Fifteen Years of
Compassion at St. Luke’s

Bethesda, MD

Aaron and Graham were just children when they first got excited about Gifts for Life. Inspired after their parents introduced them to our catalog in church, they began collecting coins from their classmates each week at Sunday school for Episcopal Relief & Development. It was the start of a special tradition of compassion at St. Luke’s that rippled outward, and can still be felt.

Fifteen years later, the tradition of service through Episcopal Relief & Development is going strong — though the format has changed a little. This Advent, church members gathered in the dining hall around a table of cultural dishes from Episcopal Relief & Development program areas — empanadas, turrón, sweet potato pie. Children squealed with delight at a petting zoo in the basement and took turns knocking a piñata stuffed with candy. All the while, the church raised funds for Gifts for Life and awareness about our work across the globe.