The Story of St. Luke's

A Brief History

Written for the 175th Anniversary Booklet by Grace Edwards, Donald Vivian, Patricia Whitmire and Jerry Fluellen, Jr., Editor. Contributions by Marialice Dancy.  

Updated and revised in anticipation of the 200th anniversary by Skip Clayton and the Rev. Christopher V. Pyles. 

The story of St. Luke’s began on June 28, 1811 when Thomas Armat gathered 11 families in his home at 5450 Germantown Avenue to found an Episcopal congregation. A number of Episcopalians residing in and about Germantown attended, having resolved to bring Divine Worship, performed according to the rules and regulations of the Protestant Episcopal Church, to the area. St. Luke’s was the first Episcopal church in Germantown.

Morning services were held first in the home of James Stokes on Germantown Avenue near School House Lane, and later in his building at Market Square and Church Lane. Afternoon and Evening Services were held in the Market Square Church (Germantown Ave.) after the resident congregation’s services. Thomas Armat, one of two wealthy men in the area, gave a tract of land on which was later built, and became known as, St. Luke’s Church, Germantown.

The little congregation finally decided to build a church of their own. The cornererstone was laid in March, 1818, and the patronage was to be of St. Luke. It was consecrated by Bishop White the following August and incorporated the next year. This completed the organization of the parish. In a little more than seven years, a score of families had succeeded in building themselves into an active, functioning parish, with no outside assistance.  

During the long rectorship of the Rev. John Rodney, Jr., St. Luke’s developed from a small and struggling church to an important parish bustling with activity. Rev. Rodney was rector of the parish for 42 years and, upon his retirement, was rector emeritus for 19 more. The Rev. Dr. Samuel Upjohn became rector in 1883, in which capacity he continued until his death 40 years later. 

The last meeting held in the old church building took place on May 21, 1875. The cornerstone of the present St. Luke’s Church building was laid on June 26, 1875. The cornerstone of the old church was preserved, having been placed next to the cornerstone of the new church that was built nearly 60 years later. The present church was consecrated on June 8, 1876 by the Right Reverend William Bacon Stevens, Bishop of Pennsylvania.

It is unusual that any parish should have as spiritual leaders two such able, dedicated men, in the persons of John Rodney and Samuel Upjohn, the years of whose ministry at St. Luke’s totaled almost a century. During those years, they were responsible for founding no fewer than five missions. One was St. Barnabas in 1904. St Barnabas was preceded by St. John the Baptist in 1858, House of Prayer in 1861, St. Alban, Olney, in 1891, and later Holy Nativity in 1918. 

It would be impossible to write a sketch of the parish without giving stress to the development of Catholic spirituality as a result of the tremendous influence of Father Upjohn. Realizing the full spiritual benefits of the sacramental life, Father Upjohn labored tirelessly to teach the Catholic Faith by both precept and example. Firmly convinced of the validity and centrality of the Mass as the chief form of Christian worship, he taught this great doctrine to hundreds of older parishioners and younger confirmands and thus paved the way for the introduction of the Mass as the principal Sunday service in 1892. In the same year, the daily Mass became the parish norm and has remained such to the present.

It was during Father Upjohn’s ministry that great progress was made in the development of the tract of land given by Thomas Armat. St. Margaret’s House, originally a home for boys and later a convent operated by the order of the Sisters of St. Margaret, was erected and dedicated in 1894.  When the rectory was built around that same time, the Arts and Crafts style of architecture used in St. Margaret’s House could also be identified in the new structure across the drive.  The parish hall was built in 1910 and was dedicated in 1911.

Meanwhile, on November 13, 1904, at the corner of Rittenhouse and McCallum streets, St. Barnabas Mission held its first service.  The officiant was the Reverend A. A. St. Claire Moore, who became the first priest-in-charge. Father Moore did important, groundbreaking work with his parishioners, who were Americans of African descent.  His efforts caught the attention of Fr. Upjohn, at whose suggestion several area parishes gave their financial support to the St. Barnabas Mission. 

In 1907, the Rev. E. Sydnor Thomas took charge at St. Barnabas, and tirelessly endeavored to turn the mission into an independent parish. On May 6th, 1930, his dream became a reality as St. Barnabas Mission became St. Barnabas Church. Father Thomas continued at St. Barnabas as rector until his 72^nd birthday in January, 1957 when his retirement (due to age) became compulsory under canon law.  Just five months later, he would have celebrated 50 years at St. Barnabas.

