Unfamiliar Faces: Bible Stories that Might Surprise Us
Unfamiliar Faces: Bible Stories that Might Surprise Us
Some Bible stories are unfamiliar because we have barely heard them. Others are unfamiliar because we heard them so long ago, maybe in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, that we stopped expecting them to have anything new to say.
This August, we will spend five weeks with some unfamiliar faces in scripture: two brave midwives, three faithful friends in the fire, one reluctant prophet, one generous woman by the river, and one sleepy young man in a window. Some of these names may be new to us. Some may sound familiar. But each story invites us to look again and listen for the grace, challenge, humor, and holy surprise still waiting in the text.
Rooted | Pool Party
Make a splash with us at the Rooted Pool Party! Join your Rooted friends for an afternoon of swimming, food, and fun.
Each Rooted member and their guests must have a signed Liability/Release form on file.
Don’t miss out on this chance to connect, relax, and celebrate together before fall gets too busy.
Sign-up deadline: Thursday, August 20th
Arts & Crafts Night
Arts & Crafts Night w/ Dessert
All ages are invited to join us in the fellowship hall at 6 PM for a time of communal crafting!
We’ll have assorted craft supplies, or you can bring your own current craft project to work on!
Connect | Youth Night
CONNECT: Youth Night
September 27 | 3:00–7:00 PM
St. Luke United Methodist Church | Tupelo, MS
$25 per student
Come spend the afternoon with youth from across the area and students from ICC Wesley at CONNECT Youth Night! This event is open to students 6th - 12th grade!
CONNECT is a youth gathering built around faith, community, and connection. You can expect games, worship, small groups, conversations with ICC Wesley college students, and dinner. Join us as we connect with God and one another!
This September, we’re exploring what it means to be ROOTED: rooted in God, rooted in a community that helps us grow, and rooted deeply enough to live with courage, purpose, and faith wherever life takes us.
Cost: Registration is $25 per student and includes the full afternoon and dinner. Proceeds from CONNECT support the ministry of ICC Wesley, helping create opportunities for college students to find community, grow in faith, and develop as leaders.
New Member Sunday
We're celebrating New Member Sunday on August 16th! If you're a long time visitor or are new to the community looking for a church home, then we'd love to welcome you to St. Luke UMC!
Reach out to Rev. Amber Lea via email or by calling the church office.
Midweek Manna | August
Join us for our monthly fellowship meal at 5:30 pm on August 12th!
Menu: Spaghetti and Chicken Spaghetti
Please let the church office know if you will be bringing a bread or dessert.
*Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the meal.
ROOTED - Back to School Bash
Back To School Bash
Rooted (3rd grade - 12th grade)
Friday, August 7th | 6pm - 8pm
Pizza | Karaoke | Games
Bring a Friend, all are welcome!
Song & Stories with Tricia Walker
Join us for Songs & Stories with GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter Tricia Walker on Sunday, August 2 at 5 PMat St. Luke United Methodist Church.
Tricia’s songs are rooted in the passion, pain, grace, and beauty of the American South. Her music has been recorded by artists including Faith Hill, Patty Loveless, and Alison Krauss, whose recording of Tricia’s “Looking in the Eyes of Love” earned a GRAMMY Award.
This Sunday afternoon gathering will be an intimate evening of music, storytelling, and connection — the kind of night that feels like sitting on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea, listening to stories that remind us who we are and where we come from.
All are welcome. Bring a friend, pull up a chair, and come enjoy an evening of songs and stories with us.
Blessing of the Backpacks
Students & Teachers -- You're invited to bring your backpack and/or planner to worship on Sunday for a blessing as you start the new year!
UMC Day at the Water Park
Join us at Geyser Falls Water Theme Park, where you can splash, slide, soak up the sun and make unforgettable memories!
Community Backpack Drive
Community Backpack Drive
Back-to-school season is exciting — and expensive. While school supplies are often covered for local students, backpacks are still a real need, especially for families with multiple children.
St. Luke is collecting new and gently used backpacks to help local kids start the school year with confidence.
