WHAT IS THE NICEST THING
THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU
IN CONNECTION WITH SAINT LUKE'S CHURCH?
Below are responses to the question "What is the nicest thing that ever happened to you in connection with Saint Luke's Church?" Please share them with your friends, both within the parish and farther afield. Then add your own St. Luke's story by sending us an e-mail. What better way to keep us all in mind of how much the church means to us, and how much we would lose if we allowed its doors to close? And what better way to invite the wider community in than by spreading the word about just how wonderful and sustaining life at Saint Luke's can be?
MY ST. LUKE’S COMMUNITY
STORY: IT’S NOT JUST A CHURCH
The story of how I became St. Luke’s parish administrator is a happy one.
In 2002, a friend invited my husband David and me to see him perform in the
Gingerbread Players’ production of Much Ado About Nothing — which
it definitely wasn’t, because we met many warm, friendly, multi-talented
people there. When the group held auditions for Godspell, David tried out and
was cast. He has appeared in every Gingerbread Players production since and
currently sings bass in St. Luke’s choir. I made a five-minute appearance
in The Music Man (so much talent on one stage!) and will appear again in The
Sleeping Beauty (so much glorious music!). Recently, I have been videotaping
Gingerbread productions starting with As You Like It, and I did like it, but
my main interest lies in baking. If you would like to see my recipes, go to
www.bake4me.com.
When I heard that the parish administrator position was open, I “auditioned,”
eager to assist Father Reese and St. Luke’s parishioners. Like David and
Godspell, I got the part. Acting as parish administrator is much more fulfilling
for me than my previous positions because I am giving back to people with whom
I have a long-term, extracurricular relationship, and to a community that has
warmly welcomed David and me. It’s not just a job — it’s a
lifestyle.
–Sally Friedman,
Parish Administrator
TESS CONTE
The feast of St. Luke this year will be the tenth anniversary of my first visit
to this church. I had been attending Episcopal services since college, but always
at large churches where I felt happily invisible. When I finally got up the
courage to come inside, everyone was wearing red, and I wanted to run, but Fred
Guinter was the usher that day, and his smile and greeting made me feel that
even if I weren't 'with the program' in terms of my color scheme, I was welcome.
I cannot choose one specific incident that makes me feel that St. Luke's is
home. It's a fluid, continuous sort of cocoon that the people of the parish
weave around each other, that seems to say, "no matter what heartache or
trauma or doubt---you belong here and we're here for each other."
NOELLE LENTI
PAST: Anthony's recent debut with the Gingerbread Players.
My baptism at the Vigil of Easter, 2003.
A special Christmas gift, 2001.
PRESENT: The beatific vision of Acolyte Anthony.
FUTURE: Our continuing spiritual journey- the "Leap of Faith" à la Soren Kierkegaard.
THE HISTORY: Once upon a time, September 1995 to be exact, two classmates became buddies. The families became better acquainted, leading to an invitation to visit St. Luke's Church.
April 1996: A visit with a sense of "home". A new food driver recruited. Mother & child gravitate to Quaker meeting as a spiritual home. Its silent meetings are of great comfort.
Christmas Eve, 2000: one of the buddies, now a young man, grumbles about having to go to church with his parents.
Christmas Eve, 2001: same folks, same complaint, with the added lament, "And my pal will NOT EVEN BE THERE!" The grumbling changed to sheer delight upon entering St. Luke's Church: a surprise Christmas gift in the presence of JOEY DINAS, with Jackie, Barbara and Paul!!!
February-March 2002: Two major traumas, indeed, metaphorical earthquakes, befall the Lenti family within a 26-day period .
Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday 2002: Mother and child, seeking solace & to
"make a joyful /sorrowful NOISE onto the Lord", find same at St. Luke's
Church. Thanks be to God. AMEN.
PETER NORCROSS COOK: To anyone residing in the greater Forest Hills area, I strongly urge you to get over to St. Luke's Church right away. They need you, and you will need them too. Trust me, you will never regret it.
