St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

The office will be closed

Friday, May 24 & Monday, May 27

for Memorial Day Weekend.

Rev. Justin is on sabbatical from April 4-September 7.

For more information, please see the Sabbatical Notes section below.

St. Luke’s Parking Lot/East End Clean Up: Many thanks to Vestry Member Phil

Green who initiated clean up of our property at the East end of the parking Lot! We

wrapped up the project last week and Saturday morning. Saturday morning at 8 am sharp Neal Engelman, Kevin Graves, Kit Muellner, and a friend Rafael (who is very handy with a chain saw) met to finish trimming up the trees and taking down scrub trees that were negatively impacting our beautiful pines. Ted Schmidt joined us to help load the Moskalik’s flatbed trailer, and Kit’s neighbor Jeff swung by to ensure we had the load tied down properly! Jeff stayed to assist in taking down the largest tree and assist with loading and securing the second big load to haul to Karen & Kevin Graves’ yard. Phil Green came to help load as well. Karen met us there and supported us with water and another set of hands to unload. We kept some wood for use in our fire pit. Thank you ALL for your help!!!

Last Installment from Bishop Loya at April 20 MAG Meeting:

3 Mindsets/Approaches to Hold & Live

1. Expectation NOT Devastation: Do not be stuck in what is Not happening, rather focus on the future with hopeful expectation.
2. Play. Try new things: Research shows that Change happens Not when we stay solidly inside our comfort zone, solidly inside “what we’ve always done”. Rather Change and Growth happen when we Play at the Edge of Just Inside our Comfort Zone. Growth and Transformation can only happen at the very outer edge of the inside of our comfort zone.
3. Approach our Neighbors with Curiosity: How do we approach our neighbors with curiosity? (NOT to “recruit new members”. NOT to figure out “what can they do for US”.) Rather to learn about them; their lives; their joys and challenges. Find out Why people are going to the Soccer fields or Lacrosse fields, or Dance competitions on Sunday mornings? What are people longing for? What connections do they find in those places/activities?

Your Wardens and Vestry invite you to join us in leaving the Fear & Scarcity mentality behind and Embracing the future with Joyful Expectation, as our own Bishop Craig Loya has invited and encouraged all of ECMN to do.

The Vestry meets again on Monday, June 17th, 7pm, in the Fellowship Hall and via Zoom/Owl. This is a Business Meeting. Anyone who is interested in attending a vestry meeting, or who has information to share/questions for the vestry, please contact one of your Wardens, Kit Muellner or Jeff Decker, or any vestry member.

Kit Muellner

Rochester Pride Celebration

This past Saturday, May 18th, at the Soldier’s Field track in Rochester was the annual Rochester Pride Celebration.

St. Luke’s and Calvary co-sponsored a booth and I want to thank everyone from both churches who were there to spread the word about the Episcopal churches in Rochester.

We gave away 100 pairs of St. Lukes Pride sunglasses, 100 pride beaded braclets, water and candy for all, and over 120 pieces of information to let everyone know who we are. The crowd was very large, and I was most pleased with the fact that several pride celebrants came up to our booth and said “we are so happy to see the churches here”.

I look forward to next year and another chance to spread the word.

The Episcopal Church Pride Emblem

For Pride month in June, the Episcopal Church has unveiled this new shield.

And you can find out more information here:

Episcopal Church unveils new Pride shield in celebration of LGBTQ+ inclusion – The Episcopal Church

Jeff Decker

Sargent's Smooth Summer Nights

2nd Tuesdays in June, July, August & September, 5-8pm

Sargent's North

Several members of St. Luke's have been meeting up at the Sargent’s Smooth Summer Nights — a gathering at Sargent’s north from 5 to 8 PM on the second Tuesday of the months of June, July, August, and September. 

More details can be found here.

If you might be interested in joining us, let Harold Solbrig (harold@solbrigs.us) or Neal Engleman (neal.engelman@outlook.com) know and we can arrange a gathering place.

Harold Solbrig

Vestry Member

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

Let's celebrate graduates!

Sunday, June 9

Are you or a loved one graduating this spring? We're planning to celebrate all graduates on Sunday, June 9. Contact Karen with your graduate's information so we can put it in the bulletin and pray for them by name. Graduates will receive a special blessing in church that day.

