St. Luke's Chapel is a historic building at 714 Pacific Street in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. The chapel was built in 1891 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

History

St. Luke's Chapel is an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

chapel that was built in 1891. The chapel was built by members of St. John's Episcopal Church in Stamford and continues to be owned by that parish. St. Luke's chapel includes

Late Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Shingle Style The shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture. In the shingle style, Engli ...

, and Romanesque architecture. The listing included 3 contributing buildings: the church, a social hall known as the Parish House, and a rectory.

List of Historical Places

In 1987, St. Luke's Chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is listed for its meeting architectural criteria. and The property was covered in a

Multiple Property Submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

study of Downtown Stamford Ecclesiastical Complexes.

Community programs

Homeless Shelter

The mission at this chapel was renewed in 1982 through the work of a small group of seven laypersons who lived in a form of Christian community found in the Acts of the apostles. During the seven years at the chapel, many of this community lived in the building which served as a temporary housing shelter for person's displaced from their living spaces. Additional ministries where a summer camp, a food co-op, a clothing exchange and a tutorial program for the neighborhood. The red cross used the larger gymnasium as a temporary emergency shelter for large number of persons displaced by fire (or other natural disasters. Many neighboring churches from many different denominations participated in a dinner held for the residence of the shelter. Additionally, two group homes were started in neighboring apartments, called Gilead house and St Francis house, for the chronically mentally ill. After seven years of service, Rev. Shuster was called to continue the ministry. In 1990, St. Luke's Chapel provided a homeless shelter for homeless women and children. At that time, the chapel was affiliated with The

Coalition for the Homeless Coalition for the Homeless is a not-for-profit advocacy group focused on homelessness in New York. The coalition has engaged in landmark litigation to protect the rights of homeless people, including the right to shelter and the right to vote, ...

in Stamford.

St. Luke's Lifeworks

St. Luke's Lifeworks was created by attendees of St. Luke's Church. Lifeworks was renamed "Inspirica" as a

Homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

for families and also provides assistance for individuals suffering with

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. In 2009, Rev. Richard L. Schuster was the executive director until his passing.

References