How Do You Say Smile In Russian?
By Michaelyn Sloan

Sunday coffee session is always a special time at St. Luke's! It's many things to many people...those of us who have received communion get to break the fast....those of us who like chocolate donuts will find an abundance of them set out amongst the other nibbles of the day...those who wish to talk about church theology will find a gathering of like persons...those who want to just catch up on the happenings of fellow parishioners will do so. The list of "those" can go on endlessly! One group in particular that has always brought a smile to my face is those who have emigrated here from Russia. St. Luke's has been blessed with a number of these individuals. Each Sunday they gather their food and drink, take time to greet others, and then make their way to a rear table where you will find them dialoguing between themselves in their Russian language. How great that in the context of just a few hours on a Sunday morning they can be "fed" spiritually, physically and socially-emotionally at our church!

Special thanks goes out to four of these individuals for assisting Michaelyn Sloan in the Bridge of Hope Program, a host program that brings school-aged children from Russian orphanages into US families for five weeks. Because of the volunteer efforts (translation, counseling, and escort to New York) of Julia Wojcik, Svetlana Lynch, and Father Alexander and Oksana Lukashonak, 13 of the 14 children that were hosted by Illinois families will be adopted this year.