Confirmed in their faith
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Confirmation is a Sacrament given to those who have reached a stage in life where they feel ready to make a mature commitment to the Christian faith and life. It is a sign of God's commitment to them as well as theirs to Him.
Bishop Martin Wallace was making his third trip to St Luke's in his first year in the job, and he Confirmed no fewer than ten people of widely different ages.
St Luke's is home to all sorts of people (during our spell with no Vicar, Bishop Martin's predecessor-but-one, Bishop Clifford Barker, preached at St Luke's and called for an "All Sorts' Day" to go with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day!), and we include people who have thoughtfully and prayerfully chosen not to be confirmed yet. We respect their careful decision to wait, and we rejoice with those who have decided that the time is right.
Licensing Liz: St Luke's third Reader
A third member of St Luke's has become a Reader, and part of the leadership team.
Liz Carrington, who has been a member of St Luke's for many years since becoming a Christian, was licensed with nine other new Readers on the 20th November in a service at York Minster, by the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope.
She joins St Luke's other Readers, Lynn Comer and Trevor Gant, in helping to lead services and other activities to build up the church as the body of Christ.
Liz works as a Physiotherapist, and has made a number of trips to the Third World with Christian mission organisations to share her skills there. 
St Luke's has always prayed for her when she's been away, and now we give thanks that God has called her to continue her work and ministry here with us as a Reader.
...But we don't suppose that will be the end of her globetrotting! As ever Liz, be assured of our prayers, at home or wherever you are.
Gareth's Selby date approaches
Gareth Wardell, a long-standing St Luke's member who is training for the priesthood, is to be the next Curate of Selby Abbey.
After many years of health adminstration and mission work in the Third World, and more recently studies in Postwar Reconstruction, Gareth entered the "vicar factory" in 2003. He will be ordained Deacon in York Minster next June - but as yet we don't know who will ordain him, because there won't be an Archbishop of York at that time!
As Curate of Selby Abbey, Gareth will follow in the footsteps of Steve Whaley, another St Luke's member who who was Curate there in the 1980s before going on to become a Vicar in Hull.
We pray for Gareth, that his last months of training and study will be full of blessings to take with him as he goes to work and learn with the people of Selby next year.
Oops - they did it again
For the second time this year, St Luke's has won the York Churches' Under 13s Five-a Side football tournament at Heslington.
St Luke's boys' team won nearly every game they played in the tournament organised by John Eckersley, husband of Nancy, Vicar of Heslington. They drew against St Luke's girls!
Our picture shows the Captain of last June's victorious team (left) handing the Trophy to his successor (right), surrounded by players and home supporters.
Click HERE for details of the June 2004 victory.
Thank God for St Luke!
The feast of St Luke - the 18th October - is a day to celebrate here.
Our Patron Saint isn't someone we know much about, but we do know that he wrote the third Gospel (one of four accounts of the life and death of Jesus Christ in the Bible) and the book of The Acts of the Apostles, which tells how Jesus' twelve chosen Apostles got the Church going.
Luke was a doctor - like our Vicar - and seems to have been a companion of St Paul as he travelled around the Middle East spreading the Word of Jesus to the world beyond Palestine.
So on Sunday morning our 9.30am service was a special thanksgiving for St Luke, his writings and his example to us.
But Saturday evening was a party! Thanks to Mark and Lesley for organising it, Alison for leading us in (kind of) singing, and especially to Simon for the superb catering.
Various quizzes proved how little we all know, and a spot of Barn Dancing (picture top right) was good fun once we worked out that it had to be done on tiptoe to stop the CD jumping!
Well done and thanks to all concerned - including, of course, St Luke.
Give us today our daily bread...
St Luke's celebrated this year's harvest on Sunday 26th September.
Even in a town parish, we have good reason to give thanks for all that God provides for us and the whole of the human family each year.
We don't - we mustn't - forget those parts of the world where our sisters and brothers don't get their fair share of the riches of the earth.
We brought gifts of food and drink, in gratitude to God, to be sent on afterwards to Carecent, one of York's hostels for homeless people.
We heard how some of the young people had been learning about Jesus as the Bread of Life - and three of his disciples dropped in on their way home from hearing Jesus explaining (right). They seemed a bit slow to grasp what he meant - that just as bread nourishes our bodies, so he himself and his Father nourish our soul and spirit.
St Luke's young people sang to the glory of God at the front of a full church - it was good to be a child of God and to receive all that he gives us.
