Sunday School News - June 2026
- Dr. Jane Brasko Kelly
- Jun 1
- 6 min read
Dear Sunday School Students and Families,
Please enjoy this End-of-Year Report, as we wish you a blessed, joyful and refreshing summer vacation!
Celebrating Our Sunday School Heroes
We joyfully recognize our devoted and inspiring Sunday School teachers—our everyday superheroes—for their unwavering commitment to guiding our children in the teachings and spirit of the Greek Orthodox faith. Their dedication extends far beyond Sunday mornings, encompassing lesson preparation and spiritual mentoring throughout the week. We are truly grateful for their ministry and the nurturing presence they provide in God’s house. Our 2025–2026 Teaching Staff:
Grade Level | Sunday School Teacher(s) |
3-year-olds | Lisa Palmieri and Kathy Zarvalas |
Pre-K | Faithe Kalisperis and Marinela Tsapournas |
Kindergarten | Marilena Ristas and Helen Kopitas |
First Grade | Thomas Ristas and Phoebe Harris |
Second Grade | Eleni Kornblatt and Evi Karros |
Third Grade | Sophia Tsakiris and Jennifer Kyriakodis |
Fourth Grade | Marina Despotopoulou |
Fifth Grade | Elene Mironidis |
Sixth Grade | Sophia Milinkovic and Evie Touring |
Seventh and Eighth Grade | Arthur Karros, George Kevgas, Michael Bratelli |
Ninth and Tenth Grade | Peter Pavlis |
Eleventh and Twelfth Grade | Danny Milinkovic and Evan Palmieri |
Substitutes | Georgia Vlahos and Soula Arcidiacono |
New Teachers 2025-2026 | YOUR NAME HERE |
We also honor the many dedicated teachers and directors who came before us. Thank you for laying the foundation upon which this program continues to grow. Χρόνια Πολλά!
Join Our Team!
As we plan for the upcoming year, we hope to expand our teaching team by placing two adults—one lead teacher and one assistant—in every classroom. As you can see from the chart above, not every one of our classes has 2 teachers yet- we need you! If you are feeling called to serve, we welcome you to join this fulfilling ministry. You will find that the spiritual rewards are just as meaningful for teachers as they are for the students.For more information or to volunteer, please contact us at: stlukesundayschool@gmail.com
Looking Back: A Year of Faith in Action
Here are some highlights from our 2025–2026 Sunday School Year:
Fundraisers & Donations
Backpack Fundraiser (with FOCUS North America)
July–August 2025
July–August 2026 *this summer
Thanksgiving Supplies for PICC Women
October–November 2024
Lenten Season Donations
March 2026: Helped to promote the National Orthodox Baby Shower, in support of pregnant women who choose to keep their baby despite being in very difficult financial circumstances. Donations included: 1,760 Diapers; 99 Packages of wipes; 28 Bottles Shampoo/Wash; 9 Bottles Baby Lotion; 5 Desitin/ Diaper Rash creams; 6 Cans of Formula; 6 Baby Bottles; 8 Baby toys; 126 Pieces of clothing (NB-4T; 12 Blankets; 1 Baby towel; 6 Baby bibs; 9 Pairs of socks; 1 Baby nail clipper; 2 car seats; 1 stroller; 1 high chair; 4 Kids’ dinnerware sets; 9 Kids’ suitcases with blanket/toy; 6 Wooden Growth Chart Keepsakes; $60 total gift cards.” All items were given to Chester County ConnectCare in West Chester.
March–April 2026: Coordinated donations of flowers for the weekly Lenten Salutation Services
Youth Engagement & Education
Spark Sunday Sessions (Grades 6–12)
September 2025–May 2026: Hosted and taught monthly sessions on topics that our students come across daily in school. All discussions, regardless of the topic, are viewed through an Orthodox lens so our students understand how the Orthodox faith provides us guidance to remain strong in our faith. We were lucky to have 2 guest speakers this past year, Dr. Cary Limberakis, who talked with our students about the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the meeting between His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch and Pope Leo XIV, and our Pastoral Assistant, Nikos Schwarz, who spoke with our young people about his own spiritual journey and gave advice to our students about how to stay in touch with their faith once they go away to college.
FOCUS North America YES Trip to Philadelphia
A day of service for our GOYA-aged students, sponsored by our Sunday School in coordination with FOCUS North America, took place on Saturday, October 25, 2025. YES stands for Youth Equipped to Serve, so our young people were guided through an educational and formative service-learning experience, learning about the current struggles of our community, connecting with other organizations doing great work in Norristown, and coming together with other young people eager to serve.
