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Our History
Although an Episcopal mission had been established in Wenatchee in 1895, with services from visiting clergy held in a hall over Rarey's General Store, it was not until 1903 that the congregation built and occupied its own church structure.
As the first service was held on the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, the new mission church was appropriately named after this saint. By the time St. Luke's became a parish on February 15, 1926, a larger building was needed. Thanks to a generous seller, the present property at King and Cleveland Streets was purchased for $1550. The tireless fund-raising efforts by the St. Luke's Women's Guild made both the construction of the mission and parish churches possible.
The cornerstone for the present building was laid on November 23, 1927. The Parish Hall was added in 1957 and contains Sunday school classrooms and a large hall for parish events.
Harold Whitehouse, the architect who designed St. Luke's, took his inspiration from St. Mary's, a small parish church in rural Aldermanbury, England. The combination of Romanesque and a modified Norman architectural style is visible from the exterior in the squared-off tower at the entrance, the blunted buttresses over the east aisle and in the use of "undressed stone." This sandstone was quarried in Dry Gulch, southwest of Wenatchee, and laid by local men under the direction of Goodfellow Brothers, long-time members of St. Luke's parish.
Gothic inspiration is clearly evident in the interior: the soaring effect of the altar and reredos with its lacy tracery woodcarvings beneath the rose window; the vaulting of the ceiling; the ribs at the top of the columns which separate the cast aisle from the nave; and the use of clerestory windows. The Bishop's mitre carved in the stone at the top of the arched windows was copied from Henry VIII's innovation in Kings' College Chapel in Cambridge, England. As knowledge was held in the highest esteem and as the Bishop was "all-knowing", it was only appropriate that his symbol be placed in an elevated position.
The Columbarium, a long time dream of Dorothy and Charles Fox, who was rector at St. Luke's for 20 years, was completed in 1992. It is located under the north end of the Parish Hall and holds 72 niches. Its stained glass windows reflect the beautiful Wenatchee valley and many of its furnishings come from the old Episcopal church in Waterville that closed in 1987.
In 2007, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the laying of the church cornerstone and completed a parking lot to the north of the building.
St Luke's Espiscopal Church
428 King Street
Wenatchee, WA 98801
509.662.5635
stlukes@nwi.net
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High Altar |
Exterior Entrance |
Columbarium Niches |
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