Saint Luke's Episcopal Church

Here follows an excerpt from "The History of St. Luke’s Church" as published on the church's website:

1929-1939: Aggie Finks and the “Seminary Boys”

The history of St. Luke's Church begins in 1929, when an energetic school teacher named Mildred Lozano (Aggie) Finks and an energetic group of students from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria joined forces to open a Sunday School with worship service (it was known as the "Sunday School" at first; the designation "church" came much later) in Snowden School. Snowden was located on Fort Hunt Road, just a few blocks south of our present building, between Cedar Dale Lane and Chadwick Avenue.

A Rural Area:
The area was mainly fields and forests; very few houses stood between Snowden and the city of Alexandria. Fort Hunt Road was unpaved. It had existed for a long time, first named Clifton Neck, then shortened to Neck Road, receiving its present name during the Spanish-American War, when the Fort was built to protect our capital city from Spain's tiny navy.

People walked, rode in cars, or caught a ride on the milk wagon to go into Alexandria to do their shopping. Or they rode the trolley which ran from Washington to Mount Vernon, approximating the route of the George Washington Parkway, which wasn't opened for traffic until 1932. The trolley line crossed Fort Hunt Road at Hunter's Station (presently Elkins Street, near Stratford Landing) where Dooley's Store was located and where some of the people who became St. Lukers were then living.

A few large estates adjoined the river, such as Wellington (now the home of the Horticultural Society), Andalusia, Collingwood, Bellapais, Herbert Springs, Arcturus, and Grassymede Farm (now the Waynewood subdivision), The Wilkinson Farm on Sherwood Hall Lane and Thompson's Dairy were working farms; the others, despite their acreage, were really only residences.

But it was the Depression, and most of the people in the area were poor. One parishioner said, "Of course we always had enough to eat." But there was no spare cash for fine clothes or for travel.

The First Church on Fort Hunt:
The closest Episcopal churches were Pohick and Christ Church, Groveton (it was located on Route One, just south of Beacon Mall; its congregation later became St. Mark's Church, on South King's Highway) when Aggie opened her Sunday School. This Sunday School was the first church of any kind on Fort Hunt Road, now home to St. Luke's, two Baptist, two Lutheran, a Methodist, and a Presbyterian Church!

Aggie: Teaching for Free:
Aggie lived on Southdown Road (her house is still there), where a number of houses, many of them summer cottages, had been built during the twenties. The Lozano family had come here from Louisiana, and Aggie had married Emmet Finks, who worked for the post office.

Aggie was a teacher at Snowden, named for the Quaker family who gave the land for its construction in 1870. It was a one-room school at first, with a pot-bellied stove, oiled wood floors, a well, and a "necessary" house outside. In 1917-18, a second room was added. At some point before Aggie went there to teach, the owner of the land, Miss Kate Snowden, turned the school over to Fairfax County. But the county administration was apparently unaware of its new treasure. Aggie taught there for two years without a salary, and rumor had it that the powers that be were ignorant of her presence. Aggie got her reward, however, becoming in later years a member of the Fairfax County School Board.

Mrs. Finks's day school students, including Ella Dodson Baggett, who believes that she has been a member of St. Luke's longer than anyone else now in the congregation, and Nell Stevens Gallagher remember her as a motherly woman with gray hair done up in a bun. She brought soup to school every day and served a hot lunch to her students. She was both generous and gracious. She would sometimes offer her daughter's outgrown clothing to girls who she thought might need it, always saying something like, "I have this extra coat that looks as if it would fit you. Would you accept it?"

Aggie's Sunday School:
Aggie's first Sunday School was not the one that became St. Luke's, and it was non-denominational. She and several other teachers held it in Sherwood Hall, a building (located near present-day Kirkside) which belonged to the King's Daughters and was used by various civic groups. But when she realized what a long way some of her children were walking, she set up a Sunday School at Snowden. This one was Episcopal.

Ella recalls coming in early to make the fires at Snowden, both for the "regular" and the Sunday School. It was a long walk for Ella from Hunter's Station, but she considered her job an honor as well as a responsibility and refused to take any money for doing it. Nell, who lived on Mason Hill, had perhaps an even longer walk, but she rarely missed a day or a Sunday.

Aggie did things with style and taste. Mary Scheeler, a long time St. Luker, lived near Groveton and attended Christ Church, as well as Aggie's first Sunday School. When she moved to Fort Hunt Road in 1935, Mary transferred her membership to St. Luke's. She cherishes a hand-painted pin Mrs. Finks gave her and the other members of her Sunday School class one Christmas, prior to 1929.

Not only did Mrs. Finks minister to the spiritual needs of her pupils, she also provided fun. Ella and Nell remember going to her house just before Christmas to fix boxes of candy and oranges for all the Snowden children.

Aggie's Sunday School flourished. The old-timers remember that the classes met before worship services and, in a reversal of the usual practice, some adults came for classes and then went home, leaving their children to stay for church. Since Snowden was the only church in the area, people of several denominations came. Scratch an old-time St. Luker, and you may find a Baptist, Methodist, or a Presbyterian underneath!

The Seminary Boys: Who They Were:
Whether Mrs. Finks got in touch with the Seminary and asked for their services, or whether the students somehow found her, we do not know. But the "Seminary Boys", as the congregation called them, began to come to Snowden to hold Sunday services. They continued to serve the Snowden Mission from 1929 to 1942, when the Diocese of Virginia assigned the Reverend Foxhall Parker Thornton to take care of both Snowden and the Groveton chapel.

The names of the Seminarians who held services at St. Luke’s between 1929 and 1942 appear in our Parish Register; there appear to be 41. However, since the register numbers skip from 21 to 27, we can suppose that there were actually 36. Among them were former Presiding Bishop John E. Hines; C. Gresham Marmion, retired Bishop of Kentucky; Canon Edward B. Guerry, who sent us wonderful pictures and memorabilia recently, as he had done in 1979 for our fiftieth anniversary; the Reverend J. Thomas Bagby, now retired and living in Houston, Texas; the Reverend Haskin Little, also of Houston; the Reverend William Sydnor, known to St. Lukers when he was the rector of Christ Church, Alexandria. Others whom St. Lukers of long standing remember with pleasure are the Reverend Messrs. Frank Moss, Steve Skardon, and Colin Campbell, now deceased.

The Seminary Boys: What They Did:
St. Luke's was indeed blessed to have the faithful services of these young men. They must have worked very hard to take care of the Mission, in addition to handling their academic schedules. They are full of praise for each other. Tom Bagby speaks of Frank Moss as a "spiritual giant" and a great personal influence; both Bagby and Ed Guerry say that Moss was largely responsible for raising the money to build the first chapel. But Bishop Marmion recalls Ed Guerry as the chief fund raiser. This is what happens when the Saints of St. Luke's begin to talk about the other Saints!

But they had fun, too. A sense of affection and camaraderie comes through. They were somewhat free with ecclesiastical titles. Among themselves, they called the senior of the three students assigned to St. Luke's at a given time "Bishop." Canon Guerry was "Bishop" from 1930-1933 and the Reverend Mr. Bagby served in that capacity from 1933 to 1935. The Reverend Haskin Little was "Bishop" in 1939; he went into Washington, bought a Model A Ford for $50, and learned to drive so that he could perform his duties at St. Luke's.

Bishop Marmion recalls a creative solution to a problem which arose because the services were held in an elementary school. "Since it was difficult for some of the women to slide out of the desks in which they sat (some of them being a bit on the plump side), we stood only once during the service, and that was to recite the Apostle's Creed."

And Tom Bagby writes: "One day a kid or kids put boards over the top of the chimney. We had a profusion of unasked for incense. Instead of becoming incensed, we laughed and opened the windows."

The Seminarians called on their parishioners frequently. They played with the children, talked to the adults, and they ate. It was a joke among the congregation that the Seminary Boys knew just when to arrive, frequently as a pan of hot rolls was coming out of the oven.

Rites at Snowden:
Six people were baptized at Snowden on March 23, 1930, with the Reverend Alexander C. Zabriskie of the Seminary officiating. One of them was Harry Harmon Clark; his widow, Louise, is still a member of St. Luke’s. There was another baptism in October of 1930, one in 1931, two in 1932, and one in 1933. Aggie Finks is listed as godmother to all of the first group and almost all of the subsequent ones. The Seminarians, especially Edward Guerry, were other sponsors.

The first confirmation took place on May 3, 1931. Aggie Finks and Ella Dodson were confirmands; 75 people attended.

Building the Chapel:
In 1933 St. Luke's moved into a brick chapel on our present site. Malcolm Mathieson, the owner of Wellington, donated the land. Our records note that on January 4, 1933, 1.033 acres of land were deeded to the Diocesan Missionary Society of Virginia. The church continued to be known as St. Luke's, Snowden, however, until a Parish council was formed in 1941; at that time the church was officially designated St. Luke's, Wellington.

The Seminarians were the ones who made the building possible. They spent many hours visiting the owners of the river estates, some of whom were Episcopalians but not members of the Snowden congregation. Canon Guerry describes humorously a visit he made to one of these wealthy neighbors. In a few moments, the Canon relates, this man faced him with a series of "stunning" questions: Have you raised any money from the congregation? Have you a site for the church? Have you an architect and plans? Have you a reliable treasurer? Upon hearing a negative reply to all these questions, the man asked the young Seminarian to come back and see him when he had some answers. So the Seminarians proceeded methodically to find the answers. Unfortunately, the rich man died before the young men had gone through all the steps. But in a short time Mr. Mathieson telephoned the Seminary with his offer of both land and a sum of money to complete the building.

Consecrating the Chapel:
Parishioners of Olivet, Sharon, and Christ Church, Groveton, joined the St. Luke's congregation for the consecration of the chapel on June 4, 1933, Whitsunday. Mary Scheeler brought a group from Groveton to sing in the choir, but they left before the service was over. Mary says, "We had other (social) plans for the rest of the day."

Bishop Frederick D. Goodwin was there for the confirmation service held at the same time. The building was not complete, and wooden ramps were used to get people into the church; there was a lot of mud still around. Five young ladies, all of them still alive, received the laying-on of hands. Nell Gallagher was among them, and she wore her high school graduation dress; two very important ceremonies in Nell's life happened close together.

How the Chapel Looked:
The chapel consisted basically of one room, with a round window above the altar. Aggie Finks often said that she would like to see a stained glass window replace the clear panes that were there. "You could dedicate it to my memory," she said. There were choir stalls on the left side and a pulpit on the right, with an organ behind it. Choir robes were stored in a tiny room behind the stalls. Another small room behind the pulpit was used for Sunday School classes and for storage of the altar linens. The hot air/coal-fueled furnace was in a small addition behind the chapel; there was no entry into the furnace room from the church.

Most of the Sunday School classes met in the big room, drawing their chairs into circles to separate themselves from other classes. Mary Scheeler, who had moved to Fort Hunt Road in 1935, was a teacher; she and her pupil, Ann Miller, remember with pleasure the beautiful oak chairs that furnished the room. A cross was carved into the back of each, and there was a holder for a hymnal and prayer book. Hooks on the bottom held kneeling cushions.

Rites at the Chapel:
Professor (later Dean) Zabriskie was celebrant at the first Baptism in the new chapel, on January 21, 1934. A familiar name appears in the register as a sponsor: Mildred Lozano Finks. Aggie's name can be read again and again in this capacity until she moved from the area in 1941. Mrs. Finks moved to Criglersville, in the mountains, where her husband's family had come from. She lived there until her death in 1963. She became very active in Piedmont Episcopal Church in Madison. Judy Lovegren, a former Senior Warden of St. Luke's now living near Madison and attending Piedmont, asked parishioners about Aggie. "A lovely person," one said. She recalled that Aggie arrived as World War II was going on and there were few men in the congregation. She took a leadership role once more and joined enthusiastically in many church activities and was instrumental in having kneelers made. Aggie is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Madison.

The first marriage to be celebrated at St. Luke's took place on May 23, 1934. Mildred Virginia Harrell, a member of the first confirmation class in 1931, married William Mack Forrest, who had been confirmed in June, 1933. Sadly, William Mack Forrest's funeral was among the first to be held in the new chapel on May 8, 1936. He was buried in the church yard, but his grave was subsequently moved when it was decided that the church facility would grow and that there would not be room for a cemetery.

Summer Services at Holiday House:
During the summer the Seminary was closed and students were not available to hold services at the Snowden Mission. But there were services, held in a small chapel belonging to Holiday House, a collection of barracks-type buildings in the area of Ridgecrest Drive. Its land extended from the overpass on East Boulevard Drive to Morningside Lane; it belonged to the Girls' Friendly Society of Washington (How many of you ladies remember the GFS?) and was used as a camp. Girls of high school age and younger would come out on the trolley to spend the summer; some local girls, including our own Ann Miller, went, too.

The St. Luke's young men acted as lay readers for these summer services, and St. Luke's used the Holiday House facilities for retreats and for church suppers.

The Young People:
Throughout the 1930's, the Seminarians had a wonderful ministry among the young people of the area. This was a social, as well as a religious tribe, enjoying such activities as square dancing, eating at Howard Johnson’s, hay rides and Halloween parties. According to Gladys (Gibby) Baumbach, currently a resident of the Mount Vernon Nursing Home, groups of Episcopal young people from Franconia, Groveton, and Alexandria would sometimes join the Snowdenites for picnics or parties. Although some teenagers came from as far away as Mount Vernon and rode the trolley, the Seminarians were responsible for much of the group's transportation. They had an old station wagon, known as the "Gospel Wagon", which made the rounds after school, picking up people to go to choir practice and to their various other church-connected activities.

Things were not very formal. The group had no fancy name; it was called simply "The Young People." But they took church seriously. Many of them read the lessons on Sunday, establishing early on St. Luke's strong tradition of lay reading.

The Young People, in fact, named the church. Ella Baggett remembers being at a meeting with five or six others, including their president, Jack Nightingale, when they took out their Bibles and chose the name St. Luke's.

The Junior Vestry:
During its early years, St. Luke's was not officially a church and hence had no formal governing body. Mrs. Finks and a few others kept things going from day to day. On October 24, 1937, a Junior Vestry (unofficial) was formed, consisting of about six men around the age of twenty, with the purpose of keeping the chapel clean and in good repair. The group met every week, usually on Thursdays, in the rooms of Steve Skardon or Colin Campbell at the Seminary. Steve Taylour of Marlan Forest served as Secretary-Treasurer until the group was disbanded in 1941; John Briar, Jr., was President.

They bought weather stripping and installed it. They directed the janitor to get the fire going in the furnace Saturday evening and stay three or four hours until it could be banked, so that it would surely be warm for Sunday services; they assigned their own members "furnace duty", which meant going in early Sunday to be sure it was warm. (It's surprising how many St. Lukers were involved with the furnace. Some of the Seminarians also recall getting up long before light to get to the church and check the heating!)

The Junior Vestry was responsible for the landscaping of the chapel grounds. When it came time to improve the driveway, they enlisted the services of young men stationed at a CCC Camp at Fort Hunt. They came in on a Saturday and put down cinders (purchased from the Potomac Railroad Yards for $8.50). Since the roller the Vestry had hoped to borrow was broken, the group improvised. The CCC truck drove over the area many times. Even so, Colin Campbell was worried. He cautioned the young men not to stop their cars too suddenly or to start them too violently, as he did not think the cinders were thoroughly settled and might damage the vehicles.

To repay the CCC boys for their assistance, the St. Luke's Young People gave them a party with bingo, refreshments, and dancing to radio music. Cigarettes, chewing gum, and shaving lotion were bought for prizes. Mrs. Finks and some of the older St. Lukers helped to plan the party. In 1938 the Junior Vestry was concerned with the chairs in the chapel and how to keep them from damaging the wooden floors. A letter appears in the minutes from Haskin Little's father, telling in detail how to find and put on rubber bumpers.

The outhouse was also a problem, being described as in "deplorable condition." The Junior Vestry paid someone to clean it and then agreed to find the lost keys to the toilets so they could keep them locked except on Sundays.

The minutes of May 22, 1939, report plaintively: "One major problem of the Vestry is the parking of cars at the chapel lot. Illicit love affairs are evident, and in one instance the chapel has been entered." But there is no word as to how the resourceful young men dealt with that one!

The Junior Vestry had its share of fun, too. Often at the end of the official meeting, they would head into Washington to see a movie or to enjoy other things the city had to offer.

The Round Table:
There was another young people's group from 1938 to 1940, known as the Round Table. It met in members' homes or in the Snowden School, which they called affectionately "The Ark." They had serious discussions and impressive speakers on topics such as the history of the Anglican Church, the meaning of the Apostle's Creed and the Lord's Prayer. They completely dissected the Prayer Book; when they studied the service of Holy Matrimony, they played appropriate wedding music. They heard missionaries from Alaska, China, and the Blue Ridge Mountains speak.

They also had wonderful times, rowing on the Potomac, riding bikes along the Tidal Basin, cruising on the Wilson Line to the amusement park at Marshall Hall, playing bingo, and dancing often and late. One highlight for all was the party at which Janet Kessenger, an active member of the group and frequent hostess for their activities, announced her engagement to Haskin Little. (The couple were married, had three children, and are now enjoying their retirement). As 1939 drew to a close, the group was discussing the war which had just begun in Europe.

A Church Led by the Young:
The leadership of the young people of St. Luke's was remarked on by many. Frequently only five or ten older adults would be present at a Sunday morning service, but there was always a larger group of the young people. With the assistance of the Seminary Boys, who were not much older than they were, and the inspiration of such people as Mrs. Finks, these young people enjoyed a social life outside the church, came faithfully to Sunday School, and assisted at worship. Adults who came to St. Luke's for the first time during these years were usually surprised to see a congregation made up mostly of people around twenty years of age. As they thought about it, however, some remarked: "The Holy Spirit is holding this church together."

1939-1949: No Tires for the Gospel Wagon:

The information in Chapter 1 of the history of St. Luke's Church comes from long-time members; it is supported by statistics from the Parish Register. We were a mission, existing by the grace of God and the extraordinary energy and dedication of the Seminarians and members of the congregation, old and young, with emphasis on the young.

The Children: At Play and at Work:
Then, as now, Sunday School was very important. Several people recall fondly a picnic on the Seminary grounds during the early forties, at which the St. Luke's children were joined by those from other area churches. The food was wonderful; so were the games, especially the sack races.

Everybody joined in cleanup days at the church. Ann Miller remembers a time when she rode her bike over to help scrub the building for Easter. There was no water in the church, so she and her friends had to walk across Fort Hunt Road and bring back buckets full from the home of an obliging neighbor. On that day, Ann's dog, Jimmy Edward Brown, had followed her. He soon learned what fun it was to slide in the soapy water on the floor of the church, and the cleaning project was foundering. But Mary Jane (Briar) Smith, then as now equal to any occasion, penned Jimmy up in the choir stalls so that work could continue, and St. Luke's did sparkle for the Great Feast.

The Junior Vestry: At Work:
In 1940 the Junior Vestry sent a petition to the Diocese, and the Diocese paid the remaining money owed on the furnace. The vestry also improved the heating situation, at least temporarily; they discovered that the fan and blower system had been installed in reverse, and they had it corrected.

An "unknown benefactor" mowed the church lawn during the summer of 1940. Fall came, and the secretary was instructed to write him a thank you letter, but no one knew who he was. Apparently, his identity was never discovered. It would be nice to thank this person in 1989; disclosures welcome!

The Junior Vestry was quite busy in the fall, purchasing benches for the use of the Sunday School, at $1.50 each, and ordering a church flag from New York. By now the Vestry was holding many of its meetings at Snowden School. When the school burned in February, 1941, the young people expressed great sorrow at the loss of their "Ark". They were grateful to the King's Daughters, who offered the use of Sherwood Hall for meetings of the various church groups.

Becoming a Mission Church:
In the fall of 1941, the status of St. Luke's changed from that of a Mission to a Mission Church; an official Parish Council was formed and held its first meeting on October 18. The Junior Vestry, too, continued to function.

At the October 18 meeting, the Reverend Edward R. Welles, rector of Christ Church, Alexandria (now the retired Bishop of the Diocese of SW Missouri) presided. He opened with a prayer he had composed especially for St. Luke's and had used for the first time when he administered Holy Communion at the church on October 12.

A dedicated and energetic priest Edward Welles must have been! In addition to his duties at Christ Church, he agreed to provide Holy Communion at St. Luke's on the second Sunday of each month; to take it to shut-ins; to perform marriages for ". . . Christians who were active St. Luke's members"; and to conduct funerals. He also supervised the work of the Seminary Boys, who continued to hold the regular Sunday services. (The Council was paying them $20 a month for their transportation.)

A New Name; A War:
Members of St. Luke's 1989 Vestry will not be surprised to learn that the first business discussed by the new Council was the furnace bill. It was also reported that the Junior Vestry had made a sign for the church but had decided not to put it up until after Halloween. (Wise children!) And the secretary was directed to write to the Diocese of Virginia, asking for an official name change from St. Luke's, Snowden, to St. Luke's, Wellington. The minutes a few months later reveal that the Diocese agreed to the new designation.

In December the treasurer proudly reported ". . . $150 on hand, with janitor and electric bill paid." The United States entered World War II that month; the treasurer also recorded that $5.00 was given to the Army and Navy Commission and a smaller sum to the British Relief Missions. These contributions, made through the Diocese, continued every month for the duration of the war.

Young People's Groups:
Sunday School attendance in late 1941 and early 1942 averaged 45-50 per Sunday. The young people planned, organized, and presented a Christmas program as they did each year. (The programs were often given in a cold chapel; the furnace just never did behave!) Superintendent Steve Taylour proposed and the Council agreed to buy the children oranges and candy for Christmas. In February, Steve was called into military service and was replaced by Harry Jones.

In the spring, two new young people's groups were organized under the leadership of Robert Carl Stevens and his wife Jean. These groups, the Knights of King Arthur and the Queens of Avalon, met on Friday. We don't know a lot about them, but they must have been working as well as playing Christians. This wonderful quotation comes from Council minutes: "Mr. (R. Slater) Lamond spoke of some junk that had accumulated at the back of the chapel, and it was decided to have Mr. Harry Jones, King of the Knights of King Arthur, sell it for their Lenten offering."

No Tires for the Gospel Wagon:
Mr. Welles reported that he had applied to the Fairfax County Rationing Board for tires for the Gospel Wagon. But in May he informed the Council that the Board had not replied and he advised laying up the station wagon "for the duration."

A Half-time Rector:
That summer St. Luke's asked the Executive Committee of the Diocese of Virginia to have a half-time minister assigned to St. Luke's Chapel, his services to be shared with the Groveton Chapel (Christ Church). St. Luke's would be willing to contribute $35 monthly toward his salary, as long as the Diocese did not require sharing him with more than one other church. We reported 34 communicants and a Sunday School membership of more than 100.

The Diocese listened. In September, 1942, the Reverend Foxhall Parker Thornton came aboard. He lived in the Groveton area and took care of the two congregations. Mr. Thornton's service to St. Luke's was more than spiritual. At the October Council meeting he stated that the floors needed sanding and that he knew where to rent a sander for $3.00. He promised that if he could get a little help, he could ". . . sand the floors in an evening and have time to oil and wax them before next Sunday." Present clergy, please note!

A Growing Community; A Growing Church:
St. Luke's continued to grow and to expand its services to the community. The homes in Tauxemont were built to accommodate some of the people coming to Washington for war-related jobs. A building committee was formed at St. Luke's. A midnight Christmas Eve service was added; a monthly church newsletter began. It was sent to people throughout the rapidly-growing community. An ironic note: The council authorized the rector, in December, 1942, to have the furnace and pipes covered with that wonderful insulator, asbestos!

The spring of 1943 was exceptionally busy. A Lenten study class began. Trinity Church, Arlington, presented a gift of chancel furniture. A committee was appointed to buy a lawn mower. The Boy Scouts made tables and chairs for the use of the Sunday School, free lumber having been donated by a Mr. Jergen. The church offered the use of land on both sides of the building to Tauxemont residents, so that they could raise Victory Gardens. An Altar Guild was formed and Mrs. Stevens, presented a ". . . beautiful set of hangings" from her former church, Grace, in Medford, Massachusetts. And ever and anon, at almost every Council meeting, people talked about the ill-performing furnace.

