Dear Sunday School Students and Families,
Below is the Sunday School class schedule for April through Pascha, at the beginning of May 2024:
APRIL
April 5 Third Salutations, Flowers presented by the Sunday School students
April 7 Worship and Classes, Sunday of the Holy Cross; Spark Sunday for 7th-12th grades
April 12 Fourth Salutations, Flowers presented by Sunday School students
April 14 Worship and Classes, St John Climacus
April 19 Fifth Salutations Flowers presented by Sunday School students
April 20 Delaware Valley District Religious Education Seminar, 9 am -2 pm, St. George, Media
April 21 Worship and Classes, Sunday of St Mary of Egypt
April 27 Saturday of Lazarus, Palm folding by all Sunday School students in Education Building
April 28 Worship and Classes, Palm Sunday
MAY
May 3 Holy Friday Retreat: Helpers 11 AM; Apokathelosis Service, 3 PM, Myrrh- bearers report at 2:30 PM
May 5 EASTER SUNDAY: FAMILY WORSHIP SUNDAY. AGAPE SERVICE 11 AM. Easter Egg Hunt immediately following the service
St. John Chrysotom Parish Oratorical Festival
On Sunday, March 10, 2024, our Junior and Senior Division speakers competed in the St. Luke Parish Oratorical Festival immediately following the Divine Liturgy. The top 2 finalists in each division, who will advance to the Delaware Valley District Oratorical Festival to be hosted by St. Luke on Saturday April 6, 2024, are Stavros Kalisperis and Victoria Kaltsidis, in the Junior Division, and Eleni Kalisperis and Maria Kaltsidis, in the Senior Division. We are so proud of our four speakers and know that they will be wonderful representatives of our parish! Congratulations to Stavros, Victoria, Eleni and Maria and their families!
Flowers for Salutation Services
We are looking for volunteers to donate flowers for the weekly Lenten Salutations services (April 5, 12, and 19, 2024 at 6 p.m.). The bouquets should arrive at church before the service begins, and can be left in the front pew, to the left of the middle aisle, unless Sunday School teachers Marilena Ristas, Thomas Ristas, and Sophia Tsakiris are already in church to receive them. To sign-up to donate flowers for the Panagia, please go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4EA8A828ABFCCE9-47917895-flowers. Thank you for your support of this lovely tradition for our Sunday School families. May you be strengthened by this giving opportunity during your Lenten journey!
Psalm Readers for Salutation Services
We would like to have 1 to 3 Sunday School children read Psalms 50, 69, and 142 at the very beginning of each of the 5 Friday Salutation services to the Panagia on April 5, 12, and 19, 2024 at 6 p.m. One child may read all 3, or 3 children may each read one apiece (these Psalms are not very long). If your family will be donating flowers for the service, perhaps you have a child or children who would be willing to read these beautiful prayers from the Old Testament. This is an excellent way to get your entire family into the true spirit of Lent. To sign up your child, please go to:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4EA8A828ABFCCE9-47918105-psalm. We will send you the reading(s) ahead of time so that your child can practice and become comfortable with the texts beforehand. Children must be in church 5 to 10 minutes before the beginning of the service (so at 5:50 or 5:55 p.m.) as the Psalms are read shortly after the service begins at 6 p.m. Please contact Miss Jane and Miss Sophia at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com with questions or to receive the Psalm readings.
Lenten/Holy Week Workbook and Letter
We entered Great Lent on Monday, March 18, 2024. To assist you and your family with Lenten devotions and the schedule of services, we have provided: 1) a Lenten Workbook, available online at https://www.ss.st-luke.org/lent; and, 2) elsewhere in this Epistle, a copy of the 2024 Lenten letter containing the schedule of Lenten services and 2 forms to be filled out. The first form is to be filled out for all young ladies, in grades 3 through 6, who would like to serve on Holy Friday as Myrrh-bearers, while the second form is for our annual Holy Friday Retreat that takes place each year on Holy Friday. All completed forms may be returned to the Sunday School office; placed into the Sunday School cubby in the copy room next to the church office; or scanned and emailed to stlukesundayschool@gmail.com.The program on Holy Friday will begin at 11 a.m., or immediately following the morning service. Students will participate in some crafts and activities and share a Lenten lunch. Students will finish the day at approximately 1:30 p.m., and all are welcome, especially our young ladies who will serve as Myrrh-bearers at the 3 PM Holy Friday service, to remain at church after the retreat is over. For further information about the Holy Friday retreat or serving as a Myrrh-bearer, please contact Miss Jane and Miss Sophia at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com., or visit https://www.ss.st-luke.org/lent.
Parent Volunteers for Lazarus Saturday/Palm Folding and Holy Friday Retreat
We are looking for Sunday School family volunteers who can lead and aid in the set up, clean up, and running of the activities on Lazarus Saturday (April 27) and the Holy Friday Retreat (May 3). No previous experience required, just a willingness to serve our St. Luke community at this very holy time of year! Miss Jane and Miss Sophia will provide all of the materials and ideas, but we need “day-of” coordinators to spearhead the events of each of those days, as well as volunteers to help with the activities. More details to follow. Please contact Miss Sophia and Miss Jane at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com for more information or to volunteer!
Readers for Agape Service on Pascha
We are looking for volunteers to read the Gospel in different languages at 11 am on Easter morning during the Agape Vespers of Pascha. We have copies of the Gospel in the following languages: Greek, English, Spanish, Latin, French, Italian and Albanian. The reading in the appropriate language will be given to volunteers prior to the service. It’s a truly awesome opportunity to not only read the Gospel in front of the congregation, but to also echo what is being done in Orthodox churches around the world on Pascha, to announce the Good News of Christ’s Resurrection to all peoples! To volunteer to read the Agape Gospel in one of these languages, please contact Miss Jane at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com. Easter Egg Hunt to follow the Agape Vespers!
Confessions for Sunday School Students
Father Christ is working with us to arrange a time for the 2nd-4th graders to go to Confession. If you would like to have your 2nd to 4th grade child, and/or an older sibling, participate in the Sacrament of Confession (Repentance), please contact Miss Jane and Miss Sophia at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com.
Sunday School trip to Holy Protection Monastery
We are trying to organize a Sunday School trip to Holy Protection Monastery, and these efforts are being spearheaded by our teachers Sophia Tsakiris, Marilena Ristas, and Thomas Ristas. God bless them! We don't have a definite date yet, as so many days are already filled by other events at St. Luke, but one option is to visit at midday on a Saturday afternoon, receive a tour of the Monastery, share a meal with the sisters, and attend Vespers before heading home. It would be great to do this during Great Lent, but we are not ruling out visiting after Pascha either. Please let us know if this is something you and your family would be interested in at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com!
Readers for Divine Liturgy
Please encourage your children to volunteer to read the Epistle or the Communion Prayer during Divine Liturgy. This is a great way for your child to become involved in the worship of our faith. We will send you the reading(s) ahead of time so that your child can practice and become comfortable with the texts beforehand. To volunteer your child, please contact Miss Sophia and Miss Jane at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com.
Questions about Sunday School?
Please contact Miss Jane and Miss Sophia at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com. Or, visit https://www.ss.st-luke.org, which will be updated throughout the year with additional information and resources for families.