St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Bethesda, MD

09/01/2026

The Season of Creation, September 1st through October 4th, is celebrated by Christians around the world as a time for renewing, repairing and restoring our relationship to God, one another, and all of Creation.

This year’s theme, “Living Water,” explores Ezekiel 47:9 and 12 as a powerful biblical vision of hope and ecological healing. Set amid exile and loss, the image of living water flowing from God’s sanctuary reveals divine healing that renews land, water, biodiversity, and human responsibility towards the whole creation. Through living water comes healing, but in order to receive new life, we too must step into the water and become part of God’s river of life, taking part in the healing of creation (Season of Creation).

The prophet Ezekiel’s vision was one of hope in the midst of Israel’s exile and despair. Today, we are witnessing changes in climate and topography within our own lifetimes; we have shrunk geological time to mere decades. Our civilizational drive to advance—to extract the earth’s resources for our benefit, to transform our lives through technology—has finally caught up with us. The Anthropocene age we have brought upon ourselves is the direct result of our anthropocentric world view. We have cast ourselves out of the Garden.

But Ezekiel’s message is that God has not abandoned his people. In the new sanctuary, he imagines not blood flowing toward the altar but water flowing outward from the Temple threshold. Reconciliation with God results not only in restored worship but in renewed land, healed ecosystems, and abundant life.

Care for creation thus emerges as a direct consequence of a restored relationship with God. During this Season of Creation, may we, individually and collectively, seek to redefine our place in God’s Creation. Hope for renewal and healing starts in the place of prayer, worship, and sacrifice. The tiny drop of hope begins in our own lives, in our repentance and transformation. May each of our acts of Creation care become part of a global stream of hope.

08/27/2026

I put up a big sheet of paper and invited you all to add suggestions for our summer vocab series. I ran out of weeks in the summer to cover everything, but I’m holding on to your ideas and think the Holy Spirit will help me get to them when the time is right.

One of you put “ministry” as a potential vocab word and since Michelle Dibblee is being ordained a deacon this month, I thought this is a good time to at least start this conversation. What is ministry?

The glossary on Episcopalchurch.org begins its entry on Ministry with this linguistic background:

From the Latin mini, “lesser.” The term has the same form as the Latin magister, from magis, “greater,” meaning “master” or “teacher.” Ministry appears in the Vulgate translation of Mt 20:26, “He who would be great [Latin, maior] among you, let him be your minister,” translating the underlying Greek diakonos, “servant,” as “minister.” Thus, ministry entered the Christian vocabulary referring to the Christian vocation to serve.

I worry you all don’t think of yourself as ministers and that you think ministry is something that only people who wear weird collars around their necks or get paid by the church or know the Bible by heart do. OR that if you do engage in ministry, only church stuff counts as ministry. Not your work, be it the stuff in your job description or the things you do to just help things run smoother for your colleagues; not your volunteer work with the condo cooperative or the neighborhood swim team; not giving your friend a ride home from their colonoscopy, or helping your neighbor deal with a big limb that fell during a storm. But to me, all that’s ministry; you are offering yourself as a servant to your community. Even caring for a family member—young or old, sweet or salty—that counts as ministry too.

In the back of the prayerbook, there is a whole section called “The Ministry” and it says the ministry of the laity, all non ordained folks, is to “represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.”

Wherever you may be, bear witness to Jesus. Carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation according to the gifts you’ve been given. God has big plans for your life, and God often accomplishes those big plans in moments we would call insignificant and mundane.

On September 12th, Michelle will be ordained a deacon, and she and I both hope you’ll attend in person or watch online—but more than anything we want you to notice all the ways you offer yourself as a servant and to see that work as ministry.

-Jessica

08/26/2026

Wednesday Prayers

08/19/2026

Wednesday Prayers, Noon on Zoom

08/14/2026

Want a sneak peek at the music for Sunday? Check out the Spotify playlist below!

Playlist · Sarah Horick · 7 items

08/12/2026

Wednesday Prayer Day

08/11/2026

I first encountered the art form called land art (also known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks) through an image of UK- based artist Jon Foreman. Foreman uses natural materials found on beaches to create patterns that temporarily transform his sandy canvases. Accompanying the image of this transient design were the words, “Everything changes, nothing is lost.”

This image and reflection on transformation often resurface in my thoughts. Most recently, they came to mind as I mused about volunteers and leaders at St. Luke’s. Considering that our church functions with only three staff members, we are very dependent on volunteers and volunteer leaders. It can feel challenging to volunteer for a leadership role. Personally, I have felt cowed by the thought of taking over a task that was very competently managed by a predecessor; my feet are small, and some shoes seem quite large.

Perhaps, part of the perceived pressure is to continue doing things the same way that so-and- so did; to somehow keep creating the same experience over and over. Judging from how many punch lines there are for the quip, “How many Episcopalians does it take to change a lightbulb?” there seems to be an element of resistance to change in our church at large. But there actually have been changes at St. Luke’s over the years. Many changes were highlighted in previously reported interviews with long-term parishioners at the start of Vestry’s strategic planning process. The changes cover a wide spectrum, from liturgy and music to banning smoking in Ludlum during coffee hour.

Sometimes, outside forces necessitate change, and sometimes someone simply decides to try something new. Longstanding ministries and guilds also change over time. Given that all of us bring unique skills, life experiences, creativity, interpersonal styles, perspectives, and spiritual gifts to whatever we do, some change seems inevitable. I believe that St. Luke’s prospers when we all offer our gifts and abilities, whatever the size of the shoe.

08/07/2026

I think, but I could be wrong, that even if you don’t have a kid in school or a loved one working in the education system, “after Labor Day” still feels like a … beginning of sorts. A fresh start. And with that fresh start comes an opportunity to make some thoughtful decisions about how you want this next season to go. One of the reasons we might love summer is because it can be a little more spacious. But then by the end of August, we might find ourselves looking for a little more structure. I want to invite you to be careful and intentional, strategic and prayerful about your calendar. For those of you who have regular work week schedules, consider not filling every weekend full to the brim. Leave yourself some margin—and doing your laundry or going to the grocery store does not count as margin! For those of you who run on a schedule other than M-F schoolwork, I am well aware of your ability to max out your calendar … be gentle!

Talk with God about how you use your time—because that time is a gift from God. What does God want for you? What does God call you to? Service of neighbor? Care for body? Quiet for prayer? Connection with friends? All of it can be an offering to God, if you let it be! But you have to let it, you have to make the offering. Yes, even a game of pickleball can be an offering to God—if you thank God for it and allow God to work in and through you during that time.

Our time is in God’s hand! That must have real ramifications for how we use our time! And that prayer is my prayer for us all as we all begin another year of sorts: may we grow in God’s wisdom and grace, and strengthen our trust in God’s goodness. Amen!

08/03/2026

It's August. Don't let the life you're bracing for keep you from the life you're living in a world where Everything Happens.