During the summer the Council did not meet, but a Women's Auxiliary was formed, Mrs. Mafie Lloyd being elected its first president. The council noted in its September meeting that the Bishop had granted the church use of a temporary building, a chapel trailer from the Seminary, as well as $30 to repair it. St. Luke's was outgrowing its sturdy little chapel.

The minutes of one meeting opened thus: "Mrs. (John, Sr.) Briar reported that the coal bin is full and has been paid for." John and Florence Briar, our older members say, often bought the fuel for the church, and John came in on Saturday night to start the furnace. Members of the Junior Vestry often had this honor; they also visited people living around the church and asked for money with which to buy the coal.

A Tenth Anniversary:
St. Luke's celebrated its tenth anniversary on October 24, 1943. (It had been ten years since the chapel was built, although the church as a body of worshippers had existed since 1929.) Olaf and Eugenie Saugstad, of Arcturus, presented inscribed tablets to be placed on either side of the altar, one the Lord's Prayer and the other the Apostles' Creed. They were beautifully done in black lettering on a gold background, and the youngsters were glad the letters were large. They could be seen all over the church, a handy bit of assistance for them when they had forgotten those things which they ought to have remembered.

(The Saugstads were an unforgettable couple in the annals of St. Luke's. Both taught in Washington; she was an artist and he a metal designer. Their house was unusual in shape and design, and it had a tree growing through the middle of it. Mrs. Saugstad was a woman of strong convictions. Once, during a sermon that was somewhat political, she rose from her pew, announced loudly, "I didn't come to church to hear this," and swept out of the building.)

Plans for Expansion:
The optimism and vitality that had kept St. Luke's alive were evident in the remarkable stewardship of the congregation during the years of war and scarcity. The trailer was put in place, and Mrs. Briar lent a portable organ for use in it. The Building Committee began to take bids for the construction of a Parish Hall (one contractor proposed a cinder block structure at $5000). A discussion about selling the trailer tires lasted several months. A heating company agreed to renovate the heating plant for $300. And Mr. Thornton presented his budget for 1944: $1400. The March, 1944, Council minutes were in an unfamiliar hand; R. Slater Lamond, who had served as Secretary-Treasurer for several years, had been called into military service. In April the Easter special offering went to the Bishop's War Relief Fund.

At its meeting on June 5, 1944, the Council ". . . took time out to hear the President's broadcast . . ." (about the Normandy invasion). But back the members came to their task of keeping the church doors open. Would "Mrs. Briar's handyman", someone wondered, be available to clean the church? More work was needed on the furnace; or perhaps a "stoker furnace" would result in "more even distribution of heat" and therefore ". . . better attendance at services." Shortly thereafter there was an anonymous donation to buy the stoker furnace. In September, though, the Council decided to buy an oil burner instead.

The Building Committee continued to wrestle with various approaches to providing for the needs of the church and of the community. One suggestion was to hold some of our services in the Mount Vernon Fire House, services "more like the Baptists." St. Luke's was serving people of several denominations and trying to do well by them. The community was also serving St. Luke's. The King's Daughters sold Sherwood Hall and donated dishes, silverware, and linens to the church.

The War - and Polio:
The Sunday School picnic had to be postponed until cool weather that year because of the polio epidemic. But other work and play continued. The chapel was painted and waterproofed, $75 having been donated for this purpose by the Women's Auxiliary from the proceeds of their spring rummage sale. Parishioners gathered for a celebration of St. Luke's Day, bringing their own box lunches.

Several young men from the parish were serving in the military: Dudley Embrey, Raymond Rogers, Roland Rogers, David Hancock, and Steve Taylour. In December the church bought each of them a subscription to ”The ”Link, a pamphlet written especially for service men.

Beautification was part of the 1945 agenda. Malcolm Mathieson offered some mimosa trees from the Wellington estate if members of the congregation would be willing to help with transportation and transplanting. The Council decided to sell the trailer because it ". . . detracted from the church's appearance."

The ladies of Holiday House were contacted in September and asked if St. Luke's could hold the Sunday School picnic there. People had been unwilling to hold it during the summer because they were still wary of polio; now cold weather had set in and the outdoor areas were not feasible.

Our First Acolytes:
David Ditto was appointed our first acolyte in October. The following month David Sipes asked if he could be one, also. The Council agreed, and asked both boys to pay half the cost of their vestments! The church accepted the offer of an altar by the Saugstads, and a committee was appointed to choose a design. Bad news in January, 1946. The new oil burner was proving unsatisfactory. The Council said so again in February.

Chilly they might have been, but St. Lukers went on with their plans to be the Body of Christ in this place. Lenten services were held that year on Friday evenings, with choir practice afterward. The two Davids were urged to attend Acolyte Camp in the summer, St. Luke's agreeing to cover half of the cost. There were plans for a Young People's League in the fall, and for the picnic to take place on the Mount Vernon picnic grounds. It was probably one of our larger picnics; in October the Council discussed making separate "rooms" for the Sunday School classes by running curtains on wires.

The Seminary Boys Again:
What to do about the overcrowding? For the next year and a half, Council members kept proposing that Army surplus chapels be brought up from Richmond (the war was now over), and other Council members kept voting the idea down.

It was back to the Seminary Boys to lead the services, Mr. Thornton having become ill, and the Council voted to pay them $5.00 a Sunday. By July, though, Alex Robertson, who was to become the first full-time Rector of St. Luke's, was here. Alex was a Seminarian at that time; he would remain at St. Luke's as a deacon and would be ordained to the priesthood in May, 1951.

Alex Robertson was an interesting, dynamic leader. At one time a fire brick salesman in Pittsburgh, he had graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. He had been director of a comedy group and an organist at All Saints Episcopal Church, also in Pittsburgh.

What Kind of Building?
St. Luke's leaders were convinced that we needed a larger building, but they wanted to be sure that what they built would be right for both the congregation and the community around. They contracted with the World Federation of Churches in Washington for a survey of denominational preferences in the area. The survey was out-of-date by the time it was completed, so fast was the area growing. We decided to add a Parish Hall and to enlarge greatly the Sunday School facilities. In the meanwhile, so many organizations in the burgeoning community were asking to use our existing facilities that one Council member was put in charge of processing the requests.

An All Male Vestry:
Now it was time for St. Luke's to become a self-sustaining church. Under the Diocesan canons, this meant the election of an all-male Vestry. Talk about moving backward in order to progress! Shades of Aggie Finks, Florence Briar, Jean Stevens, and a host of others of the feminine persuasion who had brought us this far.

At any rate, at a meeting on September 28, 1949, this was accomplished. Five members who were bona fide communicants, and "known to the treasurer" (John Briar, Jr., Reginald Crump, Carl Stevens, Maurice Herndon, and August Cotton) and two associates, representing the non-members and attesting to the community character of St. Luke's (Harry Williams and Percy E. Smith) were elected. Maurice Herndon was our first Senior Warden.

Approval for Expansion:
The new Vestry, along with Alex Robertson, moved quickly. They asked Mr. Mathieson to fund the new Parish Hall, but he replied that it was ". . . too big an undertaking" for him. Then Alex Robertson invited Bishop Frederick D. Goodwin to a square dance at the church, where the Bishop must have liked what he saw. On October 23, there was a parish meeting after church. On October 26, the Council met with Bishop Goodwin and Suffragan Bishop Robert F. Gibson. They approved the larger building.

As 1949 drew to a close, Alex Robertson outlined the 1950 budget and made known his earnest desire to become the full-time Rector of St. Luke's.

1949-1959: Meeting the Challenges of Growth:

The information in this chapter of our history was obtained primarily from vestry records, minutes of congregational and Women's Auxiliary meetings, and interviews with our long term members. This decade is remembered by most of the older parishioners as "the glory years of St. Luke's." It was an exciting time, a period of enchantment, when close relationships were formed and when the church was the focus for the community. This was also a period of great expansion in the area, and accordingly, the church experienced unprecedented growth. The increase in membership is best captured by this quote from the Annual Report published in December, 1959. Alex Robertson reported that in 1949 he preached to "as few as twenty people," while Ed Bush could report at the close of the decade, "We now have an average of 675 persons attending the church and church school."

Initial Plans for Expansion:
As 1949 drew to a close, Alex Robertson and the vestry had agreed that the central aim of St. Luke's should be to become a "real Episcopal community church" with facilities for a large Sunday School and a parish hall for the benefit of the church and community. With that as an aim, the leadership had decided that the church needed to be enlarged and thus had secured unofficial approval from Bishops Goodwin and Gibson. Proof of our overcrowded conditions was that for a period of time, Sunday School classes were held in cars, normally station wagons, in the parking lot! To implement the expansion plans, the vestry asked Robert A. Wilgoos, a church architect, to prepare preliminary plans, with approximate costs, for enlarging the church and building a parish hall.

At about the same time the need for a rectory became clear. Mr. Robertson, Carl Stevens, and John Briar, Jr. were appointed to contact Michael Holland, the owner of the house at 208 Wellington Road, to determine whether he would be interested in selling it to the church. By the late spring of 1950, the church had purchased the house on Wellington for $17,500 with a $500 down payment, and several industrious members of the congregation repainted and redecorated the interior and exterior of the house. The major item of business for the church over the course of the latter months of 1950 and well into the next year was how to finance the church expansion and parish hall. As a first step, approval had been secured to mortgage the church property, then valued at about $32,000. Another source of income was a loan of $10,000 from the Diocese of Virginia. Finally, a Building Fund Campaign Committee was formed under the able leadership of E. N. Montague. Mr. Montague, who later in the decade would serve as Senior Warden, was a perfect choice for the position and impressed parishioners as "a very imposing and energetic man with a natural flair for organization and leadership." A goal of $25,000 in pledges was established and the Building Fund Campaign officially kicked off in the spring of 1951.

The Rev. Alexander M. Robertson:
The church took time off from the fund raising efforts in the spring of 1951 to celebrate the ordination of Alex Robertson as an Episcopal priest on May 26, 1951. The ordination was a milestone in a journey that had begun when Alex first came to St. Luke's in 1948 as a Seminarian. He and his family (his wife, Dorothy; his daughter, Janet; and his sons, Sandy and James) became an integral part of the St. Luke's congregation.

The Building Expansion:
The vestry received two bids for the building expansion, one from Eugene Simpson and Brothers and the other from the John L. Reidand Company. As the bid was lower and the construction time shorter (120 days), Simpson was selected. By June of 1951, the contractor was on site and laying out the building plans.

With the construction project underway, attention now shifted to the need within the church: new pews, an organ, parking areas, and a carpet for the center aisle. A proposal for 36 new white pews with mahogany seats and trim was accepted. The vestry decided to purchase a powered reed organ not to cost more than $550, using the $440 bequeathed the church by Miss Eugenie Bullmer as a starter. The parking lot initially would be gravel but would be replaced by asphalt in the summer of 1952. In June, a red and black mixed Daraghushian church carpet was purchased for the center aisle.

By November, 1951, although the church expansion and parish hall were essentially complete, dedication was delayed until the installation of the pews. One of the many positive aspects of the church expansion was the opportunity to dispose of the old furnace and large oil tank. These were donated to the Plymouth Haven Baptist Church.

On May 11, 1952, the Fourth Sunday after Easter, a special service to celebrate the laying of the cornerstone and to dedicate the church and parish hall was held. Bishop Gibson officiated at the service which included the vestry's placing of church symbols into the foundation: the cross (Maurice Herndon); the Holy Bible (A. H. Cotton); the Book of Common Prayer (John Briar, Jr.); and the Record of Founders (Charles L. Coston).

St. Luke's Becomes the Center of Activity:
With the completion of the building expansion, St. Luke's became an even more prominent center for community activity. Not only was St. Luke's one of the few churches in the local area, but the Mount Vernon region was experiencing phenomenal growth. Our membership expanded dramatically. By the end of 1952, there were 142 active communicants with an average attendance on Sunday of well over 200. Other manifestations of this growth were an increase in the annual budget from about $2,000 in 1949 to $17,700 in 1953, and expansion in number of vestrymen from 5 to 17 (five of whom were non-communicants, another indication of the community or ecumenical nature of the church).

Another reason for our growth was the evangelical efforts of the vestry, which included men of considerable talent, persuasiveness, and initiative. Vestry members such as Senior Warden Maurice Herndon, a "great charmer" with a knack for communication, would periodically visit the newer areas of Hollin Hall and Hollin Hills to recruit new members for St. Luke's.

The church had many activities for all ages. In addition to church services and Sunday School classes, the church had a number of very active groups. For the men, there was the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, a lay organization dedicated to the spreading of Christ's word among men, particularly young men. The Brotherhood participated in lay reading, made hospital calls, and studied the Bible. There was also a Junior Brotherhood of St. Andrew which was made up of acolytes, which later became the Crucifer's Guild.

Although there was an all male vestry at the time, women played a vital role in the life of St. Luke's. The Women's Auxiliary or Women of St. Luke's was an extremely important and very active organization within the church. Because there were over 150 women in the group, they divided the organization into circles of about twenty each; once a month they met in someone's home. This group did many of the functions that are presently done by our committees. In fact, they instituted most of the outreach programs at the time. In the 1950's, few women worked outside their homes. Thus, these committed ladies could turn their considerable energies to the affairs of the church. They were prodigious fund raisers; their annual operating budget often exceeded $3,000, and for several years, the Women of St. Luke's contributed $1,500 to the church budget. A typical year's functions included sponsoring covered dish suppers and ice cream socials, cooking for the St. Luke's Men's Club, helping the Boys' Home at Covington, sending money to St. Ann's, providing hostesses at the door on Sundays, and maintaining a scholarship fund. In the early 50's, the Women of St. Luke's hosted over 250 Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Virginia for a weekend. But perhaps the most well remembered of their activities were the bazaars. The women developed the plans, made the merchandise, and decorated and staffed the booths, of which the favorite was the Kissing Booth. For $1.00 you could purchase a kiss from one of the comely ladies. These bazaars were a great source of funds to finance the women's activities and the proceeds were often in the $1,000 range. This group was led by a series of remarkable women including Mary Jane Briar (Smith), Anna Lou White, Bettie Davis, Betty Smith, Dora Bridges, Connie Chappel, Margaret Leahy, and Thelma Clark.

For the teenagers, there was the Young People's Fellowship (YPF), the forerunner of today's SYC. As St. Luke's was the center for community activity, so too was it an interdenominational center for the youth of the area. In the mid 50's, the YPF was sponsored by Colonel George Swindell and in its heyday included 50 to 60 teenagers. They met each Sunday evening for an Evening Prayer Service conducted by the young people followed by a discussion session. The evening usually would conclude with some type of recreation. Once a month, the YPF sponsored a big event such as a dance, a movie, a trip to an amusement park or a retreat to Shrine Mont or Roslyn. A young Charlie Johnson was a leader of this group as were Nancy Howard, Betsy Simmons, and Barbara Baker. As an interesting sidelight, Chuck Robb, later governor of Virginia and currently a U. S. Senator, was also an active member.

St. Luke's has a rich history of sponsoring scouting activities. From the beginning of the decade, the church supported a Cub Scout Pack. Its first guiding spirit was Maurice Herndon. On July 7, 1951, Boy Scout Troop 654, under the leadership of Scoutmaster Ed Harn, was established to be officially known as "The Mount Vernon Scout Troop". From the outset, this has been a superb troop and in fact, was chosen the best troop in the Washington, D.C. area in 1957. In 1954, another Cub Scout Pack, 690, was added. There was also a very large scouting program for the girls, and by mid-decade, 150 Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and Brownies were meeting each week in the parish hall.

Alex Robertson Leaves:
In early December, 1953, Alex Robertson announced that "after much soul searching and prayerful thought" he had decided to accept a call to become the rector of Emmanuel Church in Richmond. In his letter to the parish, he stated that it was the "hardest decision I have ever had to make," but that it "was time for a change." For the next five months, a Calling Committee consisting of Ed Montague, August Cotton, Fred Waite, Charles Coston, Al Gallo, and Fred Bishopp travelled far and wide interviewing prospective rectors. As is often the case, it was a frustrating time and the vestry minutes show that the congregation grew impatient with the search for a rector.

One of the interesting events that occurred during the post-Robertson period involved a gift to the church of eight acres of nearby land by John E. McPherson, the developer of the Hollin Hall community. The church accepted the land and, in turn, conveyed it to the Mount Vernon Citizens Association "for the purpose of developing and operating a community recreation park." This area, of course, is now known as Mount Vernon Park Association.

The Rev. Edward P. Bush, Jr.:
In May, several members of the Calling Committee journeyed to Eastville, Virginia, and found the Reverend Edward P. Bush "well suited for the position of Rector of St. Luke's." Accordingly, the vestry formally issued a call to Ed Bush. Because of his warmth and personality, Ed Bush was accepted immediately by the parish. He has been described as "a loveable guy," "very spiritual," and "a superb and inspiring preacher." To many, his greatest strength was his enthusiasm. He built on Alex Robertson's solid foundation and even strengthened the spirit of the church. Ed Bush emphasized lay ministry. He got the congregation involved in lay reading. He was assisted by an extraordinary group of seminarians, but more about them later. The Bush family consisted of his wife Anne; daughters Anne Stuart, Betty, and Julia; and son Philip.

One of the strongest aspects of life at St. Luke's was the vitality of the Christian Education program, particularly the Sunday School. By early 1955, St. Luke's had two separate Sunday Schools, one for each service, and two superintendents. The membership was about 400 children and rising every month. Finding adequate classroom space was a pressing problem for the vestry at this time. One of the solutions was to provide curtains in the parish hall to create six separate classrooms. Besides the physical space limitations, there was a critical need for trained Sunday School teachers. At this time, there were about 40 full-time instructors with several on-call volunteers. To focus the Christian education program, an "intensive weekend" conference was held the weekend of April 29. The conference was led by William Byrd and Leo Hutchison and brought together 24 couples to chart the future course of St. Luke's Christian education.

Building Campaigns:
Some of the most vivid memories of our parishioners concerning that period are the building campaigns. These recollections are also supported by church records, wherein hardly a vestry meeting passed without some reference to a building campaign. Within two years after the initial church expansion, another building campaign was initiated (September, 1954). Some members of the vestry favored hiring a professional fund raising group such as the Wells Organization, while others took an opposite view and worried that further expansion could mean a loss of the feeling of intimacy that characterized St. Luke's. This ambivalence would continue to be a source of controversy in the coming years. By the fall of 1955, the vestry was considering a two part plan proposed by John P. Smith, Jr. of adding six rooms by expanding the parish hall to the south and buying property adjacent to the church to alleviate Sunday School overcrowding. Because of a shortage of funds as the Building Fund Campaign drew to a close, it was decided to buy only the property to the north and south of the church. Four homes were ultimately purchased: 1634 Fort Hunt Road (the "White House") and 1638 Fort Hunt (the "Corner House"), both south of the church; 39 Wellington Road (the "Gold House"), west of the church; and 1630 Fort Hunt Road (the "North House").

By the spring of 1956, pressures were again mounting for another building fund campaign. A number of the vestry members believed that it was time to employ a professional fund raising organization and Ed Bush suggested Thomas White and Associates. Essentially, the drive would consist of a concentrated Every Member Canvass conducted by professionals over a five week period. This group had been very successful in conducting a campaign at St. Mark's which had experienced a 146 percent increase in total amount pledged. After a summer of often contentious discussion, Thomas White and Associates were employed to conduct a campaign beginning in the fall. To acquaint the congregation with the purpose of the campaign and encourage participation, the White group published a handsome brochure entitled, "New Horizons", a copy of which is on file in the church office. The campaign initially begun by the White organization ran for several years and eventually provided funds for the purchase of the adjacent bungalows.

As 1956 drew to a close, the congregation elected a new vestry with John Smith as Senior Warden, Bob Alsover as Junior Warden, and Ed Montague as Senior Warden Emeritus. The congregation also approved a 1957 budget of $54,394 from over 280 pledges and a basic salary of $5,400 for the rector. As a sidelight and as a victory for women's rights, the President of the Women's Auxiliary, Betty Smith, was approved to sit on the vestry "with a voice but no vote."

Seminarians: The Dynamic Duo:
As was underscored in the first two chapters, St. Luke's was nurtured in its early years by a number of extraordinary seminarians. That trend established in the 1930's certainly continued in this decade. Although there were several seminarians during this time, including Taylor Scott, Tom Brown, ___ Reese, and Gene Patton, two were particularly prominent: Pat Sanders and Herb Gravely. Each had earlier careers and hence were older and more experienced than he typical seminarian.

Pat Sanders was an ex-marine who had been the vice president of an iron fabricating company in Georgia, during which time he had been very active in the Diocese of Atlanta. Pat was also a talented musician and his tenor saxophone was heard at several St. Luke's social functions, most notably with a jazz group at the bazaars. Herb Gravely was a big man with a very jovial personality and a charismatic way. Earlier in his life, he had been in sales with an automobile agency, and it is said that the skills of persuasiveness and persistence learned in the business world were clearly in evidence in his work at St. Luke's.

Both individuals were very active in the Christian education programs of this era and in training Sunday school teachers. This latter responsibility was critical not only because the enrollment in the two Sunday schools was now well over 400 and thus required a large number of teachers, but also because the accepted material and course outlines were the Seabury series. The Seabury series was particularly difficult to administer because it relied upon group dynamics and teacher dedication and motivation.

Although the parish was generally dissatisfied with the Seabury series, nevertheless the vestry in April 1956 asked Herb Gravely to be retained as the Director of Christian Education to implement the program. In this capacity, he would develop course outlines and lesson plans and train Sunday School teachers. A year later, Pat Sanders was employed in a similar capacity; and during June, July, and August he trained teachers two to three times a week and three Sundays out of four. Thereafter, he was employed full time until 1959.

Herb Gravely and Pat Sanders are also fondly remembered for their substantial contributions to the Christian growth of our young people. Both were very active in the YPF where they not only organized exciting and meaningful worship services and discussion sessions, but they also enjoyed the social activities with the teenagers. It is interesting to note that when Herb Gravely was ordained the summer of 1957 in North Carolina, over 20 St. Lukers were on hand to join in the celebration.

In addition to being blessed with such outstanding seminarians from the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), St. Luke's also provided three of its own to the seminary during this time. Charlie Johnson was a first at St. Luke's. He was an acolyte, then rose to President of the YPF, and later was sponsored by the church to the seminary. A year later Gene Grumbine was also sponsored to VTS; the proceeds from the Women's Auxiliary bazaar of 1957 were used to offset his costs. Additionally, he and his family lived in the Church Annex (one of the adjacent houses that had been purchased) during the summer. Lastly, our Junior Warden for 1959, Glenn Hewlett, announced in August of that year his intention to enter the seminary in Lexington, Kentucky.

Day School Opens:
In 1957 the church leased space to a group of women from Tauxemont in which to operate a Day School. But St. Luke's Day School as we now know it was established the next year, primarily because of the hard work of Bill Williams, a Vestry member, who set up guidelines for the school, with the encouragement and support of the rector. It opened with an enrollment of 30 five-year-olds, one class of 15 taught by the Director, Naomi Pennington, and the other by Bernice Whitestone, who was also church organist. The Vestry issued a charter which stated the school's purpose: "To provide a wholesome pre-school education and Christian experience for the children of the community. Teachings of the Day School shall be based on a Christian philosophy of education. The educational standards shall equal or exceed those of other area private and Fairfax County schools." The organization was to be self-supporting and non-profit.

