Greg Hoyland speaks on 'To Be a Living Sacrifice'

The Revd Greg Hoyland, who lectures in Theology at York St John University and is a frequent visitor and preacher at St Luke's, was the fifth and last speaker in St Luke's 2007 series of Lent talks on the theme of the Eucharist Service on Wednesday 28th March.

His subject was, 'To Be a Living Sacrifice' - the point at the end of the Eucharist service when we are sent back out into the world.

The Revd Greg Hoyland

Greg spoke of the Eucharist as an 'interval' in our life in the world - an interval in which we get back in touch with God through our gathering with each other.

As a congregation, we glorify God; confess our sins; receive and rejoice in God's forgiveness; listen to scripture and teaching on it; declare our faith; pray for ourselves, each other and the world; receive the body and blood of Jesus through the act of Communion... and then we are sent back out into the world "to be a living sacrifice" and "to live and work to [God's] praise and Glory" (quotes from the Church of England's Common Worship).

And the final dismissal takes us back to many of those earlier parts of the service: "Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord".

Greg asked us to discuss whether - and why - we felt troubled or excited by the gathering together for the Eucharist - and by the sending out at the end. Few were prepared to admit being troubled by the gathering, but some were occasionally apprehensive about the task facing us at the end of what is clearly a special experience for many - and much was said about the ways in which the Eucharist service brings us hope and strength "to love and serve the Lord" until the next time we gather in his name.

St Luke's a force to be reckoned with as York Churches' Youth Football gets under way again

St Luke's victorious 2006 squad receive their trophy

The York Churches Under-16s Five-a-Side Football tournaments have become a regular fixture in the local sporting calendar, and provide a great opportunity for young people of different churches to get together, burn off some energy... and usually gasp in amazement at the talent of St Luke's squad!

St Luke's playing in the lighter blue

The 25 March fixture at Archbishop Holgate's School began with the presentation of the 2006 trophy to St Luke's boys - and then it was down to business.

Once agin St Luke's fielded both boys' and girls' teams, with James Smith gallantly goalkeeping for the ladies - and scoring an amazing goal himself during a spare moment.

The final game of the afternoon saw St Luke's girls and boys playing each other in a closely-fought match, and goals were conceded on both sides.

St Luke's girls and boys showing each other no fear or favour

The afternoon's result saw St Luke's boys in second place at the beginning of the new season, behind Acomb Methodists, with St Luke's girls staunchly bearing the weight of the whole league table...

Thanks as ever to all concerned for the organisation behind the St Luke's teams, and especially to Manager Dom Benford and Manager Emeritus Lee Sculthorp.

Keith Jones speaks on 'Hearts and Hands and Voices'

The Very Revd Keith Jones, Dean of York Minster, was the fourth speaker in St Luke's 2007 series of Lent talks on the theme of the Eucharist Service on Wednesday 21st March.

His subject was, 'Hearts and Hands and Voices' - the ways and customs of celebrating the Eucharist service.

The Very Revd Keith Jones

As Dean of York - the boss of York Minster - and as a priest over several decades, Keith knows a thing or two about many of the historic customs adopted by different churches and taditions in celebrating this great sharing of Christ's body to feed his gathered children.

The Eucharist Service, he said, is a drama - something that is done, and done again and again - but, unlike the drama on TV or at the theatre, this is real, and not fiction.

Although he didn't tell us much about specific customs, he urged us to think about the way we go about the Eucharist, from the layout of the building to the way we choose to sit, stand or kneel. It's important, he said, to think about why we do things the way we do; then "really go for it" and do them wholeheartedly; and always do them in order to make the experience as real as possible for all those present and participating.

Discussion on the questions he set us ranged far and wide - but through it all there was general agreement that the sharing of the body and blood of Jesus is a supremely important act for the family of the Church, however we feel most able to bring it to life.

Thank God for Mums!

The best flowers you can give to mums are...

Mothering Sunday on the 18th March this year is a day to thank God for all our mums and everything they do or did for us - and to think about how we can take proper care of them.

So early on in our service the Explorers showed us the best possible bunch of flowers for any mum - us! God thinks so too - the best thing we can give him is ourselves. So mums are a bit like God sometimes.

Fine words are just that - what about the action?

Our Gospel reading was a bit unusual. We saw two schoolboys getting home to their mum, who was wearing a very nice flowery dress and a curly wig. She wanted them to tidy their bedrooms, and one said he would and the other said he wouldn't.

Well, after a lot of noise and bin bags flying around, both boys came back - but the one who said he wouldn't tidy his bedroom HAD done it... and the one who said he would tidy his room HADN'T... so which one was mum more pleased with?

Have a look at Matthew Chapter 21 vv28 - 32 if you don't get it!

As usual, the service ended with the handing out of flowers to mums and grand-mums, and anyone else who shares in the task given to us by Jesus Christ, of caring for each other and those around us.