I was lucky enough to spend my protracted formative years in the midst of St. Luke's Church (age 12 to 35) , for which I give humble & hearty thanks to Almighty God every day of my life. What a privilege to carry the innumerable benefits procured unto me, from the love of Christ therein. The nicest thing that ever happened? Yikes, that's tough. I can only respond with a few anecdotes and fond remembrances. Let's see.....
The long-term nicest thing was probably Day 1, being introduced in the Narthex and receiving a warm invitation, from Anne Becker as I remember distinctly, to attend St. Luke's Seniors (Youth Group) that afternoon. New to the big city, I was a shy, dopey, unassuming lad from a recently broken home, and was doubtful that this was for me or I was for them, but my mother made me go: "they seem nice, you might like it".
That Narthex encounter led to future involvement in virtually every aspect of spiritual and community life for me at St. Luke's Church. I think the only ministry I didn't actively participate in was Altar Guild, although I often practiced at the organ while others were doing that good work on Saturday.
Acolyte duty was my most enriching experience, especially while assisting with preparation of the Sacraments. Canon Blomquist was magnificantly proper; I still chuckle at his affectionate but firm remark after Igoofed an important ritual: "Do I have to tell you the facts of life too"? I like that he cared enough to humorously admonish daydreaming-me to pay better attention when in the service of the Lord and others. His confirmation classes were challenging and illuminating. We learned not recitation, but how and why. He took the time to ask questions and to thoroughly explain the context and meaning of our liturgy. Canon Blomquist's firm foundation of faith continues to serve me daily.
Harriet Morin was, without equal, one of the most influencial people in my
life. After years of Episcopal School choir and piano lessons (a brat who never
practiced), only Miss Morin could get through to me with caring instruction
and an uncompromising ability to impart elegant and precise standards of delivery
- "don't scoop!" - not to mention her excellent taste in musical selections.
Choir rehearsals were hard work, and a hoot. Who could forget Dick Stokes' hilarious
comments. Latin or German text? No probelm, "Repeat after me....".
Canticle pointing? "Let's not breath at the end of that phrase, it sounds
muddy". Vivaldi Gloria? "We'll break into groups. Tenors and Basses,
upstairs with me". My hymn suggestion? "I like camp meetings, but
it's barely sacred and far too corny for an episcopal visit ". Tocotta
& Fugue? "Nothing's impossible, you will learn it in pieces, let's
begin with the pedal part.....". I got started at the organ as Harriet's
page turner when recording Puccinni's Messa di Gloria, and was fascinated, so
decided to give it a try. At lesson time, we used her dog-eared workbooks from
Julliard, and she shared every discipline of practice, procedure and habit that
could be mustered for my [slow] learning enrichment.
Harriet Morin also taught me that performances were for the Parish House and
elsewhere, and a good thing; but that Sacred Music in the church was a Ministry
of the Word, for the enhancement of worship to the Glory of God alone. The first
service I ever played was for the Womans' Guild. A nervous wreck, I made several
mistakes. When the postlude finished, a beaming Miss Morin emerged from the
nearby stairwell with a twinkle in her eye, assuring me that ''it sounded good,
a few slips are expected, its recovery that counts, and besides we're only at
40% capacity under pressure". Patient, encouraging, and dedicated to excellence,
she was a good person!
The Rev. & Mrs. M. Joseph Farley were also wonderful to me. The rectory was my second home for many years; if I wore out my welcome, they never showed it. I even took my driving test in Mr. Farley's black Volvo. He wasn't a relaxed passenger, but possessed absolute Christ-like qualities in matters of faith and pastoral care. My most profound moments of Grace with God occurred while serving as acolyte on midweek holy days, with sometimes nobody in that beautiful church except the Holy Spirit and us. I love a standing room crowd, stately procession, mitars, trumpets, rousing responses, you name it, but Joe Farley made those quiet times devoutly fulfilling.