The Mission Church: St. James:
With the dramatic growth in the Mount Vernon area, pressure began to rise for establishing a mission church. By September, 1957, the Potomac Strategy Committee supported the need in the Ft. Hunt area. In response, the Future Plans Committee of St. Luke's recommended that a mission church be established in the Woodlawn Manor area in the summer of 1958. Accordingly, the first organizational meeting of this new mission church was held on June 5. At that meeting, it was decided that the mission would be parochial with St. Luke's sponsoring. It was expected that initially 25-30 St. Lukers would form the nucleus of the mission and that lay readers from the church would be expected to assist. Ed Bush would conduct at least one service a month. A month later on July 21, a second meeting of the mission was held with 19 attending. The mission name was selected (St. James) and a vestry committee was elected. Committee members were John Tazewell (who was to be St. James's first Senior Warden), James Carr, Philip Arnest, James Chandler, and Mary Small. The group identified three primary objectives: building a dedicated congregation, securing a rector at the earliest possible date, and laying plans for the church building.

During the fall of 1958, the vestry was consumed with the plans for St. James. On September 14, the altar appointments were dedicated. A building committee with Herb Newell as chairman studied various church plans while the vestry sent a formal request to the diocese for the assignment of a rector. By April of 1959, The Reverend Herbert Willkie had been called and would report June 1.

The Challenges of 1959:
As the decade drew to a close, St. Luke's was experiencing a number of difficult challenges. On the financial side, the expenditures were exceeding revenues and in 1958 there had been a substantial deficit. To meet these expenses, the Church Expansion Fund was tapped for $5,800 and the Emergency Fund was a source as well.

Consequently, the congregation adopted a budget for 1959 of $51,300 based upon actual income received during 1958. As a result of this austerity, the church was well behind the goals set for the Long Range Expansion Plan adopted at the annual Congregational Meeting on November 7, 1957. Moreover, the church was unable to afford a new rectory for the expanding Bush family, daughter Julia having been born June 3, 1958.

There was also the problem of facilities and personnel that were inadequate for the needs of the congregation. Housing the burgeoning Sunday School population continued to challenge the rector and vestry. In a letter to the congregation in October of 1959, Ed Bush spoke boldly of the need for "having a nave to accommodate 400-500 people and a parish hall that will provide educational facilities for 1,000 children." Ed Bush also called for an Associate Rector at St. Luke's, a full time secretary, and a Director of Christian Education. With these challenges, the goal for the Every Member Canvass was set at $60,000 to support the 1960 activities.

Ed Bush Announces His Resignation:
This glorious period ironically ended on a down note. At the last vestry meeting of the decade, Ed Bush submitted his resignation, effective January 31, 1960, which was accepted "with profound regret."

Thus closes this extraordinary decade in St. Luke's history. It is hard to imagine a more vital and exciting time, a time when St. Luke's was indeed blessed with two able and committed rectors, a host of senior and junior wardens to administer the church, and a congregation anxious to lend their talents and energies to the building of the church.

1959-1969: I Bring You Good Tidings:

"I bring you good tidings" was the message on the first weekly issue of the Evangel, dated October 11, 1959. At a Vestry meeting on April 14, the previous spring, the Communications Committee had suggested "the substitution of an enlarged weekly bulletin to replace the monthly newsletter" which by now could not keep up with all the "good tidings" at St. Luke's. Mr. Bush, our rector at the time, said, "We hope you like it."

Someone had paved Ft. Hunt Road (see the early histories), and it seemed that all roads led to St. Luke's, which had grown miraculously during the 1950's.

Whitsunday in the Park:
The weekly Evangel was one first that year and there was another. In March, Kit Parker had suggested a full congregational service at Fort Hunt Park on Whitsunday. We celebrated this on May 17; in later years we were invited to meet at Mt. Vernon Park. I'm not quite sure just which year it was, but one Sunday we marched in full glory down Lafayette Road toward the park, banners flying, robes fluttering in the breezes, and neighbors watching in awe (and envy?). Thus began a long-standing St. Luke's tradition.

Our tidings were not always good, however, for Mr. Bush resigned on February 1, 1960 to go to St. Luke's in San Antonio, Texas. During this time the Rev. Philip Smith, Chaplain at VTS, later Suffragan Bishop of Virginia and Retired Bishop of New Hampshire, served as supply priest.

The Rev. Edward Morgan III:
Our prayers were answered when the Rev. Edward Morgan III accepted the call to be our rector, effective May 1. We looked forward to the arrival of Ed and his wife, Margaret, and their young family, Beth, Sarah, and Edward. His first service was on May 8. Ed was formerly rector of the Cople Parish churches in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Before going to the Seminary, he had graduated from the University of Virginia as a mechanical engineer and had worked for the DuPont Company.

In February of that year we won a dubious honor. When some of you are wielding brushes, soap, furniture polish and vacuums and reminding yourselves that these clean-up days are, yes they are, fun, it may be of some consolation to know that the Mt. Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce that winter awarded St. Luke's third place in its Clean-up, Paint-up, Fix-up Campaign. Now, how's that for fame?

We took part in three great diocesan ceremonies in 1960: the election and consecration of Bishop Robert F. Gibson as the 15th bishop in the history of the Virginia Diocese, and the retirement of Bishop Goodwin, in whose honor Goodwin House was later named. We made our first retreat to Shrine Mont from September 9 to 11, at a cost of $12 per person, and our kindergarten opened with a full enrollment of 30 children. On St. Luke’s Day in October, Mr. Robertson, the first rector of St. Luke’s, came from Lynchburg to deliver the sermon.

Sharing Our Building:
One wonders where all of the community groups which shared our church buildings managed to meet. Some of these were Job's Daughters, Cub Scouts 690 and Scout Troop 690, the Rifle Club, Cub Scouts 654 and Scout Troop 654, Explorers 654, Brownies, Bluebirds, Girl Scout Leaders, and the Mt. Vernon Civic Association.

In fact, one wonders where all of our own church groups managed to meet. Our 15-member vestry met monthly and more often if necessary, trying to solve the problems of a rapidly growing church. There was a group called the Stewards of St. Luke's, which worked hard and enjoyed a great fellowship as well. There was a large and very active membership in the Episcopal Churchwomen, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, and the Junior Brotherhood of St. Andrew (which in '65 became the Crucifers Guild). The Brotherhood of St. Andrew sponsored an Advent Breakfast each year for the men and boys of the church. The Altar Guild worked as diligently as they still do; there were three choirs; and last but certainly not least, the Young People's Fellowship was organized in 1960, called at one point EYC and later JYC and SYC. There was a growing suspicion that we needed more space.

There were six women's chapters, four of which (St. Catherine's, St. Anne's, St. Margaret's, and St. Monica's) met in the homes of members, and St. Dorothea's, which met at the church where baby-sitters were provided. The Senior Chapter met at the home of Bernice Carter Davis, a long time resident and historian of the area.

The Evangel Tells All:
The comings and goings of all these church groups were duly reported in the Evangel - "squeezed in" might be a better description- and the seasons of the Church Year were carefully noted and beautifully described each week. Births, baptisms, confirmations, burials, transfers received and transfers sent, illnesses and recoveries, all were part of the Evangel's weekly message.

Standing Room Only:
Meanwhile there was standing room only at some of the services. Later that year, two services were held at one time, one in the nave and one in the parish hall. At one point, Bill Barber reported to the vestry that he had ordered folding chairs for the aisles. The parking lot was filled. There were moans from owners of dented fenders. Each week, members were urged to exhibit their pioneering spirit and park in the Hollin Hall Shopping Center (Blue Laws kept stores closed on Sundays and we had obtained permission to park) and walk up the hill to the church. It was reported to be spiritually as well as physically invigorating.

The Vestry called a special congregational meeting in March to vote on the purchase of the property at the corner of Fort Hunt Road and Wellington, called appropriately The Corner House. On July 14, 1961 there was a very beautiful and fondly remembered service of Holy Matrimony at Gavans Methodist Church in Baltimore; the bride was Virginia Smith and the groom was Charles Johnson.

Go into the world:
Transfers were received from far corners of the globe: St. Christopher's in Kailua, Hawaii; St. George's in Honolulu; Holy Trinity in Sussex, England; the Pro Cathedral in Paris; St. John's in Essex, England; and parishes in Topeka, San Mateo, and Portland. This was a time, too, of farewells to those going overseas, military and civilian. The Overseas Mission Society sponsored a series of conferences for laymen going abroad to three areas to aid them in being sensitive to opportunities for Christian witness in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. In the tract racks was a Directory of Churches in Europe and Nearby Countries.

While this amazing growth was taking place, there was mounting apprehension about the skies above our planet. Three items had been discussed at a Stewards' meeting in 1960: protection from blast; missiles and outer space; and strategic air power. In 1961 all men of the parish were invited to a talk and films on Missiles and Space. In April of that year, the Soviet Union had sent a man into space and returned him safely to earth. In response to the area-wide concern, the vestry voted in December, 1961, to make our kitchen available as a disaster (either man-made or natural) station. In the midst of this disturbing news, the warmth of fellowship and the spirit of Christ among us continued to bring blessings without number.

A Library Committee:
In July, Mr. Morgan appointed a Library Committee (Mary Klein, Anna Lou White, and Theo Massey, our new Director of Christian Education) "to promote, administer a library". It was hoped that it would include "music and audio-visual materials and equipment, maps, film strips, slides, recordings, tapes, and films".

A Gifts and Memorials Committee:
A Gifts and Memorials Commission, suggested by Harrie White, was established with Maurice Herndon, chairman, Mary Benington, and Charles Coston serving with him. Bev Triplett became the church secretary, Lois Chapin became Director of Christian Education, and Bill Williams was General Superintendent of the Church School.

That summer we had a picnic supper and dance on the barge going down the C & O Canal. Far across the ocean, on December 29, 1961, the Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Arthur Lichtenberger, visited Pope John in Rome, the first such meeting in the history of the Episcopal Church.

A Turning Point:
At the congregational meeting on January 5, 1962, a report presented by Senior Warden Les Kinnamon somehow seemed to mark a turning point for St. Luke's in this, the fourth decade. "A Fundamental Approach to the Future” involved designing a church and parish hall to be located on the present site, to accommodate church families with a total membership of 2,000 baptized persons. To this end the congregation voted to purchase the property at 39 Wellington Lane. At this meeting the vestry expanded from 15 to 18 members.

At this same time, Ed Morgan and Senior Warden Les Kinnamon explained another part of St. Luke's vision for the future- the philosophy that churches should be located close to people. Accordingly, St. Luke's began to plan for the mission which became St. Aidan's Church. It was suggested that St. Lukers living south of Collingwood Road should become part of the new congregation, and many of them did:

Day School Enlarged:
The St. Luke's "campus" now included the White House acquired in 1957, in which the kindergarten met; the Corner House acquired in 1960, in which were three offices and four Church School classrooms; and the Gold house acquired in 1962. Plans progressed for opening classes for four year olds in March. They were held in the Gold House and taught by Sue Harvie and Mary Shaffner. (By 1964 the Day School reached an enrollment of 67. In 1967 Fairfax County Public Schools began to provide kindergarten classes; consequently the number of five-year-olds in St. Luke's Day School began to decrease).

Events in Parish Life:
Parishioners Maude and Charles Gallagher celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Charles Johnson applied to the Bishop for status as a postulant for Holy Orders. On a purely secular note, St. Dorothea's Chapter presented a "Wash and Wear" Fashion Show put on by VEPCO, after which there was a mass disposal of irons and ironing boards. Perma press had come of age.

Ordinations to the Diaconate:
Two ordinations to the diaconate were of interest to St. Luke's: Glenn Hewlett, formerly an active communicant, was ordained deacon at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington, Kentucky, and Jim Smith, Senior Seminarian assistant, was ordained deacon at St. George's in Fredericksburg. A special treat that year was the visit of the Rev. Patrick Sanders and his wife from Greenville, Mississippi, where he was the rector of St. James. He had been a seminarian assistant at St. Luke's from 1957-1959. We continued to be blessed with visits from the seminarians who had given so much and so lovingly to us at St. Luke's.

As the warm summer months returned, it was reported that air-conditioning was on order, the do-it-yourself variety, Palm Leaf Fans! Remember those? Gentlemen were urged to be comfortable and to come to church in shirt sleeves. Ladies were still covering their heads for church with hats and prayer caps, and St. Margaret's Chapter sponsored a Fall Hat Show in the parish hall.

"Sorry, ladies, not yet. . ."
Lest we forget, at a meeting in September, 1962, the vestry discussed the question of whether the canons should be changed to permit the election of women to the vestry in the diocese. (The comment in the Evangel: “Sorry, ladies, not yet.”) It was not until 1968 that our first lady member of the vestry was elected, Adelaide Bolte.

As St. Luke’s continued to grow, our Church School became the fifth largest in Virginia, and in October, 1962, the ordained ministry was supplemented by the appointment of a curate, the Rev. Barry Evans, deacon.

A nostalgic remembrance of the way it used to be was a note in the Evangel: "The church is always open for prayer and meditation. Why not stop in during the week on your way to work or when out for an evening stroll?"

Building Committee Appointed:
At the annual congregational meeting in January 1963, the Senior Warden was authorized to appoint a Building Committee. Jim Hardy was asked to be chairman. His first objective was to submit to St. Luke's Vestry a plan for the physical expansion of the church. Four Study and Advisory Groups for the Building Committee and the architect were appointed to plan for the future at St. Luke's, with Chairpersons Frank Brown for Administration; Lalla Barber for Fellowship; Maurice Hepner for Worship; and Martha Barfoot for Christian Education. Bill Barber, Senior Warden, and Jim Hardy, chairman of the Building Committee, announced the appointment of Charles Stein, Jr. as Chairman of the sub-committee for fund raising. Milton Grigg was appointed architect for the new building.

A few miles away, St. Aidan's, which had begun as a St. Luke's mission, held its first service in its new building, August 16. 136 baptized members had transferred their membership from St. Luke's. Bishop Goodwin came to administer the order of confirmation to a standing room only congregation. Not just St. Luke's but the whole diocese was growing. Bishop Gibson reported a 52% increase in the number of communicants in the past 10 years and also noted the acceptance of a gift of eight and one-half acres of land from Mr. B. M. Smith of Arlington, to be used for a church home for the aged and a nursing unit, in the city of Alexandria. This was to become Goodwin House. Someone must have mentioned our parking problems because President Kennedy inaugurated the 50 mile hike.

Termites? Oh, My. . .
Somehow St. Monica's Chapter managed to serve 300 people at the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper that year. Not to be outdone, St. Dorothea's sponsored a Square Dance later in April. That was the good news. The bad news? Termites were discovered under portions of the 1933 church building. We were alerted to their presence when our current (1989) Senior Warden, Martha Barfoot, had the heel of her shoe go through the floor as she approached the altar rail.

Continuing their strong emphasis on missions, in the spring of 1963 the women of St. Luke's made possible the first blood bank for children in Saigon, through Bill and Louisa Trigg, who were there with A.I.D and were helping at the American Women's Association at Children's Hospital, where many war casualties were treated. At the three remaining meetings of the ECW that spring, a white elephant table was set up, the proceeds to go to Saigon.

Our own St. Anne’s Chapter continued the mission work of St. Luke’s by sending $50 to Bishop Chander Ray in Pakistan for purchasing a bicycle for one of his clergy. Pakistani clergy averaged three to five hours on bicycles in those days to minister to their people.

We Mourn:
That year we mourned the death of two faithful members of our church: Frank Sanderson, a former Vestryman, and Mildred L. (Aggie) Finks, who might be remembered as the founder of St. Luke's (see Chapter I). Our December 1, 1963, Evangel was a poignant reminder of one of the most tragic moments in the country during our time: "In Memoriam, John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963."

When Barry Evans, our curate, was assigned to the jurisdiction of Bishop Creighton and the Church of St. Stephen and the Incarnation in D.C., the Rev. George H. Dawson accepted a call to come from Bandera, Texas, to St. Luke's as Assistant Rector, on January 15, 1964. Three lay readers received licenses from the Bishop to deliver sermons of their own composition: Fred Greene, Charles Johnson, and Harrie White, Jr. Anna Lou White became the full-time secretary, and Charlotte Quale replaced Anna Lou as Assistant Treasurer.

Presiding Bishop Hines Elected:
The Rt. Rev. John Hines was elected 22nd Presiding Bishop and installed in Washington Cathedral. He had been a seminarian at St. Luke's in the 1930's. Our building plans seemed to be in a holding pattern that year. In May, Bishop Gibson came for the Rite of Confirmation, and we had our Annual Youth Sunday observance. We mourned again, this time for the death of a dedicated member of our congregation, Vestryman Larry St. John (Kay's husband).

The following spring we met in groups in our homes to keep the members of the parish informed about the progress of the buildings and to get their suggestions. In 1965 a rather depressing description of St. Luke's was made ". .. termites in the building, chairs in the aisles, church school scattered all over the place, obstinate leaks in the parish hall. . ." In the spring of that year, the Vestry voted to develop a reorganization plan which included a provision that women and male non-vestrymen would be able to serve on church committees with responsibility for Administration, Education, Social Relations, Stewardship, and Worship.

There were three choirs. Kent Alexander directed the Senior Choir; Bernice Whitestone, the Teen Choir; and Marilyn Houston, the Junior Choir. Mr. Dawson was called to Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Vestry authorized Mr. Morgan to seek another Assistant Rector. That year the oldest member of our parish, Mrs. Eugenie Saugstad, died. She had painted the tablets on either side of the sanctuary containing the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed.

One Small Candle Lighted:
An Evangel in March 1965 noted a very special area of pastoral concern. "A small group of members is being constituted informally to visit the sick. Persons willing to share this ministry and contribute two hours per month are asked to speak to the clergy at the earliest opportunity." One small candle was lighted and it glowed in the darkness.

To give those leaving town for summer weekends a chance to worship, we began to have a service at 8:00 p.m. every Thursday. A call went out for an Evangel crew; and anyone willing to help was asked to call Fred Suffa, Kay Jewell, or Mr. Morgan. (There was no notation as to whether or not they were flooded with volunteers!)

At a Vestry meeting in December of that year, one more obstacle to our building a larger church was removed. The purchase of one third of an acre of land north of the present church was authorized, and this provided the minimum amount of land needed to expand our building.

Pastoral Counseling and Consultation Center:
At the congregational meeting on January 16, 1966, a budget item of $1250 brought a question from the floor and a brief explanation of a Pastoral Counseling and Consultation Center which was to be located at St. Luke's. It opened on February 8, and in a short while expanded to include Silver Spring United Presbyterian, The Falls Church, and Asbury Methodist (Charlestown, WV). Mr. Morgan was co-founder and first chairman of the Board of Directors.

A trial balloon indicated that St. Luke's was two to one in favor of allowing women to serve on vestries in the Diocese of Virginia. And whether or not in celebration, St. Anne's had a very successful card party. Four ladies of the parish, Adelaide Bolte, Bernice Carter Davis, Longina Flakowicz, and Anna Lou White, made and gave to the church a beautiful green altar superfrontal pulpit and altar hanging and a communion burse and veil to match.

It may not have stopped the U.S. Mail, but on February 6, 1966, the Evangel presses were silent. Why? The unforgettable blizzard of '66. The snows did finally melt and the Evangel resumed its amazing coverage of almost everything that was going on, not only at St. Luke's, but around the world. It reported that a "spectacular" fashion show was held in the parish hall. Thelma Clark had done the honors.

A New Assistant Rector:
From faraway St. Luke's in Lakeview, Oregon, the Rev. Stuart Henderson accepted a call to be Assistant Rector at our St. Luke's. He and Beverly, Catherine, Jennifer, and David drove across the country, arrived several weeks later, and settled into a church-owned house on Wellington Lane. A very special gift and award was presented that fall to Frank Brown, Director of the Junior Brotherhood of St. Andrew, for serving more than ten years as an acolyte. John Smith presented the award as the group's sponsor.

Sufficient acreage had been acquired to build a new church and provide the parking space needed. It was now necessary to deal with the financing. A loan of $70,000 was noted in a Vestry meeting about this time. The funds were to be used to pay off mortgages on all four satellite houses.

Outreach Continues:
Meanwhile the members of St. Luke's continued their outreach, working at the Gum Springs Trailer Store, volunteering in the tutoring and literacy programs, and taking part in the American Field Service's "Operation Bus Stop", which provided housing for foreign students. The ECW sponsored Round Robin Bridge Tournaments, Ice Cream Socials, Square Dances and Bazaars without number. Lalla Barber was hostess for what seemed a Wellington cottage industry which created hand made items of every description, gathered white elephants, and helped to add to the growing building fund.

Toward furthering C.O.C.U., Consultation on Church Unity, the Rev. Mr. Duley of Aldersgate Methodist Church and our Mr. Morgan had a pulpit exchange. Attending the Consecration in January, 1961, of the Rt. Rev. Robert Hall at St. Paul's, Richmond, by the Presiding Bishop John E. Hines were these St. Lukers: Ed and Margaret Morgan; Stuart and Beverly Henderson; Martha Barfoot, ECW President; Jim Davis, Sr. Warden; Bill Williams, Jr. Warden; and Harrie White, Trustee.

First Folk Mass:
The EYC, with the encouragement of Seminarian Assistant Howard Hanchey (later Professor of Pastoral Theology at VTS) issued a call for 10th to 12th graders who could sing or play the guitar to join in preparation for a Folk Mass. The first one was celebrated at St. Luke's on May 7, 1967 (to be followed by many others in the ensuing years), and one parishioner commented that he had "never had so much fun in church before".

When Bishop Hall, our Coadjutor, made his first visit on May 28, he was presented with the largest single class of confirmation candidates in the history of St. Luke's, more than 60 adults and young children. The Day School was ten years old. Naomi Pennington and Bernice Whitestone had served as teachers during those ten years. Sue Harvie and Mary Shaffner had both served five years. In June, two new and very young members of our parish were greeted with much rejoicing, Andrew Henderson, born June 15, and Meg Morgan, born June 21.

The New Liturgy for Holy Communion:
At the 62nd General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S. in Seattle, an item was noted requesting "sufficient authority to carry out the needed translation of the Prayer Book into simple English." Mr. Morgan went to Seattle to hear the presentation of a resolution which he had made earlier that the Epistle and Gospel at the service of Holy Communion be authorized to be read in translations other than the King James version. The following items were also passed: (1) the new liturgy for Holy Communion was authorized for trial use; (2) women were to be allowed to sit as deputies to the General Convention, and (3) the House of Deputies voted to permit licensed lay readers to administer the chalice.

A Go Ahead for Building Plans:
The Annual Congregational Meeting on January 8, 1967, was one of the most important meetings in the 38 year history of St. Luke's. Jim Hardy, Milton Grigg, and the four leaders of the Study Committees gave reports. The building plans were approved unanimously, providing 20,000 square feet of new floor space and remodeling 10,000 square feet of existing floor space. The congregation voted to employ Ketchum, Inc., as a fund raiser.

With the Annual Council of the Diocese coming up, Jim Davis, undaunted, requested a straw vote on the question of changing the Diocese of Virginia canon law to allow women to serve on vestries. The vote was 79 for and 26 against. In December Jim Hardy wrote, "We've come a long way - the final decision is 'Go ahead'". On January 13, 1968, we mourned with his family, friends, and those to whom he had dedicated his life, the death of the Rt. Rev. Frederick Deane Goodwin, retired Bishop of Virginia, at his daughter's home in Wheeling, WV. His death brought deep sadness to Ed Morgan, whom Bishop Goodwin had confirmed and later ordained, first as deacon, then as priest.

St. Luke's in Profile - 1968:
A statistical profile of the St. Luke's congregation was done that July and showed that:

25% were born in Virginia
85% owned or were buying their homes
10% or less lived in apartments
87% lived in homes that were 18 years old or less
70% or more lived less than 3 miles from the church
50% had been members of the congregation less than 5 years

Mean age: 27.8 (average age of total membership)
Median age: 20.5 (as many younger as older)
Mode age: 12.5 (more in 10-15 group than in other 5-year groups)

What it seemed to say was that we were all very young, that there were many new homes in the area, that many were new arrivals, and that we wanted to be close to our church. Our guest priest on July 7 was the Rev. Philip A. Smith, Chaplain and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Virginia Theological Seminary.

