worship, learning, community, and action for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, to be held Sunday, July 9 through Wednesday, July 12, at the Baltimore Convention Center. Register by May 8 for Early Bird rate of $185. “It’s All About Love” features three Jesus Movement festival “tents” – Evangelism, Creation Care, and Racial Reconciliation. Each tent will offer an evening revival worship service and major plenary speaker, plus dozens of daytime workshops, panels, practice opportunities and other ways to engage. Stick with one tent or explore across the tents, following the themes of: worship and liturgy, formation, justice and advocacy, leadership, preaching, stewardship, and youth and children. Featured speakers, preachers, and artists to include Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris, Brian McClaren, Rev. Mariama White-Hammon, Dr. Kwok Pui-lan, Sarah Augustine, Lilly Lewin, Live Hymnal & Friends, and more! To learn more, visit https://www.episcopalchurch.org/its-all-about-love/

Christian Education and Formation

►Children 

Sunday School: St. Luke’s uses the GODLY PLAY, a Montessori-based curriculum with our younger children, ages five to ten years old. Sunday School is held at 9:30 AM every Sunday, except the first Sunday of the month. Please note Sunday School will resume in the fall.

Family Eucharist is held on the first Sunday of the month. The children and youth play a direct role in the worship service by serving as ushers, acolytes and lectors. 

►Youth

CONFIRMATION CLASS SERVICE PROJECT:  Please help the Confirmation class with their service project! They will be collecting soda tabs from any cans for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House takes the tabs to be recycled in exchange for funds for supplies needed for families staying at the house. The Confirmation class will be collecting tabs in the bucket located in the back of the church until June 4th. Thank you in advance for helping.

Episcopal Youth Event – EYE (pronounced E-Y-E) is a gathering of youth ages 15-19 from around the world who assemble on a college campus to learn, laugh, and worship together. 2023’s theme is: Regreso A Casa: A New Age of Faith. This bilingual theme emphasizes a kind of “homecoming”. EYE for 2023 will take place from July 3 – 8 at the University of Maryland.  EYE is the second largest event the Episcopal Church does, and since this event is held only once every three years, for many #EYE23 will be their only chance to attend.  With close to 1,500 people in attendance (including youth, their adult mentors, clergy, and bishops from around the church), EYE programs focus on helping develop leadership skills, spiritual practices, and early stages of vocational discernment. Time is spent in worship, large group presentations, small group discussions, workshops on a variety of topics (Participants select the workshops they wish to attend.), and time to hang-out and meet Episcopalians from around the world. Registration is now closed. Please pray for our youth who will be attending.

►Adult

Episcopal 101 – An Adult Formation & Inquirers Class: In preparation for Bishop Kevin’s visit on June 4^th, Mother Barnes will be offering an abbreviated 7 week Episcopal 101 class beginning on Sunday, April 16. The class is held following the 10AM Sunday Eucharist (approx. 11:45) in-person at St. Luke’s. (Zoom options will be considered for those who need this option.) This class is an opportunity to explore and learn more about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican tradition. Sessions are open to everyone, no matter where you may be in your journey of faith, but are being offered especially for those who wish to be confirmed or received on June 4, 2023. The text used for this class will be Walk in Love: Episcopal Beliefs & Practices by Scott Gunn and Melody Wilson Shobe. Unable to attend in person? Join us via Zoom by clicking here.

The Courage to Grow Old – On June 24, 2024 from 9:30AM – 2PM, a retreat day will be offered at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Montrose, PA by The Reverend Barbara Cawthorne Crafton. Mother Crafton is the author of more than two dozen books, is an Episcopal priest and spiritual director. She will be presenting the retreat based on her book, The Courage to Grow Old. A free-will offering will be taken. St. Paul’s will be having a potluck lunch. Please contact Mother Liz for more information at erdaliz@hotmail.com

Wednesday Bible & Book Study – Each week, following the 12:10 Healing Eucharist the Wednesday Bible/Book Study group meets at 1:15 PM. For the summer season, we will be reading Come Here, Jesus by The Rev’d Barbara Crafton and exploring how we experience him in each other through our ways of telling who he is and more importantly, in our ways of showing who he is. This is a great read for those who want to deepen their relationship with Jesus.

