From a fire to the Lunch Club — St. Luke’s shows community spirit
A pair of bronze plaques hold a place of honor at the front of St. Luke’s Anglican Church. Commemorating former parishioners who died in the world wars, the plaques are only a small part of the church’s long legacy of service in the community.
On Oct. 18, the parish, on the corner of Somerset and Bell streets, will celebrate its 125th anniversary.
“I remember we used to have the Cubs meet in the basement of the church, and at the time there were windows along the bottom of the building facing the street.
“Some of the local boys used to come and look in on meetings, so we invited them in,” laughs Bill Gervin, 73. He was christened at St. Luke’s in 1924.
A member of St. Luke’s for 20 years, Joyce Harford has been researching the history of the church. Harford says she wants to create a social perspective of the parish while documenting a concise history of the church.
She has based a large part of her research on personal letters from the City of Ottawa archives. “You really have to keep your eyes open,” she says.
In 1872, Rev. George Jemmett came to Rochesterville, a suburb of Ottawa, to establish a church that would serve Anglicans in the area.
The first church at the parish’s present location of Somerset and Bell was built in October 1889 by Rev. Thomas Garrett. Given the name St. Luke’s, the building was completed in 1892 and the church quickly became an active and expanding parish.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, 1903, the first St. Luke’s church was destroyed by fire, but was immediately restored a year later.
By the ‘20s, the continuing growth of the parish required a larger church. The cornerstone of the new edifice was laid on July 31, 1922 by former prime minister Sir Robert Borden.
Harford says the resiliency of the parish during the ’30s is a tribute to its charitable spirit. In one of St. Luke’s first community outreach initiatives, the parish began helping out-of-work families during the Depression.
Harford says the parish’s devotion to the well-being of the community during this era is a testament to its faith.
“It is a parish that has always been based on Christian principles…not Christian in your face,” she says. “The programs back then really helped the church keep its focus.”
Serving the community has always been the driving force behind St. Luke’s.
Rev. John Bridges, of St. Luke’s parish, says the church has evolved from a family-based parish to a church that meets the needs and concerns of the community.
“We really need to recognize the needs of where we are and respond,” he says.
In the ‘60s and ‘70s, Rev. John Stevenson started the St. Luke’s Lunch Club in 1983.
The Lunch Club is open every Monday to Friday and offers a hot meal for those unable to provide for themselves.
Harford says members are expected to volunteer and there are very few “freeloaders” in the club. She says community outreach programs like the Lunch Club have opened her eyes to the evolving role of St. Luke’s.
“When I was growing up, the Anglican church didn’t have a reputation of doing very much,” she says. “Since joining St. Luke’s 20 years ago, my view has certainly changed.”
While the history of St. Luke’s is certain, Gervin grudgingly admits that the future of the parish is not.
Like Harford, he says that changing lifestyles have meant the church no longer fills the void it once did. Despite this trend, Gervin says community initiatives such as the church’s lunch club lead him to believe that there will always be a place for St. Luke’s in the community.