Fire Damages Parish Hall:
As far across the ocean Czechoslovakia was invaded, 25 people gathered in prayer in the church that evening. While those in charge struggled with the financing of the new building and considered building in stages, fire destroyed the church kitchen and caused extensive damage to the upper rooms of the parish hall, library, and Pastoral Counseling Center. Ten pieces of equipment answered the call as the alarm was sounded. The Mt. Vernon, Penn Daw, Lorton, and Franconia Fire Departments cooperated to extinguish the fire 15 minutes after the alarm was sounded. Damage was estimated at $30,000.

Not because of the fire, but shortly thereafter, a Parish Planning Committee was appointed, to study the overall ministry of the church. Fritz Behrens was chairman; Jamie Adair, David Kent, Shirley Shaw, and Jack Smith served with him. An extensive revision of the building plans was made. It was decided to remodel 5,800 square feet of the existing building and to build 23,000 square feet of new construction.

A Decade Draws to a Close:
Our fourth decade was drawing to a close. We had not yet laid the cornerstone, but were drawing nearer to that exciting and happy moment.

1969-1979: Serving from the Past, Building for the Future:

Check Your Spades and Trowels at the Door:
"To the strains of 'Come, labor on,' more than 350 recessed out of the church and gathered in the north parking lot to break ground for the new St. Luke's." Thus the Evangel reported the long-awaited ground breaking for the new St. Luke's building. Parishioners had been urged to "have something each member of the family, even small fry, can wield" but warned to "check your spade or trowel at the table in front of the church" during the final service held in the old church at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 27, 1969. It had been a long and agonizing wait from the day in January when the agenda of the Annual Meeting had promised "revision of the building plans report and update and notice of when to expect construction to begin."

Jim Hardy Sez:
On the January 19 Evangel front page, Jim Hardy, the Building Committee Chairman, had reported on the modifications necessitated by financial limitations and announced boldly that construction would begin at the end of February "subject only to weather and the contractor's commitments." The March 2 "Jim Hardy Sez" noted that assurances of loans spoken of at the congregational meeting had collapsed, "but I am not discouraged ... we are going to build." At the end of June the Evangel confirmed the securing of the necessary loan commitments and gave details. It had been four solid months of work since the February financial crisis. The rector, The Reverend Edward Morgan III, had approached 42 lending institutions after the vestry gave a vote of approval for him to spend much of his time this way, at the expense of regular activities. A package arrangement of three loans for a total of $450,000 at 7.75%, no points and 20 years, had been made with First Federal of Alexandria, First Federal of Richmond, and First Federal of Arlington.

The $450,000 was enough to allow us to get started. The rector's note praised the moral support of the wardens, the building committee chairman, and the vestry; the assistant rector, The Reverend Stuart Henderson, for picking up pastoral and administrative duties; the patient and uncritical attitude of many members of the congregation; and the tangible support of the thousands of dollars in the bank from the Development and Building Funds, all of which made securing the loan possible. As a footnote, the rector lost 17 pounds in those hectic fund-raising months!

Business as Usual:
In spite of the consuming problems of financing the new building, St. Luke's parish life went on during that final winter in the old physical plant. Among notable events: the wedding of Mary Jane Briar and John Smith occurred on January 25; the Social Relations Committee offered people a chance to help at the newly formed United Community Ministries, an outgrowth of the earlier Gum Springs Trailer Store; and the SYC continued the Folk Mass, characterized as "Refreshing," "Really inspiring," and "Mr. Morgan's good time hour." In April, the vestry retreated to Shrine Mont with The Reverend J. Fletcher Lowe, Executive Director for Christian Social Relations for the Diocese of Virginia, who led their considerations for the weekend: The Church's response to community problems, God's concern for spiritual as well as physical situations in life, and the Christian's individual as well as corporate responsibility to deal with both. Along with News Notes of many parishioners' returning from and leaving for Viet Nam, the Evangel carried this notice:

"Selective Service Acts and Regulations. Young men reaching their 18th birthday must register with their local board. Few people realize that the law provides eight Class I classifications and more than ten options in the other classes. The right decision usually involves knowing what the options are. Any one seeking information may contact Mr. Morgan."

This was not an easy decade to be young or Christian. On the lighter side, at a farewell party for choir member Anne Banks and daughter Anne B., Anne Sr. "graciously received a silver Revere bowl and just as graciously presented the choir with a ”howling” ink drawing of what goes on in the choir loft on Sunday." Today's choir has lost some of the privacy of that old loft!

Ben Wilmot, of the Social Relations Committee, issued a request for volunteers to visit members in hospitals. Especially needed were volunteers who worked near Fairfax, Columbia, Walter Reed, Georgetown, Sibley Hospitals and the National Institutes of Health.

Into Exile:
As with all endings and beginnings, it was with both relief and regret that St. Lukers marched out of the old church that hot July day and down the road to Fort Hunt High School for the next 15 months. But that was only for Sunday morning: the vestry met at Hollin Hall Elementary School in September, Church School teachers met there also for training in the use of the newly adopted United Churches of Christ curriculum, the Day School and administrative and clergy offices remained in the bungalows until the following fall, and the North Building was refurbished with a small chapel and several meeting rooms for weekday services and activities. Even on Sunday mornings, infants and preschoolers were dropped off at the bungalows before parents went on, or back, to the high school. Weddings were held at the Fort Belvoir Chapel, St. Aidan's, and other churches. The Annual Ice Cream Social, then sponsored by the ECW, was held in September on the lawn of the Office Bungalow. About 200 attended. In October, Mrs. Bruce M. Cheek (Alison), Lay Assistant Minister at Christ Church, Alexandria, addressed the Churchwomen's general meeting in the Hollin Hall Elementary School Cafeteria. Mrs. Cheek, not yet ordained, was a spring graduate of VTS. Two women, Adelaide Bolte and Mary Williams, were members of St. Luke's vestry that year.

The unexpected closing of the College of Church Musicians at the Washington Cathedral deprived us of our organist/choirmaster, John W. Van Sant, who returned to New York City to continue his studies, but William C. Parsons accepted the position. When the old electric organ produced more static than music one Sunday at FHHS, Bill gamely and adeptly produced music on the grand piano wheeled out on stage.

In anticipation of the completion of the new building, The Cotton Memorial Fund of $9,667.79 was designated for a new organ by the vestry in a special meeting after hearing from the New Organ Committee chaired by Chuck Stein. Judy Shoup and Adelaide Bolte organized a trip to see hangings at Washington Cathedral, "with a view to making new hangings for our church."

The Men and Boys Advent Breakfast, in the Fort Hunt High School cafeteria, drew 114, and the total attendance at Christmas services was 791, up 107 from the previous year, but by Easter, the months in exile were taking a toll- a 25% drop in attendance from the previous Easter was recorded.

Stained Glass or No Stained Glass:
Priceless correspondence between Building Committee Chairman Jim Hardy, Architect Milton Grigg, the rector, and the women of St. Catherine's Chapter during 1968-1969 reveals much about the process by which the planning for the new building occurred, a truly corporate planning with much give and take. Although the thorough studies of the Church Mission Committee of 1964-65, the Study and Advisory Group which had sponsored the neighborhood Lenten Study Program in 1965, and the ad hoc vestry committee that analyzed the impact of the proposed building program on future budgets had involved numerous parishioners and many organizations at many stages of planning, it was not until 1969 that the enthusiasm and persistence of the women of St. Catherine's Chapter were rewarded. Approval of the stained glass window panels in the narthex of the new building was finally granted. In September 1969, the Evangel announced: "With the kind assistance of James I. Hardy, Building Committee Chairman, permission has been obtained from the architect and the Building Committee for the ladies to carry out this special project." Frances Jarvis and Thelma Clark were named co-chairmen by Miriam Nicholson, President of the Churchwomen. Members of the committee were Adelaide Bolte, Dora Bridges, Connie Chappel, Isabel Connell, Ruby Green, Fran Hardie, Miriam Nicholson, Jane Robinson, Mary Jane Smith, Janet Thompson, P.A. Travers, and Virginia Young.

When the women first conceived the idea of a stained glass window, the wall of the nave behind the altar was planned as the inner wall of an enclosed courtyard, and the women suggested a window behind the altar or worship center. The architect had other definite ideas, and in strong words in a letter of March 26, 1968, he hoped "that the interest of the ladies could be channeled toward some of these essential items such as the pulpit, font or table rather than a window which is neither essential or desirable." Ever the diplomat, Jim Hardy trusted "that this will not discourage the interest of the ladies of St. Catherine's Chapter in doing something for our Building Program."

By July 1969, with the help of Mr. Morgan, Jim Hardy, and a bottle of fine sherry, Mr. Grigg was able to "make enthusiastic and favorable reply." The solution was the panels on either side of the narthex entrance doors, and all that remained was to work out the design, raise the money, and of course, find an artisan to do the work. The "ladies" fell to work on their part as soon as permission was granted. The first fund raising event, a covered dish luncheon at the home of Mrs. Kenneth Blunt, was held October 3. Florence Briar, one of St. Luke's earliest members, held a dessert-bridge at her home in November, "$1.50 each, and bring your own cards." A Flea Market on the Green of the Shaffers' lawn at 8200 Fort Hunt Road cleared $1,500.

Life on the Homeless Front:
As 1970 began, two more women, Frances Jarvis and Mary Renaud, were nominated and elected to the vestry, joining Adelaide Bolte and Mary Williams, who was elected Register. The "homeless" congregation held a theatre party at the Little Theatre of Alexandria for fellowship. Proceeds from the evening were divided among the Building Fund, the Stained Glass Windows Fund, and outreach. When the Diocesan Department of Missions, whose budget had been cut by $78,000, issued a plea for funds for projected missions in Dale City, Dunn Loring, and Loudoun County, the vestry responded by designating the Special Easter Offering to the Department of Missions.

The Trial Liturgy was celebrated at all three services on February 1, and at the Whitsunday celebration at Mt. Vernon Park, the congregation surprised the rector. Senior Warden Jim Davis presented him with a silver bowl to mark his tenth anniversary as the Rector of St. Luke's, Wellington. Another long-time survivor was recognized that year when Acolyte Guild Director Fred von Lewinski presented "Captain John Smith" a silver cross, made him an honorary acolyte, thanked him for well over 12 years of sponsorship and work with the group, and expressed hope that he would be with them at least another 12 years (Time for another cross, John?)

No Summer Doldrums:
Current national issues concerned the congregation during the usually quiet dog days of August. At its August meeting, the vestry addressed the resolution adopted in May by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, "Crisis in American Life," which concerned several issues, including the war in Viet Nam, a possible student strike, and the allocation of national resources. At a special vestry meeting on August 23, the vestry passed a resolution directed to the members of the Executive Council urging them to rescind the resolution as "unwise and divisive among sincere Christians." The ever-present conflict between individual and corporate action by a congregation was revealed in the last paragraph that concluded, after previously urging education for individual prayerful consideration of the issues: "There are so many problems facing the world today: let us attack them together." The rector's sermon of August 2 had anticipated the projected unrest and disturbances on campuses to which many students would soon return. A forum was held immediately after the 10 o'clock service on August 30 to "air all viewpoints and prepare ourselves in some sense for a situation that may occur." Forty people attended.

Construction Continues:
While the congregation and vestry struggled with these ideological concerns, the practical work of building the new building continued. In March, Ed Palmer, recently retired, had been officially named "Director of Construction for the Building Committee, On-Site Supervisor". Undaunted by such a title, Ed saved the congregation many dollars in construction waste and errors by his faithful and careful attention.

The Women of the Church saved Betty Crocker coupons to help supply the new kitchen, St. Dorothea's Chapter held a bridge luncheon and fashion show at the old Mt. Vernon Fire House to raise money for the new nursery, and St. Catherine's Chapter offered a "cooked food sale" to help furnish the PC&CC rooms. As construction progressed, an attempt was made to give the four bungalows to the county for housing the homeless, but the idea proved impractical. The shrubbery around the bungalows was offered to parishioners "for the taking" in mid-May before demolition of the bungalows. In another of the rector's financial forays, Grace Church, The Plains, voted in May to lend St. Luke's $100,000 at 7% interest. Later Evangels carried accounts of the youth program conducted at Grace Church for 300 youngsters with the interest received from St. Luke's.

In a June Evangel article, the assistant rector, Stu Henderson, described a hypothetical Wednesday morning in the new building, a vision of the ministries the new building would facilitate "and no one group will be conflicting with another," mused Stu: "For the community, we will be offering facilities for: Pastoral Counseling & Consultation Center; Schefer School, Inc.; St. Luke's Day School; Alcoholics Anonymous; a day care center (proposed); local civic meeting; Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts & Explorers; Meals-on-wheels (proposed); a mental hygiene clinic (proposed); a senior citizens center (proposed); ....plus.... For St. Luke's, we shall have facilities for: marriage enrichment programs; young adults group; improved administration center; enlarged sanctuary for corporate worship; a more functional sacristy; adult inquirer's class; morning and evening Bible study programs; library; youth groups; choir rehearsal room; vesting rooms for choirs, lay readers, and acolytes; improved nursery and infant care; .....plus......" It may be instructive to compare this list from 1979 plans to today's actual activities. (The Schefer School was a non-profit corporation designed to meet the needs of normal children with academic problems through a tutorial approach. It occupied four ground-floor rooms of the new building for several years.)

With the razing of the bungalows, the church offices began a five month sojourn in a trailer rented and placed on the grounds of Aldersgate Methodist Church. As construction neared completion, the uncertainty of an occupancy date necessitated alternative fall arrangements for the Schefer School, the Day School, and the Church School. Nativity Lutheran Church made space available if needed, and everyone rushed to ready the rooms for the schools ASAP. The September 20 Evangel gave an account of the rector's nightmare come true! Four panels of celluloid designs for the stained glass windows had disappeared into the trash, Ed dreamed, but eventually, the truly lost panels were found in the possession of a Fort Hunt High School art teacher. These were THE DESIGN!!

The Saints Go Marching In:
Hopes to hold the first services in the new building on St. Luke's Day were not to be realized; but finally, All Saints' Day, which fell on Sunday, was announced as the day for the first services in the nave. The same Evangel announcing the first services also carried the news that the assistant rector had accepted a call to a Vermont parish but had determined to stay to see us into the building (and to perform a much-needed service). As final preparations were frantically made, Adelaide Bolte and Judy Shoup finished the St. Luke's Banner. On Saturday, Stu climbed the lon-n-n-g ladder, held by Hank Baker and Harrie White, to hang it.

On All Saints' Day, 1970, 650 persons filled the nave and narthex for the first services. Goose bumps and hearts rose as the choir, lay readers, and clergy went down the aisle. Choir and congregation called on all the saints to join in praise: "Ye watchers and ye holy ones..." rose to the top of the new nave. On November 15, a farewell reception was held in the parish hall to say good-bye to the departing Henderson family: Stu, Bev, Cathy, Jennifer, David, and Andrew.

To the Glory of God, for the Service of His People and in Honor of St. Luke the Evangelist:
It was scarcely anticlimactic when The Right Reverend Philip A. Smith, (then) Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia (and one of "our" bishops, having served as interim rector after Ed Bush's resignation) arrived on December 13 to dedicate the new building. Hearts again stuck in throats as the bishop rapped three times with the foot of the Processional Cross, saying, "Open me the gates of righteousness, that I may go into them, and give thanks unto the Lord." Senior Warden James C. Davis, III, and Junior Warden Lewis Baughman opened the doors and replied, "This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it." Then the Bishop marked the threshold with the sign of the cross and declared, "Peace be to this House and to all who enter here; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen". Again the walls rang with the five-fold alleluias of "Ye watchers and ye holy ones", and the procession entered.

Of Ships and Sails and Sealing Wax, Of Mortgages and Things:
After the heady days of ceremony and celebration, the congregation turned to the demanding tasks of filling the new spaces with both people and furnishings. Many Sundays of 1971 involved dedication of some furnishings. As expected by the planners, many items were memorial gifts: the altar, pulpit, lectern, baptismal font, vases, new altar frontals, as well as the stained glass windows in the narthex and the clerestory windows in the nave, the panel explaining their symbolism, and the plaque on the front outside entrance wall, the last a gift from a grateful and relieved rector! In November of the previous year, an appeal for needle-pointers to help make kneelers for the new communion rail had appeared in the Evangel: "Practice material provided; Bolte and Shoup will instruct." Twenty-nine women had worked on this project by the time the kneelers were mounted and dedicated in 1972.

The parish experienced less success in the manpower and money areas, for the Annual Report indicated that the number of communicants had dropped during the building program, as anticipated, from 906 on January 1 to 819 on December 31, 1970, but there must have been some purging of the rolls, for 27 letters of transfer had been received and only 11 sent, with 41 confirmations and 10 burials listed. (Now add that up.) 1971 would see an increase of 22 communicants. One person who deserves mention is Jim Wallace, who came out of retirement in 1971 to do our bookkeeping for almost ten years -- quietly and faithfully.

The rector's report in the 1972 Annual Report announced a "transition from building a church to Being the Church" and quoted Morton and Gibbs in ”God's Frozen People”: "The witness of the Church's laity is the key to the Church's vitality," Senior Warden Lewis Baughman spoke with concern of the bare-bones deficit budget for the third year in a row and of a deeply felt need for the church to grow. This financial concern had been made vivid, when, following a disappointing response to the Every Member Canvass, worshippers arriving for the Christmas Eve Services found the center entrance door boarded up and chained, with a sign reading "Will these doors be open?" attached.

There must have been much longing for the good old days when the Evangel noted the death of Florence Briar on November 13, 1971. (Mrs. Briar was "the last person still an active communicant of St. Luke's who served on the original Parish Council organized in 1941") for it was also noted that Mrs. Briar "presided over a treasury of $445 and spent $154 less than received." One month after this notice, the church doors would be boarded up to dramatize the current financial straits. The action was a controversial one, but the message was clear.

Celebration of a New Voice:
On September 17, 1971, the New Organ Committee under Hank Baker's chairmanship, negotiated a contract with the new organist/choirmaster, David J. Dyer, to build a pipe organ. Among the stories surrounding the new organ, one concerns David's return from Tennessee at 4 a.m. one Sunday with a U-Haul trailer filled with parts for the organ. The Evangel reported that David was able to stay awake at the controls of the old electric organ for the entire morning service! The original target date for completion was missed "due to the unforeseen amount of work involved in getting the organ loft ready"; but after several revised target dates for the dedication, the organ was first sounded during the Easter service in 1973; chairman Hank Baker invited the congregation and friends to a dedicatory recital by David, "Celebration of a New Voice," on May 6; and regular use of The August Raymond Cotton Memorial Pipe Organ began May 13, 1973. Gus Cotton had been a member of the first vestry, one of the non-Episcopalians who served in those days. David departed in August of that year, and Robin G. Barrow became the new organist/choirmaster in September.

The Most Discouraging Year:
The rector's report in the 1973 Annual Report characterized the second year in the new building (1972) as "the most discouraging year of my ministry." The original mortgage package was refinanced to 40-year loans, which reduced the payments about $9,000 annually. Eventually, fund raising and over $12,000 in increased pledges helped with the budget deficit.

Day By Day:
But along with the financial struggle, there were signs of life; there was Good News. On April 27, 1971, The Reverend Thomas R. Lamond arrived, with his wife Stephanie and their 18 month-old son Christopher, to serve as the assistant rector. The building and grounds sub-committee of Administration held a Painting Party in the Wellington Road rectory and then a Pounding Party to ready the house for the new family and then to fill the cupboards with supplies and canned foods. During his stay at St. Luke's, Thom helped to expand the adult Christian education program through an "Upper School" during the Sunday morning Church School hour. For three years, 7th graders through adults were offered monthly mini-courses in a cafeteria-style format with three to six choices each month, taught by a rotating faculty of clergy and laity.

Many young people (and oldsters as well) fondly remember the summer Sunday morning in 1972 when a colorful, vibrant group of teenagers, with Thom among them, literally danced down the aisles for a presentation of selections from ”Godspell”. The successful thespians, who had appeared daily at the Vacation Church School, presented the "sermon" that morning, and then they traveled to St. George's Camp and as far afield as Richmond presenting it to enthusiastic churches. When ”Godspell” finally closed its 9-month "run," the cast contributed $330 to St. Luke's, half for the ever-needy operating budget and half for the seminarians' field work fund. The cast included Julie Hergenrather, Jody Flakowicz, Richard Clement, Mark Signorelli, Barry Signorelli, John Adair, Katy Adair, Connie Carpenter, Alison Barfoot, Carol Dedman, Lisa Groce, Susy Cywin, and Director Thom Lamond. The following summer, Thom directed another group of young people in a memorable production of ”You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown”. Young VCS participants, including 25 from All SaintsSharon Chapel, daily heard songs and skits by Alison Barfoot, Ginny Davis, Carol Carpenter, Lizzie Adair, John Adair, Laura Wilmot and Ted Wilmot. For two summers of Thom's ministry here, a Coffee House for the youth of the community was open in the parish hall on Friday evenings.

The Young Churchmen:
One aspect of St. Luke's life especially strong in the 60s and 70s was the Young Churchmen. JYC and SYC had been under the overall supervision of Stu Henderson until he left St. Luke's in late 1970. The rector then decided he would "do" SYC himself--with help--a very unusual thing for a rector to do. "It turned out to be one of the most rewarding parts of my ministry...and hard work, too. Every Sunday night plus Fall and Spring retreats at Shrine Mont," Ed reported. "The lay sponsors were great--and they'll never forget SYC either! We had as many as 50-60 senior high students at Shrine Mont on a given retreat, but 30 was a lot more manageable." Those sponsors with Ed were, in 1971-73, Bernie and Martha Barfoot; in 1973-75, Whit and Peg Whitley and Margaret Morgan (who continued through the rest of the decade); in 1975-76, George and P.A. Travers; in 1976-78, Catesby and Sylvia Jones and Libby Gotschall; and in 1978-80, Rob and Susie Ashton.

And Also With You:
Other signs of life and change occurred during these years in the liturgical life of St. Luke's, as well as throughout PECUSA: the Worship Committee established a timetable for the trial church calendar and for bringing the changes of the trial liturgy into the life of the congregation. An open forum was held on the custom of blessing children at the altar rail and on admitting unconfirmed children to Holy Communion. The Evangel carried an invitation from the rector for people to stay after the Wednesday morning Communion Service and monthly healing service to evaluate this service and its role in the life of St. Luke's at this time. The evaluation resulted in the establishment of a prayer group which met before the service and a Bible study group that met afterwards. The healing service continued to be held once a month at the end of the communion service. Harrie White and Nick Carter were licensed to administer the chalice, the first lay persons to be so licensed at St. Luke's. In 1971, the Whitsunday Banners made, thanks to Dorothy Waller and Judy Shoup, made their debut for our traditional Whitsunday Procession from the church to the Mt. Vernon Park.

Serving the Larger Community:
As the planners had hoped, the larger facilities of the new building made possible many activities and services to the community. The Lee-Mt. Vernon YWCA rented space and offered programs to the community. The Social Relations Committee sponsored a summer social club for employed and educable retarded adults on Sunday evenings in the new building; under the leadership of Bill Wheeler and Fred Suffa, 12 God and Country Scouts were recognized. The Day School, with Aimee Brown Williams as Director, added a class for three-year olds, and the Schefer School, AA, the Coffee House, and one-time rental groups from the community used the building. By 1973, PC&CC logged 2,300 counseling hours in one year in St. Luke's facilities.

Outreach beyond the building was not neglected: The first notice of planning for Meals-on-Wheels in the Mt. Vernon area appeared in the Evangel in July, 1972. Actual service began in the area on October 15, 1973. The Social Relations Committee sponsored a benefit to help our sister church and former mission, St. Aidan's, rebuild after a lightning-caused fire burned their original A-frame nave to the ground. The ECW gave over 4,000 Betty Crocker coupons, collected to help furnish the new kitchen, to the Alexandria Fire Department, which sent them on to a tiny fire station in Alaska: "Keep Saving and let's help get that Fire truck!" ran the announcement. Chuck Jaekle of PC&CC offered a 5-week series on "Power Tactics of Marital Interaction." Ten couples enrolled.

