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St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

3708 45th StreetLubbock, TX 79413

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PaidLubbock,TX

Permit No. 106

You won’t bump into Cee-Lo, Blake, Christina, or Adam at St. Luke’s but you might just discover The Voice. Trying to hear the voice of God

seems difficult, impossible, and almost maddening at times. You may even think it is crazy to try, but the Bible tells us that God is always

pursuing people. He is always speaking to them in subtle ways, inviting them to find their place in his greater story. In the month of May we will break out the spiritual q-tips to clear our ears, so we can learn to hear

the Voice of God. Come listen.

Tree TrimmingBrunch

9:30 at each campus

November 30th

The doctors said, “Mr. Rockefeller, you are dying and will be dead in a short time.” So Rockefeller got to thinking—he wasn’t a stupid man—he got to thinking, “It is time for me to stop concentrating on making money and start doing some of the things that I’ve always wanted to do and have known I ought to do.”

Rockefeller said, “One of the things that I am going to begin to do that I have been too busy to do before is I am going to start giving my money.” And, he started giving away his money, and the more he gave, the more God gave to him. The more he gave, the happier he got. Rockefeller testified later, that, “When I learned to give, it so changed my life that my ulcer healed up. I began to sleep peacefully and live purposefully.” Rockefeller lived for thirty more years in wonderful health. Rockefeller was a dying man who learned a secret that is found in the Word of God. Acts 20:35 says “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

John D. Rockefeller Jr. was a committed Christian who out of a grateful heart to God is estimated to have given, indeed invested, over $537 million to change the world for God’s good.

This Thanksgiving give your thanks, give your heart, give your resources, give your all to the One who gave His all for you!

Grateful for you and for all that God has done and is doing in your life,

Senior Pastor

Media Coordinator

Business Manager

Associate Pastor/Lead Pastor SLSW

Associate Pastor/Congregational Care

Central Ministry Assistant

Central & Southwest Ministry Assistant

After School Program Director

Director of Music Ministries

Director of Preschool

Director of Parents Day Out

Custodial/MaintenanceDirector

Custodians

Parish Nurse

Security

Organist

Praise & WorshipLeader- Southwest

Directors ofChristian Education

Youth DirectorDr. Andy Hurst

Dylan Cole

Florence Ann McVay

Shalan Inmon

Nancy Cook

Kelcee Linnenkugel

Rev. Matt Wolfington

Rev. Don Kinder

Dr. Andy Coward

Dee Riebel

Vicki Davidson

Curtis Borland

Veronica OroscoJoe Ortiz

Linda McMurry

Frank Anderson

Karen Dawson

Ashleigh Brewer

Central - Sara Lattimore

Kurtis Vanderpool

Southwest - Tessa Armes

Worship OpportunitiesCentral Southwest

8:30 am Traditional Service9:30 am Sunday School

10:45 am Blended Worship Service

9:30 am Sunday School10:30 am Contemporary Service

CONTACTinformation

3708 45th Street

5805 98th Street

Lubbock, TX 79413

Lubbock, TX 79424

Central Location

twitter

Instagram

facebook

southwest Location

806

806

797-4393 [phone]

771-0555 [phone]

797-4395 [fax]

797-4345 [fax]

Office Hours

Central M-F 8:30am-4:30pm SouthWest M-F 9:00am-Noon

www.stlukeslubbock.org sl stlukeslubbock.org@

“St. Luke’s Lubbock”“St. Luke’s Southwest”

“St Lukes Youth”

“stlukeslbk”

@Stlukeslubbock@MattPastor2u

ast week, Jorge and I rode up to Ceta Canyon together to attend Pastor’s School. On the way there, we talked about all of the so-called

“American Holidays.” I told him about one of my favorite holidays that comes every fourth Thursday of November.

I told him about the roots of Thanksgiving, about God’s provision in the midst of great need. So Jorge asked a very simple question: “So what do you do on Thanksgiving?” I found myself talking about food (quite a lot about food actually: turkey, dressing, homemade rolls, pecan pies, mashed potatoes, etc.), football, and family. “But what about Thanksgiving?” Jorge asked. I told him that it was my desire that every family in our church, every family in our nation, would literally hold hands look up to heaven and give thanks to God on that Thursday and every other day for that matter.

