The Memorial Church of St. Luke, the Beloved Physician 1946 Welsh Road Philadelphia, PA 19115 215.969.3645 (office) [email protected]www.stlukesbustleton.webs.com SERVICES Sundays: 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist with music Followed immediately by refreshments and fellowship in the parish hall. Wednesdays : 7:30 p.m. Healing Eucharist ACTIVITIES Adult Forum- book discussion: Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church Mondays-7:00p.m. Contemplative PrayerWednesdays – 6:45 p.m. in the church office Inside this issue: Birthdays.............. ................. 4 Calendar................................9 Gift Giver............. .............. ....6 Knitting ........................... ......8 Mitten tree............................. 5 News...................................3,4 Photo Gallery............. ............7 Prayer Requests...................... 4 Rector’s Message................ 1,2 Reminders.............................3 Save This Date............. .........5 Thanks...................................8 Those Who Serve..................3 Welcome Visitors.............. .... 2 The Winged Ox The Winged Ox is the Ancient Symbol ofSt. Luke, the Beloved Physician A Newsletter for the People of The Memorial Church of St. Luke, the Beloved Physician December 2010 Issue 122WaitingM ost of us hate waiting. I certainly do. One of the most difficult adjustments that I have had to make since moving to Philadelphia is the amount of time that I spend waiting. I find myself sitting in traffic, waiting for it to begin moving. I find I am often waiting in the check-out line at the food market or any number of other stores that I visit because there are so many customers. When I go to the doctor o r the dentist, I begin my waiting in the appropriately named “waiting room” from which, after what seems an inordinately long period of time I am moved to another room where I begin another period of waiting. And when the doctor gets to me, he often sends me to have some procedure performed—lab work, an x-ray, etc. where I begin another period ofwaiting. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? So much of our life is spent in waiting. You would think we would get better at it; more practiced as it were. Perhaps some among us do. However, I seem to grow more impatient with each occasion of waiting. And then, as if we don’t spend enough time waiting, the new Church year begins with Advent, which is primarily a season of waiting. In fact, the symbolic significance of the season of Advent is two-fold. First, we wait with our Jewish ancestors for God to intervene in history by establishing the reign of the Messiah, the anointed one, whose rule is to establish a period of liberation and peace as the enemies of God are overthrown. And second, we wait as members of the Church forChrist’s return in great glory so that the Kingdom of God may be established. It seems almost cruel for an entire season of the Church calendar to be devoted to waiting, doesn’t it? But that’s the way it is; the season of Advent comes around and we wait for God to act. Still despite my disdain for waiting, I lo ve the season of Advent. I think I like this season so much because the waiting that characterizes Advent is an active waiting rather than a passive waiting. It is an active waiting because while we are waiting on God, God is also waiting on us. We are waiting on God to send the Messiah so that God’s rule may be established, and God is waiting on us; waiting for the most appropriate time to enter the world to establish God’s rule.Thus according to one tradition God had to wait for one with Mary’s faith to appear before the incarnation could take place. But finally, that faith appears and says to Go d “Be it unto me according to your word.” (Continued on Page 2)
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Mitten tree.............................5News...................................3,4Photo Gallery.........................7Prayer Requests......................4Rector’s Message................1,2Reminders.............................3Save This Date......................5Thanks...................................8Those Who Serve..................3Welcome Visitors.................. 2
The Winged OxThe Winged Ox is the Ancient Symbol of St. Luke, the Beloved Physician
A Newsletter for the People of The Memorial
Church of St. Luke, the Beloved Physician December 2010 Issue 122
Waiting
Most of us hate waiting. I certainly do. One of the mostdifficult adjustments that I have had to make since movingto Philadelphia is the amount of time that I spend waiting. I
find myself sitting in traffic, waiting for it to begin moving. I find Iam often waiting in the check-out line at the food market or anynumber of other stores that I visit because there are so manycustomers. When I go to the doctor or the dentist, I begin mywaiting in the appropriately named “waiting room” from which,
after what seems an inordinately long period of time I am moved toanother room where I begin another period of waiting. And whenthe doctor gets to me, he often sends me to have some procedure performed—lab work, an x-ray, etc. where I begin another period of waiting. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? So much of our life is spent inwaiting. You would think we would get better at it; more practicedas it were. Perhaps some among us do. However, I seem to growmore impatient with each occasion of waiting. And then, as if wedon’t spend enough time waiting, the new Church year begins withAdvent, which is primarily a season of waiting. In fact, the symbolicsignificance of the season of Advent is two-fold. First, we wait withour Jewish ancestors for God to intervene in history by establishingthe reign of the Messiah, the anointed one, whose rule is to establisha period of liberation and peace as the enemies of God areoverthrown. And second, we wait as members of the Church for Christ’s return in great glory so that the Kingdom of God may beestablished. It seems almost cruel for an entire season of the Churchcalendar to be devoted to waiting, doesn’t it? But that’s the way it is;the season of Advent comes around and we wait for God to act.