St. Luke's was welcoming and inclusive long before these virtues were popular, and in all my travels as supply organist, I have never observed a more diverse, dedicated and talented collection of individuals serving a Parish. Regardless of secular circumstances, everbody brought unique and valuable contributions to the enrichment of St. Luke's Church. Completely intergenerational, St. Luke's engages everybody in virtually all aspects of life in the Church, most outwardly visible in The Gingerbread Players productions. I never baked Gingerbread and had no imagination for costumes, but tried helping with scenery, got to be Stage Manager once, collected tickets, played the original Pied Piper [wigs were scarce in 1973, and I was briefly fired for an unauthorized haircut!], was a townsperson in the reprise, and they daringly let me sing a few bars as Snow White's love interest. Thankfully, the heartbreak of closing nights were assuaged by well earned awards, rousing applause and wonderful parties. There was something for everybody, and everybody for something, while benefiting both the church and the FH community.
Our Youth Group enjoyed active support of the clergy & laity. We did everything: spiritual retreats, cultural outings, games & picnics in Forest Park, bowling, movies, cleaning the 71st Street subway platform, rehab and nursing home visits, lively engagement in liturgical study & discussion, and spirited fund raising with car washes, bake sales, and hosting ambitious parish dinners. I so fondly remember pushing heavy laden grocery carts from Waldbaums on Yellowstone to the kitchen back door. The greatest challenge was successful negotiation across bumpy Station Square, not food preparation, because Barbara Trippel and other angels of mercy came to our 11th hour culinary rescue. Then, in the best spirit of Anglican tradition, we'd have even more fun expressing our "deeply held divergent points of view" about how best to give away all the money.
Chip Stokes and I were hired by the Vestry to scrape, spackle and paint the Parish House top to bottom, which took two summers. Walter Koetzle served as project manager, instructor, supply procurement agent, and seasoned boss. Dick Westney was our benevolent foreman, expressing genuine concern that we might suffer closed area toxic brain damage, or worse - fall from the scaffolding. By the Grace of God and under caring supervision, we survived! I graduated to painting parishoners' laundry rooms, gardening & lawncare, cleaning gutters, polishing andirons, washing windows and other domestic endeavors that serve me quite well as a homeowner today. Chip Stokes became a priest, and many of us were fortunate enough to be present at his ordination. For those who remember us, Frances & I now live in Baltimore, where Caroline is a Junior at Oldfields School studying acting, music & dance, and Fred Guinther's godson George is a varsity tennis player, football kicker and 9th grade student vestry member at St. Paul's School. My sisters Victoria, Valerie and Claudia have seven children between them and, thanks to the gift and heritage of St. Luke's Church, are all active church goers living in North Carolina, Colorado and Arizona, respectively.
We miss our St. Luke's people: Stokes, Creigh, Koetzle, Guinther, Thornton, Banci, Hounsell, Smith, Grant, Lee, Trippel, Hogan, Miller, Moore, Van Westering, Shanley, Becker, Seylar, Murty, Pearson, Quist, Thayer, Manly, Samuels, Ludwig, Albert, Graham, Alexander, Bernard, Bonner, Dinas, Yelverton, Hertwig, Westney, Eggington, Roecker, Vickers, Harris, Relyea, and countless others, here and gone.
Lastly, I offer a hastily composed St. Luke's Church personal top ten list:
Favorite Place: Beneath eternal flame at the World Peace Altar.
Favorite Sound: Roll of the Parish House door at the opening hymn.
Favorite Sight: That old rugged Cross in procession.
Favorite Scent: Fresh Gingerbread.
Beauty of Holiness: The Windows.
Best Accoutrement: Coolest Baptismal Font in all of Christendom.
Best Tradition: Neighborhood Christmas caroling.
Worst Kept Secret: The dumbwaiter for hide 'n go seek.
Recurring Nightmare: The Leaky Tower.
Greatest Fear: Episcopal deconsecration.
Greatest Hope: Perpetuity of mission ad infinitum.
Wishing a blessed Eastertide to all,
Easter Day 2004
ANN WESTNEY: My nicest recollection of St. Luke's is to have experienced
God's love through this parish family of dear friends, who have filled our lives
for so many years.
