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The Parish Church of St. Luke, Winnipeg |
St. Luke’s Mission and Outreach activities
St. Luke’s parish has a deep concern for the suffering and injustice of our world, and has found a number of ways to reach out and make a difference. Tuesday Morning Hospitality offers coffee and muffins, a friendly visit, and some groceries to the poor and the homeless of our immediate neighbourhood. The Scanterbury outreach lends worship and teaching leadership to a small congregation not far from Winnipeg on the Brokenhead reserve. The Orphans Fund raises money to help provide an education for children in Uganda. As well, St. Luke's supports the Fair Trade movement, school supplies in Haiti, and many other projects, big and small.
Tuesday Morning HospitalityEvery Tuesday morning, from September to June, the church doors open at 8:00 AM, and as many as thirty people from the neighbourhood troop in. There are muffins and other goodies to eat, and the coffee is hot. Several volunteer parishioners make every effort to ensure that all our guests feel at home. Some of them are “regulars,” some are just passing through; there are grizzled old men, and young mothers with their toddlers; there are people who spent the previous week living on the riverbank, and people who have small, well-kept apartments; but for the next hour they all enjoy a relaxed visit in a warm and friendly place. And, before leaving, each receives a small gift voucher which they can redeem at the local grocery store. On the streets, St. Luke’s is known to be a good neighbour. The Scanterbury Outreach
St. Philip’s, Scanterbury
St. Philip‘s Scanterbury* is a small church building and congregation on the Brokenhead Reserve, northeast of Winnipeg. Although, for various reasons, the church was at risk of closing, early in 2007 life began to return on Sunday afternoons. With the help of St. Luke’s an Our Partner Parish In UgandaSt. Luke’s is linked to a “companion” or partner parish in Africa: Lwanga parish, consisting of a main church of St. Peter, and six satellite churches in the surrounding villages. Orphans FundFor every 15 people in Uganda there is one orphaned child. HIV/AIDS, civil war, and malaria are leaving millions of Ugandan children parentless. Caring for orphans in Central Buganda falls on the shoulders of relatives, leaving some with the seemingly impossible task of providing for 15 to 20 children. Older children are often left to take on the responsibility of raising their younger siblings. What can we do? We can share the burden. By supporting education, we help provide an opportunity that orphaned children may not otherwise receive. Basic tuition is paid for by the government up to grade seven, but the additional costs for uniforms, lunches, examinations, school supplies, and building fund are not provided. Your contribution will help decrease these costs for extended families struggling to house and care for orphans. Why support school fees? Education is important to all children. Aside from the overwhelming benefits of learning, school allows orphaned children to develop a new sense of belonging as they develop their minds.Having strong, bright young people ensures a strong bright future for Uganda and brings hope for today. What is the cost? $150.00 will educate a primary school day student for an entire year. (Some of our orphans reside with relatives.) $300.00 will educate and supply room-and-board for a primary school student for an entire year. (Many students require housing to be supplied by the school.) $630.00 will provide education and room-and-board for a secondary school student. (All our secondary school students are required to live in residence.) Administration costs are covered by the committee budget to ensure that 100% of your gift directly assists the orphans in the Diocese of Central Buganda. Joanne Tapscott will be giving a presentation in place of the homily on Sunday morning. Haiti OrphansWe have been fund-raising for a number of years to send students in Haiti to school for each academic year. In August last year St. Luke's sent off a cheque to send five students to school. In addition, a parish family is supporting Misedall Louis, and another family is supporting the Toussaint siblings. This is a remarkable achievement in a few years, and it could not be accomplished without the help of parishioners. We received an email at the end of September. Our cheque was received, and the students are funded and attending school for 2011-2012. On September 18th we had a sale to support students in Haiti. We would like to give thanks to all parishioners who donated generously to the sale items, to parishioners who kindly baked and improved our food selection and to all friends and supporters who generously purchased items from the tables. With purchases and donations we banked $758.01. This was followed by a second event on October 9th when we raised $844. We are on track for raising the money to send students to school for the next academic year. Please join us in supporting this ministry by attending the Bake Sale this Sunday. At the present time, it costs $350 to send each student to school. This includes tuition fees, school uniform and shoes which are a necessity, books and writing materials. If we send less, the students do not receive the books they require. Each year we send the donation to God's Littlest Angels, Canada, and it is forwarded to Haiti. We receive confirmation our cheque in U.S. dollars has been received in Canada and in Haiti. Students return to school if they pass their current grade. Sometimes we receive a copy of their reports and some cards from the children at Christmas and Easter. We have fund-raised for Haiti in September and October. We have three sales each year, two early in the fall when produce is fresh and a final sale this Sunday. Please recycle unused gifts, books, magazines, DVDs etc and pass them onto us. You can help. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated, and can even be made online right here (in the place where it says, “Fund/Designation,” select “Mission & Outreach,” and, in the message line, mention “Haiti Orphans”). Alternatively, you can send a cheque to St. Luke’s, 130 Nassau St. N., Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2H1. Indicate on the MEMO line of your cheque that the gift is for the “Haiti Orphans.” Thank you so much for supporting this St. Luke's ministry. - Elizabeth and Colin Briggs On Sunday, 22 January, 2012, after the 10:30am eucharist, there will be a Bake Sale with books, magazines, DVDs and CDs. We will have a guest who has volunteered at God's Littlest Angels in Haiti. You will have an opportunity to learn from Glenn Thamer who has first-hand experience at the orphanage. Mr. Thamer will also be speaking at the 10:30am eucharist. Photos of the students currently supported:
Other projects, big and smallEvery Sunday St. Luke’s makes a gift of food to Winnipeg Harvest, our city food bank. Non-perishable items, brought by members of the congregation, are put into a basket, which is then offered at the altar during worship (along with the bread and wine, and the weekly financial offerings). Later in the week, a volunteer delivers these items to the food bank. (Reminder: please do not put perishable goods (meat,produce etc), expired canned goods or opened items (rice, tea, powdered juices) into the food hamper.) |
Sandra Francois 
Josué Francois 
Lonis Francois
Bibence Francois 
Fabienne Louis 
Misedalla Louis
Francesca Toussaint 
Shelove Toussaint