Events in 2026
Memorial Day 2026, the City of Hardeeville held the grand opening of Memorial Park dedicated to remembrance, reflection, and community. A highlight of that dedication was Mayor Harry William’s announcement of the John William (J.W.) Harper, JR. Proclamation with a key to the city. This honor reflects JW’s lifetime of dedication and service to the community and country. (Please take time to read the entire proclamation.) J.W. is a long time member of St. Luke’s UMC.
Click here to read the Proclamation… JWproclamation
May 24th was our “Color Sunday” – and in observance of Memorial Day, we showed up in Red, White & Blue outfits.
May 19th, we had another work day in the cemetery and also flags were placed at the Veteran graves in honor of Memorial Day.
May 15th was an evening of food, fun, fellowship & Mexican Train. It was the last game night when Cynthia & Pastor Chris would be with us as he is moving on to another church. They will be missed!
May 10th, Mother’s Day – Each lady received a rose. Two of our youth participated in the worship service. Matthew gave the message & Aaron served as acolyte. We also recognized a new member to our congregation!! A great day!
Each Monday, at 8:00 a.m. we have a Men’s Bible Study in the Fellowship Hall. This is open for all who would like to come & participate.
April 27th – Our “Blanket Ministry” ladies meet several months in the year to “knot” blankets which are donated to our shut-ins and others who are on our Prayer Concerns list. Those who receive the blankets are very grateful!
April 26th was our Color “Pink” Sunday – here are some of the outfits! 
April 25th, for our Food, Fun & Fellowship we took a van and visited “God’s Acre Healing Springs” and we stopped for brunch at “Miller’s Bread Basket.”
THE SIGN READS:
“ACCORDING TO TRADITION, THE INDIANS REVERENCED THE WATER FOR IT’S HEALING PROPERTIES AS A GIFT FROM THE GREAT SPIRIT. THEY LED THE BRITISH WOUNDED TO THEIR SECRET WATERS DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE WOUNDED WERE HEALED. THIS HISTORICAL PROPERTY HAS BEEN DEEDED TO GOD FOR PUBLIC USE. PLEASE REVERE GOD BY KEEPING IT CLEAN.”
On the way back to St. Luke’s UMC, we stopped to visit the Old Sheldon Ruins. 
After this wonderful day, we headed back to St. Luke’s.
April 14th, we had a “work day” to get our graveyard ready for the next “tour” on April 16th.
Tour…
April 5th, Easter Sunday – You know the saying “CEO’s,” Christmas, Easter Only. Which makes for a “full house’ in our sanctuary! It was wonderful!! We place our Easter Lilies outside on the steps in case some may be allergic to flowers.
April 2nd, Maundy Thursday – We celebrated with a Tenebrae Service. 
March 29th, Palm Sunday Music Cantata – “What a Morning” with The Chancel Choir and Darrell Cady portraying Jesus. In addition to the palms which are passed our, our tradition is also handing out small crosses made of palm fronds with a purple ribbon draped on it. We were also pleased to see a former member attend with Lois Finch. After our worship service, we joined together in the Fellowship Hall for a Pot-Luck luncheon.
March 22nd we celebrated “Green Color” Sunday. Several days after St. Patrick’s Day, but it was fun!
After the service, some church members went to Canterfield of Bluffton to sing hymns, worship & offer communion to the residents. We were surprised to see that they, too, wore “green” to celebrate “Green Color Sunday.” 
March 19th St. Luke’s UMC began offering tours of our Historical church and graveyard. This happens each month on the 3rd Thursday at 10:00 a.m. All are invited to come. The tour lasts about 1 hour.
March 15th in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, Pastor Chris, Janet Jacoby & Jim Smith wore their kilts!
March 11th St. Luke’s hosted one of the Lenten services with a light Lunch after. 
February 22nd – Special “Color Purple” Sunday 
February 7th – Souperbowl Sunday – 10 Different Soups, Enjoyed by all !!
January 31st – Snow in SC!!
Saturday, January 24th, we started off the year the same way we finished 2025…another night of our favorite game…Mexican Train dominoes! Again, food was served.
