Welcome Back to Sunday School 2025-26

Dear Sunday School Families,

Welcome back to a new year of faith, learning, and community at Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church! We are excited to begin another enriching year of Sunday School and look forward to partnering with you in nurturing the spiritual growth of our children.

This year, we are focusing on several key goals to strengthen our Sunday School program:

• Increased Attendance: We want to see our classrooms full and vibrant each week. To help encourage regular participation, we are excited to announce the return of our Attendance Awards! Those with the most regular attendance will be recognized at the end of the school year.

• Communion for Students: Sunday School students and teachers will receive Holy Communion before the congregation. We ask that our teachers in our 3-year-old class through fifth grade go first, followed by our secondary teachers. This will prevent students from arriving before our teachers which is a safety issue. Allowing Sunday School students and staff to go first will help us to maximize their time in the classroom as well.

• Parent Engagement: We welcome and encourage parents to take an active role in their children’s spiritual education. Whether it’s assisting with events, volunteering in the classroom, or simply staying informed, your involvement makes a difference. As Father Christ said in his September message to the parish, “Put the Divine Liturgy on the calendar before everything else. Arrive on time so the rhythm of the Liturgy gets a footing. Sit where they can see. The eyes of our youth engage when they can watch the clergy, readers, altar boys, and chanters.” Father Christ spoke to this and in his September Epistle message (see below)

Student Safety

The safety of our children is our top priority. While Saint Luke is a close-knit, loving, and welcoming community, recent events at Villanova and other tragedies remind us that even our area is not immune to emergencies. With that in mind, we are implementing a few additional safety measures this year to provide everyone with peace of mind. Rest assured, any discussions with students will be conducted in an age-appropriate manner.

• Lockdown Magnets: Our classroom doors cannot be locked from the inside. To remedy this, teachers will receive a special lockdown magnet. The magnet keeps the door open during class, allowing students to come and go easily. In the event of an emergency, the teacher can remove the magnet immediately, and the door will lock automatically. If you are not familiar with these magnets, please watch this video.

• Safe Pickup: This year’s registration form will ask parents/guardians to list family or friends who are allowed to pick up their child after Sunday School. Although many faces are familiar at Saint Luke, dismissal time can be quite busy. These steps are just one more way we can work together to keep every child safe. Middle and high school students may continue to leave on their own, as in past years.

• Safety Plan: We are working closely with the Marple-Newtown Police and the Marple-Newtown Fire Company to create a clear evacuation plan, in case of a fire or other emergency that requires us to leave the building. Once the plan is finalized, we will conduct practice fire drills and lockdown drills with our students a couple of times each year. We will communicate these dates to both students and parents in advance. These drills ensure that both students and staff are familiar with emergency protocols, so that everyone remains safe and calm in the unlikely event of an emergency. Every classroom will be equipped with a map of the building that includes both primary and secondary exit routes.

• Security Cameras: Cameras have been placed in the social hall and the stairwells. Additional cameras will be placed on both the first and second floor hallways, as well as all the back door exits that lead to the lawn on the right side of the church, where the cross stands.

SEPTEMBER PASTORAL MESSAGE

Beloved,

As a new school year begins and our calendars fill quickly, we need to speak honestly about something essential: prioritizing Church for our children. Our Lord says, “Let the little children come to Me… for of such is the Kingdom of God” (Mk 10:14). The Church has long called the Christian family the “little church,” a place where faith is planted, watered, and grows. Yet the soil that nourishes this faith is the Divine Liturgy, the rhythm of prayer, and the life of the parish. Today’s world tugs at our families: sports on Sunday morning, endless screens, social pressures, and the quiet loneliness and anxiety many young people feel. Sunday worship is not one more activity; it is the anchor that steadies everything else. Our youth learn by presence, participation, and repetition: lighting a candle; kissing icons; the hymns and prayers that fill their ears and roll off their lips; the sign of the Cross with their hands; and the embrace of a community that knows them by name.

SO, HOW CAN YOU SET YOUR FAMILY UP FOR SUCCESS?

1.      Choose Church first. Put the Divine Liturgy on the calendar before everything else. Arrive on time so the rhythm of the Liturgy gets a footing. Sit where they can see. The eyes of our youth engage when they can watch the clergy, readers, altar boys, and chanters.

2.      Offer small roles. Remind your children to bless themselves when they light a candle. Bake prosforo while allowing them to help and have them bring the bread offering. Remind them to think about someone they want to pray for as they place their candle.

3.      Talk on the way home. Ask: “What did you notice? What did you hear? For whom did you pray? What did you talk about in Sunday School?”

4.      Keep the fast with guidance. Fasting looks different for children; speak with me for a simple, age-appropriate plan and, more importantly, why we fast.

5.       Let’s continue to grow together at St. Luke. Beginning with The Festival of Ministries on September 14^th, let’s start the Ecclesiastical Year on the right foot. There is no perfect moment; there is only now. Bring your children, grandchildren, and godchildren. Invite a neighbor or a friend. Let them discover a place where they are loved, where Christ is present, and where their lives are shaped by beauty, truth, hope and love.

Thank you for partnering with us to create a safe, welcoming, and faith-filled Sunday School experience for all our children.

We are excited for the year ahead and look forward to growing together in faith and fellowship. Thank you for your continued support and for entrusting us with the spiritual education of your children.

We look forward to seeing everyone at The Festival of Ministries on September 14th! You are welcome to register early by going here.

In Christ’s Love,

Jane Kelly, Panayota Kevgas, and Sophia Milinkovic

Sunday School Directors

Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church