This church exists for the purposes of:
1. Worshiping God our Heavenly Father as He has authoritatively revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, neither adding to or taking from, the deposit of the Faith as we have received it in Holy Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.
3. Equipping men, women, and children with the treasures of Scriptural teaching and sacramental grace, that they may know, love, and serve jesus Christ faithfully in this life and be happy with Him for ever in the next.
4. Sending out people in to the world in the power of the Holy Spirit to do the work of the disciples.
5. Being a source of God's healing, comfort, and restoration, in the power of the Holy Spirit, through the story of the Inn & the Innkeeper.
The INN
‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ (Matthew 25:35 NIV)
The idea of being a place of caring and ministry is not new to St. Luke’s. The ‘old-timers’ will tell you that there has always been a ministry to the needy and some interesting characters have passed though St. Luke’s over the years! There have been teams that have ministered in prisons; volunteers have operated an outlet for the Interfaith Food bank out of St. Luke’s; there is an active hospital visiting ministry and there are opportunities for prayer ministry. What God seems to be revealing to us of late is that this is a ministry that all members of the congregation can get involved in.
The full story of how this revelation came about is in the fall 2007 edition of ‘The Ox’. Our Scriptural inspiration came from the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and the role the inn keeper and the inn play in the story. We believe we are called to be the inn, the place where the wounded and those in need can be brought. As we have considered and prayed about this calling we have come to see that it takes more than one person to run an inn. Using the example of a hotel we see that there all kinds of jobs that need to be done if the inn is to run smoothly and there is something for everyone; from ‘housekeeping’ to ‘bookkeeping’; from ‘receptionist’ to ‘maintenance’ to ‘Guest relations’. We are all needed if the inn is to fulfill its calling, this also brings to mind Paul’s teaching on the body (1 Corinthians 12:12ff).
We have found this to be of encouragement to many people as they now see that what were once viewed as mundane and pretty thankless tasks are now important if the inn is to run smoothly. Bookkeepers and housekeepers may not be on the front line when one thinks of ‘ministry’, yet no inn can manage without them; changing light bulbs may not seem all that glorious yet the presentation and function of our building are important.
Thus we continue our journey in the service of our Lord. We have seen Him bring people to our inn and we strive to be faithful as we take them in, in His name.
