A friend of mine in college had an interesting poster above his bed in the dorm. At the center of the poster was a small knight in armor. The knight had a sword raise in one hand and a shield in blocking position in the other. He faced a dragon that was at least 10 times his size. At first glance, it appeared that the dragon was rearing back to strike the knight. The fate of the knight seemed certain; there was no hope. However, if you looked closely, what appeared to be clouds and shadow, behind the knight was a warrior. In fact, very little of this warrior could be seen but a massive arm and hand clasping a two-edged sword. It is then that you realize that the dragon is more terrified of the warrior than the knight is of the dragon. From the knight’s perspective, he is standing his ground for the final battle. In reality, the dragon is facing certain doom at the hands of the mighty warrior. If you look closely, you will see the final piece that puts the story together. There on the warrior’s hand is a nail scar. The warrior is Jesus the Messiah who is ready to save.
We rarely have the privilege to see the actions of God in our life. Life almost always feels like we are all alone, facing off a 100-foot dragon determined to kill and consume us. We feel tiny and powerless. We feel tiny and powerless because we forget the mighty God that has promised to always be our side, the mighty God that will defeat our most terrible enemies. The key to greater confidence, abiding peace, and deeper joy is our God who, as Isaiah put it, is mighty to save. (Isaiah 63:1). Join us this Sunday morning as we explore the powerful attributes of our redeemer, Jesus the Messiah.
Praying
In the inevitable hustle and bustle of these Christmas days may we not lose sight of two things. Most importantly that this is Advent. And as our Advent Devotional teaches us, ‘ a time of repenting while hearing the good news, “Christ has died for you! Your sin is covered!” ‘ So is the time of preparation, celebrating the birth of our Savior on Christmas Day. Our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Almighty God Everlasting Father our Prince of Peace.Secondly, let us not set aside our prayers for those involved in the Call process and for the Call Committee. It has been a long time seeking the man our Father has to shepherd us, so we might be tempted to let weariness overtake us but may we not give in and become lax. Our God never sleeps nor slumbers may we remain alert in fervent prayer; that those in leadership begin the process again with divine wisdom and that those on the committee will not tire of their task but eagerly commit to seeking, in the power of the Holy Spirit, our Lord’s will for St. Luke.
And let us revitalize our prayers for our church staff who have taken on extra loads in the absence of a permanent Pastor as well as the Elders and SLC members. May we remember them as we come before our Father that He renew their strength, their energy and sustain them in His peace. Jesus, our strength and our song, may Your presence inhabit the hearts of all we pray for so that each day they are energized in You. In Your name we pray. Amen
Christmas Day Lunch
You are invited to join us for Christmas Day Lunch. Our faith family gathering will include people who are not able to gather with family this year and people who may not have family with which to gather. Christmas is a wonderful day in which we remember the most precious gift God has given to us, Christ our Savior. We know that celebrations are best when shared in community. Lunch will start at noon. If you would like to join us for our Christmas Lunch, please sign-up using the form found here: sign-up or call the church office. We need to determine the amount of food to prepare. While not necessary, if you would like to contribute an item to the meal, let us know through the form sign-up form.
Poinsettia sponsorships:
• Alan & Ruth Menge – Thanks to God
• Dale & Sue Regner – In memory of Sue’s mother, Laura Hellmuth
• Dale & Sue Regner – In honor of all the sheepfold teachers & youth leaders
• Dora Reader – In memory of her sister, Cynthia Gage
• Lois Vogt – In memory of her sister, Marion
• Todd & Susan Jones – In memory of Todd’s mother, Wanda Jones
• Todd & Susan Jones – In memory of Susan’s mother, Joyce Suhr
• Yolanda Sawaya – In memory of her mother, Anna Osterwisch
One Year Bible Challenge
2024 is the year for you to join me in reading through the Bible. Reading through the Bible seems like an impossible challenge, yet only takes an average of 20 minutes a day. St. Luke wants to partner with you to make this amazing New Year’s challenge a reality. We have prepared a webpage on our website with special tools that take the work out of a daily Bible reading program. When you go to www.stlukeaa.org/bible you will have access to an amazing collection of resources. You will find:
A tutorial walking you through Bible reading community page that will be activated January 1.
A link to the YouVersion Bible app for your phone. The YouVersion app is free. It will allow you to access the reading list without needing a computer.
A link to sign-up for the Bible reading plan from YouVersion. To keep in synch with all of us, you will not want to sign-up until January 1.
A link to download the daily reading plan that you can slip in your Bible.
When the Bible Reading Community page goes live, it will contain the readings assigned for each day, as well as a button to listen to the assigned readings. Most importantly, the page provides an anonymous form to submit questions for discussion during the Sunday morning Discipleship hour. God’s Word is powerful and effective. Please join us on January 1 as we start our one-year journey through the Bible.
Life Light Bible Study
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth O that we were there!Imagine if you could place yourself at the very beginning. It's not humanly possible of course. But, we hope you'll consider starting this New Year with a journey through the beginning of Holy Scripture i.e. the Book of Genesis.
Starting Monday February 5, 2024 St. Luke will offer an in depth and intentional study of the Word of God through a program called Life Light. For those who desire a deeper study of the Scriptures, Life Light will offer a broader time frame than is available in the typical Sunday morning adult Bible class. The LifeLight program assumes a level of commitment that will bring participants to each of the nine weekly assemblies having read the assigned readings and attempted to
answer the daily study questions. These daily readings and study will require from 15 to 30 minutes for the five days preceding the LifeLight small group gathering. The day following the gathering will be spent reviewing the previous week’s study by going over the completed study questions and the enrichment magazine.
