Dear St. Lukers,
Mayor Demings shared at the beginning of the week that we should, by this weekend, have 50% of our residents age 16 and over vaccinated, which is reason to celebrate. And we want to share more news of celebration. Thank you to those who have been worshiping in person every other week to make space for all our church family. We have reconfigured our worship venues to increase capacity while maintaining social distance between family groups. We have also followed the lead of our major theme parks and will no longer have temperature checks as you come in, so if you feel comfortable, please register to join us for worship on campus this Sunday by clicking here.
If your group would like to begin meeting on campus again, you can simply let us know and we will work out a room that is suitable to your needs, even if you would like to continue to have a hybrid of in-person and virtual gatherings. We can help you reserve a room, work with the precautions we have in place, as well as technology needs you may have. If you have any questions, contact Liz Vasquez, Director of Adult Discipleship and Evangelism, or Caryn Royer, Director of Adult Engagement.
It is hard to believe it’s already the halfway point of the crazy busy month of May. Mother’s Day was beautiful with 7 baptisms to celebrate. Students are finishing testing, and soon it will be the end of the school year, then Memorial Day weekend and with that, the beginning of SUMMER!
Thinking ahead to summer, we have been planning some great church family events for June, July, and August. Alongside our usual summer offerings of VBS, Summer Camps, Warren Willis Camp week, and mission trips for youth and children’s ministries, we have concerts, movie nights, plus summer kick-off and end-of-summer events. June is already packed with community moments as we commemorate the 5th anniversary of Pulse (don’t forget to help us with our OUTLOVE HATE Campaign in partnership with onePULSE Foundation), Juneteenth, and on June 12 you are invited to watch the Service of Licensing and Commissioning of Annual Conference as Pastor Jeremy receives his local Pastor’s License, the first step in his ordination journey. We will share more information at Pentecost, but just wanted you to know it’s going to be a great chance to begin to come back to campus, reconnect, and even find some new ways of being together as St. Lukers.
But back to May! This Sunday, we celebrate the milestone of graduations and commencements for seniors of high school, college, and degree programs. It will be a special Sunday as we are inspired not only by the diligent work of people in our community, celebrating together as we navigate life with them during this special time, but also remind ourselves what it means to be “sidekicks” who carry the hero’s story out into the world. Pastor Jad will be preaching, and we will be honoring our graduates who have shared their future plans with us already (I’m going to be watching my middle one, Carri, graduate from college in Macon so I’ll be with everyone in spirit!). Then on Tuesday night, high school graduates will celebrate at a special event. For more information contact Brandon Sangster, Director of Youth Ministries.
Can’t wait to see you Sunday as we worship, engage God’s Story, and navigate life together!
Jenn.