In the fund-raising department, and to be a presence in the community, an all-parish Spring Festival raised $2,225.83 to offset the deficit operating budget, and the Stewardship Committee sponsored a Fall Art and Antique Show. A fond memory of the conclusion of the Spring Festival was the dedication of the grounds. Rained out on Rogation Sunday, the organizers, undaunted, trundled a wheelbarrow of dirt, topped by some interesting looking pots of flowers, into the nave and before the altar, dedicated the memorial grounds! The Steeple Fund, chaired by Lew Baughman and Wes Chappel, was established "to someday add the planned steeple to the new building." This was the beginning of many Redskins Ticket Raffles. In December, the Stewardship Committee introduced the Christmas Greeting Board in the narthex and invited parishioners to post one card to all their St. Luke's friends and donate "what you would have spent on cards and postage" to the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, a custom that continued for several years.

The Doctrine of the Three Crosses:
In June, 1972, a five-member Altar Wall Committee, chaired by Nick Carter, was appointed to explore possible symbols for the still-bare wall behind the Holy Table, the congregation having rejected the stylized representation of the Lord's Supper proposed by the architect and the architect having rejected the stained glass window proposed by the women of St. Catherine's. Having tried out a "flexible projector" of symbols which could be changed with the church seasons, in August the committee placed a single cross simulated of styrofoam on the wall for the congregation to consider. In October, two smaller crosses were added, and the congregation was enjoined to reflect on Luke 23:32-43 while they considered this possibility. There was some repositioning of the smaller crosses, but finally the decision was made, and wooden crosses were hung.

Mutual Ministry:
A farewell reception was held following the Thanksgiving Day Service in 1973 for the assistant rector, Thom Lamond, who returned to a newspaper career in Geneva, NY. Soon after, the rector announced to the vestry that he did not intend to hire another assistant at this time, not merely or mainly because of the strained budget situation but because of a growing belief "that we [might] discover the creative utilization of lay persons." When the Reverend Charles Stein, Jr., ordained to the diaconate at St. Luke's on All Saints' Day, 1973, accepted the position of Vicar, the rector expressed the hope that "we may discover that a congregational lifestyle will emerge that will minister satisfactorily to ourselves, our community, and the world as we can touch it."

With Chuck's acceptance of the position, and his ordination to the priesthood June 6, 1974, St. Luke's had truly raised up one of its own to serve it through the ordained ministry. Chuck joined that growing list of men who entered the ordained ministry from St. Luke's: Glenn Hewlett, Gene Grumbine, Charlie Johnson, Wally Marshall, Hu Thomte, and "Corky" Corkran. Chuck had read for Holy Orders under the guidance of the rector while he continued his secular career and continued to support his family as a non-stipendiary priest. He described himself as "a worker-priest" who practiced "applied Christianity in his job as National Coordinator of Business Development in the Office of Minority Business Enterprise, U.S. Department of Commerce."

Chosen Vessels:
Among the many changes abroad in St. Luke's and the Episcopal Church at large during these years, one of the most sweeping was the changing role of women. At St. Luke's, women had been serving first on vestry committees and then on the vestry for several years. By this time, about one-third of the vestry were women. One result of the change was that Elizabeth Edgar, President of the ECW, announced a reorganization that preserved the chapters as "the heart of the organization," while many of the auxiliary functions of the ECW shifted to the vestry committees as a sign that they were part of the responsibility of the whole congregation.

The same year of the reorganization, St. Luke's was hostess for the Annual Diocesan Meeting of the ECW. Three hundred delegates, clergy, and guests attended on May 3, 1973. As more women served on vestry committees and the vestry itself and moved into the paid work force, the Senior (Davis) Chapter, St. Bridget's, and St. Catherine's Chapters continued to meet. Helen Mayers, the last ECW President at St. Luke's, served in that office in 1976-77. By 1978, only St. Catherine's Chapter was active, and continues active to date (1989).

There were other signs of change, for the ordination of women was a hotly debated topic at the 1973 General Convention, and Ann Thompson, the first female seminarian assistant at St. Luke's, preached on TEO Sunday in 1974. A true pioneer was added to that long list of postulants from St. Luke's when Mary Brake entered VTS in September that year. After the House of Bishops ruled the August ordinations of eleven women as priests invalid, the October 20 Evangel offered this viewpoint: "The ordination of women would be one more dimension to the many ministries the Church already has...So let's be receptive to any of the chosen vessels through which God carries out His work through us!" (E.M.)

A New Endeavor: MLA Beginnings:
In 1973, with the time and energy-consuming work of building the new physical plant behind, the rector began a continuing education program with the Institute of Pastoral Psychotherapy sponsored by the PC&CC, a two-year program he completed in March of 1975. Ed, with his wife Margaret, then began a two year Marriage Institute Program; and in August of that year, Ed was accepted as an Associate Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. By the end of 1973, the fruits of these studies manifested themselves in parish life in two ways: First, in the Annual Report, the Wardens, Charlie Hergenrather and Neal Houston, reported "The Building Program is behind us!" and the rector reported that "Renewal" was the word to describe his feelings after the low of 1972, and that he felt a "sense of the Holy Spirit at work among the people of St. Luke's." Second, near the end of 1973, when the rector informed the vestry of his decision not to hire a full-time assistant, he outlined his plans to begin intensive training of parishioners in pastoral skills to augment the pastoral care of the clergy. On November 25, in a letter detailing the planned training, parishioners were invited to become "a corps of trained lay people who share pastoral and worship leadership with the ordained clergy." Those who responded became the first class of Minister's Lay Associates: Pret Abbott, Mary Jane Adair, Fred Bickford, Caroline Carr, Cay Chapman, Robin DeGraf, Karol and Longina Flakowicz, Jim and Elise Hardy, Jack Hayes, Jim Holley, Neal Houston, Nancy Moynihan, Rick Reichard, Kay St. John, John and Mary Jane Smith, Gerty Watkins, Harrie White and Ben Wilmot. These included all lay readers, who added skills to enhance their ministry to Oak Meadow Nursing Home residents and others. Following this first group's completion of a year's training, a second group of MLA candidates began training: Jim and Claire Dusek, Ernest Edgar, Jamie Evans, John Ewing, Wes Hinton, Bob and Judy Lovegren, John Parrish, and George and P.A. Travers. Since then, more than a hundred parishioners have received training and added to the pastoral ministry within St. Luke's family. Many of them have taken the use of these skills with them in their ministries in the world.

By 1974, the rector began to share his MLA model with the bishops and other church leaders, and by 1975, as he declared himself "more and more a believer in the ministry of all believers...each of us is a saint with a special ministry," MLA graduates were beginning to "take the message" to other churches, such as a Lenten presentation at St. Paul's, Alexandria, and Epiphany in Washington, D.C. Responses to a presentation made to churches of Region 11 in Richmond in 1976 reflected a "widening search within the Church for new and valid expressions of the ministry which all laity have by virtue of their baptism."

The Work of the People:
While the laity's involvement in pastoral care was growing, changes were occurring in the worship life of the congregation and in the national church. Locally, the family cycle of prayers was begun in 1973 as a statement of "concern and support for the parish family and as witness to the role of the family in a healthy society." The General Convention voted for three more years of Trial Liturgy use and study, and in 1974, St. Luke's embarked on an intensive use, study and evaluation of many of the trial services. After eight months of such use, the congregation returned to the use of the 1928 Prayer Book while awaiting the decision of General Convention. When unconfirmed children were invited to receive communion at a Free Form Parish Communion at the Palm Sunday Lenten program in the parish hall, a sheet was provided to aid parents in preparing the children. The Worship Committee struggled with the problem of whether or not attendance warranted three Sunday morning services, and a Holy Communion service was added to the 11:15 service on the third as well as first Sunday of the month. An informal Evening Prayer service was inaugurated in the Library on Tuesday evenings, and the Junior Choir of 23 third through eighth graders, under the direction of organist/choirmaster Robin Barrow, presented "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at a Sunday morning family service.

Aimee Williams was Director of the Day School from 1970-73, presiding over an enlarging program. For a year or two during her tenure and that of Gay Davis, who followed, we were able to offer a first grade. Our own Caroline Irvin was one of the Day School teachers during the seventies. By 1973, the Day School, under Director Gay Davis, had grown to a staff of seven, serving 3 year-olds through Kindergartners. Outreach continued as St. Lukers, encouraged by the Social Relations Committee, bought four shares in "A Share in Life," an ecumenical program funding resettlement of Vietnamese refugees. In 1975, a year-long program that was extended into the next year, FAST (Feed Another Soul Today) offered a choice of several "menus" and a monthly opportunity to contribute the cost of uneaten food to such organizations as CARE, UCM, and the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief. $1,085 was sent in 1975. That year, the Social Relations Committee was split into Fellowship and Community Relations committees. There seemed to be some confusion of the meaning of that word "social" in the name and function of the committee (Bifurcate is not a four letter word, according to Bob Poydashef!).

Here's the Church, and Here's the Steeple!
Although the preoccupation with the building program was subsiding, several unfinished projects remained, and on April 29, 1975, the long-planned steeple and cross were raised to the roof of the building while any parishioners able to sneak away from their weekday jobs stood below and cheered. Ed Palmer had again been appointed to lend his watchful eye to the project as the Construction Management Coordinator. The weight of the steeple is about 1,800 pounds and it is 46 feet from the top of the cross to the roof of the church, the cross being eight feet high and covered in 23 carat gold leaf. The steeple and cross, built and installed entirely from designated funds and memorial gifts, were formally dedicated the following Sunday. "Old timers" will remember that the wooden, copper roofed cupola from the old church, after languishing in the church yard for five years, had been declared a hazard and had therefore been auctioned off at the Spring White Elephant and Auction Sale a couple of weeks earlier. The high bidder: Judy Bryan, to the astonishment of late-arriving husband Jonathan. By May 4, 1975, four phases of a six-phase plan to bring the new pipe organ up to its potential capacity were completed with the addition of two more ranks, and the following May saw the dedication of the memorial Sesquialtera II.

Money, Money, Money Concerns:
St. Luke's had experienced a definite upward mood swing after the low days of 1972, but the struggle to meet mortgage payments and operating expenses continued. In the middle of 1973, a ”white” Evangel issue replaced the usual yellow paper with the announcement that the yellow sheets had been used up and no more would be ordered until cash was available, as we were now on a "cash basis." The vestry had decreed, "No more borrowing from memorial funds" to meet operating expenses, and a priority for paying bills had been developed. "Tribute envelopes" were placed in the pew holders to encourage individual contributions at times of special thanks -- to provide needed items not covered by the budget. In 1975, Stewardship Chairman Bernie Barfoot noted an increase in pledges of over $10,000 and the communicant strength had returned to just over 800 after a low of 717 in 1974, but the congregation was still relying on fund raisers to meet the operating budget. An Evangel article by Senior Warden Jonathan Bryan acknowledged the effects of the mortgage but applauded the past vision and present use of the new building with a reminder, lest we wax nostalgic, of what it was ”really like in the "Bad Old Days" when we "quite literally bulged out of the nave, ran through the snow and rain to satellite buildings, and turned away community groups looking for a place to meet."

Unscratched and Smiling:
On December 7, 1975, a reception honored retiring Church Secretary Anna Lou White after 12 years of faithful service. The rector noted that Anna Lou had survived "7 sextons, 7 organist/choirmasters, 6 assistant clergy, and the present rector unscratched and still smiling." Anna Lou was replaced by Martha Barfoot, who had been serving as Evangel production editor for the past several months.

Like Manna From Heaven:
As had been true since its beginnings, St. Luke's continued to be served by, as well as to serve as a training parish for, seminarians and this decade brought its share of dedicated and talented seminary students to St. Luke's: Ed Martin, Bill Lambert, and Dave Anderson in 1969 were followed by "Corky" Corkran, a former parishioner of the early sixties who returned to us as a seminarian when he entered VTS after his military service. Bruce Michaud, Tom Downs, Bob Outman, Bob Friend, and Bud Therriault served successively from 1971 through 1974, the last two being the first to have lay committees, which were chaired by Gene Butler and Charlie Hergenrather. Ann Thompson, our first female seminarian assistant, followed, and was joined by Mark Pearson in the spring of 1975 (Mark and Ann later married--each other). Next came "Two Tall Texans," Tom Brindley and John Bancroft, who served for two years, graduating in the spring of 1978. Tom would have a special role as a summer seminarian while the rector was on sabbatical in 1977. Lowell Harlan and Mike Moss were the last seminarians of this decade, but certainly not the end of the long line that continues to bless and enrich the congregational life of St. Luke's.

After 1973, St. Luke's functioned without a full-time assistant, but not without the loving ministry of several adjunct clergy still remembered fondly: Chaplains Jack R. Huntley and David Kent conducted services, and when Chuck Stein was called to St. Margaret's, Woodbridge, in 1976, Jack Huntley was named part-time Associate Rector. In 1977, The Reverend Gary Price, Executive Secretary of the Evangelical Education Society of the Episcopal Church, became a communicant of St. Luke's, with some clergy duties, and in 1978, his participation in St. Luke's ordained ministry increased. The rector noted that he had served as Gary's seminarian assistant during his seminary days, and now Gary was working under Ed's supervision! In 1978, the Diocesan Commission on Ministry asked St. Luke's to serve as a diaconate training parish for The Reverend Warren Klam, a Navy pediatrician who had been reading for Holy Orders. The rector described Warren's arrival as being "like manna from heaven." These special "gifts" continued as the congregation was told in a December 1978 Evangel that The Reverend Dr. Richard Reid would spend three months of his sabbatical, beginning in January, 1979, at St. Luke's as a way to experience parish life "away from the ivory tower of the Holy Hill." Dick, who was then Professor of New Testament and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at VTS, later became Dean of the seminary.

With All Deliberate Speed:
While these dedicated and talented men were serving St. Luke's, women were moving into fuller leadership roles both in the local and the larger church. In 1975, Wanda Behrens became the first female warden to serve St. Luke's, being elected Junior Warden with Senior Warden Jonathan Bryan. Connie Wilmot and Cay Chapman served as Junior Wardens in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In 1978, most clergy spouses were women, and St. Luke's clergy spouse, Margaret Morgan, that year became the first clergy spouse of a rector to be elected to a vestry in the Diocese of Virginia.

Following the House of Bishops' decision not to recognize the 1974 ordinations of the "Philadelphia Eleven," the Council of the Diocese of Virginia resolved in January, 1976, "to beseech the next General Convention" to approve the ordination of women to the priesthood; at the same time, the Council declined to congratulate The Reverend Alison Cheek of the Diocese of Virginia, and one of the eleven irregularly ordained women, for being one of TIME magazine's "Women of the Year." Cay Chapman, in 1976, was the first woman lay reader at St. Luke's licensed to administer the chalice. On May 18, 1976, The Reverend Patricia Park spoke to St. Catherine's Chapter. After the General Convention approved the ordination of women to the priesthood in September, 1976, Ms. Park would become the first woman ordained priest in the Diocese of Virginia, on January 1, 1977, the earliest possible date. And on August 18, 1978, Mary Brake became the first woman to be ordained Deacon at St. Luke's. Mary then pursued graduate studies in Basel, Switzerland.

While the issue of women's ordination ran its course, adoption of the new Book of Common Prayer slowly worked its way through committees and General Convention. The ”proposed” BCP was in the pews at St. Luke's by March, 1977, and Rites I and II were used alternately a month at time. A whole page of the Evangel was devoted to discussing the new book and in 1978 a page-length discussion of The Peace, as St. Luke's used it, appeared. After Bishop Hall presented an outline of the Rites of Christian Initiation at the clergy conference in 1977, St. Luke's responded by discontinuing the year-long Sunday morning Young People's Inquirers Classes, which had been taught for many years by numerous lay people under the direction of the rector, and a Saturday morning series of Communion Preparation Classes was developed for 4th to 6th graders and their parents. The first group of these children was admitted to Holy Communion at the Maundy Thursday Service in 1978. Also in that year, parishioners were invited to sign up to bring forward the communion elements at the presentation, and practice sessions for Rite II music were held 10 minutes before the service.

Attempting to build neighborhood networks, the Worship Committee expanded the 1977 Advent house communion services to regular Wednesday in-homes communion services, some of which explored the possibilities of Rite III. On February 8, 1978, the first notice of a "satellite" Holy Communion Service at River Towers Apartments appeared, a new ministry to elder citizens.

In the ever-continuing attempt to meet the worship and education needs of all ages, in the summer of 1976, an innovative and somewhat risky approach was taken by the rector, supported by the Christian Education and Worship Committees. Delighted children of all ages witnessed the instructed "wedding" of Sarah and Jim Lofton as the bride and groom, with other parishioners comprising a complete wedding party. A more solemn feeling accompanied an Instructed Burial Service, with a sample coffin available in the narthex for the children to explore. The service was a memorial service, and the congregation was invited to remember a particular loved one. An Instructed Daily Office was also held as part of the series.

From Church Gathered to Church Scattered:
In 1976, the rector, who had been named Dean of Region VI, explained in the Annual Report what effects this job and his increasing work in the area of pastoral counseling and marriage and family counseling had on his time commitments. The rector and his wife, Margaret, held the first Marriage Enrichment Weekend, attended by five St. Luke's couples.

1976 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the work of Ministers Lay Associates. The Mt. Vernon Hospital opened, and the rector, who became a founder of the hospital's Pastoral Care Committee, began to encourage the inclusion of lay people as part of the Volunteer Chaplains Program. A training and certification process was soon developed to meet the hospital's requirements. The rector, who also served on the Mt. Vernon Hospital Pastoral Care Committee, began to explore the use of lay people as part of the Volunteer Chaplains Program and to offer training and certification for persons who successfully met the hospital's requirements. Nine clergy and twelve lay persons, ten of whom were graduates of the MLA training, were the first group certified for the Mt. Vernon Hospital Chaplaincy Program. Besides the rector, St. Lukers in that first group were Pret Abbott, Fritz Behrens, Fred Bickford, Joyce Dinnage, Muriel Drake, John Ewing, Jim Hardy, Charles Hergenrather, Marge Stallman, and Peg Whitley. Training originally seen as serving the pastoral needs within St. Luke's now had become a basis for outreach into the community, for the hospital chaplains served all patients, not just members of their own congregation. In 1978, the outreach of the MLA program extended nation-wide with the publication of Karol Flakowicz's article on MLA in the Episcopalian, a national church magazine. The rector and John Ewing also presented the MLA model at a workshop at VTS as part of a Mutual Ministry day.

RR&R (Rector's Relaxation and Renewal):
After 17 years as Rector of St. Luke's, Wellington, Ed Morgan finally received a short sabbatical, from June 15 to September 30, 1977, which included a trip to England by Ed, Margaret, and daughter Meg, during which travel, Ed visited and studied the practice of lay ministries in the UK. Senior Warden Jim Lofton, who worked diligently to secure the sabbatical for the rector, parish secretary Martha Barfoot, clergy associates Jack Huntley and Gary Price, and seminarian-resident-during-the-summer Tom Brindley all worked to meet pastoral and program needs during Ed's leave.

Flood, Blood, and the Homeless:
Outreach at St. Luke's continued in other ways, too. When financial support for the National Church programs flagged during 1976, St. Luke's responded, along with 25 other churches in the diocese, to Bishop Hall's plea and pledged another $1,000. Twelve area families were helped at Christmas through UCM's Family-to-Family program, and the Robert Ting Chinese School joined the Schefer School in St. Luke's facilities. In 1977, 14 parishioners, many of the teen generation, went to Johnstown, PA, to help clean up after the flood there. In 1978, St. Luke's joined the Blood Assurance Program at Mt. Vernon Hospital, with parishioners supplying a designated quantity of blood annually. As VIC (Ventures In Community), an ecumenical group in the Mt. Vernon area, struggled with the problem of emergency housing in the Route 1 Corridor, the Community Relations Committee promoted the support of Mondloch House, a temporary shelter for the homeless.

Equipping the Saints:
Besides the instructed worship services of the summer of 1976, Christian Education programs continued their job of nurturing young and old alike. Another Church School curriculum study was launched, and a new Sunday morning format in the fall of 1977 caused the rector concern when, returning from his sabbatical, he found a number of young families missing from the nave because the length of the morning was too long for some of the younger members. Plus ca change ... An especially memorable Lenten drama series was directed by Connie Wilmot in 1977. Many people participated and contributed to the success of the series, which included God-in-a-box and the rector in ball and chain. During 1978, many young people attended Happenings hosted by St. Luke's under the direction of The Reverend Warren Klam, who was active in youth work in the diocese; and the Folk Group, a singing group led by Alison Barfoot, flourished that summer.

50 Years of Growth Meets Zero Population:
As St. Luke's fifth decade drew to a close, the congregation could look back at a busy and complex time. On January 1, 1969, communicants totaled 906 and the number on December 31, 1978, was 751. But in between, St. Luke's had met the challenge of an inadequate physical plant, shouldered the largest debt of any church in the diocese at that time, struggled with disaffection caused by the ordination of women, revision of the Book of Common Prayer, and the social action programs of the national church. The rapid population growth of the area slowed as available land for development vanished. With the end of the Baby Boom and the marketing of The Pill, the country headed for Zero Population Growth. On the positive side, the congregation, although continuing to struggle with finances, looked toward its 50th Anniversary Year with a growing sense of commitment to and understanding of lay ministry, of what it means to be baptized into the priesthood of all believers.

As 1979 approached, Harrie White, Connie Wilmot, and Jonathan Bryan accepted the responsibility of chairing a year-long celebration of St. Luke's Golden Jubilee and ordered up the first pictorial directory to commemorate the event (a project chaired by none other than persevering Hank Baker!). The 1979 Annual Report, sporting a gold cover and a design by Martha Barfoot symbolizing the 50-year history of St. Luke's, declared, "We welcome the Golden Anniversary Year of St. Luke's Church with joy and anticipation... a chance to reflect on the significance of our past, to appreciate those who have gone before us in the Faith, and to focus on our present in such a way as to guide our future."

1979-1989: The Challenges of Change

St. Luke's sixth decade was a period of great change. We celebrated two new ministries (just as we grieved at three clerical departures), but at the same time we developed a strong lay ministry program and grew and developed in other unanticipated directions.

Golden Anniversary:
As the decade began, St. Luke's celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with many events planned by Ed Morgan with the very able assistance of Connie Wilmot and Harrie White, Jr., and Jonathan Bryan. On the first Sunday of 1979 a prayer was read that had been transcribed from the prayer book of Aggie Finks, one of the earliest leaders of Snowden Mission. A column headlined "Fifty Years Ago Today..." began appearing in the Evangel. St. Luke's scarves, designed by Frankie Welch, were sold throughout the year. The parish produced its first color pictorial directory in honor of the jubilee. This project was such a success that it was followed by two more before the decade ended.

The jubilee culminated in the events of November 3-4, celebrating our past and present ministry and inspiring our future ministry. A dinner dance on Saturday night, catered by Wanda and Fritz Behrens and Sarah and Jim Lofton, was attended by about 200 people. The focal point of the year's activities was a jubilee Eucharist on Sunday. In attendance at the service were Bishops John Baden and Samuel Chilton; present and former rectors and assistants Ed Morgan, Alexander Robertson, Stuart Henderson, and Lynda Stevenson; and other clergy and former seminarians Richard Reid, Warren Klam, Howard Hanchey, Edward Martin, Hume Cox, Gene Patton, Richard Corkran, Charles Johnson, Charles Stein, and Lowell Harlan. A jubilee kneeler was designed and executed in needlepoint by Adelaide Bolte, and a set of five banners were designed by Anne Banks and realized by Longina Flakowicz and Debbie Styles.

Clerical Ministries:
During its sixth decade St. Luke's witnessed the ordination of Mary Brake, Elly Murphy, and Lynda Stevenson and dispatched into the ordained ministry two members of its own congregation, Jonathan Bryan and Alison Barfoot. We also celebrated the beginning of two new ministries, those of Roger Tilden and Myles Edwards. Seminarians included Jim Wallace, Darlene Tittle, Jonathan Bryan, Lowell Harlan, Mike Moss, Harry Read, Steve Steele, Elly Murphy, Beth McNamara, Chip Brown, Elizabeth Bryan, and (from Wesley Seminary) Betty Dunlop. In September, 1979, Ed Morgan was one of three nominees for Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia. Ed commented that his nomination was "...as much an honor for St. Luke's as for me. Whatever I am, this church has shaped me."

