Dear St. Lukers,

I love everything fall, it started as a young girl growing up in Nova Scotia Canada, seeing the leaves change and feeling the cooler air start to take over. Moving to Orlando, I quickly learned hints of fall were a little different here. I started relying on new signs: pumpkins being unloaded by our high school students, posters for the UMW Holiday Marketplace going up, registering for the Family Campout, and the Connect Team inviting volunteers to help welcome the community to Trunks, Treats & More.

While listening to Pastor Jenn preach about “God’s Block Party” last Sunday, I learned that what I really love most about fall is that it kicks off party season, a time when all our events bring us together. Trunks, Treats & More is one of my favorite events to help organize. On the surface, you might see this event as a fun party where kids get candy, play games, and jump in bounce houses, but I invite you to take a closer look. Trunks, Treats & More is a great example of what a block party might look like in God’s Neighborhood. We as St. Lukers, welcome everyone as we put our core values of Acceptance, Hospitality, and Community into action. We get to send a message to our friends, family, and neighbors that all are welcome here and all are loved. We are doing God’s work; we are spreading the Good News of the gospel in a fun and creative way.

I remember at last year’s event, I started worrying that the registration line was getting backed up. My first thought was to scramble and find people to help speed up the process, but then I stopped and noticed something. Those in line were connecting with one another and I didn’t recognize hardly any of the faces. This was a good thing! This event was attracting new families, many of whom were invited by St. Lukers and some who just knew St. Luke’s would put on a safe and fun event for the community. My stress disappeared and I didn’t even have to ask anyone for help with registration, St. Lukers jumped in on their own because, well, that’s just what we do.

This Sunday, be on the lookout for some special friends at the Trunks, Treats & More table by the circle drive. They just might invite you to “Be Our Guest” and volunteer to host a Trunk or help in the games area. You can also purchase a trunk decorating kit to help decorate your trunk in a snap! Kits will be available for purchase at the table in Building C. Thank you to everyone who’s donated candy so far! Keep those candy bags coming St. Lukers, we are expecting a lot of trick-or-treaters at our “front door.”

Thank you for helping host our community at one big block party. We couldn’t do it without U!

Grace and Peace,

Denise Leonard

Volunteer Assistant Director of Connect Ministries

Click here to read the full Weekly Update