St. Luke's Blogs

Like many, as my husband and I became parents of our son, Andrew, everything changed. For us though, our experience was a little bit different. We met our son as a four-year-old as we got our first placement as Foster Parents. He was scared and uncertain and we were terrified as well (and maybe even more so). We went from just the two of us to parenting a four-year-old in a day…

As a child, I loved building forts. We had many grand battles behind a fence made of broken limbs. There were other forts made of cardboard or leftover construction materials. But my favorite forts were the ones built in trees. There is something powerful about getting off the ground and up in the air when you are 10 years old! My dad helped me build a fort in our backyard that overlooked a lake, and we could spy on all the boats passing by. There were many adventures in which my friends and I played the parts of pirates, soldiers, or settlers.

There aren’t a lot of Bible passages that mention Philip, but the ones that do create an interesting image of the disciple. Philip was from Bethsaida and when Jesus saw him, He said to Philip, “Follow me.” The first thing that Philip did after that was to find Nathaniel and tell him to come and follow Jesus. When the early church was growing in numbers, there was a disagreement over how the widows were being cared for. In the distribution of goods to help the widows, the Gentiles felt that their widows were not getting the same treatment. To put an end to the argument and to carry on with caring for the widows and the work of growing the church, the leadership decided on choosing seven men to organize and carry out the missional distribution…

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

Katherine Hankey, 1868

Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’”

When my mom and dad dropped me off my freshman year, I was so excited and a tad bit scared as well. I was so happy to have a new bedspread, towels, a mini refrigerator, and a slightly used, but new to me, IBM Selectric typewriter. As my mom was leaving, she said, “You will be a different person when you leave this room someday.” The wistful statement, perhaps offered as advice for college, didn’t resonate with me until I left four years later…

It’s been a whole year since we all made adjustments because of the COVID-19 pandemic! We’ve all probably spent more time at home and less time out and about. Still from the start, many continued to go to work as essential workers while others stayed home for jobs and schools. There have been lots of adjustments to get back into these settings, and we’ve experienced changes and new ways to work, learn, shop, worship, or interact with others.

I have a fond childhood memory of attending a small country church while visiting relatives. It was a Baptist church which held both Sunday morning and evening services. We were attending the evening service with about 50 worshippers. As we were singing a vibrant, old gospel hymn, an older gentleman behind us had a little coughing spell. Instead of joining the rest of us in the verse of the hymn, he chose to pick up where he left off. Myself and the other children giggled as this gent continued singing even though the rest of us had finished…

I have been raised in the church my whole life and have always been grateful for the gift of God’s grace, found in Jesus Christ. Living in that grace has inspired me to strive to live in the world as a peacemaker. What better way could I learn than from following the example of Christ?

One of Jesus most loyal disciples was Thomas who was also called Didymus. Didymus means “the twin.” There is little that we know about Thomas. This could mean that he comes from a less-than-noteworthy background. Perhaps he was a simple tradesman, or a fisherman, we will never know. The writers of the gospels thought it more important to tell about Christ.