This new group will be meeting on Monday evenings, from 7-8:30PM from Feb. 5th through June 10th at St. Luke. This winter and spring we will be covering the book of Genesis. Register here.
Rotating Homeless Shelter Program Update
St. Luke will once again be hosting the rotating homeless shelter program ran by the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County. Our weeks begin December 25, 2023 and January 15, 2024.We will need volunteers for the following areas:
Meals for the men each night
Overnight hosts - Sign up here to be an overnight host
Towel laundry
Allen and Sharon Morgan have coordinated/managed St. Luke’s participation with the rotating homeless shelter for many years and are looking for a person, couple, or group who would be willing to shadow them this year and then take the reins for the 2024/2025 season.
See here for more information. Please contact Allen with any questions or to volunteer for meals, towel laundry, or if you are interested in coordinating the rotating homeless shelter next season.
LWML Epiphany Brunch
The 2024 LWML Epiphany Brunch will take place on Saturday, January 13 at St. Luke, Ann Arbor..Many of you attended our last Epiphany Brunch and we look forward to welcoming you back for food, fellowship, and a presentation that you will not soon forget. Our special guest musician and speaker is Wendysue Fluegge, who will present “Reflections of Mary,” featuring the music and monologues of Christmas. You can look forward to an inspiring experience during a less stressful time of year…Epiphany!
Please use the attached flyer to make your reservation by using the QR code or contact Debby Stinehelfer to make a reservation via email. You are very welcome to invite a friend to attend this event. Just make sure to reserve his/her place once they accept your invitation.
2023 Giving Statements
In past years, it has been possible for our donors to go into Connect and print out their giving statements. This is not possible with Church Center and our current giving platform. We are currently looking at other giving platforms to change this.
This year the giving statements will be printed by St. Luke and available to t be picked by January 14, 2024. The statements not picked up at the church will be mailed at the end of January.
You may receive an email concerning your giving account being joined with your spouse’s, if applicable. The following will be included in the email:
Please ignore this. Due to our giving platform, you will not be able to access your donor profile. However, we are unable to remove this from the automatic email. We are sorry for the confusion.
Please contact Susan Jones (email or call 734.971.0550) if you have any questions or need your giving statement earlier than January 14th.
Seeking Communication’s Team Members
Do you love to write, take pictures, or produce graphic art? If you do, we value your participation in the communications team that we are forming in January. Depending on the number of people and the skill set, the team will help with the production of enews articles, social media posts, and website content. Don’t let technology intimidate you. Most of what the team will do is take pictures and write stories. No special equipment is needed. If you are interested send an email to pastor Jones at .
TIME FOR OUR “US”
Future St. Luke Married People events coming soon. . .
Mark your 2024 calendar now!
Pick up your “DATE NIGHT KIT”
Saturday, January 13th from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Sunday, January 14th & Sunday, January 21st from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm.
MARRIED PEOPLE SPRING EVENT!
An evening of food and fun with other married people.
Saturday, March 9th, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Comedy Night SAVE THE DATE: Looking for a girl's night out? Date night? Or just need a night of laughter? We've got you covered! Saturday, January 27 at 7:30pm St. Luke will be hosting comedian Andy Beningo! Check out one of his bits here. Tickets are $10.Click here to Purchase Tickets.
Peace Light
The Peace Light will arrive in United States, JFK International Airport, Jamaica Queens, NY on Friday, December 3th, 2023. Ceremony to distribute peace flame will commence soon after arrival and greeting of Peace light couriers, via Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna, Austria. Scouts and Scouters associated with the Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts will be transferring the light across the United States and sharing it in their communities after its arrival in the U.S.The Peace Light from Bethlehem campaign was originally organized in 1986 by the Austrian Broadcasting Company - ORF (Linz) - and was part of a large charitable relief mission -Light into Darkness, for children in need in Austria and abroad. Since 1989, there has been a great deal of co-operation between Scouts and Guides in many countries, which has allowed the light to travel throughout Europe.
Each year, a child from Upper Austria fetches the light from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The light is then flown to Austria from where it is distributed at a Service of Dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of Peace, to their own countries for use at ecumenical services throughout the Continent. Scouts and Guides can then take the light on to houses of worship, hospitals, homeless shelters, old people homes, prisons, and places of public, cultural and political importance - to anybody who appreciates the significance of the "gift".
BSA Troop 446 from Saline Michigan will be hosting and distributing the Peace Light throughout the Saline and Ann Arbor Area. St Luke Lutheran Church at 4205 Washtenaw Ave. will host the light and have it available on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings from December 10th through the 25th. If you would like to make other arrangements, please reach out to @Troop 446 Saline on Facebook.
Office Hours
The office doors will be monitored by the staff from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday. If you wish to enter the building during that window, ring the doorbell to the left of the door and wait for a response. Alternatively, you can call the office and make an appointment with someone on staff.You can connect with Pastor Todd either by email or cell phone 734-213-4256.
Livestream Worship
There are two different methods for watching our worship livestream. Services are simultaneously streaming on Facebook and YouTube
Sunday Morning Worship Times
8:30 a.m. Living Heritage Service
9:45 a.m. Bible Study / Sunday School Hour
11:00 a.m. Living Praise ServiceChurch Office
Monday-Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Praying
Christmas Day Lunch
One Year Bible Challenge
Pick up your
Comedy Night
Peace Light
