The Altar Guild is dedicated to looking after the church’s beautiful vestments, vessels, altar hangings and ornaments. They prepare the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist each Sunday, as they do for observance of other sacraments and offices of the church (baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc.).
The Guild has a schedule which calls for members to serve on a team for one calendar month each year.
The Altar Guild welcomes new members.
Contact- Melissa Spencer (spencer1868@gmail.com)
Welcome Committee is dedicated to welcoming newcomers to St. Luke’s and helping them feel at home on their first and subsequent visits as they develop relationships in our church community.
Contact – Lindy Pratt lpratt@invisionconsulting.com
The Stewardship Committee works closely with the Finance Committee and the Treasurer to set goals for the annual giving campaign, which is the main way in which church operations, including staff salaries are funded. The committee is charged with developing strategies for meeting the goal and seeking the commitments of all parishioners in supporting the church. Though the committee’s members may change annually, the group’s philosophy remains consistent. “If St. Luke’s is truly your spiritual home, then surely it is a place that is worth supporting to the best of your ability.”
Contact-
Finance Committee is charged with managing St. Luke’s financial portfolio and setting goals and implementing strategies to ensure its optimal health, as well as to provide regular reports to the Vestry. The Finance Committee works closely with its Investment Sub-Committee, which creates and oversees the objectives and allocations of the church’s investment funds.
For more information, contact Regina in the Parish Office at 908-234-0002.
The Communication Committee’s goal is to “enhance and foster communication between clergy, parishioners and the community”. It creates and manages all internal and external communication vehicles, including the weekly e-news, the website, and the Facebook page.
Members of the committee also handle publicity for St. Luke’s news and events and provide ongoing counsel and support to church leadership and other parish committees regarding marketing and public relations opportunities.
Contact- Valerie Szkodny vcszkodny@comcast.com
Dimensions in Discipleship Committee
This group is focused on growing as followers of Christ and sharing the joy of God’s love with others. It also acts as a catalyst and encourager for such a “missional discipleship” approach in the congregation as a whole.
This group epitomizes our strategy of congregational growth through lively spiritual growth.
Contact- Lauren Luik laurenl@mcspr.com
Holiday Fair
The St. Luke’s Fair is a community institution, always held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It features a great array of stalls and products, all of it made by, or provided by, members of the parish. It is a tremendous undertaking each year, sponsored by the Parish Life Guild and involving a large number of parishioners.
All proceeds go to the various missions, at home and abroad, supported by the church. The whole community is invited – and it comes in force!
Customary features include:
- Home-made Scones with clotted cream and jam – traditionally the first stop for many parishioners
- St. Luke’s Gourmet-to-Go – lovingly prepared specialty appetizers, soups and entrées, packaged frozen for shoppers’ convenience
- Santa’s Secret Shoppe where children visit Santa, then shop independently for moderately priced gifts with the help of the St. Luke’s Elves
- The Handicrafts Booth – everything from knit items to church mice
- Canterbury Gifts – an array of new, fine quality, useful and creative items
- Boxwood tabletop centerpieces and artful greenery decorations – a traditional feature of the Fair
- Attic Treasures and Toy Chest – gently used items
- Country luncheon, served at 1 PM
- Country Cupboard – sweet treats
An enormous amount of organization and effort goes into this endeavor. It depends entirely on the army of volunteers who commit their time and their skills to make it succeed. Please come and join us – it’s a lot of fun!
The St Luke’s Auction happens in the Spring each year. Like the fall Fair, all the proceeds go to support missions chosen on the church’s behalf by the Parish Life Guild. The evening consists of a silent auction during the appetizer and cocktail hour, followed by a live auction. All the auction items are donated by members of the parish. Soliciting these, collecting them, and organizing the event, amounts to a major undertaking, requiring many volunteers. The Auction is headed each year by a chair person or co-chairs. Their first and most important task is to make up a team of volunteers to assist them. There are many and varied opportunities to become involved – from serving dinner or tending bar to becoming a member of one of the sub-committees, such as decorations or silent auction.
The Community Soup Kitchen (CSK) in Morristown consists of a group of churches and businesses whose mission is to provide hot, healthy meals in a warm, safe and caring place, free of charge, to anyone who comes to its door. In the beginning, a few churches and synagogues from the area provided simple meals to 20-30 people a day. Today, nearly 2,000 volunteers from many houses of worship provide meals to 150-300 guests a day!
The people of St. Luke’s have been volunteering for the Soup Kitchen for 25 years. This wonderful mission gives us a local opportunity to live our vision to “serve God’s people with loving kindness and generosity”. Volunteers are needed, and it only requires a few hours a month. Our team from St. Luke’s serves at the CSK on the fourth Wednesday of every month.
For more information about the CSK, or to volunteer, contact Jane Knight at jknight@netcarrier.com, Helen Kielty at strateyk@aol.com, or Barbara Noe at eagleeyeseditorial@comcast.net, or visit www.cskmorristown.org/
The Prayer Shawl Ministry at St. Luke’s is made up of knitters who meet Thursday mornings in the Canterbury Room from 10 a.m. till noon. This non-denominational and open group welcomes newcomers and drop-ins, including people who prefer to knit at home. Prayer Shawls traditionally have the prayer of the Holy Trinity knitted throughout: knit three/pearl three, ad infinitum; hence their name. They are blessed and given to members of the parish, or friends, or family of members who are experiencing illness or loss. Those who deliver them take the gathered prayers and support of St. Luke’s in God’s love, knit into a warm, wraparound form.
