Though they live miles apart, that doesn’t stop Phyllis Luke with connecting with her daughter in both the spiritual and virtual sense.

Living in the New Iberia area for most of her life, Luke, a retired psychiatric social worker, has spent her life being a wife, mother and grandmother to her family. She is married to Grant Luke and a mother to three children, Jennifer Blackburn, Kevin Piccard and Rachel Luke as well as 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Now that she has extra time on her hands, Luke loves the retired life and has fun with her friends and family.

“I like to play bridge. I am in two bridge clubs, I am in a bible study group in Zoom that comes out of Texas,” Luke said. “My daughter is in the same Zoom group, she is the one who suggested it for me, so she is in Houston and we participate in it every Tuesday morning.”

Luke and her daughter Blackburn are part of the St. Cecilia Catholic Church Bible group in Houston and the two, along with other members of the church, meet every Tuesday morning to connect with each other through faith, virtually.

Blackburn told the group facilitator that her mom was also interested in being part of the Bible study.

Every Monday before the Bible study, Luke gets a Zoom link that allows her to participate in her daughter’s church worship, which brings her joy to be a part of that group.

“It’s that easy,” Luke said. “There might be about 12 people in the group.”

Each Zoom meeting on Tuesday morning consists of the facilitator proctoring the study with Luke, her daughter and others. He goes over the gospel readings for the following Sunday at the St. Cecilia Catholic Church, as well as questions that are also brought up for participants to review and talk over after each session.

The sessions give Luke not only a chance to see her daughter every week, but also gives her an opportunity to continue to connect with her faith.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Luke said.

She and her daughter also speak after each weekly meeting.

“We also call each other after it (the Zoom meeting) has ended,” Luke said. “And we chat for a while.”

Luke said she and her daughter like to chat about what was said at the Zoom meetings but then they get into talking about what’s been going on with their family.

“Checking on each other and our families,” Luke said.

Luke was born into the Catholic faith, with both of her parents kneeling twice a day to pray.

“Very faithful Catholics and I always was too,” Luke said. “I never doubted or left the church for a period of time.”

Faith has always been important to her, through her religious education, continuing after her school years. Luke is also part of the Sisters of the Eucharistic Covenant, a regional group in both the Lake Charles and Lafayette area.

“For years, I was the director of religious education for my local parish at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in New Iberia,” Luke said.

Teaching is easy and natural for Luke because she likes to talk about her faith in others.

“I enjoy it and I feel like it’s something I should be doing,” Luke said.

Whether it’s talking with her daughter or teaching others about faith and its importance in their lives, Luke has always had a love for her Savior.

Luke’s faith keeps her grounded. She remembers how blessed she is with her life and how she has so much to be grateful for.

“I would be doing the simplest things and what comes to my mind is ‘Thank you, Lord,’ because I am able to do this,” Luke said. “I am very fortunate to live.”