Celebrating this Week

Birthdays

• Andrew Altrichter
• Clayton Arndt
• Karyn Graves

Anniversaries

• Mark & Betsy Bornholdt
• Brian & Jaime Decker

We are hoping to renew the St. Luke’s Lay Eucharistic Visitor (LEV) ministry.

There are over 10 members of St. Luke’s who are not able to attend in person regularly who might enjoy a visit and home communion not just from their priests but from their friends at St. Luke’s.

The time commitment is only 1 hour after church 1-2 Sundays each month.

There will be a training session after coffee hour on June 2nd for 1 hour.

Please contact Drew if you are interested by email kdrewbakermd@aol.com or cell phone 207-751-7411.

Sabbatical Prayer

Refresh, rejuvenate, and renew our Rector, Justin, in body, mind, and spirit during this time of Sabbatical. Fill him, Katie, and Elizabeth with your love and life giving presence as they journey through this holy time together.

Rev. Justin is on Sabbatical

For the next few months, Justin will be away from St. Luke’s on sabbatical. An important part of sabbatical is taking a break from communications from the parish. Please refrain from contacting Justin until he comes back in September. If you happen to bump into him around town, offer a smile, a wave, and maybe a “nice to see you,” but please don’t linger.

Barring a major disaster, crisis, or emergency in the life of St. Luke’s, Justin will be away and out of contact with us through Labor Day. All sacramental duties, leadership responsibilities, and pastoral care will be covered by our esteemed Sabbatical Teams. Should something arise that might require Justin’s attention, our wardens and point priest will make that call.

Pastoral Care During Sabbatical



Revs. Drew Baker and Gayle Marsh will be the main providers of pastoral care while Rev. Justin is away. Please contact either Parish Administrator Karen Gould, or Revs. Gayle or Drew with any pastoral care needs. Their contact information is below. Rev. George Favell will also be available if needed.

In the event of an emergency pastoral care need, Revs. Beth Royalty and Jon Spinillo will also be available. Please contact Karen Gould, Rev. Gayle, or Warden Kit Muellner in the event of a Pastoral Care Emergency. They will triage the situation and arrange for the appropriate available clergy or lay leader to respond and support.

Karen Gould 507-288-2469 gouldk@stlukesepiscopal.org

Rev. Gayle Marsh 651-269-0813 ThankfulLiving@comcast.net

Rev. Drew Baker 207-751-7411 kdrewbakermd@aol.com

Kit Muellner 507-273-6849 kitstlukes@hoperanchteam.com

Sabbatical Planning Team

Junior and Senior Wardens, Lynn Lutz, Barbara Solbrig

Sabbatical Leadership Team

Junior and Senior Wardens, Rev. Gayle Marsh, Rev. George Favell, Rev. Drew Baker, Bruce Rohde

New Outreach Opportunity

This month has brought a new outreach opportunity to St. Luke's to fulfill Jesus's proclamation to love our neighbor. Parishioner Shanna Altrichter has a neighbor, Janelle, who through no fault of her own is experiencing significant financial hardship. Janelle is a single mom of 4 sons (2 who still live at home).

St. Luke's is collecting money and resources (via plate offerings and donations through Shanna) to help make this family financially whole by getting them caught up on their rent, getting their van fixed, and providing for their sustenance and clothing needs. Thank you to everyone who has already donated much needed resources. Click here for more information about the family, Shanna's contact information & a list of needs.

Come learn about ISAIAH’s plan to tackle the Housing Problem in Olmsted County

Thursday, June 13, 6-7:30pm

Peace United Church of Christ

1503 2nd Ave NE, Rochester

Registration Link

What if we treated housing like a human right? In 2020, Olmsted County was forecastd to need 18,000 additional units of housing by 2030. With higher growth due to Mayo Clinic’s expansion, the need will be even greater. Olmsted County is a leader in Minnesota for its commitment to locally owned and controlled housing that is permanently affordable, targeted to a range of incomes, and democratically controlled so that residents have a voice in the operation of the housing.

On Thursday, June 13 at 6 pm, come learn more about how Olmsted County is leading, and ISAIAH’s plan to call on our county commissioners to dream even bigger to address our community’s urgent need for affordable, healthy, and climate-friendly homes. Register here.

RNeighbors is partnering with the Mayor’s Office and other community groups to organize a week in May to cultivate and celebrate neighborhood connections across the city with💚my Neighborhood Week.

More Information

RNeighbors website

List of "Ways to Love My Neighborhood"