The purpose of St. Luke's Episcopal Church is to carry out the mission of the Church: to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Jesus Christ. The church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love through the ministry of all its members.
Our HistoryAccording to a St. Luke’s history written by long-time Rector Dr. Valentine Hunter Sessions in 1937, “Services were held prior to the organization date, but for how long we do not know.” So we know that Episcopal missionary work was occurring in the Brandon area prior to the founding of St. Luke’s in 1848.
In November 1848, under the leadership of The Rev. Amos Cleaver, St. Luke’s was officially organized in Brandon. Rev. Cleaver resided in Jackson where taught at a girls’ school and ministered to inmates in the state penitentiary, which was located where the current Capitol building stands today. St. Luke’s chief lay leader was Dr. T.C. Thornton. Dr. Thornton was the founding president of Centenary College which was founded in 1841 at Brandon Springs. Centenary College continued to operate in Brandon until 1845 when it moved first to Jackson, LA and then to Shreveport where it continues in operation. Because of this, the street where St. Luke’s is located is called College Street.
St. Luke’s congregation met in the chapel of the Brandon Female Academy, which later became Brandon Female College, until funds could be raised to build the first church. Construction began on the original St. Luke’s church in 1868 and was completed and consecrated by Bishop William Mercer Green on October 29, 1870. St. Luke’s 1870 parochial report to the diocesan council recorded the following statistics: Families, 14; Communicants, 54; Sunday school teachers, 8; Pupils, 55; Contributions: Domestic Missions - $9.45; Bishop’s Salary - $95; Contingent Fund - $12; Church Edifice - $6,046.85; General Expenses - $400.
On Sunday, March 23, 1924, a fire broke out in the home of Rankin County Chancery Clerk G. A. Harrison, which today is a vacant lot behind a commercial building across from St. Luke’s on College Street. The fire reached more than a block and destroyed the original St. Luke’s building. The organ was saved, and later the bell, which is still in place today, was pulled from the ashes. The insurance had lapsed only a few days before the tragic fire and had not been renewed. Before the fire at St. Luke’s was extinguished, every single church in town came to offer assistance and the use of their buildings for services until the congregation could raise the funds to rebuild. Dr. Valentine Sessions, who served St. Luke’s for 32 years, until 1944, accepted the offer from the Methodist Church, where services were held for the next year.
Donations of money and items for construction poured in from all over town. Several prominent Jackson families who were former St. Luke’s members sent large donations. Soon $4,600 had been raised for rebuilding. Mr. Emmette Hull, a Jackson architect, drew the new church plan. Other gifts poured in from throughout the diocese. The Bible was given by St. Peter’s, Oxford; the altar by Trinity Church, Natchez; the sanctuary rail by St. Andrew’s, Jackson. St. Alban’s donated the credence table. Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Winn donated the baptismal font. The beautiful stained glass windows in the nave were a gift of St. John’s Church, Laurel and were sent to St. Louis to be re-leaded before they were installed. The cross was given in memory of Ed Ohleyer and vases were given in memory of Margarette Moseley and Sophia Ohleyer. A few years later, St. Alban’s Church in Bovina donated the pews we sit on to this day. In the late 1930’s the windows above the altar were installed in memory of The Rev. H. W. Robinson, Maj. Pat Henry and Mr. A.G. Thornton, all very active members and lay readers from the mid-1880’s to the mid- 1920’s. Exactly one year after the Sunday of the fire, the building was ready and services were once again held at St. Luke's. That building continues to serve the parishioners of St. Luke's.
In 2002, disaster again struck the physical structure of St. Luke’s, this time in the form of a tornado, which damaged much of downtown Brandon. Donnelly-Morrow Hall, the education building which housed Sunday school classrooms, the Rector’s office and Library and additional restrooms was damaged so severely as to be condemned for occupation by the City of Brandon. Once again, the call went out to rebuild at St. Luke’s. Our new education building, which still bears the name Donnelly-Morrow Hall in honor of the Donnelly and Morrow families, was rebuilt and consecrated in 2004 under the direction of The Rev. Charles Floyd, Rector, Charlie Belote and Jack Carroll who led the construction committee.
Throughout its 160+ year history and after surviving multiple disasters, St. Luke’s has consistently served its parishioners and the community-at-large. Today St. Luke’s serves nearly 60 families and over 100 communicants in many capacities; from celebrating the Sacraments of our Lord Jesus Christ to Sunday school activities, ECW and EYC to the Old Loafer’s, we are continuing the tradition of being “People Supporting People”.