St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival
January–February 2026: The St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, hosted by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, serves as a nationwide ministry that aims to foster faith, education, and fellowship among Greek Orthodox teenagers. It provides a platform for students in grades 7-12 to write and present speeches on topics related to their faith, the Church, and Orthodox traditions. The festival also helps students hone their public speaking and speech writing skills. We sponsored a parish-level event, and were very excited to have Stavros Kalisperis, Victoria Kaltsidis, and Paisios Moran participate and represent St. Luke at the District Festival.
Cards for Veterans
February 2026: In response to a request from our Philoptochos, our students made special greeting cards for the residents of the Coatesville Veterans Medical Center, perpetuating the relationship between our young people and the former service members who live at the facility.
Bags for Chester Charter Scholars Academy (CCSA)
May 2026: On May 3rd, our Sunday School children participated in a service project supporting students at CCSA. During their Sunday session, the children assembled healthy snack bags for third graders in preparation for Philoptochos’ May 13th visit to the school. Anna Hadgis spoke with the students about the school community and the children who would be receiving the bags, helping them understand the importance of compassion, generosity, and service to others. Each drawstring bag included a variety of healthy snacks and drinks, along with thoughtful notes of encouragement written by our GOYA teens.
Grands Stepping Up
May 2026: On Sunday, May 15, 2026 and under the direction of Alexa Angelakos, St. Luke Sunday School students in grades 5 through 8 helped to wrap, fill, and label some pre-filled Easter baskets for Grands Stepping Up in the Social Hall after Communion. This Philoptochos charity helps to support children being raised by grandparents and other kinship guardians when parents are unable to do so. The children had a great time contributing to this wonderful cause!
Liturgical Involvement
Weekly Readers Coordination
September 2025–May 2026: Identified and organized Epistle and Communion Prayer readers for each Sunday of the school year.
Lenten Services Participation
February–April 2026:
Coordinated Psalm readers for Salutation Services
Coordinated flower donations
Holy Week Activities
April 4 2026 (Lazarus Saturday): Hosted lunch for our Sunday School families, and helped guide students and their parents fold over fifteen hundred palms for Palm Sunday Liturgy.
April 10, 2026 (Holy Friday): Created and coordinated the Holy Friday Helpers Retreat. Students of all grades work to help decorate the Epitaphion, our GOYANS continued by helping prep candles for the Holy Friday Lamentations Service while our younger students made a beautiful craft celebrating the Anastasi. Finally, all students spent a considerable amount of time outside with Father Christ, discussing the Passion of Christ and other Lenten topics.
April 11–12, 2026: Recruited Myrrh-bearers for the Holy Friday and Holy Saturday services, practiced with both groups, and dressed and prepared the Myrrh-bearers for their part in each of the services. The role of our beloved Myrrh-bearers is so special not, just for women, but as part of Paschal celebrations of the Orthodox Church.
April 12, 2026 (Pascha): Identified and organized readers for the Agape Gospel in multiple languages
Mother’s & Father’s Day Celebrations
May–June 2026: Provided poem readers
Seasonal & Special Events
Christmas Pageant
December 2024: Sponsored and supported the event under the direction of our incredible pageant director, Mrs. Faithe Kalisperis.
Godparents Sunday
February–March 2025: Created and distributed invitations to all Sunday School students so that they could decorate/color them if they wished to do so and then mail them home to their Nounos and Nounas.
Pre-Lenten Monastery Trip
March 2026: Organized trip to Holy Protection Monastery
Seeking Readers for Father’s Day Poems
We are currently looking for 2 student volunteers to read poems during Divine Liturgy in honor of the fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and uncles of our community on Sunday, June 15, 2025. To volunteer, please email us at: stlukesundayschool@gmail.com
Faith Doesn’t Take a Summer Vacation
Looking to nurture your child’s faith over the summer? Whether by the pool or at the beach, these sites offer excellent Orthodox books for children and teens:
Summer Epistle and Prayer Readers Needed
Even during summer break, we encourage your children to participate in Divine Liturgy by reading the Epistle or Communion Prayer. We’ll provide the readings in advance so they have plenty of time to practice. To sign up, contact us at: stlukesundayschool@gmail.com
Stay in Touch
Have questions or want more resources? Visit our website at: https://www.ss.st-luke.org or reach out anytime at: stlukesundayschool@gmail.com
