Warden’s Update – December 2020
Below is the next installment of the Wardens of St. Luke’s plan to provide periodic updates on many of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ happenings within our church community. This serves as a periodic update, which will appear in the Lifelines in place of Justin’s normal message.
Can the pandemic be over yet already?! With a rising number of COVID-19 cases in Olmsted County, our practice of meeting in person has once again been put on hold. However, several virtual options are available for getting together with your St. Luke’s family – including Zoom worship and coffee hour on Sunday mornings, Zoom compline on Wednesdays at 7 PM, and Zoom bible study at 10:30 AM on Wednesdays. Paul Ehling, our ministry intern, is doing a fantastic job of assisting Justin with providing these worship opportunities. It’s great to see Paul begin to spread his wings leading ministry!
The Vestry has been working hard over the past few months to finish strong in 2020 and set the stage for a positive and vibrant 2021. One significant item that was recently completed was the Rector Job Description document that had been overdue. This document will be on file at the office and can be available upon request. It will help provide the framework for the Vestry and Rector to coordinate and prioritize Rector’s duties to match the current needs of the church.
Many great things have been happening within our St. Luke’s family. Outreach efforts have included providing holiday meals at Thanksgiving, adopting a family for the Christmas season (thanks for coordinating, Sue Butler!), and continuing the Community Link network to fill needs as they are identified. There was a wonderfully difficult discussion this past week regarding systemic racism, facilitated by Shanna Altrichter, that included many individuals from both St. Luke’s and Calvary – as well as other community members. My son, Charlie, experienced the wonderful talents of our St. Luke’s family on his birthday last week as Nancy Brubaker called and sang ‘happy birthday’ and Amy Caucutt baked an amazing pie for him. It’s great to see so much happening with our congregation!
Lastly, we are starting to prepare for the Annual Meeting and nominating a new leadership group for St. Luke’s. One of the positions ‘up for grabs’ is the role of Clerk – someone to participate in Vestry meetings and record meeting minutes. Although this position does not have a vote, they certainly do have a voice within the discussions that take place during Vestry meetings. Our current Clerk (Shanna Altrichter) has served the maximum number of years possible and will need to be replaced in 2021. If anyone would like to take on this role for next year (it’s only a one-year commitment), please contact Justin via phone or e-mail so that he can explain more of the details for the position and get you signed up. Please consider this important role if you are interested in learning more about the workings of the Vestry and want to give back to your St. Luke’s family.
Many blessings to you all!
Kevin Graves, Senior Warden
Jane Reiman, Junior Warden
St. Luke's Episcopal Church 