Oh yes - and we ended on a high note with the announcement of the engagement of Helen and Peter - that's Peter in characteristic pose with his guitar in the bottom picture. Congratulations!
Bethan's barnstorming beetle bash
The annual Beetle Drive in St Luke's Church Hall, organised by the Mothers' Union on the 18th September, was won by Bethan for the second year running!
A record-breaking twelve-beetle contest was hosted as ever by Mark Comer, with Wendy Sculthorp and Liz Davies as Umpires.
A frightening quantity of cake disappeared in the interval, and a good time was had by all.
Bethan's score was 134 out of a possible 168; commiserations to James for the lowest score - but the big bar of chocolate must have helped him come to terms with it.
Be there in 2005...
Activity week ends in a hail of popcorn
St Luke's 2004 children's Activity week ended during the 9.30am Sunday service on the 29th August with a quiz.
Since the theme was The Movies, the quiz - which was adults against children - was to see who could win the most popcorn for answering questions on Bible stories that had somehow cropped up during the week.
Needless to say, the children trounced the adults - though to be fair, many of the adults hadn't been there during the week!
St Luke's is indebted to the dozens of people who put in a huge effort for the week - and it wasn't all over until the church hall was put straight after the Sunday service.
Look out for St Luke's Activity Week 2005 - it will be advertised in Grapevine (St Luke's magazine for the Burton Stone Lane area) and on this site.
Get noticed - St Luke's new face on Burton Stone Lane
"Welcome to your Parish Church", says the new bit of hardware outside St Luke's.
It's only a notice board, but it's been re-vamped and tidied up, and doesn't it look nice sitting there among the flowers?.
There's some important stuff on it...
- St Luke's is your Parish Church if you want to worship here and be part of the family.
- At last, the name of our Vicar, Steve Benford, appears on the board (sorry it took five months, Steve!)
- Beside the church's name, it points out that St Luke's is part of the Church of England - because while we are Christians first and foremost, that's who we are.
- There are also reminders of service times and other regular stuff, and a space for some notices and pictures about what's going on.
- Oh yes, and this web site address is on it too!
Stop and have a read some time...
Star Quality - St Luke's Activity Week 2004
St Luke's Activity Week 2004 (20th to 27th August) is under way! This year's theme is the tinseltown world of Hollywood, under the title STAR MAKERS.
Each year, St Luke's Activity Week draws in dozens of children from the parish and nearby for a week of action-packed mornings.
A huge effort by St Luke's members sees the church and hall cleared and set up for all sorts of activities - making and painting, acting and singing, learning and playing, having fun and meeting Jesus Christ in it all.
There's hardly a church member who isn't involved in some way.
Each morning begins with a "Stoscar" ceremony - the presentation of the coveted award for a feature film. Sadly, Noah, Ruth, Daniel (and for that matter the lions) were all unable to be with us... but we've met some pretty wacky film directors along the way.
The cast of Scooby Doo appeared (honest, folks) to read the nominations on Wednesday morning, and there have been some other high-profile visits too.
So what's it all about? It's a break for parents who've been keeping their children happy at home for five weeks now - and a break for the children too!
It's a practical way that St Luke's contributes to the community we serve, and it brings the church family together at the same time.
Above all, it gives a glimpse of Jesus Christ to many children and their adults who may not know Him - and now everyone knows where to come to find out more!
George is just one of a kind
A St Luke's member was one of a very select lunch party in Scarborough on the 5th August 2004.
George Austin was Archdeacon of York from 1988 to 1999, and became a member of St Luke's with his wife Bobby when he retired.
But this year, as for the last three or four, he re-visited his days as Archdeacon in distinguished company.
George went to Scarborough for a lunch date with three other Archdeacons of York: the Venerable Richard Seed, the present Archdeacon who took over from George in 1999; the Venerable Leslie Stanbridge from whom George took over in 1988 (and who is well known at St Luke's because of his help with services during our recent time with no Vicar); and the Venerable Charles Forder (97), from whom Leslie Stanbridge took over in 1972!
It's thought to be unique in the Church of England to have four living holders of the same senior post - let alone for them to meet once a year for lunch.
For the record, their combined ages are 309; their combined years in the priesthood are 204; and between them they have been Archdeacons of York for the last 47 years.
How does it feel to be almost the baby of the group, George?
The 2004 Pathfinders' Weekend: Slaithwaite survives!
A group of St Luke's teenagers - the Pathfinders - spent the weekend of the 3rd July at Westwood Christian Centre, Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield.
