The Prince of Peace

On Sunday, December 20, under the direction of Elisa Lane, children and adults presented "The Prince of Peace." This is a photo of the participants.

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Sermon: Unexpected Journeys

Preacher: The Rev. Laura Krauss

Sermon Text: Matthew 2 “The Flight to Egypt”
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." 16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." 19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."

Question to Ponder: On this first Sunday after Christmas we will be looking at “The Flight to Egypt” and other long journeys in others and our lives. Come and be renewed and refreshed for the coming of a New Year.

Marriage of Evelyn & Bill Chidsey's Daughter

Marla Chidsey Roeser and her husband are shown in Washington D.C. on the steps of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, where they were married by Bill on November 28, 2009.

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Homily: A Little Child Shall Lead You

Preacher: The Rev. Reinhard Krauss

Sermon Text: Isaiah 9: 2b, 6-7
2 Those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.

Question to Ponder: In their Christmas pageant this Sunday, our children will share with us the story of God’s coming into our world as a child. Who are the children through whom God is present in your life?

Mass to St. Anthony - Dec.13

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Sunday, December 13, 2009
Third Sunday of Advent
Sermon: Mass to St. Anthony by Lou Harrison

Preacher: The Rev. Laura Krauss

Question to Ponder: This Sunday the Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis, Creed, Sanctus (and Benedictus), and Agnus Dei will be those of the MASS TO ST. ANTHONY of California composer, Lou Harrison (1917-2003), and will be sung by the Kirk Choir accompanied by the Chamber Ensemble. We gratefully acknowledge that this special offering of music for the season of Advent is made possible by the Richard and Fay Chang Fund for Classical Music at St. Luke's, and is offered to the Glory of God and to the uplifting of us all.

Mass to St. Anthony - Sunday, Dec.13, 2009

St. Luke's Presbyterian church invites everyone to a liturgical performance of the Mass to St. Anthony by Lou Harrison during its 9:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, December 13, 2009. This composition was a response in 1939 to Hitler's invasion of Poland in September of that year. It is an expression of outrage and hope with a dark Kyrie with visions of Nazi troops, but also a hopeful Gloria. Harrison was greatly influenced by Asian music, such as Cantonese opera and the Indonesian gamelan. With John Cage, he presented percussion concerts in San Francisco in the late 1930's. To read more about him click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Harrison

Learn more about the Mass to St. Anthony, Harrison and his other works by clicking:
http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=22048

Christmas Contrast

(A poem shared by Mary Yu in her Christmas message)

Christmas Contrast
1995
Written by Wilma Rowe

This year, pine wreaths and twinkle lights abound
And snow obliges, blanketing the ground
Exquisite music lifts the heart on high
And glowing Christmas trees regale the eye.

My thoughts swing back to just the year before:
An epileptic’s daughter at the door.
“My mother has no food that she can eat,
No pills to keep from falling in the street.”

Hoping to help, I follow to a hovel in the slums;
And I learn, amid the squalor, that the Christmas spirit
Comes
Not in any place or custom; not in light or song or art,
But where Jesus finds a birthplace in a single human
Heart.

Wassail Party

Wonderful Wassail Party! Next year everyone really should come. We had a wonderful night. Mary and Ellen did great crafts for the kids, the greens got hung by Mark and Garret and Janet and all the kids, the tree decorated by Mike and John and more, everyone brought wonderful food for dinner. Beth and Lydia A and Lydia K and Anna led carol singing. Les made a fabulous plum pudding with hard sauce. It was a lovely evening. Thank you.

Collection of photos.

If photos interest you, this is a fantastic Website. I got it from John Chase. Frank

 

 

http://shorpy.com/

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Sunday, December 6, 2009
Second Sunday of Advent
Sermon: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Preacher: The Rev. Reinhard Krauss

Sermon Text: Isaiah 65: 17-25
17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well. 24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Question to Ponder: In this text, the writer of the book of Isaiah envisions the future as a world radically transformed. The ‘golden age’ is not the beginning but the goal of God’s creation. Do you share Isaiah’s conviction that the best is yet to come - or do you look to the past as a more perfect time than the present? What are your hopes and expectations for the future?

Please note: Brunch will not be served after worship, we are focusing all of our culinary efforts on the Wassail Party in the evening, we invite you to bring a dish