Welcome to
St. Luke's
Episcopal
Church
Tradition for Today
"He was known to them in the breaking of the bread." Luke 24:35
WELCOME
Founded in 1885, St. Luke's is the oldest parish in the Episcopal diocese of Southwest Florida.
Our vision is to be an abiding witness in our community to the love and saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our mission is to worship God in the Anglican tradition of the one holy catholic and apostolic church, availing ourselves of the means of grace and awaiting our hope in glory.
Join Us For...
NOTICE:
HERE WE GROW!
THE BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS! Bring your pets to be blessed on Saturday, October 3, at 11am in the Fellowship Hall. Join Canon Bill Lester to celebrate God’s creation and honor St. Francis of Assisi. Don’t have time to come in? Canon Lester will be in the parking lot for a drive-by blessing from noon to 12:15pm. Please bring pet food to share with the less fortunate. All pets and pet parents are welcome!
CELEBRATION SUNDAY! Beginning in October, we will celebrate all birthdays and anniversaries for that month the first Sunday of that month. This is a change to Sunday prayers—starting in October, the prayers will be monthly, not weekly. Please make sure to turn in your blue Parishioner Information (available from the office and the ushers) card so we can pray for you on your birthday and anniversary at the beginning of each month.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD: Many of you showed interest in Operation Christmas Child this past Sunday. Through this ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, shoeboxes filled with gifts are delivered to children around the world, providing an opportunity to share the joy of Christmas and the message of God’s love.
If you would like to participate but need more information or a shoebox, please stop by the Daughters of the King (DOK) table in the Parish Hall during coffee hour on Sunday, October 11. We will have boxes and additional information available, and DOK members will be there to answer your questions and help you get started. The final collection date is Sunday, November 22.
OUR LEASE OPTION IS STILL AVAILABLE: In an effort to expand our ministry, with the help of Mayhugh Commercial Realty, we are making classroom and office space available for lease (NOT FOR SALE!). The leasing option is being promoted on the realtors’ website. This would be an ideal facility for a private school, day care, expanding church ministries or adult education. Please pray that we’ll have success as we consider leasing opportunities.
Listen to Our Latest Sermon: Proper 21; September 27, 2026
Today's brief parable in the Gospel of Matthew stages a collision between two themes that have been important to Matthew from the beginning: authority and hypocrisy. Fr. Jeff provides some background on both of these ideas. The Gospels emphasize that people respond to the teaching of Jesus because they recognize his authority. This is especially evidenced in Matthew chapter 8's account of the Roman centurion who expresses confidence that Jesus can heal his ailing servant just by the authority of his speaking; a person with authority commands, and what they command comes to be. The Gospels also report Jesus frequently criticizing the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, a failing that is much deeper than the way we tend to think of it today. The parable of the landowner and his two sons, one of whom respects his authority and the other of whom is a hypocrite in the biblical sense, demonstrates that these two postures are mutually exclusive.