The
first
worship
service
of
St.
Luke's
United Methodist Church
was
held
in
the
Broad
Ripple
Legion
Hall
at
6379
College
Avenue
on
January
11,
1953. The
name
St.
Luke's
was
chosen
at
a
congregational
meeting
on
March
1,
1953.
On
the
following
Sunday,
119
persons
became
members
at
a
Constituting
Conference,
and
St.
Luke's
officially
became
a
member
of
the
Indiana
Conference.
Guest
ministers
and
lay
speakers
filled
the
pulpit
until
June
28,
1953,
at
which
time
Reverend
William
A.
Imler,
assigned
by
the
Indiana
Conference
as
the
pastor,
preached
his
first
sermon
at
St.
Luke's.
The
site for the new church at 86th and Illinois was approved in the
spring of 1953, and the present church site was purchased in January
of 1954. The laying of the cornerstone occurred on August 21,
1955, and the new church was consecrated by Bishop Richard Raines
on March 4, 1956. The following year the church school wing and
parsonage were added.
Reverend
Richard Hamilton was welcomed as the new pastor in November of
1959. He served St. Luke's for 7 1/2 years, during which time
a new sanctuary was constructed. In June of 1967, E. Carver McGriff
became the new senior pastor, and it was he who preached the first
sermon in that new sanctuary on September 10, 1967. Under his
leadership, St. Luke's gew from a 900 member congregation to one
of 4,500 members in 1993. Several building projects were completed
during the years Dr. McGriff served St. Luke's, including the
library, parlor, transept, new office area, new youth rooms, and
the Great Hall. Dr. McGriff retired on June 20, 1993, after serving
St. Luke's for 26 years
Dr. Kent Millard was appointed senior pastor effective October
1, 1993, following a comprehensive search of all jurisdictions
from coast to coast. He served several churches with distinction
in South Dakota and was a District Superintendent in the South
Dakota Conference. Dr. Millard earned a Doctor of Ministry degree
from McCormick Theological Seminary and an honorary Doctor of
Divinity degree from Dakota Wesleyan University. He studied for
one year at Cambridge University in England and has two masters
degrees from Boston College.
In
October of 1999, the educational wing was expanded, a 200-seat
choir room was built, and a new 1,500 seat sanctuary was consecrated,
providing space for the dynamic and ever-growing congregation
of St. Luke's well into the next century. In March of 2003 St.
Luke's celebrated 50 years of Passionate People Powered by
God.