It rained... but trips out to a mining museum and a bowling centre went ahead, as did the making of a 'stained glass window' now on show in St Luke's Church. The 'window' depicts scenes and words on the subject of darkness and light.
Stalwart helpers went along too to ensure that every need was catered for - except sleep, of course - and to lead the group in praise and learning about God and his world.
We're all indebted to everyone who worked hard and gave up their own weekends to make this happen - and to the Pathfinders themselves who help to keep St Luke's lively and awake!.
Rain soaks clothes but doesn't dampen spirits:
Parish Pilgrimage to Lastingham
Wednesday 23rd June brought rain to North Yorkshire and a couple of dozen members of St Luke's to Lastingham, the village on the southern edge of the North York Moors whose church stands on an ancient pilgrimage site.
Forming into two groups, the hardy souls walked two different routes to Lastingham Church, where Vicar of Lastinham the Revd Dr Alastair Ferguson led a service of Holy Communion in the ancient Crypt.
Like all good pilgrimages, our meeting with each other, with nature (quite a lot of which fell on us) and with God ended in the pub before we went home to dry out!
Thanks to all those who organised the occasion: to Dr Ferguson for leading our worship, and above all to Mark Comer for having planned the route and made the arrangements beforehand.
St Luke's Under 13 5-a-Side team triumphs
St Luke's came away from the twice-yearly Heslington Inter-Church Under 13s 5-a-Side Football tournament with the winners' trophy on the 20th June.
Organised by John Eckersley of Heslington Church, the tournament happens on the school playing field. St Luke's topped a list of nine teams from across York, including another St Luke's team!
The winning side included the youngest player in the contest, aged seven, who actually scored one of St Luke's goals - against Acomb St Aidan and St Stephen, who were runners-up.
The team Captain said, "How the heck did we do that? I think we deserve to win it because all the other original teams from the first tournament have won it at one time or another."
Unfortunately, St Luke's Vicar, Steve Benford, missed the great victory because he was away watching some other match in Portugal. He must be kicking himself - the Heslington result was a lot better than the one in Portugal...
Churches come together for Ascension Day
On Thursday 21st May 2004 St Luke's was host to two neighbouring churches, for a service celebrating Ascension Day - when Jesus Christ was taken up into heaven forty days after rising from the dead.
Members of neighbouring St Olave's and St Thomas' Churches joined some of St Lukes' own members for a service of Holy Communion, at which St Thomas' Vicar, the Revd Sharon Whittington, was preacher. Sharon trained for the priesthood with St Luke's Vicar, Steve Benford.
She said that we should be inspired by Jesus' return from the the dead, and by the way he was taken up to heaven, because these events show how God can do the unimaginable in the world around us.
Singing at the service was led by St Luke's Music Group, and was a great opportunity to strengthen our links with some of our next-door neighbours and praise God together.
This is our faith: welcome to Marie-Clare
Sunday the 2nd May was a special day for one former member of St Luke's, when Marie Clare returned from her present studies in Swansea to be baptised.
She had become a regular member of St Luke's while in York for her postgraduate studies, and found herself called to baptism and confirmation as a Christian.
While many members of the Church of England are baptised as babies, through their parents' choice, others make that choice for themselves as adults.
It was a happy occasion when Marie-Clare returned to St Luke's from Swansea, where she is now studying, to be baptised during our 9.30am Parish Communion service, among friends and some of those with whom she had found her faith. She will be confirmed in a few weeks in her present church in Swansea.
St Luke's new Vicar Licensed by the Bishop of Selby
On the 11th March 2004, the Revd Dr Steve Benford became Vicar of St Luke's when he was Licenced by the Bishop of Selby, the Rt Revd Martin Wallace.
Steve was welcomed by members of St Luke's and by many clergy from the Deanery of York, who took part in the service with the Bishop and the Archdeacon of York, the Venerable Richard Seed.
St Luke's had been without a Vicar since the Revd Tim Gill left to become Rector of Adel, Leeds, in September 2002.
Lent 2004: "Let Us Worship the Lord"
The Season of Lent (the forty days up to Easter in which the Church remembers the suffering, arrest, trial, torture and death of Jesus Christ) in 2004 was marked by St Luke's with a course of five guest speakers on Wednesday evenings.
"Let Us Worship the Lord" looked at aspects of prayer and worship - what's going on when we meet with God as a Church, as private individuals, in services and in everyday life.