“Worshippers never leave church… We carry our sanctuary with us wherever we go.” -A.W. Tozer
We are called to be the Church and we can be together without being in person. In this time of self-isolation and uncertainty, we are still the Church, it just looks a little different than it ever has before. But the Church has lasted through many pandemics, governments, plagues, and unknowns and we will get through this too. We believe in a God who lives and moves among us so we are never alone. God is here with us and we are here for each other. Please read through our offerings below and please reach out to us if you need anything. Our clergy and staff are available for phone or Zoom calls; if you need anything please email us.
Worship
We will be offering Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer at 10AM on Sundays via Livestreaming services.
To watch, please click the link below and click on the date and time. If the service has not gone live yet,
please wait and it will go live about 5 minutes before the actual start time.
please wait and it will go live about 5 minutes before the actual start time.
https://events.locallive.tv/worship/st-lukes-parish
Morning Prayer & Litany of Healing at 9:30AM on Wednesdays
How To Join (Instructions will be the same week-to-week):
Option 1) Click this link on a computer or smart device: https://zoom.us/j/91357974942
Option 2) From any telephone: Dial: 1-929-205-6099. When prompted, enter this
Meeting ID: 913 5797 4942#. Then, when prompted to enter your “participant ID or press #”, simply enter #. You should be in the meeting
Option 1) Click this link on a computer or smart device: https://zoom.us/j/91357974942
Option 2) From any telephone: Dial: 1-929-205-6099. When prompted, enter this
Meeting ID: 913 5797 4942#. Then, when prompted to enter your “participant ID or press #”, simply enter #. You should be in the meeting
Compline at 8PM on Thursdays
Streaming on Facebook
Children
Sunday School
Each week we add an audio story that matches the lectionary for the week, as well reflection questions. Let your kids tackle these on their own while you listen to the service Sunday mornings.
Pray
Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
Thank You for the World So Sweet
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you, God, for everything!
-Edith Rutter Leatham
Be Present at Our Table
Be present at our table, Lord
Be here and everywhere adored.
From your all-bounteous hand our food
May we receive with gratitude.
-John Cennick, 1740
Play
Time at home with no pressing need to be out and about, checking off never-ending to-do lists and driving family members all over for their activities presents a blessed chance to let children be children and play! During this slow-down time, maybe spend some time playing with your children. Use building toys like blocks, LEGOs, Lincoln Logs, Keva Planks, etc to create Bible story scenes and use them to play out the stories.
Share the Joy of Spring
Get the family outside and do some “Spring Cleaning” in the yard: you’ll be taking care of God’s great earth and might even come across some twigs to use for art projects: e.g. make crosses that you can paint and/or adorn with small items around the house (yarn, twine, buttons, etc). Make mini-wreaths that you can decorate with signs of spring. Share spring greetings with others. Look through magazines, catalogs, even weekly mail circulars for images of spring. Cut them out and use them for collage art that you can put on cards to send to those you know who might be alone during quarantine, or, perhaps to Senior Living communities (Atria, Maplewood, Waveny, etc) to share with their residents who are currently living in “lock down” mode.
Sing and Dance
Have a sing-along, have a dance party! Listen to family-friendly music that reminds us of God’s love for us. Make some joyful noise and play along with your instruments or, you can even make use of other things around the house for percussion. Here are a couple suggestions: Ellie Holcomb’s albums “Sing; Creation Songs” and “Sing; Remembering Songs”
Youth
THINGS TO DO WITH THE GROUP
Lunch Together – Mondays at 12:30PM for Middle Schoolers, Wednesdays at 12:00 for High Schoolers
It can be a little strange to go from eating in a cafeteria at a table of your friends to eating with your family or by yourself so let’s eat together! Monday or Wednesday afternoons, get your lunch and join our Zoom call. If you aren’t hungry, eating is optional, come hang out with us anyway!
Netflix Watch Parties – Fridays at 7PM
Let’s have a movie night! Netflix has come up with a way for us to watch movies together while we are apart. To participate in the Netflix Party, you will have to download the Chrome Plug-In called Netflix Party. The instructions can be found here. Due to the fact that the link for the party can only be accessed right before the movie, I ask that you sign up so that I can send you the appropriate link. Please sign up by emailing naomi.cunningham@saintlukesdarien.org!
Confirmation: We will not be meeting in person until it is safe for all to do so, but during this time, you can still use your confirmation books as a way to read and respond to the Bible. You can read through the stories and then answer the questions and complete the activities together. Here are links to the confirmation books: 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade.
THINGS TO DO AS A FAMILY
Micro-Loans: For the past two years, the Saint Luke’s youth have been making micro-loans through the lending website Kiva.org. This is a great way to make a difference in the world while still practicing self-isolation. You logon, look through the various groups and individuals asking for a loan, and then lend someone $25. Then, when you get repaid, you can choose another group or individual to lend to!
Make Cards: People in our midst who live alone many feel particularly vulnerable during this time and cards are a wonderful to make them feel loved. If you are interested in making cards, please email Naomi and she will send you a few names of people who would love to receive a hand-written card.
The Window Project
During this time, we are missing our sacred space. We are able to see the altar through live-streamed worship, but the unique aesthetic of the room is really thanks to our stained glass windows. Thanks to the creativity and work of our Director of Music, David Pulliam, here is a way to use the windows as a foundation to guide us each week through education, meditations, and music: The Window Project.
Using, as a resource, our self-published book on the windows of Saint Luke’s, here is a PDF to guide families in a discussion each week as they study the window; included readings specifically assigned to each window by the artist himself; and added music that compliments those readings. Read and do everything at once, or break it up into more than one session of meditation each week.
Here is also a tracing of the assigned window. A trend is to use coloring as meditation, for children and adults, too. Try your own hand at using different colors for your own window design, and as they’re done, you can take pictures of finished, unique Saint Luke’s “windows” and share them with all of us. Just email a picture of your creation to David Pulliam by each Monday evening, and he’ll make sure they all get shared together in one big venue
Adults
Self-Care Resources
In this time of great anxiety, here are some resources for you and your family to care for yourselves.
Resources from the Episcopal Church
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
As we learn how to adjust our lives given the reality of the coronavirus and the request to do our part to slow its spread by practicing social distancing, I invite you to join me each week to take a moment to cultivate a ‘habit of grace.’ A new meditation will be posted on Mondays through May.
Check it out through this link https://episcopalchurch.org/habits-of-grace?wchannelid=u3mbmc7c0r&wvideoid=tu6zecrp3s
