The ministry of St. Luke's began in August, 1913 when parishioners met in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Gale to discuss lots available in Forest Lawn village for a church building. In December, the location was approved and construction was set to begin in the Spring of 1914. The contract was given to Mr. Charles North of Hubalta, for a cost of $795, and the building was to be completed in one month, on the north side of the #1 highway (which was a trail at the time, and we now know as 17th Avenue SE.) at 3019 17 Avenue SE.  The photograph below is circa 1971.   St. Luke's was dedicated in August, to the glory of God. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 5, 1915 - April 22, 1934 - Rev. W. Attwood

• Rev. Attwood arrived from Acme & Sunnyslope Mission, where had been since 1908. 
• Rev. Attwood serves St. Luke's, St. Augustines, as well as Anglican churches in Indus, Shepard, and occasional visits to Acme by horse and buggy, and later by a Ford car.
• Eight pews filled the little church building.
• Mrs. Evans donated the organ and was also the church's organist. She was later replaced by Mr. Jones as church organist.
• Mrs. Wright was the Sunday school teacher.
• Mrs. L. Lloyd and the deacons helped in all phases of the church, as well as being involved in the community's activities.
• The first Rectors Warden was Mr. G. Gale, the first Peoples Warden was Mr. Victor Moore.
• As the church started growing, the children of the area needed a hall in which to hold functions. The young people got busy and built a hall beside the church. Even though the church never owned it, the area residents called it St. Luke's hall. This hall served as school and social centre of the community for many years.
• In 1918 the original church building moved to a new site, south of the highway.
• 1927 brought lively discussion to the church over the costs of installing new 'electric lights' which were given a one year trial.
• From the very beginning, Sunday School was a very important ministry of St. Luke's and early records show average attendance of around 100 young children.
• 1930 - St. Luke's begina hosting Girl Guides & Cub Scouts.
• May 11, 1934 - Rev. Attwood dies, 3 weeks after his final service at St. Luke's.

January 1, 1933 - November 4, 1934 - Rev. W. Attwood, F. Neve, Canon Gale, F.M. Ross Gibney, J. Smith, A.H Priest, & J.R. Davies

November 11, 1934 - May 24, 1942 - Rev. J.R. Davies

• 1942 - Rev. Davies resigns and is transferred to the Diocese of New Westminster  

Janaury 3, 1943 - August 27, 1944 - Rev. Leslie T.H. Pearson

October 22, 1944 - December 26, 1948 - Rev. Warren Turner

 

January 1949 - August 28, 1949 - Rev. D.B. Houghton

• Here for only a short time, Rev. Houghton left Canada to begin ministry in England.

September 11, 1949 - October 11, 1953 - Rev. W.E. Kerr

• In 1951 the wonders of modern technology once again visited as St. Luke's had gas installed in the building.
• In 1953, Rev. Kerr moved to California for health reasons.

November 29, 1953 - September 27, 1959 - Rev. W.H. Browne

• Rectors report for 1954 mentions for the first time in records, a vision for St. Luke's in the community - In 1954 we march with divine purpose. He stressed the place of the church in the community. We must be ready to keep pace with the increasing demands, the opportunity to glorify our Lord, to bring everyone in to salvation & saving grace.
• In March, vestry held discussions once again for a new church site.
• 40th anniversary celebrations were held in September.

October 10, 1959 - September 22, 1963 - Rev. John .S. Twining

• In 1960, a sign of the times as the church records state that the church doors are now being locked.
• Holy Communion is held on the first Sunday of the month.
• November 6th - Last service held in the old building. Services were held in the gym of Patrick Airlie School until the new church was completed at the northwest corner of 43rd Street & 16th Ave. S.E. The old building would become a Moslem worship centre after St. Luke's sold it and was later demolished.
• September 24, 1961 - The new church is officially opened & dedicated with Bishop Calvert presiding, and in what would become a St. Luke's tradition - the roof leaked!
• In 1962, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada - Forest Lawn Branch requests permission for services to be held at St. Luke's until their building is completed, and it was approved. 40 years later, this same church would once again join us as they awaited completion of another new building.
• 1962 - Keeler Elementary School is built.  The school is named after Albert Keeler, a past resident of the area who also donated the land where the school is located. Mr. Keeler was born in Dover, England in 1906, and his family emigrated to Canada in June 1919. He lived on 36th Street S.E. and attended the Bow River School in Forest Lawn. During World War II, Albert Keeler was a stoker in the Royal Canadian Navy. Forest Lawn was a separate community from Calgary until 1961, when it was annexed to the city. For many years, Mr. Keeler was town councillor and a school board member in Forest Lawn. He was one of the original members of the Forest Lawn Community Association. He was also an active member of his labour union and a valued member of St. Luke's Anglican Church. Mr. Keeler died May 12, 1967.
  

November 3, 1963 - April 11, 1971 - Rev. Canon Earle Justice

• December 11, 1964 - Ernest Morrow School is named after Mr. Ernest Morrow a long time resident of the Forest Lawn neighborhood. The son of James Morrow, an early pioneer farmer in the area, Ernest Morrow was born in 1913 and for much of his life he was engaged in dairy and grain farming. In 1939 he married Barbara Bastin. They had two daughters; Maureen and Patricia. When the town of Forest Lawn was incorporated in 1940, Mr. Morrow was a member of the first council. In 1941 he was elected Mayor and held that position for seven years. At approximately the same time, the Bow River School District was formed and Mr. Morrow was a Board member for eight years. As well, he served as a Vestry man and a Rector’s Warden at St. Luke’s. 
• St. Luke's celebrates its 50th anniversary on October 18th, 1964 - the feast of St. Luke.
• Up until 1967, it appears that St. Luke's & St. Augustines, in Ogden, had partnered on a lot of things. However a new bridge was being built making access to nearby Fairview a lot easier for their congregation, and so St. Augustine's linked up with Holy Nativity.
• In 1968 it was decided that communion wine be locked up. It seems that some young people got in to the church one time and drank some wine!
   