►Centering Prayer Group:  Each Thursday evening at 5:30PM an ongoing weekly Centering Prayer group meets. Centering Prayer is a contemplative form of prayer geared toward the cultivation of interior silence or “centering.”  This form of prayer invites one to enter into a deeper relationship with God by being open and receptive to the presence and action of God in our lives. No prior experience is necessary. For more information, contact Mother Barnes at mthrbarnes@gmail.com or call the parish office.

►Intergenerational

Holy Hikes Northeast Pennsylvania:  On Saturday, May 27, 2023, at 10AM members of St. Luke’s Holy Hikes chapter will gather for their monthly hike and Eucharist. (Please not the date change due to Gather 23!) The location of the May hike will be on the Frances Slocum Trail in Frances Slocum State Park (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/pennsylvania/francis-slocum-lake-shore-trail?u=i&sh=m0w0ut)  has been rescheduled to May.  

On Saturday, June 17, 2023, at 10AM members of St. Luke’s Holy Hikes chapter will gather for their monthly hike and Eucharist. The location of the June hike will be at the Campbell’s Ledge and Reservoir Loop. This trail is a 3.6-mile loop trail near Duryea, Pennsylvania, and is generally considered a moderately challenging route. Holy Hikes Northeast Pennsylvania is a chapter of a nationwide Episcopal organization and an official ministry of St. Luke’s, Scranton. The contemplative hike is structured to celebrate Eucharist as we walk and find ways of being in prayer, reflection, and communion with God’s Creation.  See you on the trail!

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►Little Free Library: With the warm weather comes an increase in foot traffic in St. Luke’s Memorial Garden and in the number of visitors to our own Little Free Library there. We are currently in need of books for both children and adults. Perhaps you have an extra on your bookshelf to donate or you might consider purchasing and donating some books from a summer yard sale or thrift store.

►Warren Memorial Garden Committee Members of the Garden Committee will be gathering in the Warren Memorial Garden on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 10:00AM. Please plan on lending a hand as they continue their work to maintain the beauty of our garden.

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Community Outreach and Social Justice

►Food Pantry – Volunteers Needed
St. Luke’s will hold its client’s choice style food pantry on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 from 1:00 – 3:00PM. Volunteers are needed to register guests, to assist guests as they shop, and to break down tables when the pantry closes at 3:00PM. For more information on how to volunteer or if you or someone you know is in need, please email Sharon Sollami at sharonsollami@gmail.com or Amanda Wrazien at manders018@gmail.com

►Food Pantry Donations:  Throughout the month of June, St. Luke’s will be collecting powdered drink mixes, e.g. ice tea, lemonade, and sugar-free options i.e. Crystal Light to be distributed at the monthly satellite pantry to be held on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Your donations can be placed in the box in the back (the Nave. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

►Episcopal Migration Ministries: The Rainbow Initiative

The Rainbow Initiative is Episcopal Migration Ministries’ response to General Convention 2022 Resolution D045 “On Supporting LGBTIQ+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers”, which directed the Episcopal Church to promote support for people who have fled their countries because of persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and/or sex characteristics. The Resolution also directs Episcopal Migration Ministries to focus attention on people subject to such persecution, and to offer information on how they could be better supported.

RAINBOW INITIATIVE GOALS

• Work with Episcopal congregations to bring visibility and aid to LGBTQ+ forced migrants, with a focus on activities in June 2023 including Pride marches and services, and World Refugee Day (June 20th). Through this work, we hope to foster new partnerships involving Episcopal congregations, forced migrants, voluntary resettlement agencies such as EMM, community groups, etc. 
• Review and revise EMM materials and procedures in order to ensure that they are fully inclusive of LGBTQ+ forced migrants. 

