together in spirit!
5 Lent | 29 March 2020

Streaming live online from the church website,
and on Facebook and YouTube.

10 a.m. Holy Eucharist

The bulletin link is also posted on the St. Luke's website.
The strength of our community is not dependent on the being together physically on Peachtree Street but by our love for God, one another, and for all God's children.
The great thing about broadcasting worship and other programs is that if you can't watch live, you can watch the recording at your convenience.
Also, it is good to know that when looking for the broadcast on Facebook or YouTube, it pops up at the appointed "live" time. There will be no graphic indicating a program is about to begin - it just comes on when we flip the switch at St. Luke's!
This Past Week
This week St. Luke's offered: 11 worship opportunities, two St. Luke's Storytime presentations, and Soupless Scripture - all online. There have been many Zoom meetings - multiple staff meetings, staff/volunteer meetings AND a Formal Fridays social gathering! And that doesn't even include the community that is happening on Facebook, Instagram and our new Facebook - Together in Spirit group. We also began Passing our Prayers (by email and social media) - an acknowledgement that we might not be able to Pass the Peace right now, but we can keep passing our love to one another. To be sure it is not the same as gathering on Peachtree Street in our gorgeous, beloved church building -- but it sure is great to be together just the same!

If you haven't joined St. Luke's for one or more of these, we sincerely invite you! If you have questions about how to access ANY of these opportunities, look on the website and if you can't find what you are looking for, email Hala ( hala@stlukesatlanta.org ) so she can help get you connected. That's what we're here for!
Granted, it wasn't all rosy. There were some technical glitches. After researching these problems, it seems that the increase in volume on all online platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Boxcast, etc) as well as on the internet in general, is causing some of the problems. Bandwidth -or lack thereof - in some homes trying to send or receive live video is also a contributing issue. We continue to try our best and ask for your patience and grace when the waters get rough.
LETTER FROM THE VESTRY

Also this week the Vestry sent out a letter to the parish to keep us all informed during this unusual time. If you missed it, click here to read it.
St. Luke's is your family. If you have a pastoral - or other - concern, please email one of us or call: 404-873-7600. Email addresses are listed on the website from the Our Church tab.
During these days of irregularity, one of our constants is our need to pay our bills, meet payroll, and invest financially in God’s mission in downtown Atlanta. If you have a financial commitment (a pledge) please stay current while we’re not gathering physically. Thank you to everyone who responded last week! If you haven’t pledged, please give generously and consider making a Big Love pledge. Every cent given makes a difference in our ministry. Click below to find out the different ways you can make a donation:
This week we added yet another way to support the great work of St. Luke's -- every time you shop on Amazon.com. It costs you nothing. Amazon donates half a percent of what you spend through its AmazonSmile program to the nonprofit/church of your choice. For more information click here.
This Week
Online spiritual opportunities:
Noonday Prayers Join the Rev. Horace Griffin for a service of noonday prayer live online from our website, Facebook, and YouTube page at noon Monday through Friday.  

Compline  Also beginning today, the Rev. Elizabeth Shows Caffey will lead compline live online Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Thursday Liz Beal Kidd and the Youth will lead Compline. You can join from our website, Facebook and YouTube page at 7 p.m.

Soupless Scripture  The Rev. Ed Bacon wraps up his Soup & Scripture teaching for this Lent online from our website, Facebook and YouTube pages at noon.

Sunday Morning  Holy Eucharist at 10 a.m. every Sunday live online from our website, Facebook and YouTube page.  Watch from the homepage. Watch from YouTube.

Habits of Grace  The Presiding Bishop Michael Currey is offering a Monday devotion  As we learn how to adjust our lives given the reality of the coronavirus and the request to do our part to slow its spread by practicing social distancing, I invite you to join me each week to take a moment to cultivate a ‘habit of grace.’ We will post the link to the presiding bishop’s video to our Facebook page each Monday.

Social Media:
Please consider staying in touch with St. Luke’s on social media. We have a Facebook page, an Instagram page, and a Twitter feed. We will post to all of them regularly in an effort to connect our community. Go to any of these platforms and search for St. Luke's Atlanta to find our page.

St. Luke’s Together in Spirit   After a lot of thought, we have decided to add a “private” Facebook group to our social media stable. We’re not trying to be exclusive in any way but want to provide a safe place online for our community to converse. If this appeals to you, ask to join the group – St. Luke’s Together in Spirit – and once you’re activated, tell us how it is going. Or ask about a friend. Go to Facebook and search for “St. Luke’s – Together in Spirit” and ask to join. 

YouTube  We’ve added YouTube to our repertoire. You can find an archive of sermons, whole services, and education classes as well as watch live on YouTube . Many smart TVs have YouTube access, so look for the St. Luke’s page and watch Holy Eucharist live on Sundays at 10 a.m. (or anything else the church streams live!).

General announcements:


Wondering about Easter traditions for the children? If you are the parent or grandparent or godparent of a child who looks forward to Easter Day at St. Luke's and have NOT received a note (in the mail) from CYF Director Liz Beal Kidd, please email Liz. She is eager to let you know what she has planned to make it a special day even if it is a unique one!

Every Member Call Staff and volunteers began calling every member of the parish this week. We want to simply check in and make sure  St. Lukers  are okay. It is important that in this time when we’re physically isolated, we stay connected and take care of one another. If you do not receive a call, it could be because we have an out-of-date phone number for you. Please contact Mark Simmons ( mark@stlukesatlanta.org ) to update your information!

Easter Flower Dedications   Easter Day will be celebrated at St. Luke's and there will be flowers on our Altar. If you would like to make a donation in memory or honor of a loved one,  please do so online by clicking here.
SOUPLESS SCRIPTURE, join us online WEDNESDAY at 12:15 p.m.

This Wednesday is the final edition:

Reframing Lent as Party Preparation with Ed Bacon

Join us ONLINE for midday time of reflection.

This year Ed Bacon reflections on how our Lenten disciplines can be about removing “obstructions” to joy as laid out in the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu’s book, The Book of Joy.  
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