I would like to give my thoughts about the "Focus Group Meetings for Future Building" that are going on at St. Luke's. The meetings are in Room 19 on Sunday mornings at 9:45, 11:00 and 12:15, and on Wednesday evenings at 6:30. I attended one of these meetings and found it very informative. Our need to expand our facilities to better serve our community was an important part of the meeting. Plans for the future expansion were displayed and we were informed as to the cost of each part of it. We learned about all of the previous expansions of our church and how we found that by the time the building projects were done we were already outgrowing the new sections of the building. This time we are trying to anticipate our needs in the future as well as now. I am new to this congregation, only having been here four years, but I see the excitement generated by plans to allow us to fill the needs of not only our congregation but the community as a whole. ~ Marian Thome
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I’ve been a member here at St. Luke’s for quite a few years. When we first moved to the area we tried out several churches before settling on St. Luke’s. What impressed me then about this congregation, and still does, is how so many people of different ages come together through its many missions and ministries. I can walk into this building at almost any time throughout the day or evening and find a large number of people using the facilities for any number of reasons. Several years back when the building committee first started talking about expansion I was not in favor of it. The longer I’m here the more I’ve changed my mind. I’ve seen growth to the point where we are now “bursting at the seams”. We need more space not only to accommodate the needs we have today, but if we want to continue to expand our ministries we will need additional space for that, as well. After Hurricane Katrina I spent quite a bit of time down in Gulfport MS. The church where we stayed had a wonderful outreach center. The congregation chose to use that facility to house thousands of volunteers over the course of several years. Most likely, when that building was built, the congregation never imagined they would be able to reach out to the community and serve so many in a time of unimaginable need. I urge you to look beyond our current needs and imagine the possibilities awaiting St. Luke’s as we move forward. ~ Barb Ripley
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We have been involved with the two previous St. Luke's building expansions: The new Sanctuary and the Educational wing. Those additions resulted in essentially doubling our membership. We now are at the threshold of the same possibility. And we are enthusiastic about opening the door for more people to worship God. ~ Betty & Ed Brummer