If you have any questions or would like to be a part of the shawl ministry, either participating from your home or joining its members at the church on Thursday mornings, please contact Jane Knight at jknight@netcarrier.com.
Thanksgiving Luncheon for Seniors
On the day before Thanksgiving, St. Luke’s hosts a turkey lunch for seniors from the parish and the community. All the food is provided and prepared by members and friends of the parish. Set-up, food prep, waiting and clean-up is done by a team of parish volunteers.
Contact- Lisa Stryker lbstryker@comcast.net
Seamen’s Ministry
The Seamen’s Church Institute’s center is at Port Newark. Each month, St. Luke’s assists at hospitality evenings for the seafarers. All are welcome to join us as we welcome seafarers, most of whom are young men who spend months away from home working on the ships that transport goods throughout the world. The Seamen’s Church Institute provides the seafarers with an opportunity to contact family and friends via phone or Internet, and we provide snacks and desserts and sometimes live music to lend a party atmosphere to their shore leave. We also collect donations of toiletries and magazines, and the Thursday morning knitting group makes watch caps, scarves, vests, and more. Donations may be left in the box under the coat rack next to the church kitchen.
Contact: Deacon Anne Lemay ainerae@yahoo.com
Matheny Worship Nights
Join us at 6:45 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month for our monthly worship service with the residents at Matheny School & Hospital on Highland Ave, Peapack. The residents bring such joy to this service, it is truly wonderful to behold!
Contact: Deacon Anne Lemay ainerae@yahoo.com
Mission Partnerships
The purpose of Mission Partnerships is to help fulfill the third promise of the St. Luke’s mission statement – “To serve God’s people, near and far, through loving action and generosity”.
The committee’s goal is to provide hands-on mission opportunities for the parish. This includes such things as organizing the Giving Tree collection of gifts in December, responding to an appeal from Market Street Missions for donations of thermal underwear for the Morristown Mission, and working with the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Somerset County to provide assistance to low income families as they transition from homelessness.
Each year we organize St. Luke’s mission to Guatemala as part of the From Houses to Homes initiative. Each year we build multiple homes in a week for families who live in cornstalk shacks with dirt floors. The team works side by side with the Guatemalan family as the new concrete block home is built. In the evenings the team enjoys worship, sharing and experiencing the wonderful city of Antigua.
Mindful of Christ’s command to spread the gospel, St. Luke’s has also established a Missionary Fund to support missionary students and missionaries working at home and abroad. The PLG designates a recipient of the proceeds of this fund each year.
Contact- Roxanne Hayes roxanne.hayes5959@gmail.com
Parish Lifeline
The mission of the Parish Life Line ministry is to share God’s love, warmth and compassion with those within the Parish requesting help during times of difficulty, loss or sickness. A team of volunteers is able to provide meals, occasional rides for appointments and church services, and flower delivery following Easter and Christmas.
To become a part of this important ministry, please complete the Parish Life Line Volunteer Form and return it to the parish office or scan and email it to parish@stlukesgladstone.org.
If you have a need of your own, please contact the parish office at 908.234.0002 to initiate help.
Prayer Circle
The people of the St. Luke’s Prayer Circle pray for those on the St. Luke’s Prayer List. These are names and concerns submitted by members, and through members, of St. Luke’s. Prayer requests may be submitted through any of the Clergy of St. Luke’s, through the Parish Office Administrator, or directly to the Prayer Circle’s Scribe. Requests are then sent out by email. Requests are confidential, but not secret.
We are attentive to “news headlines” and seek to “Pray the News” as our brothers and sisters around the world are seen to be in need of prayer. We pray for those who have made their transitus and their families. We pray for our new-born babies.
We pray for those who absorb the violence in our world. We pray for those, from all walks of life, who have no one to pray for them. And, we pray for our enemies.
Anyone may be a member of the Prayer Circle. Contact the parish office at 908.234.0002 or through email to parish@stlukesgladstone.org.
Ministry of Presence
The Ministry of Presence Committee is a confidential ministry composed of dedicated and trained parishioners who are committed to ministering to the sick, shut-in, and members who are at the end of their lives. Overseen by the Rector and led by Kate Deans, this is a ministry of caring, supporting each other and those we visit by being present in pain or loss, sadness or celebration. We are there not to replace clergy presence, but to work alongside – being the caring eyes, ears, and hands of Christ. If you feel called to this ministry, or have any questions or needs- or know of someone who might- please reach out to the parish office at 908.234.0002.
Parish Nurses
We provide monthly blood pressure monitoring, maintenance of first aid kits throughout the parish building, and the ever informative, health bulletins posted in the bathrooms. We would always welcome any RN’s or LPN’s who wish to join us, because with a larger group, we would be able to offer more services.
Contact- Valerie Kent vkent1@comcast.net
St. Luke’s Village
Thirty years ago, through the efforts of the congregation and the leadership of our then rector, Canon John Morrow, St. Luke’s undertook the construction of St. Luke’s Village, an innovative senior citizens’ residence, located on Main Street right across from the church. It was established “to provide an environment where individuals or couples 62 years of age or older, and of low to moderate income, could live in dignity in their own dwelling, as well as in the company of their fellow residents. It is no longer owned by the church, but it is governed by a Board of Trustees drawn largely from St. Luke’s parishioners.
Contact- John Gallup john.gallup@verizon.com
