The Church Building

From a meeting place in farmhouses, to a log Church, to a log building next to Glaize Creek School, to a white frame Church, to our current red brick Church, all have served as gathering places for the congregation of St. Luke's. 

LOG CHURCH - In 1863, church trustees purchased a quarter acre of land adjacent to the Burgess family burial ground. On this land, a log Church was built.  There is no record of the year the Church was built due to early records being destroyed when the log Church burned in 1878. The parishioners then moved to a vacant log building next door to the newer frame Glaize Creek School. 

GLAIZE CREEK SCHOOL SITE - The original log Glaize Creek School was located about a half mile south of our present church site. The land was probably donated by a member of the Moss families of Moss Hollow Valley. Services continued to be held at the old school site until March 1884. 

WHITE FRAME CHURCH - On March 2, 1884, Reverend J. Irion, of St. Paul's Evangelical Church of St. Louis succeeded in organizing the congregation of St. Luke's Evangelical Church. On the same day St. Luke's was officially organized, the cornerstone of the white frame church was laid and three months later in June of 1884, the structure was complete. The Church was dedicated on Pentecost Sunday 1884. The church was heated by wood and oil lamps to provide lighting.  In 1925, an electric light system was installed. As the church grew, it became apparent that a larger House of Worship was needed. 

RED BRICK CHURCH - After a motion was approved to build a new church, a committee was formed to review plans for a new Church. The church was going to grow from 24 foot by 36 foot to 34 foot by 60 feet in size.  The cornerstone was laid October 2, 1927 and the completed building was dedicated on June 17, 1928. The dedication day program was in German but it is known there was much celebration. They held a morning, afternoon and evening church service that included singing hymns, reading Psalm 131, conducting a processional to the new Church where they dedicated the Church, the new bell and the new organ. They concluded their celebration with a congregational dinner.  The current church is built of red matt brick with white stone trimmings and beautiful stained glass windows.  A beautiful stained glass window titled, "I Am the Good Shepherd" is located above the church's front entrance. In 1962, a Christian Education Building was added on adjoined to the Church building on the South side. The new church was modernly equipped having a choir room, mother's room, pastor's room, a manual Kilgen pipe organ, an inclined floor, a large basement, comfortable pews, a church bell with toller attachment, beautiful church furniture made of matching oak wood, a fan, hot air furnace, and a well equipped kitchen including an electric stove.  

Many updates have been made to the Red Brick Church through the years such as adding a parking lot in 1948, a new garage, a stone entrance in 1957, and more. As new subdivisions popped up everywhere in the valley, the community grew. This included being connected to public water and sewer services.