Please wear a mask into and out of the church.

If you do not bring a mask with you, one will be provided.

FROM THE OFFICE Staff will be working in the office and from home. If you need immediate assistance during our absence, please contact Pastor Jeff at 570-220-3631 or Sarah Young 570-932-1753. We will respond to your emails and calls as soon as possible, from the office and remotely. Thank you.

NEW WORSHIP TIME We moved to one weekly in-person worship service, at 9:30AM.  For those continuing to worship online, a recorded service will also be broadcast at 9:30AM.  The reason for the change is twofold: 1) In-person attendance has been lower than expected; 2) Finding help for two services (music, lectors, communion helpers) is proving difficult.  This is intended to be a temporary change, but will be in effect through at least the end of August or until otherwise announced.  Thank you for being patient as we adjust to extraordinary times! 

ORGANIST/CHOIR DIRECTOR St. Luke Lutheran Church, Williamsport, PA seeks a part-time organist/choir director for playing Sunday morning and other services along with leading the church choir.Those interested in the position should contact St. Luke Church office at info@stlukeweb.com or 570-323 -7309 for an application and full job description.

VISITING? If you’re not a member or regular attendee of St Luke Church but have been “visiting” us during this time of online worship, we’d love to connect with you! If you’ve been watching from afar or have just been using this time to “check us out” online, please send us an email at info@stlukeweb.com!

LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF SCHOOL KITS contain essential supplies that help children, and in some cases, adults, continue learning in the face of serious obstacles.  Learning leads to a better life for them, their families and their communities.  With our help that goal can be reached.  Beginning July 19^th, a collection basket will be placed in the Bell Hall glass vestibule (across from the office entrance) for your donations. Look for office supply sales where you can find the best prices for the needed items:

• 70 sheet notebooks of ruled paper, 8”x 10 ½”
• 30 centimeter ruler or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other.
• Pencil sharpeners
• Blunt scissors (safety scissors with embedded steel blades)
• Unsharpened pencils with erasers
• Black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink)
• Box of 16 or 24 crayons
• 2 ½” eraser

PRE-SCHOOL YARD SALE The Pre-School Annual Yard Sale Fundraiser is ON for July 17th and 18th!  We need everyone’s help to continue this community event as safely and successfully as possible!  Below are ways in which you can help. 1. Sale Donations: Starting July 7th item donations may be dropped off at BELL HALL Only (FRONT or BACK door) Drop off times are:  Tuesday, July 7 – Thursday, July 9: (9am-12pm) AND (6pm-8pm) Friday, July 10 – Saturday, July 11: (9am-12pm)Monday, July 13 – Tuesday, July 14: (9am-12pm) (next pg.)
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NO ELECTRONICS PLEASE! (e.g.: TV’s, computers, printers)
Bake Sale Donations:

2. Bake Sale: for the bake sale table (e.g.: cookies, breads, fudge, etc.)

PLEASE make sure each goodie is INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED
If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Young at 570-323-7309.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE PRE-SCHOOL AT ST. LUKE!

Return to Worship Plan: St Luke Lutheran Church

What we’re asking you to do:

• Please wear a mask into and out of the church.  If you do not bring a mask with you, one will be provided. 
• Please do not sing upon our initial return.  This was as hard a decision to make as it is to hear, but most experts are saying that group singing increases the chances of transmission exponentially.  It is believed that singing was the major factor in those instances where churches in other states have opened and re-closed due to multiple cases of the virus among their members who were in attendance. 
• Please socialize outside of the church building.   Perhaps one of the things we are all looking most forward to is the opportunity to greet and fellowship with one another.  During the first few weeks, we ask that you do most of your socializing outside of the building.  You can certainly continue to talk once inside, but we ask that you proceed directly into the Nave and not stand around in hallways or other spaces.  For socializing, feel free to catch up in the courtyard, prattle on in the parking lot, or fraternize on the front lawn!  
• Once inside, proceed to your seat and sit only in places marked by a bulletin.  Bulletins will be placed at a six feet distance from each other, every other pew.  This restriction does not apply to members of the same household, who may sit closer together.  However, we ask that they not sit in pews with no bulletins and give ample room for others to sit in the remaining designated spaces. 
• Please use non-touch means of passing the peace.  As we did in the weeks leading up to quarantine, please use gestures like the peace sign, bowing, etc.  Bonus points may be offered for creative greetings. 
• Please leave nothing in the pews.  Take your bulletin and anything else with you.  This will help in the efforts to sanitize the space between services.  It’s kind of a shame that we won’t get to see your bulletin-doodles, though. 

This may seem like a lot, but please know that these measures are intended to be temporary, until there is more evidence that the risk of infection has significantly decreased. 

Other measures that are being taken:

• Because it involves the sharing of food, the practice of communion will be adapted. 
  • Servers will use gloves.
  • We will use communion wafers rather than sharing a loaf of bread. 
  • There will be no common cup.  The elements will be served in disposable cups for the wine/juice and condiment cups for the wafer.
  • Distribution of the elements will be done differently – please note the instructions at the beginning of the service. 
• The hymnals will be removed to avoid having additional items to clean between services.  The bulletin will include the entire service. 
• Children should remain in their seats during the children’s message, rather than coming forward.  Pastor Jeff believes that we’re all children at heart anyway, so he’s looking forward to giving the children’s message to the entire congregation. 
• The service will be shortened to reduce the amount of time spent indoors.  The focus will be on the essentials: Word, prayers, and communion. 
• The restrooms in West Hall will remain open, but all will be encouraged to wash thoroughly after use. 
• The offering plates will not be passed.  Instead, plates will be placed in the aisles and at the back of the church for you to place the offering either before or after the service.