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

• Rainbow Initiative brochure/flyer: PDF | Print-ready PDF with crop marks & bleed
• La Iniciativa Arco Iris folleto en español: PDF | PDF que está lista para imprimir con marcas de corte
• EMM Webinar: The Rainbow Initiative: An introduction to LGBTQ+ forced migrants​ & what The Episcopal Church can do with and for them​. Webinar resources: On demand video | PPT Slides (English) | PPT Slides en español
• McGuirk, Siobhan, Max Niedzwiecki, Temitope Oke & Anastasia Volkova. (2015). Stronger Together, a Guide to Supporting LGBT Asylum Seekers. LGBT Freedom and Asylum Network.
  This 2015 guide provides comprehensive information about how communities can best serve LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in the United States. It includes sections focused on an introduction to the field, program essentials, types of services, working with clients throughout the asylum process, ethical considerations, institutional models, and fundraising, as well as a directory of helpful organizations.
• Niedzwiecki, Max. (2023). We Shall Overcome: A Case Study of the LGBT Asylum Task Force, a Parish Ministry. In Goździak, E.M., Main, I. (eds), Debating Religion and Forced Migration Entanglements. Politics of Citizenship and Migration. Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
  This chapter outlines the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ forced migrants, with a special focus on the role of religion in motivating persecution as well as assistance and resilience. It also provides a case study of the LGBT Asylum Task Force in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Task Force is a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church, UCC, and is the only program in the U.S. dedicated to providing wrap-around services, including housing, to LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. 

Upcoming Concerts at St. Luke’s

(There are no upcoming concerts, as yet. Stay tuned for more information on our 2023/2024 season.)

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Past events and services

The Rt. Rev. Frank Tracy Griswold III, who served as the 25th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church from 1998-2006, died Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of 85.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry offered the following statement:

“Please join me in prayer for Bishop Griswold’s family and for all of us who give thanks for a remarkable and faithful servant of God who served among us as the 25th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. May the soul of Bishop Griswold, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercies of God, rest in peace and rise in glory.”

Bishop Griswold’s family provided the following obituary:

The Rt. Rev. Frank Tracy Griswold III died Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A renowned preacher known for his warmth and wit, Griswold served as the 25th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, leading the Protestant denomination from 1998 to 2006. Griswold also co-chaired the Roman Catholic-Anglican Commission from 1998 to 2003 and made significant contributions to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and to its practical use in the liturgical life of the church. Griswold’s private spiritual practice was deeply informed by the early mothers and fathers of the church, and he championed Eastern traditions of the open-hearted and healing power of God’s love. 

Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1937, Griswold earned a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard College and a Master of Arts from Oriel College at the University of Oxford. He was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1963. He married his beloved wife, Phoebe Wetzel, in 1965, and they raised two daughters in Philadelphia and Chicago, where Griswold was elected as Episcopal bishop in 1987. Griswold practiced a wide ministry of teaching, writing, lecturing, and leading retreats, nationally and internationally. After completing his term as presiding bishop, he served as a visiting professor at seminaries and universities in South Korea, Cuba, and Japan, as well as at the Episcopal Divinity School, the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Virginia Theological Seminary and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. He also served as bishop visitor to the Society of St. John the Evangelist. His books include “Going Home” (Cowley Publications Cloister Book), “Praying our Days: A guide and companion” (Church Publishing Group),“Tracking Down the Holy Ghost: reflections on love and longing” (Church Publishing Group), and, co-authored with the Rev. Mark McIntosh, “Seeds and Faith” and “Harvest of Hope” (Eerdmans).

He is survived by his widow, Phoebe, his two daughters, Hannah and Eliza, and three grandchildren.

► “Straight Talk About Parish Finances”- March 7, 2023, online at 6:30 p.m

On March 7, 2023, online at 6:30 p.m., “Straight Talk About Parish Finances” is an opportunity to hear from finance and audit professionals from across the diocese and get answers to questions you have about managing parish finances. More information can be found here: (https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ejm33qn1af8e43d0&oseq=&c=&ch=)

This session is intended to be a pilot test that we hope will lead to future sessions both online and in-person. Registration will be limited to 30 participants with preference given to members of Convocations I, II, and III (to see a Convocation listing by parish: click here). We hope to learn from this session and create additional future sessions members from every Convocation.