A nation without thanksgiving is a nation without a soul. A follower of Jesus without thanksgiving and gratitude in his or her heart is a follower who has lost his or her way.

For the next three weeks we are going to be talking about Living a Life of Legacy. I want to invite you to have and to leave a legacy of gratitude for your family and for the future generations to follow.John D. Rockefeller, Sr. was the founder of Standard Oil. He passed on his drive, his principles, and his resources to his son John D. Rockefeller Jr. When Rockefeller, Jr. was just 55 years old he was diagnosed with a life threatening bleeding ulcer. About the only thing he could eat was crackers and milk. He couldn’t sleep for one solid hour without being awakened by pain. He had millions and millions of dollars, he had all the things and possessions that money could buy, but he had not happiness, he had not purpose.

L

A Note From Pastor Andy St Luke’s Staff

Legacy of Gratitude

1

Central M-F 8:30am-4:30pm SouthWest M-F 9:00am-Noon 2

Dear 40 Day Journeyers, In these days, I pray that you have encountered the life-changing presence of God’s Spirit; I pray you have known the powerful saving and transforming grace of Jesus; I pray you have experienced the profound love and protection of the Father! I pray these have truly been days of change for you and your family. Please know my brothers and sisters in Christ that He who began a good work in you long ago, that He will bring that work to completion today, tomorrow, and forever! (Philippians 1:6) Believing in a God who has both the power and the desire to change us, Andy PS...We have 13 bonus days of transformation devo-tionals at 40daysoftransformation.us.

40 Days of Transformation:

Dear St. Luke’s Family,Thank you for all of the well wishes, kind words, meals, helping hands, gifts and much needed prayers as we dealt with the flooding in our house this past month. We are so grateful and honored to be part of a church community who cares for our family and loves us unconditionally. You are an amazing blessing to us and we are so thankful that God has put you in our lives.

Much Love, Bryan, Tessa, Madison & Sydney Armes

A Special note...

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Fellowship of Friends

Fellowship of friendsfor those who live alone, by choice or

circumstanceNovember 9 4-6 pm

Central Fellowship Hall Meal Provided

Speaker Topic:Mission Trips: From Africa to Belize

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-Rev. Derek Joyce, one of our speakers

*Ad space in the newsletter highlights your business and helps underwrite the cost of printing & mailing the newsletter. If you are interested, please contact us at sl@stlukeslubbock.org

Children’s Ministry

10

Come decorate ornaments and help trim the church Christmas tree. Please bring a brunch item to share and children feel free to wear your pajamas!

9:30 am at both campuses

1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you.”

It is one thing to say “thank you,” it is altogether another thing to be “thankful.” When you hold the door open for me, I will say “thank you.” When someone at the restaurant fills my water glass, I will say, “thank you.” I have even heard many, many people tell me “thank you” even after I wrote them a citation for speeding that was about to cost them about $100! Trust me, those people were not “thankful!” There is a difference. Too many times we equate being thankful and giving thanks only when we benefit from an action or circumstance. How-ever, the scriptures tell us otherwise:

Psalm 106:1 – “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

We are to be thankful for simply having the love of the Lord in our life regardless of our circumstances. I believe the thankful comes in the assurance that he never changes, “his love endures forever,” and the opposite is true of our world where everything changes! We should not only remind ourselves of this fact, but also we should be reminding others be-cause life is messy and we need the hope of Christ!

Psalm 105:1 Give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!”

Next time you are in a situation where you are not really in a place to say, “thank you,” remember to be “thankful” for who Jesus Christ is in your life and the lives of others. When you encounter a person who is so distraught about their situation, do the same for them. Do not diminish their hurt, sorrow, or dis-appointment for those are real emotions. However, in the midst of despair there is hope in Christ Jesus.

On Thanksgiving Day, when you are giving thanks for your list of family, friends, food and circum-stances…be sure you give thanks to the Lord and be thankful for his steadfast love regardless of your circumstances.