2025 Events
Saturday, Nov. 22nd we had another fun evening of Mexican Train dominoes. We’re all about “Fun, Food & Fellowship!”
Saturday, October 18th we enjoyed an evening of Mexican Train dominoes. Fun, food and fellowship!
Sunday, Oct 5th we celebrated John Hubbard’s 95th birthday which was Oct 9.
Whenever there is a 5th Sunday in the month, we always have one service at 9:15 a.m. and then we enjoy a potluck brunch. It’s always well attended. This last one on 8/31, we celebrated the 98th birthday of J.W. Harper, a long-standing member of St. Luke’s. His birthday was on 9/2/25.
Once a month, on the last Monday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, a group of ladies get together to make blankets for shut-ins, or people in or coming out of rehab, others who are experiencing medical difficulties, etc. These blankets do not require any sewing, we just make a fringe of “knots.” It’s fairly easy to do and we get to fellowship together.
Each month on the 4th Sunday, we visit Canterfield of Bluffton to serve communion and give a brief message. We also sing hymns with the group. These photos are from July 27 2025.
June 14 2025 we enjoyed a night of Karaoke.
On May 24 2025 we had a Mexican Train game night and we enjoyed a Nacho bar. This is one of our favorite events!
Mother’s Day, May 11 2025 – We had a special guest speaker from Epworth Children’s Home, Rev. Cathy Joens. Each lady attending worship received a beautiful rose.
Easter, April 20 2025 –
April 17 2025 – We observed Maundy Thursday with a hand washing and light meal.
March 26 2025 – St. Luke’s hosted one of the Lenten services with Bluffton UMC & Church of the Palms. We fellowshipped over a light meal after the service.
March 22 2025 – We enjoyed a Game Night of BINGO!
March 15 2025 – At our “Ageless Adventure” event, the Island Funeral Home presented a “Preneed” seminar. Very informative about how to plan ahead.
February 9 2025 – We enjoyed a “Souperbowl” event after worship in preparation for the BIG game!
Listed below are photos, etc. of our “events” in 2024.
To close out 2024, we had a 6:00 p.m. Candlelight Worship Service. Our luminaries are always a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas!
Dec 16th we delivered Christmas gifts to Pritchardville Elementary School to be given to students of our “Adopt a Child” mission. Here are a few of the photos…
On Dec 14th our “Festive Outfit” Christmas Party was good fellowship & fun. We played a couple of games and enjoyed a buffet of tacos.
Dec 7th we had a Craft & Bake Sale in the Fellowship Hall.
Dec 3rd we enjoyed a “Cookie Swap” in the Fellowship Hall.
Nov 30th we decorated the sanctuary for Advent. We also placed our luminaries on the walkway leading to the church building.
Nov 26th we had a Thanksgiving Worship service at St. Luke’s combined with the Bluffton UMC. Both pastors (Rev. Dr. Chris Thompson, St. Luke’s & Rev. Scarlett Hester, Bluffton UMC) took part in the service. Non-perishable food items were collected and given to Family Promise, along with a cash donation.
Nov 11th we observed “Veterans Day”. The altar represented all branches of military service and our youth participated.
Nov 3rd we observed “All Saints’ Day” remembering our members who passed since last November.
Oct 27th we celebrated “Pastor Appreciation”
Oct 5th we had a “Luau” and learned a lot of trivia about Hawaii. 
Sept 29th we celebrated the end of our “Bicentennial events” with Birthday Cake & Ice Cream in the Fellowship Hall after our worship service.
Celebrating our Bicentennial… we had guest speakers each Sunday during the month of September.
Sept. 28th – the month ended with “Music on the Grounds”, There were food trucks and vendors. It was a great afternoon!
Aug 17, 2024 – “A Taste of History”, Ice Cream Social was a great success! Everyone fellowshipped together and enjoyed bowls of Jack Frost Ice Cream.
We even had Mary & William Bull (Diane & Randy Larsen) and Dr. Joseph Mellichamp (Larry Stine) join us who told us their history pertaining to St. Luke’s UMC.
(Page Last Reviewed or Updated: Nov 16 2023)