St. Luke's Parish History

St. Luke's Episcopal Church is a community that believes all people are called into a living relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Bible. We believe we can have a relationship with God the Father because of the death, resurrection, and ascension of his Son, Jesus Christ. We believe this relationship can be fully realized in our lives only when we depend on the power of the Holy Spirit and walk in obedience to His leadership. Our vision is "encouraging one another to walk in the Spirit".

Originally called St. Stephen's, St. Luke's was founded as a missionary parish in 1891. The first building, dedicated in 1892, seated 250 people. But after years of struggle, services were suspended in 1907. In 1909 it returned to the general missionary program and in 1912 the name was changed to St. Luke's. In 1924 a new building was dedicated. Now called the chapel, it features a beautiful stained glass window overlooking the altar. A new parish hall, built in 1963, houses administrative offices, a nursery, and a sanctuary with movable seating.

In 1960, Bishop Lewis of Olympia offered this church to the Rev. Dennis Bennett, who had resigned from a large church in Van Nuys, CA due to turmoil over his Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The fire of the Holy Spirit came with him and St. Luke's exploded in membership. After he described his experience in the book, Nine O'clock in the Morning, his traveling ministry increased and in 1981, he retired to pursue teaching and writing. At that time, the Rev. Trevor Dearing came to St. Luke’s from England. Fr. Kevin Martin served as rector from 1984 to 1990 and Fr. Jack Tench from 1991 to 2000. Their ministry continued to bring the healing and salvation message to all who sought it.

The current rector, the Rev'd. Dr. John Roddam, came to St. Luke's from Vancouver, B.C. in November 2000. He has a vision for the Pacific Northwest and a heart for both community and ecumenical involvement. The parish has two Sunday services. The first is a Traditional (Rite 1) Eucharist with a Cantor Choir. The second is a Contemporary Liturgy led by a worship team. Both services encourage the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

St. Luke's provides a weekly feeding program for the homeless, supports missionaries in Asia and Europe, and hosts a weekly ecumenical teaching series. St. Luke’s offers a monthly healing service where various healing ministries teach and demonstrate that Jesus still heals today. There are also regular conferences hosted by the parish. St. Luke's shares its facilities with two other organizations. One is Victory Outreach, a Christian program for substance abuse, and the Berhane Hiwat Eritrean Church, which serves the Eritrean community in the greater Seattle area.

Today St. Luke's combines tradition and innovation in its mission to its members, to the local community and to the Anglican Communion worldwide.