ANONYMOUS: I was searching for a place where I could find the beautiful liturgy I remembered as a child. After attending my first service at St. Luke's, I realized what I wanted was right there. The services are conducted with reverence; the sermons are inspiring, centered on the Gospel, and many times include pertinent comments on conditions in today's world.
I noticed especially the spirit of cooperation among the members of the congregation and realized that this is how the many interesting events take place at St. Luke's. The willingness of the rector to poll the people for their opinions on any changes to be made at the church is a very positive attribute. It shows that St. Luke's is, indeed, a church of and for the people.
I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I appreciate all the good things I have found at St. Luke's.
JEANINE MCPARTLIN:
1) Joining the Gingerbread Players
2) Joining the choir
3) Making friends in my new neighborhood.
DAISY LUDWIG: Two years ago, after a visit to California, I returned home with an unknown, serious infection. I was transferred to Mt. Sinai Hospital. Several specialists were consulted. Even Terry Farrow came to cheer me up. After one week, I returned to my apartment. Unable to speak to anyone about my fears, I called Father Tom. He listened to me and prayed with me. After a few days, I was well, thanks to God's help.
LOUISE FOISY: I was the mother of a 4-year old when I arrived at St.
Luke's. Mollie Smith made a tremendous impression on me. The ease and joy she
displayed in teaching the Sunday School class was inspiring. She has a vast
knowledge of the bible, but more importantly perhaps, she is able to teach the
lessons in a wonderful way. Her students clearly adored her. I soon began teaching
the younger students--every week Mollie provided me with the filmstrips, take-home
pages and a basket of cookies. I was ill-prepared for my assignment, but Mollie's
good humor, kindness and warmth made me feel up to the task.
I recall the Passover Seder that she would hold for her students each year, and I remember helping her prepare dozens of youngsters for the annual Christmas Pagaent. The familiar costumes were pressed off, and halos and crowns were carefully pinned into place. Most years we were blessed to have a young family of the parish play Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. I can still see Mollie and Milburn watching the pagaent from the narthex - beaming as the children made their way up the aisle, sweetly singing the Christmas hymns. They were sharing a special moment watching their little granddaughters.
STEPHEN T. BANCI: I am quite fortunate in that my favorite moment at Saint Luke's Church occurs on a regular basis. Midway through the Sunday-morning service, as the Holy Eucharist is celebrated, I find myself literally surrounded by the family of Saint Luke's as we come together once again to receive Communion in celebration of perhaps the most fundamental and tangible tenet of Christian life. It is a true and joyful experience. Rarely do I feel closer to God and to the Saint Luke's community.
JANE THORNTON: Where to begin? So many nice things have happened to me at St. Luke's! Here are just a few.
In 1962 my husband and I had just moved to Forest Hills and had been "church shopping," looking for a place of worship that would suit both Lew, baptized Roman Catholic but non-practicing, and me, a life-long member of the Evangelical and Reformed Church which had recently become part of the United Church of Christ. The moment we walked through St. Luke's doors, we knew we had come home. Impressed by the beauty of the building, the high quality of the music, the warmth of the parishioners, and the charm of rector Tom Blomquist, we immediately became members. One year later I was confirmed and Lew was received into the Episcopal Church.
Our son was baptized at St. Luke's, and he and our daughter were confirmed here. They were involved in many church activities, including the junior and youth choirs and Gingerbread Players shows, and piano lessons from wonderful Harriet Morin, organist, choir director, and founder of Gingerbread Players. One day while I was chatting with Harriet, she said to me, "You sound like a tenor. Why don't you think about joining the senior choir?" I was thrilled! Participating in the music of the service has always been my most deeply felt form of worship and one of my greatest joys. Ages ago I had loved singing alto in the children's choir of my church in Pennsylvania and later in my junior high school's chorus, but surprise! Harriet was right - over the years, I'd turned into a tenor, and I've been singing in the choir ever since.
