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About St. Lukes
St. Luke's Church is located at 6030 Grosvenor Lane in Bethesda , Maryland , about five miles to the northwest of Washington , D.C. and a quarter-mile outside the Beltway (Interstate 495). While the church draws parishioners from its surrounding neighborhoods, comprised primarily of detached, single-family homes with some condominium/apartment buildings mixed in, the ease of access to the church from major transportation routes, including the Beltway and Interstate 270, has resulted in a far more geographically diverse congregation than the informal parish boundaries might suggest.
St. Luke's vision is built on our core values. We value people and are a parish that offers extravagant hospitality to all people. We have a tradition of informality and friendliness, reaching out in welcome to newcomers. We want to continue to be an accepting people, finding value and enrichment in our diversity. We value strong lay leadership in the church and in the community. We value our children and want them to be excited about their role as God’s people in the world. We value worship as the central act of the people of God and where we receive our strength and encouragement for meeting the complexities of today’s world. We value our role as agents of social justice and put our time and energy and resources into outreach.
Statistically, St. Luke's Church, Trinity Parish currently is made up of 345 members from approximately 196 different family units. About one-third of the membership has joined our church within the last five years, and more than 50 percent of church members live within three miles of the church. The education level of our members is high; we have more than our share of people with advanced graduate degrees. In addition, visiting workers from NIH, foreign embassies, the World Bank, and many other national and international organizations have found St. Luke's to be a friendly home-away-from-home and have enriched the congregation by becoming involved in parish activities during their stays in our area.
The current program and administrative staff at St. Luke’s consists of:
- A Rector, who is the clergy leader of the parish;
- An Assistant to the Rector for Christian Formation, who is responsible for education programs including the Sunday School, Youth Group, and Adult Education;
- An Organist-Choirmaster, who leads all music programs;
- A Parish Administrator, who supports the clergy and vestry, and oversees office management and building
- A childcare specialist who takes care of the children in the nursery during Sunday services.
Regular Worship and Services
There are two Sunday services at St. Luke’s: Holy Eucharist and Healing at 8:00 a.m. and Holy Eucharist with music at 10:00 a.m. On Wednesdays throughout the year, except August, there is a service of Holy Eucharist and Healing at 12:00 noon .
Refreshments are served in Ludlum Hall after Sunday services. This is time for enjoying fellowship with friends, as well as meeting newcomers and visitors. Adult discussion groups often meet immediately after the services to reflect on the sermon and discuss current events in our daily lives.
Christian Formation
St. Luke’s program of Christian Formation is varied and designed to meet the needs of a diverse congregation. The goal of Christian Formation is to help people of all ages to live out their Baptismal Covenant. By supporting their growth in faith and understanding, it challenges them to be followers of Christ. The program is designed to:
- proclaim and teach the Word of God
- lead to worship and prayer
- foster fellowship and community
- motivate to service
- promote peace and justice
During the past program year, Sunday School teachers followed the Exploring Faith curriculum which allowed the children and teachers to experience together the stories and messages of the Bible appropriate to the children’s increasing maturity through lessons that provide opportunities for discussion and ideas for activities. In addition to classroom instruction, the children participated in an Advent craft workshop, a Christmas pageant and Youth Sunday. Until recently, a junior-senior high group put on drama productions that were fun for its members and for the parish at large. This past program year, the middle-senior high group met after church every week for group discussions about religion and world affairs and to work on outreach projects. The fall projection for enrollment in our Sunday School/Youth program is 33 (3 in PreK & K, 9 in lower elementary, 9 in upper elementary, 7 in middle school, 5 in high school).
Summer Sunday School has been offered for the last two years. It lasts about 4 to 5 weeks for Elementary age children. In the past, we offered a Vacation Bible Camp which was a morning program lasting for one week and included music, crafts, outreach projects, Bible stories and culminated with a simple dramatic production.
Adult Education is a combination of regularly scheduled and special events designed to meet the needs of our members on their various spiritual journeys. Recent activities include regular post-sermon Sunday discussions, Sunday evening programs, and Quiet Days.
We are also pleased to have created a large outdoor labyrinth for meditation and prayer that is used by the surrounding community.
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