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On Sunday morning, Kasia and Ron Cristobal shared their thoughts on what St. Luke's means to them.
Kasia:
Good morning! I’m Kasia Cristobal and my family and I have been attending St. Luke’s since 2016, and in all that time I have not been able to keep track of my name tag. The other Sunday Talia and Scott Stroud spoke about coming to St. Luke's after a recent move and how they now have two kids who are involved in the church. That rang a bell with me, as Ron and I also started attending here after moving to a new neighborhood and also have two kids active in church, Francisco (10) and JoJo (6). But this discovery of common traits or experiences is in keeping with what draws me to St. Luke's overall, of getting to know others who I wouldn't otherwise meet and accordingly being reminded of our common humanity. This is something that I can only get by going to church. I was recently reading an article about how volunteering is less common than before—this in spite of research showing that volunteering and donating makes people happier and healthier. Not surprisingly people who attend church are more likely to do both. So I'm grateful that St. Luke's provides us with such opportunities.
Let me close by saying I was amused a while back how when our older kid Francisco started volunteering as an acolyte, he was surprised to learn that all the church members who help run the service aren't paid. He wasn't being mercenary—just genuinely surprised to learn about the volunteering. So we’re grateful to St. Luke’s for providing lessons to my kids we didn’t even know they needed.
Ron:
Good morning! I’m Ron Cristobal. We’ve felt welcome at St. Luke’s since our first time coming here. I have always been struck at how welcoming the church is to kids. Nearly as soon as we stepped out of the car, we ran into Ms. LoriAnn in the church parking lot and who gave us the lay of the land for our then 2 year old Francisco. Soon after, our youngest child, Jojo, was baptized here about five years ago. LoriAnn and Ms. Robin and all the staff helping children (like Ms. Ayesha and Ms. Downey) have been wonderful constants for us and our kids, even through Covid and as the priests leading the church have changed. One of my first memories is of meeting Bleckley and Sharon Dobbs, who went out of their way to create a parenting group for parents of young children. (And by the way, other parents of children and adolescents are invited to come to Riker Hall Conference Room every Sunday at 9am). The parenting group is a great space for us to discuss scripture and how it applies to parenthood, and it also serves as a support group of sorts.
I also remember running into other supportive members like Laura and Chris Perkins, who were always fun to run into at church events. Even the choir has been inclusive, with Don and Jeanne inviting the whole family to the annual choir dinner, despite my not having as much time as I would like to participate in the church music.
All of these things for the church and kids’ programming don’t happen without your contributions. On a related note, I also wanted to say thanks to Brad Powell and the audio/video department who, during Covid isolation helped keep the parish engaged with streaming church services. Without your contributions, online services may not have happened.
So even if you can’t contribute financially as much as you would like, know that you make valuable contributions to the church in other ways like volunteering for a ministry or joining the choir.
Thank you, St. Luke’s on the Lake, for all that you’ve done and continue to do for our family
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