St. Luke's is my church home and its members my dear friends and extended family. It fulfills my need for spiritual, cultural and intellectual enrichment, not to mention just plain fun at parish social activities. When I tell my non-St. Luke's friends about everything that goes on here in addition to the services - Gingerbread Players musicals and plays, adult and youth Christian education, pop and classical concerts, the Imaginauction, picnics, parties, lectures - their reaction is always the same: "That sounds like some church!" And indeed it is.
I hope and pray the day will never come when St. Luke's is forced to close
the doors I first walked through 42 years ago, but hope and prayer alone won't
keep those doors open. That's why all of us who love our church must achieve
St. Luke's fund-raising goal by increasing our pledge as best we can. Additionally,
here's something else you might want to consider doing. On birthdays, Christmas
and other gift-giving occasions, my family and I have always made donations
to favorite charities instead of giving each other a lot of things we may not
really want or need. Recently my son and I have requested that those donations
be made to St. Luke's. This really is "the gift that keeps on giving"!
Please think about it.
VERA and OSCAR MORON: Next June we will celebrate our 10th year at St.
Lukes. From the start we have admired the beauty of the church, the wonderful
Choir Music and enjoyed the church activities. The nicest thing apart from the
meaningful church service and communion each Sunday, is the friendship of many
great people and feeling of concern for the congregation's well being as we
worship and work together.
JOANNA GUINTHER: St. Luke's provides me the opportunity to do things
for sheer love.
The Choir, The Gingerbread Players, and the Rummage Sale: I do all of these
things with my whole heart, for the joy of it, not out of obligation or for
reward.
At the end of every Gingerbread Players production, flowers are presented to
the production crew: our 'Academy Awards.' After Where's Charley, Frank
Fallon came on with a bouquet of flowers. The notes in his other hand turned
out to be about the costume designer - me. By the time he was done, I was walking
on air and didn't come down for a week. I float back up there just remembering
it. I do the costumes for fun and don't need the fuss or the flowers to make
it worthwhile. At St. Luke's Church, someone invariably thanks you for
it.
ANN F. CHAMBERLAIN: One Sunday morning a few years ago, the appointed lector for the Old Testament reading wasn't at Church, and I was asked at the last moment to fill in. The passage was the story of Ruth, my mother's favorite.
As I stood at the lectern and began to read the warm and loving story about Ruth and Naomi, I found myself fighting back tears. My voice cracked and quivered, and after each successive sentence I had to take deeper and deeper breaths to calm myself and continue reading - especially difficult was the heartfelt devotion of "Whither thou goest, so go I."
Well, I got through it and after the service Bill Bennett (who was in charge of the lectors and always admonished us against reading too quickly) came up to me and congratulated me. He complimented me particularly on the rhythm of my reading. "Most people," he said, "increase the speed of their reading as they get to the end, but you keep slowing down and that was very effective."
Did he really connect with the emotion of my reading, or was he just trying to make me feel better? I'll never know, but either way it was lovely
JOYCE EGGINTON: My most treasured moments at. St. Luke's are the sacramental
ones. It gives me profound joy and fulfillment to assist at the Eucharist, to
try and make every Communion special for the person who is receiving it - which,
of course, it is, whether I am there or not. But it is a powerful experience
to be a link in the chain of Sunday worship, and to have the privilege of taking
Communion to the sick.
I have lost count of the number of baptisms and funerals at which I have assisted.
Every one of them has been meaningful, but none more so than the baptism of
my grandson William, some 34 years after his father John was baptized from the
same St. Luke's font. I am enriched by this sense of continuum at St. Luke's,
and by the knowledge that this parish has faithfully served so many for so long.
And will, I believe, go on doing so.
ELIZA SMITH VALLETTE: I truly cannot pick only one thing. The first happy memory that came to my mind was getting married at St. Luke's to my wonderful husband, Jim Vallette. Father Tom married us, and the whole experience was very meaningful to us. We enjoyed our conversations with Tom before our marriage, when we picked out our favorite lessons and hymns and discussed what our hopes for marriage were.