Moving Mountains, one rock at a time-

Pastor Jorge would like to make contacts and begin relationships in the Lubbock community to build our Hispanic Ministry. If you know of anyone that could be a part of the Hispanic Ministry in your neighborhood, at your job, in your circles of influence that Pastor Jorge could contact on his own, please forward any information that you have to jjorge@stlukeslubbock.org or call 806-319-3899. Even if you just have an address and no name, Pastor Jorge is eager to pay them a visit. Thank you for your part in building this ministry!

A note from Pastor Matt Wolfington

Give Thanks

3

A note from Pastor Jorge

VolunteersKids LIVE is an amazing area of children’s ministry. in order to keep up with the demands of a growing ministry, we are asking each family who participates to sign up to serve a meal once a semester as well as help with programming on a different night.

Please call Tessa at 438-2499 if you have any questions or concerns about Kids LIVE.

Tree TrimmingBrunch

9:30 at each campus

November 30th

Kids LIVE!Southwest Campus 5:30-7:00pm (Come at 4:45 for music)PreK 4 year olds through 4th grade students meet at the Southwest Campus. We are gearing up for high energy games and activities, so be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes! A snack supper will be served.

The 5th and 6th grade students will ride with Matt Wolfington to a pre-teen small group at Neil and Jennifer Moore’s house. They will eat and participate in an interactive lesson specifically designed around situations they are faced with on a daily basis.

Register online at egrace.us under the Childrens tab

RegistrationIn order to help off-set the cost of meals and activities, we are asking each family to donate $15 per child with a maximum of $30 per family each semester. You can pay online or via cash/check to the office.

9 4

Children’s Ministry

Beach Club We have 80 children registered this semester. We have given out 4 Bibles so far to children who didn’t have one. We have shared stories, scripture memory verses, games, snacks, prayer, music, and relationship. God is surely moving in the hearts of both children and volunteers. There is still time to be a part of what God is doing. Contact Sara Lattimore at slattimore@stlukeslubbock.org or 806-797-4393

Corn MaizeOur St. Luke’s families had a grand adventure to the Corn Maize. A wonderful time was had by all as we ate hot dogs, trekked through the corn maize, enjoyed the animals, roasted marshmallows for s’mores, shot the corn cannon and went on a hay ride. Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed this fun filled afternoon!

M&MFoodFellowshipmmmm mmmm good!

It was a great time for all who attended.

BelizeFor anyone interested in our upcoming Belize Mission Trip, there will be interest meetings on November 5th & 12th at 7:00 PM immediately following Masters. We hope you’ll join us for more information on this opportunity!

Debt Free 0

Current Building Debt 790,612

Original Building Debt 2,000,000

Debt Free0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

0

790,612

2,000,000

Building Debt ReductionSeptember 2014

Debt Free

Current Building Debt

Original Building Debt

8

Financial Update

Actual forSeptember

Actual YTD

Income $88,500 $920,335

Expense $105,861 $907,396

Surplus/(Deficit) ($17,362) $12,939

Income

Income

Expense

Expense

(Deficit)

Surplus

($200,000)

$0

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

St. Luke's 2014

Income & Expense

St. Luke’s now accepts debit and credit cards!Visit our website at www.stlukeslubbock.org/#/welcome/givingChoose “St. Luke’s Debit or Credit Card Giving”

5

Did you know that simply signing in at church assures you will be prayed for? Our MPG (Monday Prayer Group) team prays for everyone who registers their attendance, as well as any prayer requests. MPG is also a good way to stay efficient in your prayer

life, so come be part of our team! We meet every Monday at the SW Campus at 9am for about an hour. It’s the perfect way to start your week. Contact Debbie at dmbirchfield@gmail.com, or see Becky Page, Tim or Susan Ebelthite for more info. MPG is fueling St. Luke’s through prayer!