Lay Ministry:
Recognizing its increasing interest and involvement in lay ministry, in May 1980 the parish organized a Ministry Commission to study the ways in which all baptized Christians serve in their daily lives. The commission's deliberations resulted in two proposals in 1981: a caring bank, which would comprise a file of parish resources — parishioners who would make themselves available to help other parishioners with specific needs; and groups in which to reflect on personal issues confronted by members of the group in their daily life as ministry.

Another expression of this interest was the establishment, also in 1980, of the first Education for Ministry study group. Its purpose was "to provide lay persons with education for ministry to which every baptized Christian is called." Members studied the Judeo-Christian tradition through special texts that they read at home and discussed in weekly meetings over a period of four years. Estelle Warren, a retired DCE, was the EFM trained leader. Group members were Mary Lawrence Aitken, Gay Davis, John and Sharon Ewing, Bob and Judy Lovegren, Carl Parker, Kay Schiefelbein, Mary Jane Smith, and Jim Wallace. All graduated except Jim Wallace, who died in 1981.

And in 1981, Ed Morgan completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Howard University Divinity School. His dissertation, "A Lay Pastoral Ministry in Congregation and Community," reflected his deep commitment to this subject. The Minister's Lay Associates decided to maintain a program of pastoral visiting after Ed Morgan's departure. The vestry approved an MLA proposal to this effect, and the group elected its first officers -- Tom Stallman, director; Sharon Ewing, assistant director in charge of assignments; and Connie Wilmot, assistant director, training coordinator. Before the decade was over, this fledgling independent group would train four additional "classes" of associates under the capable leadership of Connie, Tom, and Marge Stallman.

In 1984 MLA decided to change its formal name from Minister's Lay Associates to Ministers, Lay Associates, believing that the new name better defined the group and its activities in partnership with the clergy, in shared ministry to the congregation of St. Luke's Church. MLA training and experience propelled Connie Wilmot toward further training and education and to a professional career as a family counselor.

Another Anniversary:
On May 4, 1980, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Ed Morgan's service as rector of St. Luke's. A Living Memorial Fund was established to honor this event. At his request, the fund is used "to facilitate or enable the proclamation of the Word of God, either within St. Luke's Church or beyond." In June 1981, Ed announced his departure from St. Luke's to accept a position as professor at Virginia Theological Seminary. The congregation, with great sadness at losing a rector who had become so deeply embedded in the fabric of the parish but with best wishes for him in his new position, sent the Morgans off on July 12 with a luncheon and presented Ed with four stoles made by members of the congregation, church sketches autographed by members of the congregation, and the promise of a portrait of Ed by Cay Chapman. (Cay did complete the portrait. It hangs in our library; one woman in the congregation remarked that it is so lifelike she no longer feels comfortable ducking into the room to hitch up a slip that's showing.) The family left in a car filled with balloons. The Reverend Dr. Morgan served St. Luke's with great energy, devotion, and determination. While guiding the congregation through such changes as the adoption of the 1979 prayer book, he provided a wide variety of services and strove to meet the needs of all.

The First Interim:
Lynda Stevenson, who had served her diaconate at St. Luke's and was ordained to the priesthood here in 1980, became the priest in charge during the interim period after Ed Morgan's departure. (Lynda married Charlie Hergenrather, a well-loved, long-time St. Luker whose activities included being Senior Warden and Church Treasurer, and a member of MLA, on March 23, 1985. Charlie died on August 1, 1987. A tremendous crowd of St. Lukers attended his funeral at the church.)

The vestry hired a consultant, John W. Martin, from St. George's, Arlington, and appointed a search committee. Members of the committee were: John Smith, chairman; Karol Flakowicz, vice chairman; Sally Hurme, recording secretary; Sue Wanner, corresponding secretary; Alison Barfoot; John Bouldin; Cay Chapman; Jim Clark; Muriel Drake; John Ewing; Catesby Jones; Carlos Martinez; Helen Mayers; and Richard Stephens. The committee organized several congregational meetings aimed toward preparing a parish profile--who we are, what we do, and where we want to go.

The Rev. Roger Tilden:
After many months of intensive effort, the search committee proposed Roger Tilden, and he accepted the call, beginning his service January 23, 1983. He and his wife Payson and sons Jamie and Paul moved into a home in Collingwood Springs. Dr. Tilden, who had completed work on his Doctor of Ministry degree just prior to accepting our call, came to us from St. Paul's Church in Petersburg, Virginia. He had served earlier as Canon in Residence of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Paris. To get to know the congregation, Roger -- with the cooperation and support of the vestry and staff -- called at the homes of all parishioners. It took him a year to complete the visits, but the congregation loved it!

Liturgy:
January 1, 1980, marked the establishment of the new prayer book as official. Some approved and some disapproved, but in general we accepted, and we began getting used to it by alternating between Rites I and II as well as between Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist. Roger Tilden proposed initiating a healing service, to be held on the first Tuesday of every month, in the evening. The service began in December 1984. (The healing service is still being held, conducted during the last three years by the Reverend Elly Sparks Murphy, who has been praised by many for her gifts of sensitivity and articulation. Elly came to St. Luke's in July, 1984, as an assistant to Roger Tilden.)

The new hymnal was adopted in 1986, with some of the usual grumbling about changes and some of the usual enthusiasm for changes. The choir, under the guidance of organist and choir director Jane Bourdow, forged the way down some new musical paths, with a definite trend toward the use of more music in the 10:00 service.

Education:
As the decade began, the Education Committee was investigating a new Sunday School curriculum, which it purchased and began using. Within a few years, however, the curriculum was being developed by clergy Roger Tilden and Elly Murphy, with the aim of providing an integrated approach. Education for all ages, from preschool to adult, followed a thematic approach--all classes, for instance, would pursue a unit on Baptism, or on Liturgy and the Word, or on the Family.

St. Luke's first parish family retreat was held at Shrine Mont in September 1979, with 60 happy participants. Education programs for adults were provided by a retreat leader; activities for the children, generally following a related theme, were led by high school or college students hired for the weekend (usually SYC members or alums). This, too, was a great success, and it has continued with the enthusiastic participation of St. Lukers young and old.

The Day School continued to flourish. Gay Davis was followed as director by Gail Crawford, who resigned in 1984; she was replaced by Susan Fitzgerald, our current director. The school served a group of 92 two, three, and four year olds in 1988-89, Co-chairs of the Board of Directors were Jeanie Fleming and Joann Kinney.

Community Service:
Community service continued to be an important part of St. Luke's outreach. Groups using the parish facilities included The Pastoral Counseling Center, the YWCA, St. Luke's Day School, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Boy Scout Troop #654. Other groups renting space in the building included the Mt. Vernon Women's Club, Parents Without Partners, the Mt. Vernon Hospital Auxiliary, an aerobics class, and a square dance group.

St. Luke's outreach program expanded in 1984 when we joined with several other area churches to provide temporary shelter and food to the homeless during the winter months. The shelter rotated on a weekly basis among the three participating churches, and dozens of people came forth to help with food preparation, supervision, laundry, and all the other arrangements necessary to keep the program going. After Fairfax County opened South County Shelter to serve the needs in this area, St. Luke's no longer needed to house people. However, we have continued our support; some members volunteer at the shelter and St. Luke's provides money for lunches at the shelter on a rotating basis with other area churches. In 1989 we participated with Alexandria churches in staffing and cooking food for the Carpenter's Shelter on Duke Street. Our ongoing commitment to United Community Ministries (UCM) expressed itself in increasing donations of food brought by parishioners every Sunday to supply the UCM food closet. The parish also helped to support Mondloch House.

Music Ministry:
While the Search Committee was looking for a new rector, the Worship Committee was looking for a new organist and choir director to replace Robin Barrow, who resigned in January 1982. Its efforts were well rewarded when Jane Bourdow accepted an offer and officially began work the Sunday after Easter. We had a "preview" of her talent because she had agreed to present an organ recital on Palm Sunday and to play the organ and conduct the choir for the bishop's visit for confirmation on March 30.

In 1982 St. Luke's became amplified, thanks to a sound system donated by Nick and Ginny Carter. The nave, always a wonderful place to listen to music, was thus improved for the spoken word. Two donations for the organ made possible the addition of a trompette en chamade (1981) and a cymbelstern (1983). The choir also began an informal tradition of Christmas caroling at Mt. Vernon Hospital.

Fellowship:
The church published its first cookbook, ”Potomac Paths”, with recipes from many members of the congregation. Another innovation early in the decade was Fish Groups, intended to enhance the possibilities for fellowship. The first meeting, a dinner, was held in the parish hall on October 4, 1980, and the participants agreed to divide into four smaller groups, each comprising about 15-16 people and each meeting monthly (approximately) for dinner or brunch, usually in the home of one of the members of the group. FISH is alive and well in 1989!

A new fellowship program for a group that represents a large proportion of our congregation -- those near or past retirement age -- had its inception in 1985. The seeds for this idea were planted a year earlier, when the Community Relations Committee asked Thelma Clark to represent the parish at a meeting of the Diocesan Commission on Aging. Following her enthusiastic report on the commission's deliberations, a group gathered at Thelma's home to explore this ministry. Elly Murphy and Martha Barfoot attended three training sessions sponsored by Catholic University's Center for Aging. With this motivation, and with leadership from John and Mary Jane Smith and others, the first meeting was planned. A contest to name the group produced "OYC--Older Young Churchmen" (the entry submitted by Roger and Marie Hombs), a reminder that members may be gray-haired, but they are nonetheless young at heart.

And Parents Support Groups began in 1986, spurred by the increasing number of little folk among us. The participants proposed meetings that would include family gatherings, guest speakers, informal group discussions, parents' nights out -- meetings that would give parents an opportunity to discuss their common goals and the problems and joys of raising children. The group tries to meet monthly at the homes of members.

St. Catherine's Guild has been a strong organization during this decade. It has provided fellowship for a group of about 50 women (all women of the congregation are invited to join!) and has had some outstanding educational programs as well. Our own clergy and lay members of the congregation, along with outside authorities from various fields of ministry and theology, have been speakers. St. Catherine's supports the United Thank Offering, Meals on Wheels, and UCM. A special and very lovely outreach effort of St. Catherine’s was the English tea given in the spring of 1989. It was an elegant affair and netted almost $1000, which the Guild contributed to the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry.

The Second Interim:
Roger Tilden resigned as rector in August 1986 to take a church in Birmingham, Michigan. St. Luke's said good-bye to a rector whose enthusiasm had been contagious. During his tenure, the congregation greatly enlarged the scope of its lay ministry. There was much more activity than in the past. Someone commented: "Roger really knows how to start things!"

The vestry organized a new search committee comprising Susan Ashton (chairman), Bill Bennett, Doug Binney, Mary Lee Bolte, David Cureton, Joan Flippen, Jackie Geiss, Dixie Hougen, Don Reynolds, Tom Stallman, and Ben Wilmot. The committee, advised again by John Martin, began work on revising and updating the church profile. The vestry hired The Reverend Michael O. Moore to serve as interim rector for one year, his last Sunday being September 6, 1987.

The Rev. Myles W. Edwards:
In the fall of 1987 the vestry issued a call to The Reverend Myles W. Edwards, rector of Immanuel Church, New Castle, Delaware. He accepted, and began his service at St. Luke's on St. Luke's Day, October 18, 1987. Myles, his wife Brenda and children Megan and Judson, rented a house for a few months before buying one in Sulgrave Manor. The Reverend Mr. Edwards is a talented harpsichordist; he brought his harpsichord into church on one occasion, and he and organist Jane Bourdow presented an outstanding concert.

One of Mr. Edwards's special concerns was beautification. With his encouragement, a group headed by Bobbie Bruce bought a new sofa, arranged chairs in conversational groupings, and brought in floral arrangements to greatly enhance the appearance of the library, narthex, and the Fort Hunt entrance.

At the Present:
As our sixth decade ends, we are reminded that life is filled with the unexpected. Because of Virginia law, we had to spend a considerable sum during the summer of 1989 to remove all the asbestos insulation in the building. Thanks to the hard work of the Administration Committee and "Special Shepherd" Gene Butler, the work was done in a week. Gene was on site every day, both to oversee and to keep people from wandering into places where it would be dangerous to go.

Myles Edwards resigned on September 30, 1989. As we celebrate our sixty years as a congregation, we are once again in the search process. The Rev. Wesley Smith is serving as our Interim Rector; The Rev. Elly Sparks Murphy is Assistant to the Rector. In working to find a new rector, we feel that the efforts of the 1988-89 Evangelism Sub-Committee have been of great assistance. This committee sent out a comprehensive survey and discovered – to the amazement of almost no one -- that we are a diverse and active group! Our prayer is that this diversity and energy can be channeled constructively so that our next 10 years are rich, joyful, and Christ-centered.

1989-1999: A Dynamic Decade

The seventh decade of St. Luke’s life has been dynamic. Our health as a congregation was restored following three unexpected clergy resignations. We had tremendous population growth; many new faces could be seen, coming to Sunday services and/or participating in Sunday School classes and Youth groups. And, for the first time, we sent missionaries overseas. As we grew, we tried to keep something of our “neighborhood church” identity by welcoming newcomers into our church family in a variety of ways, and by giving all members of the congregation many opportunities to get to know one another.

1989: Sixtieth Birthday Party:
St. Luke’s celebrated its first 60 years with a luncheon on Sunday, October 29, 1989. The party was scheduled for the Parish Hall but spilled over into the library and Narthex. The Rev’d Edward Morgan III (St. Luke’s rector from 1960 to 1981) preached; some of the “good old boys” (Gerry Brent, Moose Bruce, and Harry Shackelford) cooked the chicken; and Karol Flakowicz showed slides of our history, which had been taken by him and by Dr. Morgan. Special guests were the Rev’d Haskin Little from Texas and the Rt. Rev’d C. Gresham Marmion from Missouri (those two had been among the “Seminary Boys” who ministered to our first congregation in the early 1930’s). Copies of the St. Luke’s History were presented to all members of the congregation; a leather-bound copy was put in the library.

The Rest of 1989:
A Search Committee to find a new rector was appointed in October: John Young, Chairman; Karol Flakowicz, Vice-Chairman; Connie Wilmot, Corresponding Secretary; the Rev’d Lynda Hergenrather, Recording Secretary; and Judy Chase, Don Giles, Mary Anderson Griffin, and Brenda Shackelford. Cathy Fort served as Consultant. Also in October the Vestry Ordination Committee for Scott Dillard (John Young, Convener; Rob Ashton, Bill DeGraf, Ivy Modjeski, Brenda Shackelford, Bill Walker, and Ann Yeager) recommended to the Vestry that they approve Scott’s postulancy for Holy Orders; it was done. In February, 1990, we were notified that Scott had been accepted as a postulant. After graduating from the Seminary, Scott became Rector of Wicomoco Church on the Northern Neck of Virginia, where he still serves.

1990: An In-between Year:
Epiphany, which fell on Sunday, was celebrated on January 7, 1990, with a Service of Lights and Evening Prayer. In March the congregation was saddened to learn of the death in San Antonio of the Rev’d Edward Bush, St. Luke’s Rector from 1954 to 1960. In April we grieved when we heard that Megan Edwards, daughter of the Rev’d Myles Edwards (our rector from 1987-1989) had also died.

Our Second Barbecue:
In May we held our second Annual Barbecue. The brainchild of Catesby Jones, who is a master barbecue sauce maker, the Barbecue has become a cherished tradition, usually held on the first Saturday in May. A group of dedicated St. Lukers spends the night before the feast at the church, chopping and cooking the meat; the next day we sell to all comers. Proceeds provide scholarships to our annual Fall Retreat.

A Prayer Vigil:
From Friday, October 19, through Sunday, October 21, St. Luke’s held a Prayer Vigil in the library, chaired by Tee Bouldin and Sharon Ewing. Bishop Lee had requested that all churches in the Diocese initiate a Year of Prayer, preparatory to the upcoming Decade of Evangelism, and this is how St. Luke’s began.

A Name Change:
In November the Ministers, Lay Associates, changed its name to Pastoral Lay Associates. Since all of us are ministers in many ways, it was felt that “pastoral” would more sharply define the role of the group.

Good News!:
As the year ended, the congregation heard good news from the Search Committee. They had decided to recommend someone to be our new Rector and had given his name to the Vestry for its approval.

A Happy, Happy New Year: 1991 Begins a New Era:
The Rev’d Charles Neal Goldsborough conducted his first service at St. Luke’s on January 27, 1991. Formerly Associate Rector at Pohick Church, Lorton, Neal is a native of Culpeper, Virginia, and received his Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1981. He was formally instituted as our Rector on May 13, 1991. Neal and his wife Carol and his son Cliff live in Alexandria. Neal was to prove a dynamic and innovative Rector. In March he surprised us by winning an award at the annual Woodlawn Needlepoint Exhibit with his pew cover depicting Mount Vernon. (Those of us who went on the St. Luke’s bus to the General Convention in Philadelphia in 1997 saw Neal’s needlepoint again; the Altar Guild of the Episcopal Church Women had borrowed it to use in their display.)

And keep reading! Later on our Rector was to become a painter of Icons, a Tour Guide par excellence, and an active participant in the life of the Diocese.

In May St. Catherine’s Guild sponsored a benefit dessert concert, “May Pops”, which raised $800 for Fairfax Affordable Housing. Broadway actress Suzanne Briar (Mary Jane Smith’s daughter) and Bob Modjeski were wonderful singers, and Jane Bourdow wowed us with the organ’s “weekday voice.” Also in May Ben Wilmot’s essay in the Evangel highlighted some of the ways St. Luke’s had been welcoming newcomers and asked for ideas. We had had official Greeters in the Narthex; Pastoral Lay Associates had called in person or on the phone. For a time visitors took along a loaf of Friendship Bread.

On June 23 we reinstituted our Newcomers Luncheon; we have continued this practice once or twice a year. St. Luke’s was no longer the neighborhood church many of us remembered, but we were trying to introduce newcomers to as many people as possible, as well as to groups and programs in which they would feel at home. We encouraged -- and we still do -- people to wear name tags when they come to church.

In July the General Convention of the Episcopal Church was held in Phoenix, and a telephone hot line was set up in the church so that our congregation could follow what was going on.

Ye Olde Book Shoppe opened for the first time in November. Manned by Karol and Longina Flakowicz and Mary Beth Jones, the shop was open in the Narthex one Sunday each month to sell books of a religious/inspirational nature at a discounted rate. There were titles for both adults and children, fiction and non-fiction. Later run by Pete Matthews, the Shoppe continued until 1998.

1992: No Time for a Warmup:
There wasn’t time for a warmup. 1992 at St. Luke’s started off in high gear. At our January Annual Congregational Meeting, we honored Marty Young for her 10 years of service as Parish Secretary, presenting her a crystal bowl filled with white roses . . . New white carpet was laid in the library. (It still looks good in 1999. Congratulations to all the Neatniks and Scrubbers Up responsible) . . . Dates of the Diocesan Annual Council were announced; Neal devoted a session of the Adult Forum to explaining its workings and accomplishments; and we learned that he had been elected to the Diocesan Standing Committee . . . Several members of the congregation attended seminars held by the Diocesan Committee on Aging and brought back what they had learned to our Older Young Churchmen.

In February the first of a series of classes called Christianity 101 was held. Open to all as refreshers and especially recommended for Confirmation candidates and newcomers, these classes have proved popular and are now offered twice yearly.

We honored Jane Bourdow at a reception on April 5, marking her 10 years as organist/choirmaster. Neal noted that under Jane’s leadership, St. Luke’s has developed one of the best church music programs in the area. Jane has been an active participant in and an officer of the Association of Anglican Musicians.

In May St. Catherine’s sponsored another benefit concert, this one called “Tunes and Trifle.” The trifle was great and the music greater. $1000 was earned and donated to Project Word, an organization that assists handicapped persons.

In June a busload of St. Lukers went to Camden Yards, Baltimore, to see the Orioles play baseball. Organized by the Rev’d Lynda Hergenrather, the pilgrimage to Baltimore has become an annual affair.

A beloved member of the congregation, Thelma Clark, died in July. Thelma had worked hard to get the stained glass windows in the Narthex when we built our new church. She was a supporter and innovator of many women’s activities. And, in her later years, Thelma followed Diocesan guidelines to help to organize and support our Older Young Churchmen.

In July Nancy Cihak was appointed Director of St. Luke’s Day School. Nancy is still with us; there are currently 120 children enrolled, ages two and a half to five. The Day School Board of Trustees is headed by Deirdre Parker; Dan Berkon is a Board member. Our Day School continues to be well-regarded; there is always a long waiting list.

In a July Evangel Neal had an article about icons, which have been described as “windows to heaven.” He had begun to paint icons, a practice which he has found to greatly enhance his prayer life. A number of his icons are now hanging in the church. And, in 1998, another talent surfaced: Lynda completed her first icon. And she has done more.

In October our five-branched altar candlesticks (the “office lights”) were dedicated. They were given in memory of Colonel William N. Carter, by his widow, Jenny.

St. Catherine’s held a Fashion Show in November, its proceeds of more than $1000 divided among UCM, Habitat for Humanity, and the Route One shelters . . . And in December St. Catherine’s instituted a tradition which continues: serving lunch after packing cookies for Meals on Wheels clients and wrapping packages for a family “adopted” for Christmas through UCM.

1993: The Larger Church, Study, and Travel:

Neal was elected Alternate to the General Convention in 1994. His involvement with the larger church provided new insights for the congregation; he has made it a practice to share the events of the National Church at the Adult Forum and through the Evangel.

In May 11 St. Lukers (Gene Butler, Ernest Chapman, John Ewing, Ivy Modjeski, Peggy O’Connor, John Parrish, John Smith, Marge Stallman , and Sue Wanner--along with spouses Sharon Ewing and Tom Stallman) went to the University of the South at Sewannee, Tennessee, for EFM (Education for Ministry) Mentor Training. The group was completing the third of a four-year program of studies, which includes the Bible, church history, and theology.

Neal and seven members of the congregation (Ilga Pakalns, Lynda Hergenrather, Marge and Tom Stallman, Marty and John Young, and Bobbie Hurlburt) went to the Holy Land in the fall, under sponsorship of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. They stayed at St. George’s College in Jerusalem and met a number of Arab Christians, as well as American and British missionaries. They visited the Ahli Arab Hospital and learned of the medical needs of the community. This trip paved the way for subsequent missionary efforts in this part of the world; St. Luke’s has continued a fruitful relationship with the area.

1994: What a Year!!! We hire Joani, we honor Lynda, we hold the first Craft Fair:
In January a neighbor who is not a member of our congregation wrote us: “We enjoy hearing your bell ring.” (Our bell was given by Bob and Ivy Modjeski in September, 1993, in memory of Ivy’s granddaughter, Heather Marie Chriss). And we had a lot to ring about! Thanks to a special DCE Campaign, we had amassed enough money to refinance our mortgage and hire an Assistant to the Rector, who would preach and conduct services and would also direct the Christian Education programs. The Search Committee (Rob Ashton, Chairman; Paul Johnson, Joanne Kinney, Lisa Maple, Jo MacMichael, Dru Vodra, and Sue Wanner) chose Joan Louise Peacock-Clark, and she was hired by the Vestry.

Joani (married to Bill Clark and the mother of Zach, Colleen, and Jacob) is a native Washingtonian, who had a career with Fannie Mae and worked as a Montessori teacher before going to Seminary. Her undergraduate degree from George Mason University is in Philosophy and Religion; she was a May, 1994 graduate of VTS. In December Joani was ordained to the Priesthood at the National Cathedral. The preacher was the Rt. Rev’d Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland.

