Dear St. Luke’s Family,
We need a little Christmas, right this very minute! And it’s almost here. Just one more day for all of the final preparations of cooking, baking, wrapping, and THIS YEAR, making sure everyone has the correct ZOOM link or correct time for the family FaceTime so the holidays can feel more connected to those we are missing. It’s all the same, and it’s all different but no matter what, we all know it’s Christmas that we need.
But before we rush to our individual families, we as your staff want to say something to you.
Consider this the Christmas card to all of you on our list of favorite people!
First: Thank you! We have made it through what has been, for most of us, the hardest year collectively we have faced. Each of us may have as a family or individually gone through more difficult things, but collectively as a community and church – this has been hard. But you have continued to support, give, serve, encourage, grow and make our Mission of awakening disciples to reveal the Kingdom of God come to life in our city. When people look back and tell the story, You, St. Luke’s will be one of the heroes people will speak of and that would not be possible without your sacrifices, your generosity and your love. Thank you for letting your staff be stewards of all you gave of your lives this year.
Second: This year YOU proved to everyone watching your lives and our church, that St. Luke’s is about one thing… just LOVE. You have just loved us, one another, and your neighbors in ways that not only were just, but proved how real the Love of God is and how much it matters to the world. When we chose that theme in August of 2019, little did we know how it would be our guide, our companion and the foundation we needed to navigate 2020. When you picked your heart words and wondered what they meant, you had no idea how much God was going to use YOU to help those words of love come to LIFE, but God did it, you did it, and that means we, as St. Luke’s did it! Just Love was not just a theme, it was the mantra we lived out and it was a privilege for each of us to be a part of your love story to Orlando.
Finally: Merry Christmas. It is as simple as that. We love working for you and with you and pray you and yours have a wonderful Christmas filled with joy, promise, comfort and the presence of Christ. It is a blessing to be your staff and a privilege to walk with you as we fulfill the mission God has for our church. We can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for all of us!
In promise, comfort, healing, and love,
Your St. Luke’s Staff