St. Luke Ministries And Outreach
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We feel called to be a church that serves well beyond our walls and we eagerly look for opportunities to partner in ministry and outreach with other churches and community groups. We hear Jesus' calling in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (36-40):
"I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." |
In this way, it is not our option to serve, but our calling. Through volunteer support and financial outreach, we look to empower great ministries where we find them and to build new outreach opportunities where they are needed. Our shared work in ministry and outreach includes:
- Loaves & Fishes & Mobile Cafe. This is a combined ministry of 11 Alexander County churches dedicated to help overcome hunger and food insecurity across our community. St. Luke volunteers, supported financially by Thrivent Action Teams and the church ministry spending plan, meet two days a month and prepare over 300 hot meals. These meals are distributed at the Mobile Cafe in downtown Taylorsville (at the old First Methodist Church campus) and in downtown Hiddenite. This ministry continues to grow as, sadly, the need within our community continues to grow. This said, we are dedicated, alongside our many partner churches, to help eradicate hunger from our community.
- The Benefit Breakfast Ministry. St. Luke has a long history of helping struggling individuals and families in our community with our breakfast fundraiser ministry. As we become aware of a community member in need, we coordinate a community breakfast on a Saturday morning and work diligently, with usually more than 40 volunteers, to serve a wonderful breakfast within our community. We never charge for these breakfast meals and only welcome donations. It is not unusual for a benefit breakfast to serve more than 500 people and to raise thousands of dollars in support of the individual or family we are supporting. 100% of all donations, minus basic expenses, are provided to support and help the one(s) we are serving. Often this ministry helps families avoid overwhelming hardship as they recover from a health challenge or other difficulty or tragedy.
- Monthly Birthday Lunch. On the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 11am, a special birthday lunch is held in the church fellowship hall. All are welcome from across our community and together we celebrate that month's birthdays in attendance. We share in a devotional together, sing "Happy Birthday" to all that month's birthdays, enjoy a wonderful covered dish meal and finish our day with 2 fun games of Bingo. This gathering has become a community favorite filled with wonderful celebration and fellowship in Christ!
- Community Vacation Bible School. Rather than reinvent the wheel, St. Luke Lutheran, along with Reformation Lutheran, Friendship Lutheran and Taylorsville Presbyterian have come together to share in a BIG community week of Vacation Bible School (VBS). These four churches share in each night's programming and together we welcome almost 200 children and adults each night of the VBS week. We focus our theme around a powerful Biblical story shared through Biblical story telling and Bible study, crafts, music and games. We are so delighted by this wonderful partnership between these four churches and grateful for all the ways the Holy Spirit has enabled our churches to share our best gifts and shine brightly the light of Christ together.
- St. Luke Youth (SLY) Programming. Youth in grades 6-12 comprise our St. Luke Youth Group and we love to share in Christ together through a variety of gatherings and activities throughout the year. These activities include the annual LYO (Lutheran Youth Organization) gathering, game nights and movie nights, our summer mission trip, Youth Sunday in worship and many other activities as well.
- Spirit Seekers. For our younger youth, age 3 through 11, we share in Sunday afternoon educational programming. We share in the study of a weekly lesson through a variety of activities and games and also prepare together children's songs to share in upcoming worship services.
- Support for the Alexander Christian Crisis Center (CCC): This cooperative ministry of churches across Alexander County (and across many denominations and non-denominations) is helping to provide aid to families most in need in our community. Helping some 300 families a week, the Christian Crisis Center provides a food pantry ministry and also assists those needing help with power and water bills and other living costs. St. Luke takes up a special collection in worship each month for this ministry and shares in time volunteering at the center.
- Partnership with Alexander County Schools. Our schools are such a critical part of our community in Alexander County. St. Luke has taken on partnerships with Ellendale Elementary and Alexander Central High School. With Ellendale, we support their annual Christmas basket for children in need. For the High School the church adopts children in need for their Angel Tree and also hosts the ACHS Varsity Football Team and Cheerleaders for a pre-game meal in the fall.
- Annual Mission trip with Taylorsville Presbyterian Church. For over a decade now, St. Luke and Taylorsville Presbyterian have come together for our annual summer mission trip. We've traveled all over West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over the years to serve in communities where the need has been the greatest. This has included hurricane and storm relief and cleanup and serving people in economically challenged areas with basic needs and help. This is not just a youth trip or experience, but is usually comprised of a roughly equal amount of youth and adults, making this a great multi-generational ministry and outreach.
- Thanksgiving Eve worship with Friendship Lutheran. We have so much to be grateful for unto our God. Every year on Thanksgiving Eve we gather with our friends at Friendship Lutheran for a special worship service. We express together our deep appreciation for all God provides into our lives and celebrate together His generosity toward inspiring our own in thanksgiving.
- Annual Christmas Play. Every Christmas Eve night St. Luke holds a beautiful Christmas plan. Our children of all ages (and usually a few adults too), share in a play that tells the Christmas story and celebrates in the birth of Christ. It's an amazing play every year, and while it's never quite perfect, neither, in a way was the first Christmas...but then again, yes it really was!
Worship and Sunday School
Sunday School: 9:30 AM
St. Luke's has a variety of Sunday School programs for all ages, including 6 Sunday School classes for children and 3 Sunday School classes for adults. All classes meet at 9:30 AM every Sunday morning. Sunday Worship: 10:30 AM We gather every Sunday morning to worship and rejoice. The first two Sundays of the month are our Traditional ELW worship services and the final two Sundays are contemporary worship services. |
St. Luke Links
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