Parish Life
Parish Life at The Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany is as diverse as the make up of our parish membership. We are both young and old. We are straight, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered. We are single, partnered and married. We come from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. Although many of us were raised in the Anglican tradition many more of us are relative new comers to the Episcopal Church. We are tall and short, conservative and liberal and just about everything in between. St Luke's Parish Life strives to be a loving & hope filled expression of our communion with God.
Founded in 1839 and 1837 respectively, the churches of St. Luke and The Epiphany were merged as a unified congregation in 1898. Whether distributing fresh fruit and ice to our neighbors who had none in the days before electric refrigeration or reaching out to a community that was reeling from the AIDS pandemic in the late 1980's and early 1990's The Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany has been striving for nearly 110 years to be a living expression of our understanding of God's call to be a place of healing and hope.
Today St Luke's offers a varied and caring expression of that call through activities and services. You can find friendship in the many parish activities, like the monthly potluck dinners, the Christian education lectures, weekly bible study, the annual picnics, special events such as the Blessing of the Animals on St. Francis' Day or something as rejuvenating as a spiritual retreat.
We strive to support those in need in our community, for example by involvement on the active Pastoral Care Team or through providing space to support groups in the Philadelphia community who find a safe haven within the walls of St Luke's. Many of our parishioners choose to express their commitment to God and the world created by God through participation in activities of service to the larger community, such as the annual AIDS Walk of Philadelphia, coordinating or donating items of food and clothing to immigrants or the many merchant marines who travel through the port of Philadelphia. It may be as simple as offering one's time to sew a button back on a piece of clothing for someone whose fingers are not so nimble anymore.
Here at St Luke's, whether we choose to seek comfort and camaraderie in the many parish activities, offer our talents and time in service to the world around us, find peace in one of the support groups or simply find refuge in corporate worship and communion, our Parish Life is a conscious and heartfelt attempt to make real the love that God gives to us through Jesus Christ.