Dear Resurrection People,
What an amazing Holy Week we experienced as we walked through the Elemental days of our faith with Jesus. I saw so many of you back for each service and I’m grateful we worshiped together with growing impact toward Easter. A huge thank you to the hundreds of volunteers and staff who gave hours in the weeks preceding to make Holy Week so beautiful: painters, carpenters, creative teams for the scenic design, flowers, Prayer Labyrinth, musicians, singers, dancers, tech support, writers, greeters, ushers, even a family who anonymously kept us fed throughout Holy Week, along with our staff, who all gave their heart, time, and talent to bring us closer to Christ and our resurrection. Thank you all for being living testimony to your faith.
Resurrected people do that – they give, work, and share of their stories of Jesus to resurrect others, and to RENOVATE the community around them. This leads us to Eastertide when we celebrate the resurrected Jesus’ teaching and leading for the 50 days between Easter and his ascension. This Eastertide we are spending time in the letter of 1 Peter written to help an excited group of followers live in the assurance of salvation with a transparent witness of hope through their actions and good works in the world.
As we start to move through our own physical renovation in Building C, the letter of 1 Peter has much to teach us about resurrecting and renovating the world around us with our Easter hope. We kick off this worship series on Sunday with guest preacher Derrick Scott III (pictured below).
Derrick is the Executive Director of Campus to City Wesley Foundation in Jacksonville working with college students and young adults throughout the city. He works alongside Alice Williams as Co-Lay Leaders to our Annual Conference, and is a leader in helping create the ongoing United Methodist Church. Derrick and Alice led one of our 2021 Leadership Retreats and the excitement and faith witness they both offer is contagious!
We will continue our worship schedule of two 9:30 a.m. services (one in the Sanctuary and one in Founder’s Hall) and one blended 11:15 a.m. service in the Sanctuary. You won’t want to miss it, as it sets the tone of our 1 Peter study! Sunday evening kicks off our church-wide Bible study at 6:30 p.m. with Rev. Dr. Chris Holmes, our guest lecturer (click here to read his full bio). Register and join us online (click here) or listen to the “Your Week with St. Luke’s” podcast during the week to prepare you for Sunday worship.
Let’s live into our “brand new day” hearts and minds not just for ourselves, but to renovate the world around us with hope!
Jenn.