Still despite my disdain for waiting, I love the season of Advent. Ithink I like this season so much because the waiting thatcharacterizes Advent is an active waiting rather than a passivewaiting. It is an active waiting because while we are waiting onGod, God is also waiting on us. We are waiting on God to send theMessiah so that God’s rule may be established, and God is waitingon us; waiting for the most appropriate time to enter the world to
establish God’s rule.Thus according to one tradition God had to waitfor one with Mary’s faith to appear before the incarnation could take place. But finally, that faith appears and says to God “Be it unto meaccording to your word.”
you a new reader? Come visit us! We’re so glad thatyou picked up this publication; we hope you will findit interesting and worth your time and we hope youwill take the next step and worship with us sometime.If you are worshiping with us, we welcome you!Whatever your religious background, and however you have come to be here, we welcome you to St.Luke’s. Please let us know who you are by signingour guest book (by the door) or filling out a cardfound in the pews. You can hand your card to anusher, or put it in the collection plate when it comeslater.
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In other words, Mary was willing to do whatever God demanded of her, regardless of the consequences;and with that faith, the incarnation could happen.I am convinced that each of us should approach the season of Advent in this same way. We should see our life and our situation in the same way—God is waiting for us. God wants to be born in us but that cannot
happen until we manifest that faith and surrender in our lives that will enable us to say with Mary “Be itunto me according to your word.” And when that faith finally manifests itself in our life, then God willcome to us and the Word of God, the Christ, will be born within us; in our very heart. And of course atthat point we are liberated. We are freed from the tyranny of that small, egotistical self that arises out of our fear and appetites, and we are free to live the life of our true Self, the one who God created us to be.
So while it is true that Advent is a season of waiting, it is not a passive waiting like I must undergo in thedoctor’s office or the supermarket, or the Schuylkill expressway (that have a lot of nerve calling that anexpressway, don’t they?). Rather the waiting of Advent is a waiting gives me an opportunity to cooperateand participate with God in bringing it about. I hope that during this Advent season each of us will be ableto give birth to the Christ in our lives.
Chalice Bearer: B. KaufoldReaders: C. Rodriguez, J. OxenfordUshers: K. Gibson, J. Litzke
Altar Guild: G. & B. Hair Coffee Hour: Espositos, A.Thorpe, G. Gulley.
Counters: J. Brambilla, R. Whaley
Sunday, Dec 12Chalice Bearer: J. Litzke
Readers: M. Geiger, J. BrambillaUshers : J. Oxenford, J. ShaheneAltar Guild: L. Carter Coffee Hour: B. Kaufold, G.Shahene, C. RodriguezCounters: C. Rodriguez, A. Thorpe
Sunday, Dec 19Chalice Bearer: J. OxenfordReaders: B. Kaufold, S. CarmodyUshers: T. Truesdale, K. GibsonAltar Guild: K. Kenny, S. NesbittCoffee Hour: H. Rolland, S.Remick, R. Whaley, J. Glenn,
N. HurleyCounters: J. Litzke, J. Litzke
Christmas EveChalice Bearer: L. Carter Readers: C. Rodriguez, S. CarmodyUshers: K. Gibson, J. Litzke
Altar Guild: L. Carter, K. Kenny
Sunday, Dec 26Chalice Bearer: C. RodriguezReaders: M. Geiger, L. Carter Ushers: J.Litzke, J. OxenfordAltar Guild: J. OxenfordCoffee Hour: L. Woods-Kriss, G.Hair , K. Kenny, S. Nesbitt
Counters: J. Brambilla, R. Whaley
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EWS
Church School / ursery
The Church School childrenmade Thanksgiving " Thank
You" cards to give to the special
people in their lives. During
Advent they will be playing anAdvent game, singing, and takinghome Advent calendars as well as
reading Christmas stories.
Church School will meet on Dec.5 and Dec. 19 in the hall at
10:20a.m.
Sesquicentennial
The second anniversary planningmeeting was held on Sun., Nov.
14. It was announced that the datefor the event has been set for Oct.15, 2011. We decided on a 3hour program from 6-9p.m. The
bishop will be attending.Bustleton Methodist Church hasdonated 12 long tables which we
can use for the dinner. Mark
Geiger reported on costs for a banner. After consideration anddiscussion it was decided to
purchase pole signs, which will
be less costly. Maria Gardiner
relayed that she had contacted a
caterer and got a suggested menu, but no estimate. She will get thatfor the next meeting. Fr. Tim wasasked to check out Gearo's andHarriet has agreed to contact thecaterer they had for their dinner.Caroline Cotugno e- mailed
prices she had researched for invitations. It was decided thatthey were too costly. Llyn Carter volunteered to look into makingour own invitations and printing
them ourselves. Maria and
Barbara got bids from D.J.s for $250 and $200 respectively. JohnBrambilla asked his neighbor who is in the business, but he
couldn't beat the low bid. Karen
Kenny agreed to work on makingdinner tickets on her computer.We are planning on 100 dinner attendees.
