Dear Sunday School Families,
It has been wonderful to see your children back in their Sunday School classes! We look forward to teaching and interacting with them in the coming months.
Please note, dismissal time for all Sunday School classes, unless otherwise indicated, is 12 pm. Therefore, if Liturgy is over before noon, we hope that you will enjoy child-free fellowship with friends, family and other parishioners at coffee hour before arriving at the Sunday School classroom(s) for pick-up. If your child is to be picked up early, or, in the case of the older students, if your child will leave class early because of another Sunday commitment, please inform your child’s teacher prior to class. It is important for the sake of your child’s safety, and for your peace of mind, that both the arrival and dismissal processes go as smoothly and securely as possible. We thank you for being our partners in all aspects of the religious education of your children..
Is your child not registered for Sunday School yet? No problem! To register your child or children, please click on the following link: https://www.ss.st-luke.org/registration
Here is the Class Schedule for October, 2024:
October 6 Worship and Classes, Spark Sunday for all GOYA-aged students*. 7th -12th grade classes meet in first floor conference room (high school room) at beginning of Sunday School.*
October 13 Worship and Classes, Picture Day
October 20 Worship and Classes
October 27 Worship and Classes
*Spark Sunday - St. Luke teens will meet as a group, before breaking up into their individual classes, during Sunday School. Our mission- to spark the teens’ thoughts, ideas, feelings, and conversations about their faith. We also hope to ignite the love of Christ in their hearts! GOYA meeting will follow each monthly Spark Sunday Session. Refreshments provided. For more information, please contact GOYA Advisor, Chrissy Katsapis, at chriskat9@comcast.net, or our Sunday School Directors Jane Kelly, Panayota Kevgis, and Sophia Milinkovic at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com.
**On Picture Day, Sunday, October 13, 2024, following Holy Communion, all students and Sunday School teachers should proceed to the steps at the front entrance to the church, to await Father Christ’s arrival for a group photo.
Sunday School Communications
Throughout the year, our Directors and Sunday School teachers will be in touch with you via text and email with Sunday School news, so please be sure that we have your up-to-date contact information. Some of you may have already received the message. If you didn’t get the text, please do the following: Text @stlukes23 to 81010 – see below:
In addition, join us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, photos, community service opportunities and more:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1572M7Nvic/,
and Instagram:
Sunday School Thanksgiving Outreach
The St. Luke Sunday School is currently collecting Thanksgiving-themed paper plates, napkins, cups, tablecloths, aluminum pans, and serving spoons for a Thanksgiving meal for 300 incarcerated women at the Philadelphia Industrial Corrections Center (PICC). This annual Sunday School outreach to 300 women incarcerated on the Thanksgiving holiday is coordinated with the charity Why Not Prosper, which serves both presently and previously incarcerated women by offering them a hand up, not a hand out (https://www.why-not-prosper.org/). If you are able to contribute to this initiative, please use this link to commit to donating one or more items:
Items may be left in the bin in the lobby of the Education Building until Friday, November 10, 2024. Donations cannot be accepted after Nov. 10 as we will be delivering our items to Why Not Prosper that week. We thank you in advance for your consideration of this request and for teaching our children by your actions to follow our Lord's teaching: ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25: 40.
2025 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival
As soon as the 2025 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival topics are released, we will send them to the teachers and to the families of 7th -9th graders (Junior Division), and 10th-12th graders (Senior Division). The Festival begins at the parish level, then successful participants may advance to the District, Metropolis, then National levels. Here is some general information about the Oratorical Festival: participants at the National Finals receive awards from the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival Scholarship Fund, ranging from $500 to $2000, the Faith Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism Scholarships, and the Chrysostom Scholarship Program of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.
Parents, please discuss this opportunity for your children to delve deeper into their faith by asking them to review the topics, when released, and by encouraging them to participate in the first step of the Oratorical Festival ladder, the St. Luke Parish Oratorical Festival. Further details will be forthcoming, but the parish festival is projected to take place in either February or March 2024. For questions about the Parish Oratorical Festival, please contact Art Karros, akarros@gmail.com, or Peter Pavlis, ppavlis7104@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 our Directors at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com.
Online Resources for Parents, Sunday School teachers, Catechumens, and Young People
Your go-to source for concise answers to a wide range of questions asked by the faithful about the Greek Orthodox faith. Equips Gen Z and millennials and all faithful — with facts they can trust and easily absorb. Clergy, parishes, religious educators, and parents can share them. Go to https://www.goarch.org/departments/religioused/didyouknow to see the answers to previous topics, or send questions to religioused@goarch.org.
Easy-to-download weekly sermons for clergy, educators and faithful, based on the upcoming Sunday Gospels. Each week, a new sermon is released for each Sunday of the ecclesiastical year. The SSS includes the Gospel reading along with insights and analysis: https://www.goarch.org/departments/religioused/sermons/sunday.
Questions about Sunday School?
Please contact our Directors, Jane Kelly, Panayota Kevgas, and Sophia Milinkovic at stlukesundayschool@gmail.com for more information about Sunday School. Or, visit https://www.ss.st-luke.org, which will be updated throughout the year with additional information and resources for families.