Dear St. Luke’s Family,
I love World Communion Sunday! There’s something so cool and powerful about Christians world-wide participating in this sacred practice on the same day! This coming Sunday, we will celebrate this special day. And this year, the image of being in community with those near and far in spite of geography and boundaries has grabbed my imagination. How do we stay in fellowship with each other and with our siblings globally until the next World Communion? How do we Lead our lives in intentional ways to stay connected, and pay attention to what’s happening in the lives of others?
Our connectedness today is unlike any other time in history. Easy access to commerce, migration, international policies, social media, etc. has made the world seem much smaller. As cool as it is to think how connected we are, our actions at home and as a society are also having a huge ripple effect globally. If you want to see what that ripple effect looks like, join our 50 North Ministry and St. Luke’s Missions on Friday, October 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Youth Center for a viewing of the documentary “Landfill Harmonic” (click here to learn more and RSVP).
The climate crisis is a sad and scary example of local action affecting God’s creation everywhere. I was in Phoenix in July when the 110-degree heat was news for a month. It was 119 during the five days I was moving my oldest daughter there. Globally, hunger has risen to rates the world saw half a century ago, mainly because of the climate crisis and wars. More than 730 million people globally – including 9 million children in the U.S. – are facing hunger. Water quality in our own state needs our urgent attention. So, what can you and I do about these issues?
On Sunday, you will have great options to be a part of the solution! Between worship services, stop by the Building C Welcome Hall or the Torrance Family Pavilion (breezeway outside of the Sanctuary), where we will be highlighting ways in which you can:
- Protect Florida waters from pollution and threat of pollution so wildlife and humans can enjoy clean and healthy water.
- Come alongside the ZOE children we support in Rwanda and Zimbabwe in creative ways.
- Support farmworkers in Central Florida by sponsoring UV protective T-shirts and bandanas against the harmful sun and pesticides they are exposed to daily.
- Purchase various sprouts organically grown at our St. Luke’s Grow It Forward micro farm, and learn more about the farm network (these sprouts sell fast!).
We hope to see you in worship this week either on campus or online as we continue in our sermon series dysFUNCTIONAL Relationships, because it’s not St. Luke’s without U!
Hope and Peace,
Mariam Mengistie
St. Luke’s Executive Director of Missions