Just a note that we are planning to gather and pack our Sumaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes on Sunday, November 9, during the Sunday School time. We moved up a week so as to not conflict with the All Church Thanksgiving Celebration ser-vice on the 16th. The past few years we had 50 shoeboxes (reusable plastic totes w/lids). Of course, we can also use actual shoeboxes wrapped in wrapping paper, if you prefer. Here is a link to the website if you would like more information: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child

Also remember to bring your favorite breakfast item to share as we will have some so-cial time along with the shoebox packing. Please call me at 786-5169 with any questions. Thanks. -Ray Copeland

Gift Ideas: TOYS

Small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES Pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar cal culators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS Toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

Do Not Include: Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans.

Families may pack shoeboxes for either a boy or a girl within three age ranges: 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14. Samaritan’s Purse asks families to include a check for $7 for each box packed to help defray ship-ping costs. For people wanting to underwrite the cost of shipping boxes,contributions are gratefully received.

Shoeboxes and Breakfast Social

6 7

St. Luke’s Youth

36 of us went to Sacramento Methodist Assembly this year for our annual Fall Retreat. The purpose of this event is to get our students and volunteers away from our daily busyness and distractions in order to better commune with the Holy Spirit, and with each other as community. In this regard I would say it was a huge success. Our students continue to amaze me as they responded to the Lord’s whispers and messages brought by our speaker, Scott Latham. Thank you all who volunteered to drive students as well as love on them with your presence, ready ears, patient understanding, and of course lots of fun! This is one our our students’ favorite events of the year and it would not be possible without you!

-Kurtis Vanderpool, Youth Director

Ski Trip Janurary 2nd-5th

We will be returning to Durango, CO for our ski trip this year coming Janurary 2nd-5th. The students had a blast last year learning to get their snow legs while enjoying some time away together, and this year won’t disappoint! For more information you can check out our “Coming Up” page at www.stlukeslubbock.org/youth

Evolve 2015 February 20-22

We will be partnering with several Lubbock Area churches to put on our annual Evolve Weekend coming in February. The theme this year will be “The Labyrinth: Navigating the Maze of Life” and will be an INCREDIBLE weekend sure to challenge our students on many levels!

**For this event we will need volunteers to transport students around town throughout the weekend, four homes to host our Youth’s small groups, and cooks to provide a breakfast for our students and leaders Sunday morning @ Central. If you are interested in helping out contact Student Pastor Kurtis Vanderpool at youth@stlukeslubbock.org or 806-797-4393

What we’ve been up to:

Weekly: Every week the students are getting together several times a week in different locations. If you would like weekly updates on what we have planned you can subscribe to our Text Message notifications by texting @ stlukesy to 806-730-2725.

Sundays: Sunday nights we all get together as a youth group in a variety of ways to meet the Lord and grow as disciples. Some of our activities include music, prayer, teachings, discussion, worship through various art forms and writing, as well as a once-a-month student led night! Our Sunday night meeting time is 5:00-7:00 at the South west Campus and includes a small meal for the students.

Sunday School Classes: Every Sunday we offer Sunday School classes for our youth with great teachers looking to invest in your students’ lives. --Southwest Class: 9:30am-10:30am Room 7 --Central Class: 9:30am-10:30am Youth Basement Main Room

Weekly Discipleship Groups:• Middle School (Led by Aaron Lattimore and Cheryl Loveland) meets Wednesdays in the Youth Basement of our

Central Campus from 6:00-7:00pm. They are currently going through a series called “Encounter”• High School Ladies (Led by Sarah Wigington) are going through Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” and currently meet

Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 at Sarah’s apartment on 5501 Utica Apt #25. • High School Men (Led by Kurtis Vanderpool) meet Wednesdays in the Central Basement from 6:00-7:30 and are

pursuing what it looks like to live daily as community. These Discipleship Groups are the best place to connect with a smaller group of people on a more intimate level as well as go deeper in study together, so be sure to get involved in a group today!

Schedule:

We want to extend a special thank you to all of the adults who volunteered their weekend and energy into pouring into our youth. So, to Sara and Aaron Lattimore, Cheryl Loveland, Debbie Birchfield, Brett Wiggins, Emily Vanderpool, Robby Wiginton, Luke Ford and our fantastic guest speaker, Scott Latham…THANK YOU! We could not have done this weekend without you and are so thankful for your part in making it a success.

-Sarah WigintonAssistant Youth Leader

Upcoming Events: