FROM THE PASTOR

Let the Good times Roll

I think Judy and I have decided that 2023 is the year we will return to New Orleans. We visited the city many years ago and it has remained on my “bucket list” as a city I want to see again. It is a remarkable city. A resilient community. Despite crime, poverty, corruption, and devastating storms, it is a city with spirit. It is a welcoming city that has a lot to celebrate and knows how to party.

St. Luke’s Lutheran Church is a remarkable community. We’ve come through more than our share of challenges – pastoral transitions, financial shortfalls, conflicting opinions, and of course, COVID. We are a resilient community. Through it all we have continued to proclaim the Word and celebrate the Sacraments, serve our neighbors locally and internationally, educate the young and the mature, and invite all who would join us to share in this work.

We have a lot to celebrate. We have begun to live into our Strategic Plan and after only six months we have achieved a number of our objectives. We have turned a large year-end deficit into a surplus which carries us into the new year. We have come to a place in our pastoral transition where we can look forward to the formation of a call committee and the search for a new lead pastor.

It’s time for a New Orleans-style party. On February 19 we will celebrate Word and Sacrament, a baptism, and the reception of new members. After the Service we will move to Henderson Hall for Mardi Gras – New Orleans food, music, and beads. And we will continue the celebration as we conduct the annual congregational meeting, acknowledging the good work we were empowered to do in 2022 and looking forward to the work for which our community is called in 2023.

We are a remarkable community. We are a resilient community. We have much to celebrate. Let the good times roll!

Pastor John Schumacher, BCC