Join us this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for Holy Eucharist on Facebook Live, or live on YouTube. You may download the service bulletin for Sunday, January 31 and use it during the liturgy. The bulletin will include music for our hymns as well. See you there!

St. Luke’s Annual Meeting will take place via Zoom this year, and we’ll gather right after Sunday worship on January 31, 2021. As usual, we will hear reports from parish leaders of our past year’s ups and downs, present the 2021 budget, elect new Vestry members and diocesan delegates, engage in virtual fellowship, and honor a few amazing volunteers. Please do plan to attend, as we need a quorum to conduct business. The meeting should last no more than 75 minutes!

Download a pdf of the 2021 Parish Annual Meeting Booklet HERE.  Please read and review it prior to the meeting. Thank you all for your part in getting us through this challenging year that is past; may our new year together be one of hope and celebration!
 

Join Zoom Annual Meeting Here.

Meeting ID: 843 0449 4188
Passcode: 067975
Dial-in number: 669-900-6833

 

We will celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple with a special Evening Prayer service on Tuesday evening, February 2, at 5:00 p.m. Join us on Facebook Live and have a candle ready to light during the service. We will bless the church candles for the year and offer personal intentions and prayers for 2021. A short homily will be offered. Let there be light!

You may download the Candlemas service bulletin HERE.

Teaching Tuesdays at 5 pm
February 9: Queen Elizabeth, Part II

During Elizabeth's reign, much to her disgust, there opened up a deep division between those who thought that the Reformation had gone far enough, and those who thought that it hadn't gone nearly far enough—often called Anglicans vs. Puritans. One side wanted to let the Prayer Book alone, to do its work; the other wanted to follow Calvin and cleanse the church entirely of any shred of papism. We’ll follow the battle that split the Church of England in two and led to the English Civil War.

Join our resident church history scholar, Fr. Bill Stafford as we explore this turbulent time in the history of England and Anglicanism.

Join Zoom Meeting Here.

Meeting ID: 840 8076 6345
Passcode: 502894
Dial-in number: 669-900-6833

Coming Soon:
February 23:  Richard Hooker
 

Our genre for April’s pick is “literary classic,” and Hardy’s 1891 novel more than fits the bill. With sumptuous prose, Tess recounts the travails of the dairymaid Tess Durbeyfield as she is buffeted by Fate — or is it by the consequences of her own personality and that of others? In the course of the tense plot, readers are confronted with: the role of Fate or Nature in our lives and of personal responsibility; the extent to which our expectations and illusions militate against our own happiness; the restrictions on women’s choices in society; the universe as beneficent or malicious or, even worse, indifferent; the existence of God (Hardy himself being an agnostic though a staunch Churchman); the nature of true religion; the constrictions on each of us from social convention; in sum, the struggle of what it means to be human.

The OXymorons Book Club will meet Tuesday, April 27, at 5:00-6:30 p.m. Please RSVP to let us know if you plan to attend, as we will send out discussion questions in advance to focus our time together. We recommend you purchase the Norton Critical Edition because it provides Hardy’s definitive text from the 1912 Wessex Edition, as well as worthwhile critical essays and samples of Hardy’s poetry.

Our January 26 discussion of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch was scintillating!


 

Cantors at Worship Services

At certain Services until Trinity Sunday, our talented singers will be leading the hymns and providing an Offertory solo piece for our virtual services! All music will be safely and individually pre-recorded on video a week ahead of time.

Meeting ID: 833 4171 8402
Dial-in number: 669-900-6833

We gather at 9:00 a.m. Monday–Saturday each week to recite Morning Prayer together. Tune in HERE starting at 8:55 a.m. See you in the morning!
 

Our New Church Website!

St. Luke’s, Los Gatos, has a new website! Please have a look: 
https://stlukeslg.org. We’re still working out some of the kinks, adding new material, and incorporating it into daily use. Your feedback is welcomed!

A very big thanks goes out to Michael King, our parish administrator, for site design and organization! We are also grateful to Carol Graham, Art Feather, Colin Whitby-Strevens, Leigh-Anne Marcellin, Monique Nicolai, and Steve Beam, for various assists in getting our website up and running. Enjoy!

 

New: Join Our Worship via YouTube!

You can now watch our live-streamed Sunday worship services on YouTube as well as Facebook! Starting at 9:55 a.m. Sundays, a live button appears on our YouTube channel  for you to view our worship services in real time. You aren’t able to comment or make prayer requests there, but this is a workaround for those who are Facebook-averse or have had trouble accessing worship through FB. A big thanks to Art Feather for making this possible!

If you have a (brief) prayer request for a Sunday and aren’t on Facebook, email the rector by Friday of that week.
 

Altar Flower Signups for 2021!

Sign up now to reserve altar flower dedications for loved ones’ birthdays, anniversaries, or special occasions! Choose your special Sundays HERE, then email the parish office with the following info:

Sunday flowers cost $66 each week. We use the honor system and do not follow up to request payment. So, please write a check to “St. Luke’s, Los Gatos” with “altar flowers” in the memo line, and mail it anytime to the parish office (20 University Avenue, Los Gatos, CA 95030).


 

Pressing “Pause” on Courtyard Worship

With local hospitals near maximum bed capacity, COVID numbers at their highest since the pandemic began, outdoor dining prohibited, a new and more easily transmitted viral strain now among us, and out of consideration for exhausted medical staff, I have decided to postpone in-person courtyard worship until further notice.

I know this will be painful for those who have faithfully attended our in-person services and received great comfort from being together again, and I’m sorry for that. But, even though we gather safely and have taken every precaution, we cannot risk anyone getting sick. It would be irresponsible of me to have us gather under the present circumstances. I will let you know when I feel it’s safer to meet once more, and I hope you’ll continue to worship with us online until then.

— Fr. Ricardo

PJ Hales. A former Saturday evening service-goer, PJ Hales has been living at Amberwood Gardens, San Jose, for a few years. Unfortunately, the facility suffered a recent coronavirus outbreak and PJ got the virus. But, thanks be to God, she has recovered and completed her time in quarantine! Please keep her in your prayers, as well as the staff and other clients at Amberwood. PJ’s son, Chad, says that she loves receiving cards in the mail, but that it’s nearly impossible to reach her via telephone. Please, if you have a moment, send her a note with your best wishes and prayers. Even if you don’t know her well, let her know her St. Luke’s friends remember her. The address is:

PJ Hales
Amberwood Gardens
1601 Petersen Avenue
San Jose, CA 95129

There is no specific room number, as people are segregated in different locations during the CoVid outbreak, but this address should suffice. Thank you for your thoughtfulness!

*     *     *     

Please contact Fr. Ricardo if you have any pastoral care needs, or if you just want to check in with him.

Fr. Ricardo’s contact information:
415-572-1447 (mobile phone)
revrico@stlukeslg.org (email)
 

A skeleton crew of valiant and big-hearted volunteers is safely distributing food and other necessary items to our homeless clients on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m.  Though meals are now on a “grab-and-go” basis, our clients are being cared for and we are keeping in touch with them.  If you think you can help in some way, contact  Jo Greiner, our coordinator. You can also donate to the Pantry through our church website, as noted above.
 

For your own safety, and for the health and safety of your family and loved ones, please do stay informed of the latest health updates regarding the coronavirus. Here is a link to the Santa Clara Department of Health, which features regular updates.

January 31      Peter Tonnesen
February 1      Pam King
February 2      Ron Birrell
February 3      Anuja Chaudhri
February 4      Cary Kempston

Remember in Your Prayers