Jeremy Fletcher speaks on 'This Is My Body'

Canon Jeremy Fletcher, Precentor (the priest in charge of organising services and how they are put together) at York Minster, was the third speaker in St Luke's 2007 series of Lent talks on the theme of the Eucharist Service on Tuesday 13th March.

His subject was, 'This Is My Body' - the part of the Eucharist service in which the bread and wine are blessed and shared as the body and blood of Jesus.

Canon Jeremy Fletcher

Jeremy was involved in the writing of 'Common Worship', the Church of England's service book introduced in 2002, so he was able to give us a real look 'under the bonnet' of the service so familiar to anyone who comes to St Luke's each Sunday morning at 9.30.

He asked us to think about some of the themes to be found in the 'Eucharistic Prayers' - the prayers led by the priest during which the bread and wine are blessed. There's thanksgiving; offering of ourselves; remembering Jesus; carrying out his instructions; praying for the Holy Spirit; reverence for the Glory of God... and the more you look, the more you find.

In particular, one of the questions he asked us to discuss afterwards was which of the half dozen or so names for the service we preferred and why? The Eucharist (thanksgiving); Holy Communion; the Lord's Supper; Breaking of Bread; the Last Supper; the Mass (being sent into the world after receiving God's grace): it is all these things and more, but some aspects may mean more to each of us than others.

Our discussions finished by thinking about how we might be able to spread the effect and the gift of the Eucharist more widely - both among those of any age who come to church, and to those outside the church who may not know what they are missing.

Ann Coleman speaks on 'Receive our Prayer'

The Revd Ann Coleman, Priest Director of Wydale Hall (the Diocese of York's Retreat and Conference Centre between Pickering and Scarborough), was the second speaker in St Luke's 2007 series of Lent talks on the theme of the Eucharist Service on Tuesday 6th March.

Her subject was, 'Receive Our Prayer' - the prayers used during the Eucharist service, and particularly the Gloria and the Intercessions.

The Revd Ann Coleman

She took us briefly through the history of how these prayers of adoration and supplication fit into the ACTS model of prayer (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication), and in turn into the pattern of today's Eucharist celebration.

The prayers help us to put ourselves in right relation to God (through the Gloria) and to the rest of our world (through our intercessions).

Discussion afterwards touched on what it means to live and pray 'Eucharistically', both in church and in the rest of our lives. Themes emerged about transformation, offering of ourselves in love and service to God and others, and being fed and nourished by God.

There was much food for thought about the process by which God takes our requests and hopes and turns them into opportunities to serve him through others in unexpected and sometimes startling ways.

Father Oswald OSB speaks on 'We Are Truly Sorry'

Fr Oswald McBride, a Roman Catholic priest and Benedictine monk of Ampleforth Abbey, was the first speaker in St Luke's 2007 series of Lent talks on the theme of the Eucharist Service on Wednesday 28th February.

His subject was, 'We Are Truly Sorry' - the confession and absolution of our sins early in the service.

Fr Oswald McBride OSB

As a scholar of liturgy - the Church's set prayers and forms of services - he was able to tell us something of the history of this part of the Eucharist service, and show us how today's Roman Catholic prayers compare with our own Church of England version.

In his talk and through the group discussions afterwards, Fr Oswald gave us much to think about. How important is it to confess our sins and be freed from them before we receive the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion? How much should it be about each one of us and God, or should it also be about confessing to each other and sharing our need for forgiveness, both received and given?

Although the discussions ranged far and wide, it is likely that all those present, from St Luke's and other nearby churches, will pay more attention to the confession and forgiving of sins in the opening stages of the next Eucharist service they attend.

St Luke's Music Fund launched in 2007 to support the musical life of St Luke’s church

A snug fit in the choir vestry

From Chicago to Doctor Zhivago

The Sunnydene Players, St Luke's in-house musical entertainers, are well into rehearsals for 'A Night At The Movies', the 2007 performance on the 15th, 16th and 17th February.

Medical backup is on standby for one or two of the high notes...

The cameras are ready to roll, the lighting rig is complete, the Gaffer and Best Boy are doing whatever it is they do, and it's nearly time for "Action"!

Stand by for an extravaganza of sound and dance out of your favourites from James Bond to The Sound of Music - from The Lion King to Titanic - from Chicago to Doctor Zhivago - with Saturday Night Fever, West Side Story and Evita thrown in for good measure - sorry, no Scrooge, but you will get Moulin Rouge.

Anyone see where I left my script?

They're practising everywhere you look. They're in the Choir Vestry at the back of the church (a tight fit) and they're in the church hall on a Thursday night... and most of Saturday... and Sunday afternoon.

If you want to see what all the song and dance is about, you'll have to be quick - all three nights are nearly sold out already.