April 18, 1971 - March 30, 1980 - Rev. Fred Dykes

• In 1973, St. Augustines was officially separated from St. Luke's. 35 years later, we would again partner on many activities through the Essentials movement.
• In 1974, we opened our bookstore for the first time.
• 1975 - St. Luke's hosts World Day of Prayer.
• 1976 - First sketches of a new church building were revealed. First discussions with Interfaith Housing regarding land in Dover, which is eventually where St. Luke's would be built 2 years later.
• 1977 - Bruce Ellis, a member of the congregation becomes the first member of St. Luke's to pursue the priesthood, he graduated in 1980, and 19 years later, would become pastor of St. Luke's.
• 1978 - The tradition continues - our new building is not even complete and already the walls in the gymnasium are leaking.
• Our new building, at our current location of 2951 26 Avenue SE, in the heart of West Dover, is consecrated in December, 1978.
• Telephone prayer chain begins.
• First sound system installed.
• 1979 - Rev. Dykes indicates that he plans on stepping down, as St. Luke's requires an 'Organizer'. His last service was Palm Sunday, 1980.
   

April 4, 1980 - November 17, 1991 - Rev. J.R. (Bob) Reed

• First Service with Rev. Reed was Good Friday, 1980
• 1981 - Roman Catholic Parish held services Saturday & Sunday evenings at St. Luke's.
• Rev. Reed pointed out that the altar steps were too shallow and deep, and that alterations should be made in the near future. 27 years later, in 2008, the steps were renovated.
• Communion was being delivered to Forest Grove Nursing Home monthly.
• Testimonies first mentioned as opportunities to lift up God's people.
• 1982 - Holy Communion is now being received every Sunday, with the new liturgy being read every other Sunday.
• No vestry minutes from 1984 - 1987
• 1988 - Retired Bishop Morse Goodman was in charge of St. Luke's as Rev & Mrs. Reed were in Africa.
   

November 24, 1991 - May 31, 1992 - Chris Jukes, Bishop Douglas Ford, Jim Boyles, Angus Nicholson, Bishop Barry Curtis, Rev. Graham Goode, Rev, John Torley, John Wright
 

June 24, 1992 - July 28, 1995 - Rev. John Torley, Deacon Chris Jukes

• 1994 - The presence of the Holy Spirit begins to be felt in very real ways in the services.
• 1994 - The City of Calgary opens Elliston Park, on 17th Avenue SE, between 60th and 68th Street, named after a former member of St. Luke's.
• St. Luke's becomes the first satellite location of the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank.
• 1995 - Rev. Torley set to retire. A letter was sent to the diocese asking that normal procedures for hiring a priest be waived so that a member of our parish, Chris Jukes, could be hired as rector. Permission received July 10th.
   

August 2, 1995 - June 7, 1998 - Rev. Chris Jukes

• 1997 - Rev. Reed returns as honorary assistant.
• Under the leadership of Rev. Jukes, attendance grows substantially, a youth leader and counsellor are added to the payroll, Rev. Jukes pens a column for the Calgary Sun.
• June 1998 - St. Luke's splits in to 2 congregations, with Rev. Juke's leaving the Anglican Church of Canada, to form the Church of the Messiah.
   

June 14, 1998 - December 5, 1999 - Rev. J.R. (Bob) Reed, Rev. Charles Alexander, Rev. John Torley

• 1998 - Prophecy microphone installed to encourage the sharing of prophetic word.
• 1999 - After the recent split, attendance hovers around 115. Sunday School has an average of 30 children.
• St. Luke's endorses the Montreal Declaration of Essentials at the Annual General Meeting, making a clear statement of our conservative stand as a parish.
   

December 12, 1999 - September 28, 2003 - Rev. Bruce W. Ellis

• 2002 - Emmanual Lutheran Church to once again join with us while their new church is being built.
• 2003 - Rev. Bruce Ellis resigns from St. Luke's.
• 2003 - The Food Depot closes down after 10 years of service to the community.
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• October 2003 - November 2004 - Bishop Barry Hollowell, Rev. David Asher, Rev. Tim Webster, Rev. Charles Alexander, Pastor Dennis Aicken (Emmanual Lutheran), Mark Loyal, Father R.S.H. Green, Rev. John Gishler 

• October 2004 - St. Luke's holds a banquet to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

December 2004 - April 2006 - Rev. David Asher, Rev. Charles Alexander
 

April 2006 -Oct 31 2012- Rev. R. Haydn Schofield

• First service on April 9 - Palm Sunday.
• 2007 - Began renovations to paint the inside & outside, fix the altar steps, & lay new carpeting. Renovations to continue through 2008 and 2009.
• 2008 - Sudanese Dinka Congregation begins holding a Sunday afternoon service at St. Luke's after several years at the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer.
• 2008 - St. Luke's formally receives the vision it has carrying our for several years - To be the Innkeepers for Jesus.
• Haydn retired Oct 31 2012.

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Special thanks to Julie Jipp, St. Augustine's Anglican Church, the Glenbow Museum Archives, the Calgary Board of Education, and the City of Calgary for the information presented.