Joani’s first Sunday with us was June 1. In her five years at St. Luke’s she has developed outstanding education programs for both children and adults. She has added a book discussion group (Starbridge Study Group), Popcorn Theology (a movie discussion group for adults), and a Women’s Retreat, held each February. Under her leadership our youth groups and Sunday School have grown tremendously. And a special tradition which Joani developed is an annual list of books for reading at the beach, compiled in Adult Forum at the beginning of summer.

June 24 was the 15th anniversary of the Rev’d Lynda Hergenrather’s association with St. Luke’s. She came to us as a Deacon in June, 1979, then served as Assistant Rector, then as Priest in Charge. She is now our Priest Associate, and her contributions to St. Luke’s are myriad: She sings the Great Litany at the beginning of Advent and Lent; chants the Exultet at the Great Vigil of Easter; creates stained glass objects and sells them to benefit the church. She began and continues to administer our yearly trip to Baltimore to see the Orioles play. She served on the 1990 Search Committee, the Craft Fair Committee, and the Capital Campaign Committee. Lynda also preaches ably when Joani and Neal are away, and she holds a full-time job as a computer programmer.

In September we held our first Craft Fair. Chaired by Lisa Maple, the fair has become an annual event. We rent space to many crafters . . . Lynda sells her stained glass . . . we serve lunch . . . we have a Silent Auction and a fantastic Bake Sale (to which almost every St. Luke’s family contributes.) The Fair usually earns around $4000.

1995-1996: A Great Loss . . . Steady Growth:
In February, 1995, we mourned as a congregation when we heard of the death in North Carolina of Gay Davis. Gay had served St. Luke’s in many ways: as a Vestry member, Day School Director, Monday “Office Lady”, UCM Advocate for the Poor, EFM student, Sunday School teacher, and the author of a wonderful article published in the Virginia Episcopalian, “Mary Had a Baby.” This story received an award from the annual Conference of Episcopal Communicators.

In May Neal was elected Charter President of the Episcopal Armed Services Chaplains’ Association. In June EFM I class graduated (see list of members in May, 1993). John Ewing had served as the group’s mentor, assisted during part of the four-year program by the Rev’d Sarah Trimble.

In the summer of 1995, we began to open the church daily for prayer. A Sanctuary Lamp was purchased, whose flame would always illumine the altar. The lamp was given by Mary Ellen and Peggy Hombs in honor of the fiftieth wedding anniversary of their parents, Marie and Roger. It was dedicated in January, 1996.

Travel:
Fifteen St. Lukers and a couple of friends, led by Neal, went on a pilgrimage to England and Scotland from August 23-September 5: Neal's son Cliff, Bobbie Bruce, Bobbie Hurlburt, John and Marty Young, Ernest and Elizabeth Edgar, Tom and Marge Stallman, Burt and Vivian Kronstedt, Lynda Hergenrather, John and Lillian Andrews, Sally Messick (Gayle Gilmore's mother), and Teale Zetterstrom (a friend of Bobbie Hurlburt).

The group visited the most famous English cathedrals: Durham, York, Coventry, Winchester, Salisbury, Canterbury, and St. Paul's . . . as well as Westminster Abbey and other churches, the Tower of London, Edinburgh, the Costwolds, Stratford on Avon, and Stonehenge. Stalwart pilgrims, to say the least!

Ecumenism:
St. Luke’s hosted the annual Virginia LARC service on Tuesday, January 23, 1996. Suffragan Bishop David Jones was the celebrant; Bishop John Keating of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Arlington preached; and the Rt. Rev’d E. Harold Jansen, Bishop Emeritus, Metropolitan Washington, DC, Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, assisted. Muriel Drake continued to attend the LARC conferences on a regular basis, as she has done for a number of years. . . . St. Luke’s Children’s Choir sang at the Martin Luther King Festival at Bethlehem Baptist Church . . . We formed a partnership with Iglesia de San Marcos, a Spanish-speaking congregation which uses the facilities of St. Mark’s Church in our Region; Maria Drury translated our Sunday School curriculum into Spanish; Joani and Skip Jones went to the church on three Sundays to work with the parents who were going to be the Sunday School teachers.

Neal’s Sabbatical:
The Vestry granted Neal a five-months Sabbatical as he reached his five year anniversary as our Rector. We sent him off at Easter with a special song; he would study for a month at St. George’s College in Jerusalem and then worship at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, California, as a lay person. In his letter from Nablus, Neal described the opening of the 23-bed St. Luke’s Hospital. From Beverly Hills he described painting his first icon, now “at home” at St. Luke’s. The icon shows Saint Luke in his home, writing his Gospel. Upon his return, Neal was named to the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Boys’ Home in Covington, Virginia.

1997: M & M’s (Marty, Missionary Activity, Mutual Ministry Review):
Marty Young was given the title Parish Administrator when we celebrated her fifteenth anniversary with us at the Annual Meeting in January, `1997. Neal described her as “ . . . friend, evangelist, problem solver, liturgical consultant and assistant, confessor, keeper of the calendar, crisis manager, trouble shooter, and traffic cop.”

Lynda Hergenrather and Marge Stallman went to Israel for five weeks in January/February, where they used the $4700 donated by St. Lukers to set up a medical library at the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. The medical library was dedicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury on March 15.

In October, Dr. Ben Wilmot, a retired pediatrician, and his wife Connie, a retired family counselor, went to Ahli Arab Hospital for a month. Ben observed at the hospital and made recommendations for some equipment which the hospital needed. (St. Luke’s later sent $5000 to buy an EKG machine for their Emergency Room and money to buy Baker tubes for use in intestinal surgery.) Connie accompanied the social workers on their rounds and gave three seminars for health care professionals; she visited a YMCA day school, a school for Down’s Syndrome patients, a Woman’s Health Clinic and refugee camps.

The Vestry approved a Mutual Ministry Review and appointed a Steering Committee, chaired by Charles Kinney. Other members were Gerry Brent, Bobbie Hurlburt, Sally Hurme, Marjy Rawle, Bob Schreiber, Paula Vickers, and Susan Young; Cathy Fort was Consultant. After distributing survey forms to the congregation and meeting with 70 people in eight small group discussions, the committee announced its findings: They found that St. Luke’s is a “ . . . diverse, tolerant, and inclusive congregation . . . that gives more than lip service to lay ministry . . . ministers to the wider community . . . a warm, welcoming place with an . . . exciting, innovative education program and a rapidly growing youth group.”

In April we marked Jane Bourdow’s 15th anniversary with us. Neal noted that in addition to serving exceptionally well as St. Luke’s Organist/Choirmaster, Jane was currently National Secretary for the Association of Anglican Musicians. In May EFM Class II graduated (Bobbie Bruce, Claudia Carpenter, Joyce Herge, Ilga Pakalns, Bob Schreiber, Brenda Shackelford, and Mary Catherine DePolo). Gene Butler and John Ewing had served as Mentors.

“Captain John” Smith was honored with a reception in June. John had been Director of the Crucifers Guild for 35 years, and a number of his grown-up Acolytes came for the celebration. Bishop Lee, the Rev’d Charles Johnson, and the Rev’d Edward Morgan III sent letters of congratulation. Processional torches were given to commemorate John’s years with the Crucifers’ Guild. John was truly the “grand old man” of St. Luke’s. He had many years of Vestry service -- several times as Senior Warden -- and served as Chairman of the Search Committee when Ed Morgan left in 1981 . . . Sadly, John died a year later, in July, 1998, and a great crowd attended his funeral at St. Luke’s.

In August the last weekly Evangel was published, and we went to our present monthly format. Marge Stallman has been editing the publication; John Andrews did the layout until his sudden death in June, 1999; Lynda Hergenrather and Debbie Styles now assist Marge.

In the fall a new blue burse and veil for the chalice were purchased, along with stoles for the clergy, to be used during Advent; the lovely color is a departure from the more traditional purple (which we still have and will doubtless use again.) St. Catherine’s presented the clergy with special stoles to be worn on UTO Ingathering Sundays. Susie Ashton, Jane Bourdow, Michal Turner, and Dru Vodra did the needle work and stitchery on the stoles; Debbie Styles was a consultant and donated most of the fabric.

In December St. Lukers responded to a survey of favorite hymns. Our five favorites, in order, are Amazing Grace, Onward Christian Soldiers, Rock of Ages, Eternal Father Strong to Save, and A Mighty Fortress is our God.
1998: The Capital Campaign (Commitment to Tomorrow) Begins:
At the Annual Meeting in January, retiring Senior Warden John Young reported on plans to mount a Capital Campaign to raise enough money to make our building accessible to handicapped people, to replace or repair our ailing pipe organ, and to pay off our mortgage. John’s phrase, “It’s the right thing to do” became a watchword. By summer a Steering Committee chaired by Rob Ashton (members were Bobbie Hurlburt, Chris Kidd, Richard McFarland, Ivy Modjeski, Dru Vodra, Chris Weaver, and John Young) was in place; Penny Saffer was hired as Consultant. In December Ben Griffin and Connie Wilmot were appointed to chair the pledge phase of the Campaign, which was called “Commitment to Tomorrow.”

In January Muriel Drake was recognized for her 20 years of service as Chaplain at Mt. Vernon Hospital . . . Also during this month two long-time members of St. Luke’s, Adelaide Bolte and Ed Palmer, died.

A new Processional Cross was dedicated on Ash Wednesday, a gift to the church from Neal. The Byzantine design features a painted figure of the crucified Christ on a deep red background; the reverse side is a plain wooden cross with the Celtic symbol for St. Luke, the winged ox. The cross is used during the Penitential seasons.

A fascinating article in the June Evangel gave a history of our ailing pipe organ. It was built in 1972-73 to replace the electronic Baldwin organ we had been using since 1955. The money came from the August L. Cotton Memorial Fund (August Cotton was a Junior Warden at St. Luke’s in the early 1950’s.) Part of the work on the organ was done by untrained volunteers, and the work was never completed. It has been with the greatest efforts by Organist Bourdow, along with frequent trips to the loft by such stalwart St. Luke’s “fixers” as Tom Stallman, that our organ has continued to function. An organ maintenance company consulted in 1986 had pronounced the instrument “unserviceable.”

A Prayer Vigil on behalf of children and young people was held August 29, just as a new school year was to start. St. Catherine’s sponsored the Vigil and staffed the church from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that people could come in and pray.

In December it was announced that enough money had already been contributed for us to pay off our mortgage, and that Trinity Sunday, May 30, 1999 would be a service of Dedication and Consecration, followed by a catered luncheon.

1999: It All Comes Together:
Kickoff Sunday for Commitment to Tomorrow, February 7, was a merry occasion, as we symbolically burned our mortgage at each service. And May 30 was truly a glorious day in the life of St. Luke’s. 350 people were present as the Rt. Rev’d David Colin Jones consecrated our mortgage-free church building. Lunch was served in the Parish Hall and under tents outside. St. Lukers had pledged more than $652,000, and we were ready to go forward with the organ and the elevator construction. Thanks be to God! A granite stone was installed inside the center doorway; a cross and the consecration date were etched into the stone.

St. Luke’s had never looked lovelier than it did on May 30. Susie Ashton’s Master Landscaping Plan, adopted by the Vestry in 1991, was almost complete. Perennials were in bloom along the edges of the building; boxwoods (a gift from Bill Robinson) shaded the patio benches. The 11 Zelkova trees, planted in 1996, given as memorials, looked healthy . . . as did the magnolias on the Fort Hunt side and the red oaks and American yellowwoods planted by aspiring Eagle Scouts. Thanks to the St. Lukers who planted, mulched, laid brick, installed the wooden garden benches, and came faithfully to weed and water. Susie Ashton, JoAn Rice, John Young, and Chris Weaver were among them.

(During the decade covered by this history many gifts added to the beauty and serviceability of our indoor plant as well . . . In November, 1989, Ben and Mary Anderson Griffin donated a beautiful Chinese style area rug for the library . . . In 1991 a new brass Baptismal shell was donated by Mary Jane Smith; a brass candlestand for the Pascal Candle was given in memory of Charles N. Hergenrather and R. M. Starcher. In 1992, under the leadership of John and Mary Jane Smith and with contributions from St. Catherine’s and from the families of Thelma Clark and Dorothy Palmer, a kitchenette was added to the library. It has been a great convenience to the many groups which meet there not to have to bring everything down from the kitchen upstairs . . . Eucharistic candlesticks and a Gospel Book were given in memory of Captain William H. Patterson. Hymn boards were given by Joan Reichard in memory of her husband, Rick, and hand bells by Connie Chappel in memory of her husband Wesley … At Easter, 1997, the original rectangular altar from the “Old Church” was restored to its accustomed place, the trapezoidal one being de-consecrated and put into the Narthex, where it has been used for displaying our Christmas crèche and for the placing of palms on Palm Sunday . . . Torches to be used in the Processional were given in memory of Gretchen Gregory, Louise Clark, and Aimee Williams … A permanent Frontal, whose floral patterns contain all the colors of the Church Year, was given by an anonymous donor and put in place on the restored altar . . . In 1998 the Kidd family donated new green, red, and purple burses and veils, in thanksgiving for their children…Also the colored glass panes in the main entrance door were replaced with clear glass, in order to lighten the Narthex, enabling us to walk therein more safely, yet making us more welcoming and visible to the outside world . . . . Curb cutouts for wheelchair access were enlarged and improved in design; two handicapped-accessible rest rooms were built.)

OYC (Older Young Churchmen):
Throughout the decade, the OYC continued to provide fellowship for older members of the congregation. A fall picnic has become an annual event, hosted at different times by the Renauds, Smiths, and Modjeskis. A pool party at Jenny Carter’s was often a June event. The OYC took some exciting trips, including one to the James River plantations and one to Lexington. Neal was travel guide for visits to interesting churches in the Richmond area; on the Northern Neck; and to Maryland’s Eastern Shore. A Christmas party in the library became an annual tradition; there were frequent theater trips; and people still talk about a Mystery party in the library, hosted by John and Mary Jane Smith. Bobbie Hurlburt is OYC’s unofficial but very efficient leader; she does the telephoning and coordinating that make each event a success.

Clerical Assistance:
During the decade, St. Luke’s received clerical assistance from many. The Rev’d Elly Murphy (Brown) served as Assistant Rector; the Rev’d Patrick Gray and the Rev’d Andrew Tibus were at different times part-time Assistants. The Rev’d Wesley Smith served as Interim Rector 1989-1991. Betty Dunlop was Director of Christian Education 1989-91.

Seminarians Richard Wrede, Laura Minnich (Lockey), Fran Stanford, C. Andrew Doyle, and Sandra Moyle were later ordained; Donna Foughty was already a deacon when she served at St. Luke’s. Day Dodson and Beth Strickland earned their degrees from VTS in Christian Education. Blair Pogue, who will receive her Ph.D. from the Berkley Divinity School at Yale in the spring of 2000, was our summer Seminarian in 1999. Dewey Brown, a middler at the Seminary, has just come on board and will be with us for two years.

Outreach: St. Luke’s Touches the World:
St. Luke’s Outreach over the past ten years has extended far and wide. The Vestry has designated special offerings to the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief and the Diocesan Fund for Human Need; to the Covington Boys’ Home and the Jackson-Feild Home for Girls . . . The Episcopal Churchwomen have administered the United Thank Offering with its semi-annual Ingatherings, as well as collected loose change for the Church Periodical Club, which supplies Christian Education materials to those who need them . . . The church supports United Community Ministries in many ways, as well as local homeless shelters. We have given to Fairfax Affordable Housing, the South County Housing Coalition, to Second Genesis and to the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry. The Community Outreach Committee has sponsored special outreach projects frequently during the past few years, such as providing school supplies for needy kindergartners and over-the-counter medicines for shelter residents. One fall Marge Stallman made 24 denim tote bags for the children at the Bryant Early Learning Center . . . In 1995 St. Luke’s contributed $1325 to a program developed by Bishop of the Armed Forces Charles Keyser to bring Episcopal priests to Russia to instruct Russian chaplains; this was the first time Russia had had chaplains since 1918 … Special Outreach events are the CROP walk in the fall, with donations going to feed the hungry, and the Holy Rollers’ ride for Multiple Sclerosis each spring. There are St. Lukers, like Skip and Marjy Jones and others, who ride their bikes more than 100 miles in this good cause. This is not all of our Outreach; it is merely a sample to show our wide involvement.

Involvement With the Larger Church:
A number of St. Lukers have been involved with the Episcopal Church at the Diocesan or National Church level during the decade. Susie Ashton and Marge Stallman have served on the Commission for Lay Ministry; Marge also served for a year on the Budget Committee for Annual Council. Martha Barfoot has been a member and Secretary of the Standing Committee and has chaired the Resolutions Committee for Annual Council; she is currently Administrative Vice President for the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese. Ivy Modjeski is on the Missionary Society Board. Sue Wanner has been Recording Secretary of the Diocesan ECW and currently serves on the UTO Grants Committee. Ben Wilmot is a member of the Board of Trustees of Goodwin House. John Young serves the Bishop of the Armed Forces as part of a team that interviews candidates for military chaplaincies. Drew Hutcheson, Jr. , also assists that Bishop as a member of the Council of Advice for Prison Ministries.

Fall of 1999:
As this chapter of our history goes to press, we look back with pleasure to June 20, when we celebrated the 20 years the Rev’d Lynda Hergenrather has been with us, as well as the anniversary of her ordination. For a summary of Lynda’s many contributions to the life of this parish, see the information for 1994 . . . And we look back with sadness to the deaths of four long-time St. Lukers during the spring and summer: John Andrews, Bill Banks, Carlyle Burdette, and Jules Renaud… We have just had our second Prayer Vigil on behalf of Children... And Joani has left us. Temporarily, thank God, for we all miss her energy and enthusiasm, as well as those special “Joani” sermons. She has been with us five years, and the Vestry has approved for a three-months Sabbatical, which she is spending in various ways: traveling in Ireland and Scotland; singing in a choir; interning with the Office of Pastoral Development in the National Church; and college shopping with Zach. She will be back for Advent! Happy New (Church) Year to all! May we continue to grow in the service of Our Lord in the new Millennium.

2000-2009: The Millennium Came!

The millennium came! It was 2000, and the computers didn’t crash as some doomsday prophets had predicted. The clocks ticked, the world turned, and the congregation of St. Luke’s found that it was a good time indeed.

Two long-dreamed-of and very ambitious goals were achieved in 2000-2001: The installation of an elevator to make our building accessible to all, and the replacement of our terminally ill organ. Both projects were funded by the Capital Campaign “Commitment to Tomorrow,” begun in 1998. And both involved not only a considerable sum of money, but also hours of work by faithful members of the congregation.

Manager John Young set the tone for the elevator project: “It’s the right thing to do,” he said. A contract was signed with the Khoury Construction Company, and work began in June. Many things had to be done before the elevator could actually be installed. The Sacristy had to be restructured, and while this was being done the Altar Guild relocated to the library for five months. The elevator was dedicated on November 7, 2000.

It would be the end of 2001, however, before our new organ was in place. The Organ Committee, formed in 1995 and Co-chaired by Pete Nanos and Ivy Modjeski, had been working hard and weighing various options for several years. They contacted more than thirty organ companies. Committee members traveled to a number of places to try out various instruments before choosing Pieter Visser and Associates of Houston, Texas to build a new organ for St. Luke’s.

As the time came to say goodbye to our old organ, we became downright sentimental. We named “him” Augustus, in honor of August Cotton, Junior Warden of St. Luke’s in the early 1950’s whose Memorial Fund had paid for this, our first pipe organ.

Our new organ, named “Cecilia” (in honor of a saint who was martyred circa 230 A.D. and known as a patron of music because of her beautiful singing in praise of God) was heard for the first time during Services on Sunday, December 9th, 2001. It was dedicated on May 5th, 2002, at a recital by Mark Laubach, a friend and colleague of Jane Bourdow, and winner of the 1984 American Organists National Young Artistic Competition. “Cecilia” is a world-class instrument. Housed in a beautiful cherry -wood cabinet, it is a delight to the eye, as well as to the ear.

The organ and elevator projects were huge undertakings and, to some extent, dominated our history in 2000-2001. But other things were going on at St. Luke’s, as well. A new Columbarium was constructed on the west wall of the narthex and dedicated on Easter Sunday, 2001. Tom Stallman was the project manager.

The congregation mourned the deaths of a number of long-time members during 2000-2001: Wayne Wilson, Dorothy Brown, Howard Hutcheson, Elizabeth Parrish, Carolyn Parrish, Brenda Shackelford, and Betty Poole.

And we experienced clergy changes in 2001 – not totally unexpected, but hard to face, nevertheless. Our Rector, Neal Goldsborough, and our Associate Rector, Joan Peacock-Clark, both left us. Joani went first; she accepted a call to be Rector of Church of the Holy Cross in Dunn Loring, and began her ministry there on July 18th. The Fellowship Committee coordinated a dinner/roast for her on June 22nd.

Joani had distinguished herself in many ways during her seven years at St. Luke’s: As Director of Christian Education, as a gifted preacher who found in her Celtic theology an appreciation of the events of daily life, and as founder of the Starbridge Study Group, a book club which continued to meet for several years after she left.

Neal was to leave us a few months later. On January 21st we celebrated his tenth anniversary at St. Luke’s. A week later he was able to reveal to us that he was one of four nominees to be Bishop of West Virginia. On May 5th we learned that someone else had been chosen, and we were happy not to have to say goodbye at that time. However, on September 13th he accepted a call to become Rector of St. John’s Church in Barrington, Rhode Island. His farewell dinner took place on October 12th. Neal was a superb Rector – deeply spiritual and also warm and approachable. His work as a Navy Reserve Chaplain during his tenure with us exposed St. Luke’s to a wider world. He shared his experiences with us upon his return from a tour of duty in Estonia, and spoke to us movingly of his experience of ministering to the injured and dying and their families after the attack on the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.

These first two years of the new decade were also marked by expanded efforts in our outreach ministries, an active Older Young Churchmen’s’ program, several day-long women’s’ retreats, excellent monthly programs for St. Catherine’s Guild, and Sunday morning Christian Education for children and adults led by clergy and lay people. An active youth group program provided recreation, fellowship, and spiritual experiences for our young people.

A real blessing in the continuing story of St. Luke’s as we looked forward to the year 2002 was the calling of two outstanding interim clergy: The Rev’d Tom McCusker, interim Rector, and the Rev’d Mike Moore, interim Associate. Tom was a dynamic leader and a warm and caring pastor. Mike, who had served as our interim for a year in the mid-1980’s, has been known for sermons which have challenged us and made us think, and for his thoughtful attention to all of us and our “stuff.” We knew that we were in good hands.

2002-2003: The Interim:
In January the Vestry appointed a Search Committee to begin the task of finding Neal Goldsborough’s successor. Susie Ashton and Gene Butler were the Co-chairs, and the rest of the membership included Martha Barfoot, Skip Jones, Joanne Kinney, Dick Larm, Richard McFarland, Ilga Pakalns, and John Young. The committee was commissioned on January 13th, and Mike Moore used the sermon time that morning to outline, in step-by-step detail, the search process used by parishes in the Diocese of Virginia. The committee, after hiring Mr. Steve Van Voorhees of Richmond as Consultant, began the work of leading the parish through a period of reflection and self-study.

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”:
The Rev. David Schlafer, a widely known author and teacher on the subject of preaching, led a 4-part Lenten series which introduced and explored the notion that the sermon is much more than simply “a religious monologue” delivered by an individual to a passive audience. It is in fact a dialogue in which both preacher and congregation are actively engaged.

Questions and Answers:
In June a questionnaire prepared by the Search Committee gave everyone in the congregation a chance to participate in the preparation of the parish profile, the document on which the search for a new rector would be based. Further information was gathered through a series of small parish meetings. The committee spent the summer and much of the fall processing our responses and writing the profile. By December it was finished and ready for the vestry’s and the bishop’s approval.

“When the Saints Go Marching In – To the Future”:
Fifty-five St. Lukers took part in the annual parish retreat at Shrinemont in early October. The Rev. Bruce Stewart, Director of the Center for Liturgy and the Arts, led a lively and creative exploration of what it means to be people and a parish in the midst of transition and change.