The Ladies of the Bethlehem Townswomen's Guild

Unusual birth disrupts Guild meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Bethlehem Townswomen's Guild has been disrupted by an unusual birth in the stables behind the meeting venue.

The Smelly Shepherds know what's going on!

That was the story acted out three days before Christmas by a crowd of the young and the young at heart in St Luke's musical nativity performance for 2006, "It's a Baby!".

The BTWG meeting just kept getting interrupted by shepherds, angels, wise men, sheep - all sorts - when all they wanted was to get on and organise a cake-baking competition.

A new baby's something to sing about, after all...

But in the stable behind the Inn where they were meeting, a strange story was unfolding. A couple of travellers turned up too late to get a room, and when they tried to get comfortable in the stable, the woman gave birth to - well, it took the smelly shepherds nearby to realise just how special a baby it was.

Unfortunately King Herod cottoned on too - but they managed to escape from him, and in the end even the Bethlehem Townswomen worked out that this was the most special baby of all.

WELL DONE to all the actors, singers, dancers and musicians (that's Alison and Dom) - and to Lynn and the production and technical crew of (not quite) thousands who worked their socks off to make the show happen.

Back row (l-r): Rob McGill (City director), Lynn Comer of St Luke's Church, Emmanuel (Manny) Panther (City club Captain who read one of the lessons), Steve Beck (City director), City's Chaplain the Reverend Chris Cullwick, and St Luke's Vicar the Reverend Steve Benford. Front row: Jason McGill (City managing director), Harriet Barham (City employee), David McGurk (City defender), Anthony Lloyd (City midfielder and another lesson reader), James Dudgeon (City defender), Alex Bedingham (aka Yorkie the mascot), and Sophie McGill (City director)

St Luke's hosts City's Carol Service

For the third year running (so that makes it a tradition!) St Luke's hosted the annual Carol Service for players, staff and supporters of our next-door neighbours, York City Football Club, on Thursday 14th December.

City Captain Manny Panther with St Luke's Explorer Jason after the service

The choir contributed a full programme of Christmas music and carols, while City supplied the readers and give out goody bags to the young (or young at heart) afterwards.

City's Chaplain, the Revd Chris Cullwick, led prayers for peace at Chistmas in the world and in the homes of all present, and for some good results in 2007!

The evening ended in convivial style round the corner at City's social club.

Margery and Ellis with Steve and wellwishers

A Golden Day

Canon Ellis Slack and his wife Margery re-dedicated their marriage at St Luke's on the 10th December after fifty years together.

Still dab hands with a cake knife after fifty years

Margery and Ellis have been a well-loved part of St Luke's family for the last few years, and we have benefitted from Ellis' continuing ministry as occasional president, celebrant or preacher, and indeed as a member of the congregation.

Although the actual anniversary of their 1956 wedding was last week, Margery and Ellis wanted to make a public declaration of their ongoing commitment to each other, and to receive God's blessing on their marriage.

Both were happy to assure Vicar Steve Benford of their intention to carry on loving and caring for each other as they have done for the last half century, and Steve was equally happy to lead St Luke's in prayers of thanksgiving and support for them both.

A cake was cut and shared over coffee in the church hall - a golden end to a Golden celebration!

Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the stable - click to enlarge

St Luke's Explorers' Christmas Cards

St Luke's Explorers (7 - 11 years) have posed for a set of Christmas Cards this year.

Angels with attitude - click to enlarge

Their friends and family - and all St Luke's members and visitors - can now see the Christmas story in a whole new light - just as if it happened to people they know!

They had a little help from their leaders, not to mention Mark Comer, his trusty camera and some nifty computer work.

There are some cards still available and more can be made up if needed - they cost £2.00 per pack of six cards (one of each design), all of which goes to the St Luke's Music Fund (of which more in the New Year).

Order them from Mark Comer after the 9.30am Parish Communion on Sunday or from Marjorie Sharp in the Sewing & Knitting Machine Centre on Burton Stone Lane - or use the 'Contact Us' box from the menu on the left.

The Confirmation candidates, their Sponsors, the Bishop and the Vicar

Confirmed - making their Christian commitment

Six people of all ages were Confirmed by the Bishop of Selby, Martin Wallace, at St Luke's on the evening of Sunday 3rd December.

And the Bishop welcomed another St Luke's member formally into the Church of England.

The Bishop talks to some of those to be Confirmed

Confirmation is a sacrament - a sign of a gift from God - for those who feel they have reached a stage in their Christian life where they want to be seen to be signed up - to stand up and be counted. All those confirmed this year have been baptised, either as babies by their parents' choice, or later in life by their own choice.

The Bishop's visit, during which he placed his hands on the head of each person and prayed for the Holy Spirit to stengthen them in their faith and life, marks a new and mature stage in their Christian journey.

So we give thanks and offer our prayers for Joan, Sheila, John, James, Owain and Peter; each one of them a vital part of our family at St Luke's, and each one of them walking tall with God.