The St. Luke’s Finance Committee will be attending as part of their monthly meeting. All Vestry members are strongly encouraged to register, as well.

►The Greater Scranton MLK Commission will host its annual dinner to celebrate the life, legacy, and work of Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday January 15, 2023 from 1:30-4:00PM at The University of Scranton’s DeNaples Center at 900 Mulberry St.

This year’s theme is When Good People Remain Silent:
Anti-Semitism, Othering, Belonging. The Commission is
focusing on the increasing threat of anti-Semitism, the
effects of othering, and the importance of belonging for our Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and LGTBQ communities. The dinner will be followed by a virtual livestream from Keynote speaker, Sr. Mary C. Boys EdD, DHL, Dr. Theol, Dlitt. Sr. Boys is a professor of Practical Theology and author of six books. The virtual stream will be followed by an in-person round table discussion.

Panelists include The Rev’d Rebecca A. Barnes, Rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church;  Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Spiritual Leader, Temple Hesed; Rev. Mark Alexander, Bethel A.M.E. Church; and Pastor Eric Wohner, Member Care and Discipleship Pastor, Steamtown Church.

Click here to listen to the lecture and panel discussion.

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►ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH

St. Luke’s Annual Parish Meeting was held on Sunday, January 29, 2023 immediately after the 10:00AM Eucharist and was followed by a Parish Pot-Luck Luncheon in Kreitler Hall following. The meeting was a hybrid offering as permitted by the Canons of the Diocese of Bethlehem.

At the Annual meeting, Vestry, parish officers, and organizations/committee reports presented, and plans for ministry, mission, and spiritual growth in the year to come. The approved 2023 annual budget was also presented. There was an important parish vote to reduce the size of the Vestry from nine to seven Vestry members and the resolution was approved.  Two Vestry members were elected: Sharon Sollami (second term), and our Treasurer, Thomas Zurla (first term). The candidates for Lay Delegates to Diocesan Convention will be: Sharon Sollami, David Wegner; Alternate Lay Delegates are: Mickey Baccoli and Amanda Wrazien. 

Click here for a final edited copy of the 2022 Annual Report

Click here for the 2023 Annual Meeting Agenda

Click here for the 2023 Annual Meeting Ballot

Vestry Officer Election: At the Vestry meeting on February 8, 2023 elections were held for Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Treasurer and Clerk. The Diocesan Bylaws for all parishes stipulate that the Senior Warden shall be elected annually by the Vestry, upon nomination by the Rector or Priest-in-Charge, from among the members of the Vestry; the Junior Warden shall either be elected annually from among their number by the Vestry or shall be appointed by the Rector; and the Clerk and Treasurer shall be elected annual by the Vestry. Our Senior Warden, Mickey Baccoli and Junior Warden, Rick Ammenhauser have both been re-elected, as has our Clerk, Kathy Selemba. Tom Zurla is elected as Treasurer. Please offer your congratulations and thanks to our Vestry officers, and to Tom, newly elected vestry member. We are grateful for their willingness to stand for election and their service to St. Luke’s.

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►Obituary and Funeral Service 
The Reverend Lester E. Stephenson, Jr., died on Tuesday morning in the Hospice of the Sacred Heart Inpatient Unit, Dunmore. His wife of 41 years is Ruth Ann Meeson. Pastor Stephenson served St. John’s Lutheran Church in Jim Thorpe from 1974 to 1979, Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church in West Scranton from 1979 until 2005. In 2005, Pastor Stephenson was called to serve St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Scranton.  St. Matthew’s was a consolidation of the St. John’s Lutheran Church, Center City of Scranton and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of  the West Side of Scranton.   Pastor Stephenson served there for 11 years retiring on December 31 2015. Upon retirement he and his wife attended St. Luke’s. Funeral services were held January 14, 2023 at St. Luke’s at 11:00 AM officiated and celebrated by Mother Barnes.

Click here for the service leaflet. Click here to view the streamed service is available on our FB page

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