{"id":1199,"date":"2018-08-10T20:19:09","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T20:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/esepiscopal.morgansites.com\/?page_id=1199"},"modified":"2025-10-13T16:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T21:25:14","slug":"our-ministries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/esepiscopal.org\/index.php\/our-ministries\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Ministries"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"What is your gift? Come share with us!<\/h3>\n

Spiritual Ministries<\/span><\/h4>\n

Worship:<\/strong>
\nWe gather each Sunday and at other devotional times to praise and give thanks to God, our Father, to seek his grace and Blessing Our services bring together people of all ages and persuasions, in to one spiritual community. At the present time, supply priests and lay eucharistic ministers guide our celebrations and prayers. In support of our worship, various ministries serve at the Altar … and beyond.<\/p>\n

Music Ministry:<\/strong>
\nSacred & Secular,<\/em> a true gift within our community, created and led by Shawn Roney, shares known and new music within and beyond St. Luke\u2019s historic home. Thanks to them, and to our awesome organist, we lift ourselves in song to heaven.<\/p>\n

Lectors:<\/strong>
\nThe Word of God is the foundation of our understanding of our faith. Readers deliver the Word, so that we may hear, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the ageless message of God and his love for all He has made.<\/p>\n

\"\"Eucharistic Ministers:
\n<\/strong>Some are called to assist in delivering the grace of Holy Communion to those gathered as well as those scattered by illness or other challenges. These persons take on the role of carrying the outward signs of the Sacrament that feed the soul, be it at the steps of the Sanctuary, or the bedside. Shannon Morgan is our Minster of Pastoral Care.<\/p>\n

Acolytes:
\n<\/strong>To help the sacred proceedings to move with smoothness and purpose, individuals serve at the Altar, carrying the symbols and bringing the elements that become our Holy Eucharist, our Sacrament of thanksgiving. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Altar Guild:
\n<\/strong>Behind the scenes, members of our Altar Guild, led by Cindy Roth, prepare the Holy Table for our worship. They prepare the tools, so they are pure and ready for their sacred task. They also set the tone of our prayerful spaces with subtle suggestions of the meanings of seasons, and tools for personal prayer.<\/p>\n

Lay Delegates to the Deanery and Convention:
\n<\/strong>Annually selected from generous volunteers from our parish, we join our brothers and sisters at the Central Deanery and the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri, at various meetings and the annual convention in November.<\/p>\n

\"\"Faith-shaping Ministries<\/span><\/h4>\n

Sunday School:
\n<\/strong>Children who are eager to learn discover things about their heavenly Father, through storytelling, activities, and a continuing sense of belonging that began in the nursery years. Voluntary teachers bring them to a more expressive sense of our faith by acting out our worship traditions in a more un-refined manner, and discover the lessons of the ages, closer to their grasp of life and the world.<\/p>\n

Bible Study:
\n<\/strong>Gathering around God\u2019s Word has served God\u2019s people for eons. Here, members of our community, and from the local community outside our doors come together at St. Luke\u2019s to study how the people of God have experienced and been inspired by His acts, to discover how some of these may be working in their lives. Shannon Morgan facilitates the class and finds provocative resources to spur this inquiry, scheduled during the first quarter of each new year.<\/p>\n

Connecting Ministries<\/span><\/h4>\n

Parish communications<\/strong>:
\nConnections need communication of all kinds. Tisha Mason, Jenny Wood, April Mackey and Larry Hopkins assure we are all in the know about all aspects of parish life, from bulletins that guide our worship, to our monthly newsletter, to the oversite of our church\u2019s website. Such fundamental tools help us to know \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201cwhen\u201d and sometimes even \u201chow\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hospitality:
\n<\/strong>Jesus encourages us to always reveal a spirit of hospitality and so we do. Coffee hour, provided by members every Sunday on a voluntary sign-up basis, and after worship provides tasty food and a warm setting for fellowship. With a cup or glass in one hand, and treat in another, whether a guest or an old-timer, we can gather in animated fellowship. All are welcomed in a real, down-to -earth way. Potlucks are a real treat for special occasions. Various special dinners, such as Shrove Tuesday pancake supper is an example of hospitality at St. Luke\u2019s<\/p>\n

\"\"Greeters:
\n<\/strong>If our internet outreach speaks to the inquirer, and they risk a visit on a Sunday, their first personal face-to-face encounter is with our greeters. Their warm smile and patient helping their way, in this, their first entre into our narthex and nave, make the impression that matters<\/p>\n

Serving Ministries:<\/span><\/h4>\n

Memorial Garden and Ground Care:<\/strong> Thanks to a generous piece of land next to the church, lovingly planted and cared for by volunteers in our church community, the loved ones of those who have passed, can return ashes to the earth and have their names honored on our stone pillar. This beautiful and quiet space is open to anyone who may come to walk or sit, as they wish, 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

Hunger Program Assistance:
\n<\/strong>Members donate volunteer hours, food and every day necessities to the Good Samaritan Center here in Excelsior Springs. These resources build up the lives of the less fortunate in our greater community. Christian love is met with an honest encounter with the needs of the world, with the reward of a more accurate awareness of all aspects of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is your gift? Come share with us! 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