St. Lucia was a young Christian of Sicily who was martyred in 304 AD during the persecution under Emperor Diocletian. According to tradition, she had decided to devote her life to God and to give her possessions to the poor. In Sweden in the late 1700’s, there were legends of a woman appearing in times of great famine distributing food to the starving. Perhaps because the name Lucia means light, and since her feast day fall on December, the week that marks the darkest days of the year, these stories were in turn attributed to the goodness and generosity of St. Lucia.

St. Lucia will make her lighted appearance as a part of the Sunday School Children’s program at Lake of the Isles during worship. The Sunday School will present a retelling of the story of Jesus’s birth from the book of Luke. The program will include readings, singing and bell ringing ~ and of course, they will wear costumes which makes for some memorable parent and grandparent photo opportunities.