Backpack Donations Accepted Beginning July 6
Drop off at St. Luke United Methodist Church
Monday–Thursday, 9 AM–5 PM
Then, on Friday, July 25 from 10 AM–2 PM, families are invited to come to St. Luke and “shop” for a backpack. Kids are encouraged to come and pick out their own backpack while supplies last.
Free Backpacks While Supplies Last
Backpack Pick-Up: July 25 | 10 AM–2 PM
St. Luke United Methodist Church Gym
We also invite all students, teachers, and school staff to join us for Blessing of the Backpacks on Sunday, August 2, as we pray over our students and the new school year.
Have a backpack to share? Bring it by the church beginning July 6. Together, we can help make back-to-school a little lighter for local families.
Church Trivia
Think you know your church trivia? 👀
Join us during Sunday School in July for Church Trivia! Each week we’ll have two rounds of questions covering United Methodist history, theology, hymns, acronyms, polity, St. Luke history, and maybe a few surprises along the way.
Come ready to laugh, learn, guess wildly, and maybe discover that you know more about Methodism than you think.
Sundays in July during Sunday School
Bring your people. Pick a team name. Brush up on your Wesley facts.
Family Game Night
🎲 Unplug & Connect: Family Game Night!
Get ready for an afternoon of laughter, competition, and fellowship! Bring your competitive spirit (and your favorite tabletop game!) for our Church Family Game Night.
Poetry & Prayer
Join us for a 90-minute poetry and prayer workshop with featured poet Clea McLemore. Together, we will explore the connection between poetry, prayer, healing, and spiritual practice through a mix of listening, writing, reflection, and practical guidance.
Midweek Manna | June
Join us for our monthly fellowship meal at 5:30 pm on June 10th.
*Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the meal.
Summer Roll Out Bowling
Join us for an afternoon of high-energy fun as we celebrate our students’ hard work and welcome the best season of the year! Whether you’re a pro or need the bumpers, there’s a spot for you!
Front Porch Faith
SUMMER WORSHIP SERIES
Front Porch Faith: Pull up a chair. Let’s talk about grace the Wesleyan way.
On a front porch, people talk about the things that matter most — life, faith, family, questions, stories, and hope. This summer we’re pulling up a chair and exploring the heart of our United Methodist faith. Through the stories of scripture, we’ll reflect on grace that welcomes us, seeks us, transforms us, and sends us into the world to love our neighbors. No lectures — just porch conversations about the grace of God and the life we share together.
Join us every Sunday in June and July at 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary.
Pancake Breakfast
Join us this Sunday for a Pancake Breakfast!
Come hungry and help support our students as they prepare for Camp Lake Stephens this summer! Our youth will be serving up pancakes and breakfast favorites before church as a fundraiser to help make camp possible. Camp experiences create space for friendships, faith, fun, and moments that can shape a student’s life for years to come.
Sunday, May 31
9:15 AM | Fellowship Hall
Come enjoy breakfast, support our youth, and help send students to camp!
Midweek Manna
Wednesday, May 13,2026
5:30 PM - 6:15 PM
Midweek Manna is next week! Remember to register by noon on Monday, May 11th
Menu: BBQ
Please call the church office if you would like to sign up to bring a side or dessert
Pup Parade
You’re invited to bring your dog to the 3rd Annual Pup Parade for a time of fellowship and friendly competition. Judges from Tupelo-Lee Humane Society will judge the following categories:
Best Dressed, Cutest, Best Handshake & Best Trick!
Free treat bags for all pup participants!
The Miracles in Concert
Join us for a concert featuring The Miracles from The Baddour Center, where adults with intellectual disabilities live, learn, work, worship, and belong.
Women of Worship
Join us for a light meal, devotional, fellowship, and a community engagement program. All women are invited to join.
Connect Youth Night
CONNECT: A Youth Night at St. Luke
April 19 | 3 - 7 PM | $25 Per Student
St. Luke is excited to host a brand new youth night led by the Wesley Foundation at ICC! This evening is designed just for 6th–12th grade students — a space to plug into faith, community, and purpose.
Students can expect:
Worship
Games
Dinner
Small Groups
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/jDgaGzuGK7hVGf78A
We can’t wait to see what God does through this night. The perfect opportunity for students to connect and to support the ministry at ICC Wesley!
