Dear St. Lukers,
What an exciting week at St. Luke’s! As I am writing this in my office, I hear more than 100 voices coming from the Rotunda who have gathered for the National Circles Leadership Conference. These are Circles Allies, Leaders, and Partners from more than 25 states who are working together to inspire and equip families and communities to thrive and resolve poverty. In March, we will celebrate our 10th year as a Circles site in West Orange. This ministry has impacted 120 adults and 100 children who have reached various milestones from completing immersive training to graduation in 18 months, which has positively impacted them and given them the space to impact our community. The life transformation that has happened with these Leaders, Allies, and our congregation through Circles has been incredible.
This work began with our first strategic 4D Vision devoted to community transformation in one location: East Winter Garden. With our new 24 & More Vision, you said you wanted to not only deepen our commitment to lifting families out of poverty through food and housing stability but also lift our voices in advocacy for children and families in our community.
The support of children, youth, and families is one of the pillars of our 24 & More strategic vision. We know the fastest growing demographic in our community are singles and starter families. There is such a need for daily support for families, whether that’s parent resource classes, helping families learn about their faith, supporting our schools and creating safe and brave spaces to teach St. Luke’s core values of acceptance, community, and service, or providing more opportunities for working families. St. Luke’s has always been a place to fill in the gaps of...