“Manna for the Journey”:
Interim periods in a congregation’s life are often times when the parish budget slips as people rest on their oars, waiting to see what the future may hold. That did not happen here. The fall stewardship campaign, led by Tom Hargrove and his committee, resulted in a budget increase for 2003 – a tribute to the maturity and the commitment of the St. Luke’s family to that future, as the search for a new rector entered a new phase.

As 2003 began, the work of the vestry’s Communications Committee, formed in 2002, began to bear fruit. As the year progressed, and under John Medina’s leadership, the committee expanded the parish web page to include a parish calendar and bulletin board. Parishioners’ e-mail addresses were gathered and added to the telephone directory, creating a whole new channel of communication within the congregation. Peggy Coyle, David Hamilton, Richard and Lisa Maple, Jeff Ryscavage, Tom Stallman, and Marty Young all shared in the committee’s work.

The vestry used its February retreat to focus on its role in the search for a new rector. Tom McCusker and Mike Moore led the vestry’s reflections on its relationship with the Search Committee, its preparation for meetings with visiting candidates, and its part in the final interview and calling process.

Lent:
Dr. David Yount, religion columnist for the ScrippsHoward newspaper chain, and a widely read commentator on contemporary religion in America, led four evenings of reflection on faith, prayer, practical spirituality, and the living out of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Profile – Parish Priorities:
The Parish Profile, published early in the year, outlined the congregation’s understanding of its priorities for the future and its expectations of a new rector. Chief among them was the expansion and enhancement of a Christian Education program for all ages. Also high on the list were the strengthening of the parish outreach programs, stewardship education, building on the Communications Committee’s efforts to deepen parishioners’ awareness of activities, programs and opportunities for participation in the life and work of the congregation, and improvements in the ways in which newcomers are welcomed and drawn into the life of the parish.

The General Convention, Minneapolis:
The Convention’s vote, in July, to affirm the election of an openly gay bishop – Gene Robinson in the Diocese of New Hampshire – had repercussions across the national church, and here at St. Luke’s. Some St. Lukers were angered – some deeply so – by the Convention’s action. Others supported it, and still others expressed no strong opinion, one way or the other. A few members left the church, but the parish did not suffer the sort of crisis and fracturing that occurred in a number of congregations in the Diocese of Virginia and in other dioceses across the country. One very important reason why the parish has been able to move forward without crisis and fracture in the years following the 2003 Convention was the even-handed, moderate approach of our new rector to the volatile issues raised by the Convention vote. He has been able to model an openness and a willingness to respect differing points of view, and the people who hold them.

Goodbye and Hello:
On the 19th of July the vestry elected the Rev’d Ellis Tucker Bowerfind to be the seventh rector of St. Luke’s. The vestry’s Transition Committee shifted into high gear with its task of helping Tuck, Delea, Tiffany, George, Dorothy, and Elizabeth in the move from St. Mary’s Church in Barnstable, Mass. to Alexandria, and their entry into the life of our parish. In August the congregation said farewell to Tom McCusker and expressed its gratitude for his work as interim rector. Parish life and programs continued to move forward and to thrive under his leadership during the 22-month interim period. The outreach, education, and youth programs continued, thanks to dedicated workers, teachers, and advisors. Pastoral care was faithfully attended to by clergy and lay people alike; worship Services were well attended. In short, there was no slowing down. The parish didn’t simply mark time, waiting for a new rector to arrive. God’s work – the parish’s ministry – continued.

September 14th was Tuck’s first Sunday as rector. The Bowerfinds were welcomed by a large congregation, and the 10:00 am Service was followed by a joyful picnic celebration on the church grounds. Shortly after accepting the vestry’s call Tuck asked Mike Moore to stay on for a few months to help him get started here. “A few months” stretched into a little over four-and-ahalf years before Mike formally retired from the parish staff in the spring of 2008.

The fall presented several opportunities for Tuck and the congregation to get acquainted. A number of informal gatherings were held at the church and in parishioners’ homes. Nearly 100 people attended the parish retreat at Shrinemont. On a Sunday evening in November we joined Tuck and Bishop Lee in a formal Celebration of New Ministry. The preacher at that Service was the Rev’d Nicholson B. White, Tuck’s former rector and boss during his eight years at St. Paul’s Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. By the end of the year Tuck’s presence and leadership was well established.

2004:
Tuck’s first year in our midst brought new directions and renewed energy to every level of the parish education program. The lectionary-based “Living the Good News” curriculum and the successful Children’s Chapel program continued through the spring under the direction of Lisa Collett, Sue Freewalt, and Dawn McMillan.

During the summer Sue and Dawn received training for leadership of “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd,” a curriculum designed for 3-6 year-olds, which was introduced in September along with “Grow in Faith,” a new home-grown curriculum for grades 1-5. Grades 6-8 met through the year with Jim Poole and Nancy Skardon in a series of lectionary-based programs.

Skip Jones received orientation and leadership training during the summer for a comprehensive and widely successful youth program known as “Journey to Adulthood”(J2A), the idea being to build upon and enhance St. Luke’s tradition of strong and effective youth ministry. The program is divided into three subsections: Rite 13 (7th & 8th Grades) celebrates the individuality and uniqueness of each young person. A Rite 13 liturgy marks the passage from childhood toward adulthood. J2A (9th & 10th Grades) helps youth to develop the skills and capacity for critical thinking necessary for a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. Young Adults in the Church (11th & 12th Grades) is a mentor-based program which helps older teens to discern and carry out a ministry within the church, or in the larger community. A steering committee was formed in the fall to explore ways to introduce and implement the program at St. Luke’s.

And something new was added to the adult education program. With Tuck’s guidance and support, Mike Moore and the newly formed Adult Education Committee developed and presented a second Sunday morning program called “Track II.” The new offering, which began in September, was a series of courses designed to facilitate small group discussion of a variety of biblical and theological topics. Members of the committee served as discussion leaders.

As the weather begins to turn warm in the spring St. Lukers know that the great day is coming! The annual, and newly renamed “Catesby Jones – St. Luke’s World Famous BBQ,” in honor of its founder, fell, as it always does, on the first Saturday in May. “The Barbeque Boys,” Richard McFarland, Ben Griffin, Harry Shackleford, Richard Maple, John Young, and their helpers fire up the smokers on Friday afternoon and cook through the night to produce some of the best Carolina pork barbeque this side of the Carolinas. The chicken hits the grill on Saturday morning, and by 11:00 am a long line of neighbors and parishioners is ready for lunch. The money raised each year helps to defray the costs of the parish retreat at Shrinemont and to support the work of the Outreach Committee, as well as the activities of the youth group. By 2009 the profits from the barbeque were well over $6,000.00.

We coped with burst pipes, floods in the basement from heavy spring rains, and an ongoing battle with leaks in the roof. In the fall the vestry was approached by Sprint PCS with a proposal to place a cell-phone antenna in an enlarged and heightened (at Sprint’s expense) church steeple. Anne Ayres, Ben Griffin, Tom Stallman, and John Young negotiated on behalf of the vestry, and a contract was entered into. After a long approval process by the County Zoning Board, work was begun. Installation was completed in early 2006, providing a valuable service for cell phone users in the Fort Hunt area, and a new source of income for the parish. Contracts for T-Mobile and AT&T antennas were added in 2007.

In October the vestry established a General Endowment Fund to assure a firm financial foundation for the parish, to provide additional funds for capital improvements, for maintenance of an aging building and increased funding for outreach ministries and parish programs.

A parish music survey taken late in the year revealed a desire on the part of a number of parishioners to participate in a hand bell choir. Others were interested in forming a youth choir, and still others expressed an interest in providing instrumental accompaniment in worship Services. Outdoor Sunday morning Services were begun in the summer of 2005. They have become a part of our worship life each succeeding summer, and have provided an opportunity for those musical gifts to be offered. Our hand bell choir was formed early in 2006 with the gift, from the Stallmans and the Youngs, of two octaves of bells and a choir table. Debbie Stephens took the lead in training and leading the choir.

2004 marked the 75th anniversary of St. Luke’s life and ministry in the Fort Hunt neighborhood. We took time to reflect, during the retreat at Shrinemont, on St. Luke’s Day, and on All Saints Sunday, on our history as a parish community from its earliest days – the era of Aggie Finks and “the seminary boys” – to the present day, with its challenges of life and ministry in a new millennium. Our observances culminated on November 20th with a gala dinner dance, planned and coordinated by Anne Ayres and her committee, at the Mount Vernon Inn. The nearly 200 St. Lukers who attended shared a truly memorable evening.

2005:
During its annual February retreat the vestry established a Long-Range Planning committee. Anne Ayres, Ben Griffin, Tom Hargrove, Paul Johnson, and John Young, along with the wardens and the rector, set about the task of looking ahead – beyond the day-to-day, month-to-month focus of the vestry – and leading in the development of a 3 to 7-year plan for the mission and ministry of the parish. The committee made a number of recommendations, which included increasing the level of compensation for Marty and Jane, creation of a stipend for a Director of Christian Education, a part-time sexton position, and the deepening and diversification of our stewardship. One of the committee’s first recommendations which the vestry accepted and acted upon was a special every member canvass (“Living the Vision”), to be carried out in the spring for the purpose of raising the funds necessary to support the hiring of a full-time assistant rector. The canvass was a success, and the money was raised.

After a thorough search involving several candidates the Rev’d Ketlen Solak, a 2005 graduate of VTS, was called to be our new assistant rector. Ketlen began her ministry in early August and quickly won the hearts of the parish family with her abundant warmth, innate kindness, and infectious faith in her Lord. She moved quickly into the role of coordinator of the J2A program. Under her leadership and with the hard, dedicated work of a team of trained adult teachers/advisors – Eva Scull, Mike Tindle, Susie Ashton, David Ayres, Tiffany Joly, Merodie Hancock, and Skip Jones, all three sections of the program were launched in September. They took root, and have flourished. A second group of teachers/advisors, who have served from 2007-2009, are Tracey Navratil, George Omohundro, Amy Augenblick, Marjy Jones, Scott Solak, Keith Byron, Lisa Maple, Ben Griffin, Cathy McPeek, and Bryan Love.

A new tradition was born on All Saints Sunday – the Senior Saints’ Luncheon, hosted by the clergy and vestry, in honor of the senior members of the congregation. Good wine, good food, and good music, all in a festive atmosphere in the parish hall. It was the first of what has become an annual event on the parish calendar – and one which is eagerly looked forward to every fall.

St. Luke’s new website, which became available in November, was the product of untold hours of work by Lynda Hergenrather. Reflective of more sophisticated technology – as well as more sophisticated users – the site makes increased use of photography, and has more links to related sites and resources.

2006
Ivy Modjeski’s 17 years of devoted leadership of the Children’s Choir program came to an end early in the year, as she and Bob retired to Pensacola, Florida. Ketlen Solak, a talented musician, took over the program, and has continued with it. In September the music program was expanded to include a Youth Choir, and Ketlen’s husband Scott, also a gifted musician, assumed leadership of that group. The music program continued to expand as Ketlen added a choir for five and six year-olds in 2008. In 2009 the Royal School of Church Music program was added for the youth and children’s choirs.

2006 was a year of change for the vestry. The ways in which its committee tasks and responsibilities are carried out were reviewed and revised. Committee rosters were expanded to include non-vestry members of the congregation. Long-range planning became an important part of the vestry’s work. A centralized year long parish calendar of events and programs was introduced, and has become a valuable planning tool for both the vestry and the parish staff.

The highlight of the year in adult education was the Via Media program – a course in the basic tenets of classical Anglican theology which served both as an extended Lenten program and an adult confirmation course. Nearly 75 parishioners gathered on eight Sunday evenings for dinner, followed by a 20-minute video presentation, small group discussions of what they had seen and heard in the presentations, and a brief worship Service. Dinner was prepared, served, and cleaned up by members of the youth group and their advisors. The members of the Adult Education Committee – Gene Butler, Barbara Conner, George Coviello, John Ewing, Jim Poole, Tom and Marge Stallman, Carlo Uchello, Tom Yoder, and John Young served as discussion leaders, and were responsible for the success of the program.

In June the first J2A Urban Adventure took place in New York City. Members of the group and their advisors spent two nights in a hostel explored the city, and visited “ground zero” and the Empire State Building. In July Colleen Wheaton joined the parish staff, on a part-time basis, as the Church School Coordinator. She is an energetic and creative leader in our children’s ministry. In addition to her work with the Sunday School, she produces an annual brochure which publicizes the entire Christian education program.

In mid-October the parking lot median was transformed into “the Pumpkin Patch.” Pumpkins as far as the eye could see. Hay bales and scarecrows. On weekends through the end of the month pumpkin, gourd, and Indian corn sales were brisk. The Barbeque Boys provided smoked turkeys for sale. Drinks and food, bratwurst, hot dogs, etc., were for sale, as well. And there was story-telling, face painting, and other children’s activities. Volunteers from over 100 St. Luke’s families contributed time and energy to the project, which was a major fund raiser for the J2A pilgrimage and mission trip programs. The Pumpkin Patch has become an annual October event.

Two of our other highly successful fundraisers, the craft fair-bake sale and the silent auction, underwent a leadership change in 2006. Lisa Maple, who had chaired the annual September event since the mid-1990”s and Gayle Gilmore, who had been in charge of the auction since 2001, passed their chairmanships to Tracey Navratil. The two events were separated when the auction was moved to the third weekend in November, to bring it closer to the holiday season. Lauren Szymanoski chaired the auction in 2006. Sam and Maria Farran, Lisa Johnson, Amy Moorman, and Susan Young shared that responsibility in 2007, and Karen McGinn took the responsibility for 2008 and 2009. In 2009 these three activities raised nearly $12,000.00 – 10% for outreach and the rest to be used, at the discretion of the rector and vestry, for special projects in the parish.

2007:
In February a number of our parishioners launched St. Luke’s participation in the Ventures in Community Hypothermia Outreach Project. St. Lukers began feeding and chaperoning 25 homeless persons at the Rising Hope Shelter on Wednesday nights in February and March. This ministry was repeated in 2008 and 2009, and will continue in 2010 and beyond.

In April several St. Lukers attended a meeting in Woodbridge to explore the possibility of entering into a coalition of northern Virginia churches dedicated to pressing for action on a range of social justice issues. The question of whether or not St. Luke’s should become affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) was discussed and debated through the summer and fall. While the ultimate decision was not to join the IAF as a parish, the conversation did lead to our involvement in the Families in Transition (FIT) program, a new form, for our congregation, of outreach. In the fall of 2009 the Outreach Committee elected to sponsor and assist Kanessa T. and her daughter, for a period of two years, in their transition from homelessness to permanent housing.

On the 8th of June we celebrated 25 years of service to St. Luke’s by both Marty Young and Jane Bourdow – and Lynda Hergenrather’s 28 years of ministry among us. The parish hall was transformed into a festive setting with balloons and streamers, and Ben Wilmot, Scott Solak, Chris McFarlane, and Bob Modjeski (visiting from Pensacola) provided musical entertainment. There was food, wine, dancing, and the singing of “Thanks for the Memories” – lyrics by Scott Solak set to the old Bob Hope theme song.

On June 23rd the participants in the first J2A pilgrimage and their adult advisors departed for a week-long journey to England. Their itinerary included visits to Canterbury Cathedral, Salisbury and Winchester Cathedrals, and Stonehenge. They worshipped in parish churches which were already hundreds of years old before the United States came into being. Their trip to London included a sight-seeing tour, and our pilgrims saw Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. They returned home on June 30th with a deepened understanding of their Anglican heritage.

A second group of J2A pilgrims and their chaperones journeyed to Hawaii in June, 2009. They stayed at Camp Erdmann, on the north shore of Oahu, where they gathered for worship each morning and evening. On the first day of their journey they worshipped, in English and Hawaiian, at the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew’s, in Honolulu. Their week included a visit to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, leading a worship Service and serving lunch at River of Life Mission – and an afternoon spent getting to know the Mission’s clients – snorkeling, hiking, a surfing lesson, a luau, and time for reflection on the presence of God in the beauty of their surroundings.

In October, George Roberts, a student at VTS, led our Shrinemont retreat with reflections on the life and work of the Apostle Paul and portions of his one-act show on Paul. George then performed the entire show as part of our Lenten study on Paul in 2008.

2007 was a busy and productive year for the Administration, Building and Grounds Committee of the vestry. Taking advantage of our first full year of income from the steeple lease, we were able to address many needed repairs and renovations. Accomplishments included new lighting in the library and the lounge, roof repairs – for the first time in anyone’s memory there were no leaks anywhere in the building. Modifications were made in the nave to make space for wheelchairs at the ends of several pews, and there was extensive painting done, from the basement to the third floor.

2008:
In May St. Luke’s Day School celebrated 50 years of service to the community. Enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year stood at 106 students, ranging in age from two-and-one-half to five. The school, under the direction of Anne Marie Coggins, continues its dedication to the philosophy of providing a loving and nurturing environment under the guidance of a well qualified staff of teachers and teaching assistants who understand and respond to the developmental needs of pre-school children.

Improvements and renovations to the building continued in 2008, thanks to continuing income from the steeple lease. During the summer Chris Weaver and Susan Harris led a major clean-up, renovation, and rearrangement of the library which included painting and new carpeting. The narthex and lounge areas were cleaned and rearranged. The water-damaged ceilings in those areas, with their bulging plaster bubbles, were repaired and repainted. The rector’s office received a thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint.

In September the vestry, reflecting its growing commitment to long-range planning, entered into a contract with the architectural firm of LeMay, Erickson, and Wilcox for a thorough study of our facilities, with recommendations for improvements. In November the vestry received a “Survey Report for St. Luke’s Church,” which would serve as a tool for planning and prioritizing future improvements.

The initiative and hard work of Tom Yoder and his planning team brought a new and important dimension to the parish music program. In October St. Luke’s Friends of Music presented its first concert in the nave. It featured the Ottone Ensemble, a brass quintet led by Mark Questad and accompanied on the organ by Jane Bourdow. In December, Maggie Sansone’s Celtic Christmas concert played to a packed house. The long term goal of the Friends is the presentation of a continuing series of performances representing a variety of musical styles and periods, voice and instrumental, chamber and choral. The series continued through the spring of 2009, and the 2009-2010 season is in full swing.

2009:
Following John Young’s presentation of the LeMay, Erickson, Willcox Building Survey Report at the Annual Parish Meeting in January the vestry created The Fabric of St. Luke’s (FOSL) Steering Committee. Ernie Edgar, Susan Harris, Don Hazen (chair), Mary Orzechowski, Jim Poole, Joey Rebentsch, Tom Stallman, Chris Weaver, and John Young were charged with the development of “a comprehensive long range strategic plan for St. Luke’s facilities that meets the needs and vision of all the ministries currently and for the future.”

During 2009 the committee conducted a congregational survey, arranged for interviews of parishioners with the architects, and authorized, reviewed, and approved a Building Use Plan developed by L, E, & W. The parish survey, which was conducted in March, made it clear that the congregation’s first priority was renovation of the kitchen, parish hall, and classroom areas. This was identified as Phase One of the long range plan, and the vestry approved funding for the architects to go ahead with a design for that work. A general contractor was selected during the summer, and in November and December a series of congregational meetings provided an opportunity for an update on the committee’s work, and for further input from parishioners.

In February the United Community Ministries announced that it had fed as many people in January as it had in all of 2007. The news elicited an overwhelming response in the Mount Vernon community. Neighborhood volunteers collected over 3300 lbs. of food in a “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” food drive. St. Luke’s was a leader in the effort, as our narthex became the main collection point. In April, Bishop Jones consecrated our new baptismal font, which was given by Harry Shackleford "In loving memory of Brenda Logan Shackleford – wife, mother, artist, poet, teacher, and proud St. Luke's parishioner." Work on the building continued. The nave got a face-lift in July. The long damaged ceiling was repaired, the old, unused speakers were removed, ceiling light bulbs were replaced, and the ceiling was given a fresh coat of paint for the first time in 38 years.

And summer was an exciting time for young St. Lukers. The Vacation Bible School, which was revived in 2004 by Nancy Skardon and Sue Freewalt with approximately 30 children and a few volunteers, has, with the single exception of 2006, become an annual summer event. Over the past three summers, under the direction of Colleen Wheaton, the program has grown steadily. This year 121 children from the parish, the day school, and the neighborhood took a trip through “Discovery Canyon,” guided by a staff of 30 volunteers. They learned about the value of giving by participating in the UCM’s “Adopt a Kindergartner” program, which provides back-to-school supplies for children of families of limited financial means.

One of the most important aspects of St. Luke’s life in this decade has been the steady growth and expansion of our outreach ministries. Under the leadership of Dru Vodra, Jim Poole, Andrea Huston, Sue Rogich, Tom Yoder, and Sharon Barnes, and with the support and encouragement of our clergy, we have increased our support of the programs of UCM, Ventures in Community, and Rising Hope Ministries. In 2008 the Outreach Committee’s financial support for local community ministries and programs totaled nearly $33,000.00. This is in addition to literally countless hours of time and energy given in personal, hands-on ministry by scores of St. Luke’s parishioners.

And our outreach ministries have had an international dimension, as well. In 1997, Ben and Connie Wilmot, Marge Stallman, and Lynda Hergenrather visited the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, in the Diocese of Jerusalem. Ever since then, with their guidance and leadership, the people of St. Luke’s have been extremely responsive to the needs of that hospital and the people it serves. During the past 12 years, through individual contributions, proceeds from bake sales and sales of Palestinian crafts, Ben Wilmot’s CD, Lynda’s stained glass and “Year in Pictures” CD sales, over $40,000.00 has been raised to provide hospital equipment and supplies. Since 2004 there have been 7 ingatherings of afghans, blankets, and quilts crafted by parishioners for babies born in the hospital. This ministry, which involves dozens of St. Lukers, has produced hundreds of these gifts for the children of Gaza.

In the spring of 2004 Nancy Dinsmore, Development Officer of the Diocese of Jerusalem, visited St. Luke’s and spoke of the needs of the church in Jerusalem. In early 2005 Tiffany Joly, with the sponsorship of the parish, spent 2 months working at the Princess Bazma Center in East Jerusalem.

2009 also marked the fulfillment of two-and-one-half years of planning by the Parish Mission Committee, which was formed in the fall of 2006 to coordinate a response to our summer-long study of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The committee set the tasks for itself of planning a mission trip to a developing nation, and supporting the KIVA micro-loan projects.

In 2007, with half of the purse given to her on the occasion of her 28th anniversary at St. Luke’s, Lynda Hergenrather took the lead in our support of the KIVA program by making a number of micro-loans to poor, small business entrepreneurs in the developing world. The thumbnail sketches of these entrepreneurs, published monthly in the Evangel, brought a generous response from the congregation. By the end of 2009, approximately a dozen St. Lukers had provided 350 loans for a total of over $10,000.00 to these entrepreneurs around the world.

In 2008, Honduras was considered as a possible mission trip destination for the summer of 2009, but political unrest in that country and the economic troubles at home forced the committee to choose a domestic alternative, in Navajoland. In February of this year Paul Krizek visited Good Shepherd Mission in Fort Defiance, Arizona to begin planning for a summer visit. In May our mission team held a rummage sale and sponsored a Native American Festival to raise funds for the trip, and in July 14 members of the parish spent a week at the Mission, learning about their vocational greenhouse and gardening program for the developmentally disabled, and their hopes for support for vocational deacons.

The first decade of the new millennium has been an eventful chapter in the story of St. Luke’s Church. It has been a time of change in our ordained leadership, and in ways in which our lay leaders carry out their responsibilities. Our education and music programs have been broadened and enriched. We have grown – spiritually, numerically, and in our sense of mission.

And we have maintained our focus as a neighborhood church which serves as a meeting place for a wide range of community groups – from Scout Troup 460 to the pastoral counseling center, A.A., the Mt. Vernon Park Board, the Nurturing Parents program, and dance, yoga, cello, and animal training classes.

We are entering into the next decade of our life on Fort Hunt Road with a deepened sense of what we can, and do, accomplish together as a congregation – and with a plan for making our parish facilities better suited to our vision of ministry.