Upcoming music events
Join us for the Bach Choral Vespers Service on Sunday, February 12 at 4:00. The service will feature Cantata No. 78 Jesu der du meine seele with St. Luke’s Choir and The Rocky Mountain Chamber Singers. We will be celebrating the 35th year of the Bach Festival at St. Luke’s and we will honor its founder, Edward D. Anderson.
A choral work has been commissioned in Ed’s honor by composer, Thomas Pavlechko. A free-will offering will be received and a festive reception will follow the service.
If you would like to make a contribution to Music at St. Luke’s in honor of Ed you may do so by sending a check to Music at St. Luke’s 2000 Stover Street Fort Collins, CO 80525. If you are not able to be with us on February 12th and would like to send Ed a card or a note you may send it to St. Luke’s c/o Music at St. Luke’s. Please contact Tamara Schmiege at 970-493-7512 x 206 or musicdirector@stlukesfc.org for more information.
Other upcoming events include:
- Saturday, February 18 at 10:00 a.m.
Organ Master class at Colorado State University Organ Recital Hall
Dr. Christopher Young
Professor of Organ, Indiana University, Bloomington
Free of charge & open to the public
- Sunday, February 19 at 4:00 p.m.
Organ Recital at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Dr. Christopher Young
Professor of Organ, Indiana University, Bloomington
Free of charge & open to the public
The Gospel of Action: Mark
Sunday Mornings... continues on February 5th at 9:30 am in the Parish Hall
Join Fr. Andrew for Adult Formation in January and early February for an in-depth look at Mark's Gospel. Mark is the shortest of the Gospels and may be the most misunderstood. Fr. Andrew has studied Mark's Gospel at Oxford and also taught "the Bible as Literature" at Fort Lewis College. He is eager to share the power and urgency with which Mark presents Jesus.
We have devoted five weeks (taking a week off for the Parish Meeting, January 29th) to look at various themes and unique features found in Mark:
- January 8: Overview and the problem of Mark's ending.
- January 15: Mark's Relationship to Paul and Peter
- January 22: Mark's Structure and Issues of Power and Apocalypse
- February 5: Humor and Paradox in Mark
- February 12: Mark's Gospel in a Post-Modern, Post-Christendom world
From Father Andrew...
Dear Companions on the Way,
I hope you are still having a blessed Christmas and are remembering to celebrate it as a 12-day season and not just for single day (or for that matter, that you pledge to keep Christmas in your heart every day of the year, as did the awakened and enlightened Ebenezer Scrooge).
One of the images of the season that came to me during Advent was the power of a phrase in the proper preface for Advent. The proper preface is a sentence that is included in the first part of the Eucharistic Prayer that changes depending on the liturgical season we are in. They are found on pages 377 and 382 in the Book of Common Prayer. In Advent the priest recites or sings, “… that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing. …” The phrase “without shame or fear” is taking deep root in my consciousness as a key to understanding what our life in Christ is all about and what our mission as church should include.
What does it mean to await God’s appearing without shame or fear? For we who are Christian, the meaning would include the sense that in Christ, God has taken away our guilt, our shame, our estrangement from God, our sin. In my prayers, I often ask to see myself or to see others or to see a situation in the same way God sees. I have never found that prayer to be answered with a sense of judgment or alienation. Rather, in the deep recesses of my heart, God is always, always drawing us in, loving us, accepting us and calling us by name. God never turns away from us, rejects us or abandons us.
But also, what does it mean for a community that proclaims the good news of God in Christ to renounce shame and fear? I believe that we cannot be a community that traffics in shame and fear, and that may be one of the more radical, counter-cultural postures we can take. Churches have long been accused (perhaps rightly) of generating shame and fear and trafficking in guilt. Churches have threatened people with hell, excommunication or the softer threats that “God wouldn’t like it if …” or “a good Christian would never …”.
More and more, I am convinced that our deepest struggles come from the games and power plays that are built on shame and fear. Many people who end up going into psychotherapy discover that defects in their personalities or mental functioning are due to having a “shame based personality.” I am one of those people. We get ourselves into trouble by trying to satisfy an inner judge who seems to never be satisfied; or to avoid a condemnation that seems as permanent as if it were etched in stone. I know some attend church in part to appease what is believed to be a capricious or wrathful God, or avoid some impending or inevitable doom meted out by the hand of God.
Trying to satisfy that judge or avoid that doom may lead people to do noble, generous, self-sacrificing deeds that benefit the church, but shame and fear still are the engine that drives the behaviors. I’d like to think that a healthy church is one that proclaims a God who abandoned wrath and condemnation with the rainbow after the flood that Noah rode out. Indeed, we are called to manifest a God who has come, as a baby in Bethlehem, to reveal God’s infinite and unconditional love.
I’m trying to be more aware when shame and fear bubble up in me and I’m trying to be more conscious of how the institution of the church unwittingly (or overtly) winks at language and behavior that is grounded in shame and fear – and bring it to light where it can be transformed. For instance, when someone says “I’m sorry,” there may be a legitimate regret being expressed; and then it is my opportunity and delight to offer an expression of release such as “all is well” or “don’t give it a thought.” But it may be that apologies are made for events or circumstances beyond one’s control, like the weather or the call of a higher priority, and they make a person feel trapped. Once in a while, those apologies come with an edge: “I’m sorry BUT …”. It may not be in my power to release someone from shame or fear in those instances, but perhaps I can bring some light and grace to the situation.
Shame and fear grow in the dark, but light causes them to shrink, and in the light of Christ, they disappear. So let us keep Christmas in our hearts every day of the year. And consider that a way to keep Christmas is by bringing the shame and fear that infect us into the light of Christ’s presence and love. And let us – with gentleness and sensitivity – shine some light and grace on one another when shame and fear trap them. And perhaps put over the door a “no shame and fear zone” sign to remind us all.
Shalom,
Andrew
From the Senior Warden...
It is my privilege to welcome you on behalf of the members of St. Luke's Church. We at St. Luke's find ourselves in a special place at this time. Our rector for more than 11 years recently retired. We are currently beginning the process to search for and call a new rector for St. Luke's. We have an interim rector, Father Andrew Cooley, who will serve as rector beginning in mid-September until we call a new permanent rector. We are a growing community of faith and believe we are "called to vital, ever-deepening relationship with Christ and neighbor". We view this time of transition as an opportunity for continued growth as we prayerfully discern God's call to serve, recognizing the unique and valuable gifts that each of us has to contribute to building God's kingdom. We thank you for your interest in St. Luke's and pray that you will join us and add yet another dimension to our parish life.
The Epistle to the Hebrews states "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware." We stand ready to welcome you and trust that you will find the Spirit of Christ in our midst and God's love in our lives.
God Bless!
Jeff Fryer, Senior Warden