Back at St. Luke’s, in 1923 the Vestry called a very young curate to follow the patriarchal Father Upjohn as Rector. The Bishop accepted their decision with reservation – he felt that the Rev. Wallace E. Conkling was too young for such an important post. Father Conkling built upon the Catholic foundation laid by his predecessor and gave the parish a new and vibrant enthusiasm during his extraordinary 18-year ministry. A staunch Anglo-Catholic, he made St. Luke’s one of the outstanding liturgical parishes on the East Coast. Among other things, he is known for inviting the Sisters of St. Margaret to take up residence on St. Luke’s campus in the building that would be known as St. Margaret’s House – a relationship between the parish and the sisters that would last 70 years.  His leadership and ability soon became recognized in church circles far and near, and in 1941, he was elected Bishop of Chicago.

The Reverend Harvey D. Butterfield was elected Rector of St. Luke’s in 1941. He resigned due to ill health in 1943, but was later elected Bishop of Vermont. Bishop Butterfield was succeeded at St. Luke’s by the Reverend S. Tagart Steele, who served as Rector for 19 years.  "A gentleman from Maryland who offered a healthy blend of Anglo-Catholicism and evangelical spirit", as one former boy chorister put it, Father Steele served the parish ably, providing sound leadership during the dark days of the Second World War and into the dawn of a new era of social change.  He retired on July 31st, 1962, only months shy of his 72^nd birthday.

Father Steele was succeeded by the Reverend Robert W. Hill, who had come to St. Luke’s as a Curate in 1958.

A few blocks away at St. Barnabas, the Reverend Oscar E. Holder had succeeded Father Thomas; after overseeing the creation of many fellowship organizations, many of which still survive today, he left in 1964, to be succeeded by the Reverend Charles L. L. Poindexter. Despite the changes in leadership at both parishes in the 1950s and 1960s, the bonds between St. Luke’s and St. Barnabas had grown stronger through the years as each developed its full spiritual life.

For that reason, what happened next should not have come as a complete surprise.  A meeting of a most significant and historical nature took place on Monday, March 11, 1968 between the Vestries of St. Barnabas and St. Luke’s, when said vestries voted unanimously to unite these two historic parishes in Germantown, making St. Luke’s the place of worship for the united parish. The first Eucharist of the united parish took place on the Sunday after Easter, April 21, 1968.  To us today, the development of St. Barnabas from its early days to the eventual and complete reunification with its Founding Church is the most significant part of our story.

The members of St. Barnabas, in a solemn procession led by Bishop Chandler Sterling, proceeded from Rittenhouse Street down Germantown Avenue to the gate of St. Luke’s Church where they were met by Father Hill and St. Luke’s congregation. Thus began a new era.

Father Hill and Father Poindexter became co-rectors under a special agreement signed by the Chancellor of the Diocese and the Bishop, and together they strived to merge the guilds and organizations of each parish into one. They met with much success.

A year after the merger, the St. Barnabas School was founded for children in grades 1-6 – an undertaking that utilized the professional teaching and administrative skills of members of the parish.

Considerable tragedy struck St. Luke’s in 1983. Christopher Hill, the son of Father Hill, died of bone cancer on July 20, and exactly one month later, Father Hill died of colon cancer.

Father Poindexter then became the rector of St. Luke’s in his own right until he retired in 1994. He was succeeded by an interim rector, the Rev. William J. Shepherd, while the vestry searched for a new Rector. “Father Jack”, as he was known, provided strong and responsive leadership during his several years as interim; the parish knew him well, as he had assisted at St. Luke’s for 15 years.

Two years after Father Poindexter’s retirement, the combined congregations of St. Barnabas and St. Luke’s called the Rev. Canon H. Gregory Smith to be the parish’s next rector.  On March 3, 1997, the fourth Sunday of Lent, “Father Greg”, as he is known, celebrated his first Mass as rector.

As St. Luke’s approaches its Bicentennial, the winds of change are again blowing through the campus at the corner of Coulter Street and Germantown Avenue.  While the sisters returned to their mother house in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2000, St. Margaret’s House is now home to the parish’s Choral Scholars program, which provides accommodation to talented young vocalists in exchange for their singing in the parish’s St. Cecilia’s Choir.  And, while the St. Barnabas School closed its doors in 2006, the structure that housed it has become the Urban Center at St. Luke’s, which is the home of the parish’s revitalized, twice-weekly food pantry program; health awareness classes for members of our community; the Senior Luncheon program; yoga and exercise classes; an afterschool tutoring program; and countless parish activities and guilds who use the building for fellowship and outreach.  Additionally, in 2008, St. Luke’s was designated the National Shrine of St. Nicholas in the United States by the worldwide St. Nicholas Society – a distinction that brings visitors and friends from all over the world.