On the Sunday after Hurricane Harvey hit our city, all the church services at St. Luke’s were cancelled. The following Sunday our schedule was back to normal. But everything wasn’t really normal. There was a tangible sense of joy to be together, as a church family, back in God’s house. My participation in the three traditional services included receiving the collection plates from the ushers, usually filled with paper — paper bills and paper checks. However, in one service, in one plate, there was an anomaly. Sitting atop the plate was a zipped-up plastic sandwich bag. It was [...]

Mumford and Sons have a song called After the Storm. It spoke to me as I listened to it today. Here is just a part…And after the storm,I run and run as the rains comeAnd I look up, I look up,on my knees and out of luck, I look up….And I took you by the handAnd we stood tall,And remembered our own land,What we lived for.And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.Get over your hill and see what you find there,With grace in your [...]

I stepped into my 8th grade Sunday School class on a crisp, cool Sunday morning. Fresh from mowing lawns the day before, I was armed with cash in my wallet. At that time, most of the money I earned went to sodas, candy and CDs (this was the 80’s, iTunes was not invented then). When my Sunday School teacher, Carl, asked for donations to help feed a few families he was trying to support, I did not really think about it and immediately parted with $20 of my recently earned money. I had completely forgotten about that donation [...]

As with most Sunday School classes, my class started looking for a service project — something where we could “give ourselves away in generosity and service.” You know, “The Inside-Out Habits”­—that is not just a slogan for St. Luke’s. Well, I guess it is, but it has become the mentality of the members of our church. Co-sponsoring a refugee family is a big commitment, especially for a class as small as ours. We did not want to fail in such an important endeavor. Since this was our first attempt, we asked if we could sponsor a family of [...]

This past summer St. Luke’s sent a group to the Dominican Republic on a family mission trip. Our church has partnered with GO Ministries in the DR for several years because we respect their philosophy that “by working alongside local leaders in construction, sports, medical or children’s ministry, groups have the opportunity to teach and be taught more about the love of Christ.” Part of the vision of that trip, or any trip we take to the DR, is that we take home what we learn there, and can continue that kind of work in Houston. It is [...]

Houston holds a special place in my heart. It’s where my husband and I bought our first home; it’s where my daughter was born and I became a mother; it’s where I have the best kind of friends – those who are like family. So, when we moved from Houston to Louisiana in January 2017, I couldn’t bring myself to say a proper goodbye to a place that meant so much to me. As Hurricane Harvey poured over the Houston area for days, I knew that I shouldn’t just sit back and watch the devastation on every TV [...]

I didn’t know there was such a thing as the Houston Professional Firefighter’s Association, but now I do. The President of the Association called the main St. Luke’s number on Sunday morning and, because services were cancelled, had to leave a message. He was inside Station 51, which is next door to the Gethsemane Campus and one of the busiest stations in Houston on a normal day, but of course Sunday, August 27 was not a normal day. He said there were 20-25 people who had been evacuated from their Sharpstown and Gulfton homes and apartments by the [...]

On a warm, summer day in the recent past, I experienced one of the most traumatic events in my life. The events of that day resulted in several subsequent occurrences that led to my eventual rock bottom. In a matter of a few months, I lost my professional license, lucrative business, marriage, daily duties as a father of a precious little girl, millions in potential career earnings, and reputation. I often describe these incidents as my descent into Dante’s Inferno. Struggling with the thought of suicide and suffering in the agonizing realm of depression, I turned to my [...]

Every year in August we kick off the year in Student Ministries with a special event called Vision Night. This is an evening to hear about the amazing things that God has been doing in students' and families' lives over the past year, and to learn about what is ahead. It is an exciting time in St. Luke's Student Ministry! Last year 450 students participated in a Student Ministry activity. Our students participated in dozens of service projects that impacted tens of thousands of Houstonians. Every week Student Ministry had 21 different small groups. Each year hundreds of [...]

The Belonging is a worship community. We gather every Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Gethsemane Campus of St. Luke's United Methodist Church. The Belonging is a growing community. We don't mean numbers or money or buildings. We mean growing in relationship with God and with one another, all with the love of Jesus. We meet in small groups for prayer, Bible study, food, fun, and life. The Belonging is a family community. We believe there is little difference between church and family, and that goes for every age. We put a lot of effort and prayer into [...]