St Luke's is a parish of the Episcopal Church in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. A member of the

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 48,874 Episcopalians in 147 congregations, 40 schools, and 18 major institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Rive ...

, St Luke's has a historic reputation for upholding progressive social ideals and serving the community. The Church is a registered historic building on the corner of 7th Street and Atlantic Avenue.http://www.beachcalifornia.com/lbhis3.html In 2001, Father Gary Commins left Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Inglewood to serve as St. Luke's Senior

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. Rev. Anna Olson, a former Community Organizer, was the Associate Rector beginning in 2008. In January 2016, Rev. Ricardo Avila took the position of Interim Rector when Rev. Gary Commins stepped down.

Construction and Architecture

Located at 525 E. 7th St. in the City of Long Beach, St. Luke's Episcopal Church has been a center of religious, social and cultural activities in Long Beach since a church was first built on this site in 1917. After being destroyed by the 1933 earthquake, the rebuilding of the church in the English Gothic Revival style demonstrated the commitment of church leaders in the face of disaster. The Reverend Perry G.M. Austin, rector of the church during this time, mobilized nationwide support for the rebuilding of the church. Famous donors included

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

Felix duPont Alexis Felix du Pont Sr. (April 14, 1879 – June 29, 1948) was a member of the American du Pont family who served as a vice president and director of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and a philanthropist who helped found St. Andrew's School in ...

, Judge Augustus Hand and Senator Walter G. McAdoo. The cornerstone for the rebuilding was laid on March 19, 1934, just a year and nine days after the earthquake.

LGBT Advocacy

St Luke's is a well known advocate of GLBT issues in Southern California. Every year, as a part of Long Beach's pride parade, St Luke's holds a Mass on the bluffs above the ocean worship service to help kick off the event. In October 2010, in the wake of a wave of LGBT suicides brought on by harassment, St Luke's held a community-wide Coming Out Celebration. The event promoted an inclusive theology, meant to reassure the LGBT community that they have Christian support. St Lukes Garden picture

Illegal Immigration Controversy

In 2007 St Luke's made national headlines by providing sanctuary, in the face of strong governmental and outside pressure, to an illegal immigrant hoping to keep her children in America. St. Luke's has been a notable face of the New Sanctuary Movement. As a part of this movement, congregations maintain that the immigration system mistreats immigrants and breaks families apart. They seek to end raids of job sites that have led to the arrest of thousands of undocumented workers, and lobby for policies that would help keep the families of illegal immigrants together in the United States. File:StLukesSpire.png, Spire File:StLukesSanctuary.png, Sanctuary File:StLukesGarden.jpg, Garden File:StLukesProcession.jpg, Procession File:StLuke'sAltar.jpg, Altar File:EntrancetoStLukes.png, Entrance

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, Long Beach, California Churches in Long Beach, California Episcopal church buildings in California Churches completed in 1933 20th-century Episcopal church buildings Christian organizations established in 1897 1897 establishments in California Gothic Revival church buildings in California