Confirmation Sunday
Join us for Confirmation Sunday at St. Luke on Sunday, April 12 at 10:30 AM.
This will be a special morning in the life of our church as we celebrate our confirmands and the faith journey they have been walking. Over these past weeks, they have been learning, growing, asking big questions, and preparing to say yes to God’s grace in new ways.
We hope you’ll come worship with us, surround these students with love and encouragement, and celebrate this meaningful day together. A cake and punch reception will follow the service.
Easter Sunday
You’re invited to join us on Easter!
9:30 AM - Fellowship Brunch in the Fellowship Hall
9:30 AM - Easter Egg Hunt in the Courtyard
10:30 AM - Easter Worship
Let’s celebrate Easter together at St. Luke United Methodist Church, a place to belong!
Bring fresh flowers to help decorate the Resurrection Cross out front — everyone’s welcome to add a touch of beauty.
Then stick around for our potluck brunch—bring your favorite dish to share as we celebrate together!
Good Friday | Self-Guided Stations
Experience a meaningful time of reflection this Good Friday at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Tupelo. "Encounter" is a self-guided journey through interactive prayer stations designed to help individuals of all ages connect with the story of Christ’s sacrifice in a personal and powerful way. Come anytime between 3 and 6 PM for quiet contemplation and spiritual renewal.
Maundy Thursday Service
Maundy Thursday Worship | The Loving Way
On the night before the cross, Jesus gathered his friends for a meal. He washed their feet. He broke bread. And he gave them a commandment that still shapes us: “Love one another.”
Join us for a meaningful service of Scripture, prayer, and Holy Communion as we remember Christ’s servant love and prepare our hearts for Good Friday.
Thursday, April 2
St. Luke UMC
5:30 PM
Prayer Bead Workshop
Have you ever longed for a more tangible way to pray?
Join us for a hands-on workshop where you’ll create your own set of Protestant prayer beads and learn how they can guide you into deeper, more intentional prayer.
Protestant prayer beads (sometimes called Anglican prayer beads) are a simple tool for reflection — helping us slow down, breathe, and move through Scripture, gratitude, confession, and intercession in a grounded, embodied way.
During this workshop, you will:
✨ Create your own custom set of beads
✨ Learn the meaning behind the bead pattern
✨ Practice using them in guided prayer
✨ Leave with a resource you can use daily
No experience required. No “right way” to pray. Just space to create, learn, and connect with God in a fresh way.
All are welcome.
Midweek Manna
Midweek Manna is next week! Remember to register by noon on Monday, March 9th!
Menu: Fried Chicken, Sides, & Desserts
Please call the church office if you would like to sign up to bring a side or dessert.
Wednesday Night Study
Wednesday Lent Study with Rev. Amber Lea
This Lent, experience the journey to the cross through the lens of The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross by Will Willimon.
Together, we’ll explore the powerful stories Jesus told at tables along the road to Jerusalem—stories of welcome and rejection, mercy and invitation, searching and homecoming—and how they prepare us to understand the meaning of the Last Supper and Holy Week in deeper ways.
📅 Wednesdays beginning February 25
⏰ 5:30 PM
📍 New Dimensions Room
This six-week study is open to everyone and includes meaningful discussion and reflection. Whether you’re new to Bible study or returning again, you’re invited to gather, listen, and journey together this season.
📚 Want us to order the book for you? Let the church office know by February 16 ($12).
The Way | Lenten Worship Series
Lent is a season of walking—together.
This year at St. Luke, we’re stepping into The Way, a Lenten journey shaped by scripture’s stories of wilderness roads, unexpected turns, open tables, and new beginnings.
Inspired by the film The Way and grounded in passages like Isaiah 43:19—“I will make a way in the wilderness”—we’ll explore what it means to trust that God is already at work ahead of us and beside us.
This isn’t about having a perfect faith.
It’s about learning to walk honestly.
With compassion as our compass.
With the Spirit as our guide.
Join us on Sundays at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary.
If you’ve been looking for a place to begin again, this might be it.
Ash Wednesday Service
You’re invited to join us at 5:30 on February 18 for our Ash Wednesday service. Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lenten season, the 40 days before Easter.