DECEMBER3- R. Bitner 6- R. Carter 10-S. Libby31-John Litzke
EWSCHRISTMAS FLOWERS
Please help make our church look beautiful for Christmas. Please makea contribution in memory or honor of
a loved one and use the enclosedenvelope. All Christmas flowers envelopes should bein the parish office by Tuesday, December 21. Makeyour check payable to St. Luke’s and write a memoChristmas Flowers.
ALTAR GUILD OTES
The Altar Guild could use your help with a few items:We are collecting plastic tubs the size of a sherbertcontainer. These are a great size for our flowers thatcome in florist foam. We can cover them in foil andthey are easier to display when taken to a hospital or rehab facility.
Is there anyone who would like to help with Altar Guild laundry? Did you know that our Lay Reader robes can be machine washed and dried? Our larger linens occasionally need washing and ironing. It is nota glorious task, but it is a necessary one. If anyonewould like to help with Altar Guild in this capacity,see Llyn Carter.Another job we are creating is that of Pew Checker.We are looking for some members who would bewilling to check the pews at least once a month. These people would put the prayer books and hymnals inorder, remove trash, refill pencils and envelopes andthe like. If you think you could help with this task, letLlyn know. Thank you, Llyn Carter
THAK YOU!
A BIG THANKS to everyone who adopted a Trick or Treat for UNICEF box in October. To date, our GFS branch has sent $130 to UNICEF from St. Luke’s!Thanks so much for your generosity! If you followUNICEF, you know that they are very busy in Haitifighting the hunger and disease among the childrenthere.
A sincere thanks to Lisa-Jo Woods-Kriss, scrapbooker extraordinaire! The second GFS ScrapbookingWorkshop was another success! We had 10
participants. Everyone had a great time and made beautiful Christmas themed accordion photo albums.Stay tuned for the date of our next workshop! Lisa-Johas promised to repeat the Exploding Box project!
When people say that "churches are just buildings", I beg to differ. Calling a church "just a building" is
like calling the Statue of Liberty "just a statue." I amassured that the Church, worship and faith is moreimportant than bricks and mortar, but physicalworship spaces becomes sacred to many generationsover. Churches are symbols of strength and holiness.They add a profound dimension to worship thatcannot be measured in square feet or monetary value.
Richard Upjohn (1802-1878) was an English-bornAmerican architect whose penchant for Gothicdesign helped to make this style popular in the mid-19th century. He is the architect of St. Luke's.Recently, The Episcopal Church added several
persons to the Calendar of Saints, and he is among
the additions. His feast day is December 16. He builtscores of churches throughout America: one of themost notable is Trinity Wall Street- remembered inrecent history as a survivor of the 9/11 attacks.
It is challenge to keep an aging church in shape andopen. There are human threats, natural threats andeconomic threats. The fact that St. Luke's is stillopen is a testament of love, labor, faith and luck from the past and present. In a climate wherechurches have closed- with some even left to decay,St. Luke's shows its strength as a small church that isvery mighty!
I've heard St. Luke's described with words varyingfrom being "a cute little church" to "a gem in the
Northeast." I feel we are blessed to have such a beautiful place to worship- a church that has seen thecountryside turn into a city, has seen several warsand depressions, has seen the population change inmakeup and numbers. While Christmas, the seasonof gifts is taking center stage, let us pause to givethanks to Richard Upjohn this December for buildingthis beautiful space almost 150 years ago. It is a
Knitting Needles: Size 9 [5 1/2 mm] or sizeto give gauge.Gauge: 16 sts=2"; 11 1/2 rows + 2" in Rib pat.Rib PatRow 1: (Right Side): K 2, *P 2, K 2; repfrom * across.
Row 2: P 2, *K 2, P 2; rep from * across.Rep Rows 1 and 2 for Rib Pat.Cast on 110 sts. Work in Rib pat until 4"from Beginning, end pat Row 2.continue in Rib pat until 11" from beg, endpat Row 2.Next Row: K 2 Tog, *P 2 Tog, K 2 tog: rep.from * across - 55 sts.Next Row: P 1, * K 1, P 1: rep from * across.Next Row: * K 2 tog; rep from * to last st, K1 - 28 sts.Next Row: * P 2 tog; rep from * across - 14sts. Cut yarn leaving a long end. Threadthru a yarn needle, draw end thru rem sts,
gather and secure. Sew back seamreversing cuff seam for turnback.
SCARF
Knitting needles size 8 -10Yarn of worsted weightCast on 40 stitches.Knit every row (garter stitch) until scarf isbetween 4-5’.Do NOT add fringe or tassels, as looseends can easily interfere with themachinery the Seamen operate.
Other patterns are acceptable for experienced knitters.
Word Puzzle
H E E R E H T L M
T P K S T G A V E
R L U O D I W H H
I A L N D N S I T
B C R E G N A M R
D E P P A R W B O
N R O B T S R I F
Z B E C A U S E B
(Luke 2:7) And she gave birth toher firstborn son and wrappedhim in bands of cloth, and laidhim in a manger, because therewas no place for them in the inn.
Word List
FIRSTBORN WRAPPEDBECAUSE MANGER THEREPLACE CLOTH BIRTHBANDS THEM LUKE LAIDGAVE WAS SON SHE INNHIM FOR