Our many ministries allow parishioners with different God-given gifts to use their time and talents for the building up of the “body of Christ”.  Whether you are gifted with your hands or in the kitchen, in singing or in teaching, or in quiet prayer – there is a place for you to use those gifts for God’s greater glory. 

• Altar Servers:  Young boys and grown men, from ages 7 to 80, assist in the altar, carrying candles, cutting bread, preparing the censer and participating in processions.  If your son or you are interested in being an altar server, please contact Fr. John.

 

• Building and Grounds:  We, at St. Luke, are blessed with 5 acres of land and a large church facility – all of which we maintain mostly ourselves.  So if your talents and interests are in yard work or indoor ‘fix it projects’, please contact Jim Karabin. 

 

• Choir:  The joyful and prayerful lifting up of our voices to God is an essential part of our worship services.  It reaches our souls in its own unique way.  So, if singing is one of your God-given gifts and joys, please contact our Music Director, Serge Romanchak, or our assistant choir director, Elizabeth Minahan.

 

• Church School:  Children are dismissed from the Divine Liturgy immediately after Communion so that they may attend Church School.  Classes range from pre-school, with it’s hands on crafts related to aspect of the church, to pre-teens and teenagers, with interactive discussions on the Bible readings of the day and on various teachings of the church.  For more information, please click here or contact our church school coordinator, John Minahan. 

 

• Coffee Hour   Is not just a chance to break the fast after liturgy, but much more importantly it is an opportunity to share fellowship and build community – part of uniting us to each other in the ‘body of Christ’.  So, if you’d like to be involved in hosting one or more of our coffee hours, please contact Rada Carmichael.  

 

• Orthodoxy 201 Class:  An ‘adult education class and discussion’ for those seeking to know a little more about their faith.  Class and discussions are held via Zoom at 7pm Wednesday evenings – and have focused on such on areas as Bible studies,  a better understanding of  the Liturgy, the meaning and practice of prayer, spiritual development, and living a life in Christ.  Our class size tends to be relatively small and so provides a wonderful opportunity for you to ‘bring your questions about Orthodoxy’  For addition information, please contact Fr. John Vitko.

 

• Men’s Prayer Breakfast:  held from 9-11am on the first Saturday of each month, this is an opportunity for men to share fellowship while enjoying an excellent breakfast and participating in informal conversations about some of the deeper aspects of their faith.  For additional information, please contact Fr. John Vitko. 

 

• Prayer Group:  While all of us are called to pray daily, some of us take on a more active role of praying for those in special need that we are aware of.  So, if you have someone in need – sick or depressed or unemployed or grieving or recently departed or …- that you would like prayed for, just send a request to Donna Karabin.  To learn more about St. Luke's Prayer Group, you may read the "Beginning of Our Prayer Group."

 

• Sisterhood:  St. Luke has a very active Sisterhood that provides the opportunity for additional fellowship while doing many things to help in the life of the church such ‘hosting coffee hours’, organizing parish wide events, and assisting with beautification of the church.  To become a member, or for further information, please contact JoAnne de la Riva.

 

• Charitable Outreach/Faith in Action:  As Christians, we are called to bring Christ’s love to those around us, especially those in need and “on the margin”.  Our Faith in Action team visits shut-ins, assists local community services, reaches out to individual needy families during the holiday seasons, and supports disaster and international relief efforts.  If you are interested in these outreach ministries please contact Sue Mamula.  

 

First Sunday of the Month “Food for the Needy”

Our parish is now partnering with C-CAP, the Congregational Community Action Project, in Winchester, VA (est. in 1974). We have a monthly collection of nutritious boxed and canned foods that are delivered to C-CAP plus monetary donations, in person and online. It is a volunteer-operated, 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization that is funded by area faith communities, businesses, civic groups, bequests and most of all many private giving individuals. It serves as a “safety net” to provide emergency food, clothing and financial aid to local families in need with the goal to help them become “self-sufficient”.  

See https://www.ccapwinchester.org/who-we-are

FOCUS North America – DC

FOCUS, Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve, is an inter-Orthodox national outreach ministry now establishing a program in the Washington Metropolitan area. Local parish representatives meet online to share their outreach projects with other parishes in a collaboration effort to better meet the growing “Matthew 25” needs of the hungry, homeless, and less fortunate in the area. Our parish participates in the Spring and Fall “FOCUS DC Family Care Drive” to provide diapers and infant care items to those in poverty in the “Arlandria” VA area.

See https://focusnorthamerica.org/dc/

Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry

St. Luke participates in an active prison ministry through the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM). It can take the form of correspondence with inmates at remote locations or on-site visitations at local detention centers. We regularly donate to OCPM with financial gifts and have had clothing drives for winter coats and for dress clothes which inmates need when they go to job interviews before release. We plan to donate Christmas gifts to children of inmates in the Angel Tree Project. To learn more about this important ministry please contact Louise Romanchak.

See https://theocpm.org/

MaRiH Pregnancy Care Center

We continue our decades-long pro-life support of the MaRiH Center in Alexandria, VA with both financial gifts and infant & family care items.

See https://marih.org/