But then, how could I not mention, all the happy hours singing in the choir? There have been so many terrific choir directors. The two that have had the most profound influence on me were Harriet Morin and Terry Farrow. They were the alpha and omega of my time in the choir; I started singing in the choir in 3rd grade with Miss Morin and finished up with Terry shortly before I moved to Maine. Aside from the joy of singing, I loved the sense of fellowship I encountered in the choir. My favorite service is Christmas Eve, when the candles are lit and the choir sings all the pieces they have been rehearsing all fall. I love seeing all the friends from the community who come home for the holidays gathered together late on a wintry night with smiles on their faces.
I also loved having my Mom, Mollie Smith, teach Sunday school to me and my friends. I think she did it for me initially, but she discovered the joy of teaching and continued it for many years. My only regret is that I didn't always pay close enough attention. Now I wish I could hear all the biblical stories again and have the philosophical discussions that she brought to the table.
Lastly, I would like to mention the joy of working with my Dad, Milburn Smith, in Gingerbread Players productions. He wasn't the only Gingerbread director. There have been other equally talented directors of Gingerbread Players, but he was and remains closest to my heart. Boy, we had fun! Every Sat. and Sun afternoon in the winter was spent surrounded by music and laughter. It has been so gratifying to me to see the next generation enjoy the same things I did when I was a kid. I know my nieces Olivia and Zoe enjoy being in the plays, and that means a lot to me. Knowing that Louise Guinther and Stephen Banci have the vision and dedication to direct is also terrific, because it means that this part of St. Luke's, which I adored, will continue.
And that's why I love St. Luke's.
JIM CHAMBERLAIN: My daughter BB told me that she always looked forward to Saturday afternoons when I had been working in the garden because I always seemed so happy. I guess, then, it is no surprise that one of my best memories at St. Luke's is associated with Lawn Patrol. Scot Williams, Lu Guinther and I had finished up our Saturday morning choresand we were resting a bit on the Parish Hall steps. The two of them got to talking about a discussion they had on faith at a seder they'd been to at the home of a cast member in Godspell. There I was, feeling that lovely contentment I get from looking at a freshly mown lawn, hearing things about the Jewish and Christian faiths that I had never known before from two young whippersnappers who had been invited to a Jewish seder of a new (and now endeared) member of the GBP open-faith, loved-filled community. How like St. Luke's, I thought.
DOLLY GUINTHER: For me, the best things that have happened at Saint
Luke's were not socko one-moment events, but rather cumulative.
So when Harriet Morin asked me to come try the choir, I did so with trepidation.I
hadn't sung in a choir since sixth grade, and I found that my reading skill
had disintegrated, I frequently lost my place in the music, and I had a lot
of southern-sounding vowels that had no place in Latin texts. I could not know
that all this mild embarrassment was leading to lifelong friendships, a wonderful
run with the Gingerbread Players, many parties and many laughs. In addition,
this was the beginning of a musical education for my children, who loved to
sing, to mess around with plays, and to hang out with their buddies -- all of
which treats came along with participation in the junior choir.In other words,
the nicest moment had to grow settle for twenty years or so before I could recognize
it.
JIM BATES: When my mother, who is eighty-nine and had never been sick
since she was seventeen years old, was rushed to the hospital in Connecticut
early on September 5, 2003, I was in great distress and concern. She was operated
on two days later, and over four months she was in and out of the hospital.
The entire congregation of St. Lukes prayed for her recovery, and several members
always asked how she was doing. This sense of family and honest concern for
a loved one no one knew personally touched me. This total experience had a major
influence on my life. Without the support of this church and its' congregation
I am most certain that I would not have handled this time of concern and stress
as well as I did with everyone's help.
Thank you St. Lukes for welcoming me and my family. God bless St. Lukes.
ANDREW DINAN: When we were new to the parish, Oscar and Vera Moron invited
us to dinner. Just before dinner was set on the table, Daddy displaced Luke's
elbow. Oscar drove us to the emergency room and waited literally hours in the
car while we waited for Luke to be treated. After Luke's successful treatment
for nursemaid's elbow, Oscar drove us back to his place, where he and Vera treated
us to what was now a midnight supper.
LUKE's own story is this: He said during Shirley's presentation, "I
know the nicest thing I got from St. Luke's."
"What's that, son?"
"I've learned to be less angry."
"How, son?"
"From Sunday school and everything teaching me about the way of Jesus." Upstaged again!
BARBARA GLICK: After Sept. 11, many people lost their lives and homes
forever. I found both the following Sunday at St. Luke's Church. I, a lost sheep,
found my flock of friends and extended family in this beautiful sanctuary, where
people accepted me for who I am, as Jesus would have.
Creativity, love, friendship and spirituality flourish here, therefore so do
I. If this place came tumbling down, many souls would, too.
LOUISE GUINTHER: On a September Sunday in 2002, during the 10:30 service,
Father Doubleday asked the St. Luke's congregation to pray "for Milburn
Smith, who lies dying." As I groped for my hanky, I looked around me and
discovered that, as Milburn might have put it, there wasn't a dry eye in the
house - and it was quite a full house that day.
All that weeping may seem an odd choice for nicest moment, but as a very wise
person once said to me, there is good sad and bad sad, and for me that was the
best possible kind. I had never felt so close to such a large group of people
all at once, and I couldn't help thinking how wonderful it was that St. Luke's
had provided Milburn with a forum in which to be his inimitable self, and given
all those people a chance to know him and cherish him as he deserved. Could
a church do anything nicer for its members than that?
GERT HOUNSELL: Ten years ago, when my husband died, the snow was three feet high, but the church was crowded at his service. (He was a former warden.) I will never forget the outpouring of love on that occasion.
BRIAN PERCIVAL: There are several things I might suggest as the nicest thing that ever happened to me at St. Luke's, including getting married, but I would like to mention one little thing. Long before she or anyone else here knew me very well, when I would occasionally come to church, Joyce Egginton would invariably invoke my name when offering the cup at communion: "Brian, the Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation." That impressed me!
JEAN TESSIER: For me, the "nicest" thing about St. Luke's
is the complete sense of inclusion I have had from almost day one. Having been
on a spiritual journey of sorts, it was a rebirth for me to find a group of
like-mindedChristians who were focused on bringing people in, not keeping them
out. I had grown up Catholic, but had decided before I was thirteen that it
was not where I belonged.
I had always believed in God, but not always in organized religion. For me,
it had always seemed that the foundation of Christianity was love, yet I had
not previously found a place where this was actively practiced. Too many people
called themselves Christians while seeming to hate too many of their fellow
human beings. I wandered in to St. Luke's one day, searching for an answer.
That was one of those days when Tom welcomed "anyone seeking God's truth" to participate in Communion. This told me everything I needed to know.
The following weeks made my bond with St. Luke's stronger. By nature I am shy
and a little reserved until I feel entirely comfortable with my surroundings.
The parishioners of St. Luke's were friendly, but not at all pushy. I was made
to feel welcome, and at the same time given the time and space for the church
to find its way into my heart.
I participated in the Christmas Caroling party. I attended Gingerbread Players
events. By January of 2002, I was on the Outreach Committee. I found myself
helping with the Food Drive and working on the rummage sale and assisting with
publicity. Now, less than four years later, I am on the Vestry.
I love every minute of my time spent with my St. Luke's family. I feel like
we are doing good things in the world, and leaving it a better place than when
we came in to it, working together, with God's help. And that is more than "nice" to me!
SHIRLEY VICKERS: I recall a special moment on an evening twenty years ago, when Bishop Sherman had just confirmed me as an Episcopalian (noting in his homily an analogy for living a spiritually-guided life in this secular world: the chorister's looking down at the music while constantly glancing up at the conductor for direction). I was a bit lonely (my nearest family lived a thousand miles away), and Dolly Guinther brought me cookies.
Updated: 1/28/08