History | St. Luke's Episcopal Church

The first Episcopal Church in Idaho Falls, St. John’s, was established in 1895 when the membership of the worshipping community had grown to thirty families. Bishop Ethelbert Talbot held the dedication service, and placed Rev John Dawson as missionary in charge. The building was a red brick chapel located at the corner of Park Avenue and A Street. All of the pews were handsomely carved, including the choir pews. The church was small with places for three gothic windows that would let the light shine down on the altar. When the colored glass windows finally arrived in 1896, the event was written about in the local paper. The sanctuary was often used by the Swedish Lutheran Church, who held a confirmation service in it in 1898. Soon after that their own church was completed.

In March of 1909 the downtown site was sold, and the building was razed. The building materials and furnishings were removed to North Placer Avenue. The second Episcopal Church was dedicated at this location on September 12, 1909. The new location had room for a rectory, which was also built at this time.

The congregation remained a mission under numerous vicars until January 1953 when it became a self-supporting parish with Rev. David Blackhalter as the first rector.

The second church was torn down, and the third St. John’s Episcopal Church was dedicated by Bishop Norman Foote on December 10, 1964. Windows from the two previous buildings were placed in the new sanctuary, and the original carved pews were placed in a special upstairs chapel.

A second Episcopal Church was established in Idaho Falls in 1982. This congregation of St. Mark’s, and of St. John’s merged in 2003. Assuming a new name for this new congregation, St. Luke’s was established. The building which housed St. Mark’s was sold, and a new Community Outreach Center was established with the funds.

The sanctuary of St. Luke’s has remained the same since being built in 1964. Additional office space and a parish hall have been added to the back of the building over the years.

2003 — The Beginning

On Holy Name Day, January 5, the Episcopal parishes of St. John’s and St. Mark’s came together and re-named themselves St. Luke’s. The Rev. Bruce Henne had been named Priest-in-Charge of St. Luke’s by Bishop Harry Bainbridge in June of 2002. On January 26, 2003, St. Luke’s held its first annual meeting and elected the following as their first Vestry:
Lew Powell and Suzanne Buchan, Co-Wardens; Buddy Hall, Andrea Hoffman, Gary Jacobson, Janice Jemtrud, Frances Marshall, Gretchen Matthern, Paul Menser, Laurel Neilson, Carolyn Robertson and Cher Stone.

2004 — Holy Week

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter Sunday, and continues through Holy Saturday. Palm Sunday begins with a procession of palms and includes a reading of the Passion Gospel. At St. Luke’s, there are services throughout the week, including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.The Lighting of the Paschal Candle is the beginning of the Great Vigil of Easter. The Paschal Candle is lit in darkness from a newly kindled fire and the Celebrant leads the procession to the chancel. Easter is one occasion where there can be Baptism or the Renewal of Baptismal vows.
The Rev. Bruce Henne is shown lighting candles from the Paschal Candle at the beginning of the Easter Service.

2005 — Confirmation

In the Episcopal Church, Confirmation is a personal decision for those old enough to make a public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their baptism. When they are ready to make this commitment, they participate in Confirmation Classes, which culminates with being Confirmed by the laying on of hands by the Bishop.In 2005, St. Luke’s sponsored a Rite 13 class for those members who were ready to make this decision and commitment. One of the activities of the Rite 13 class of 2005 was to host a coffee hour, where they decided to make pretzels.
Those pictured are Grechen Grant, a friend, Shannon Collear, Jared Nigg, Amanda Lee, Cody Lee, Zatha Loewen, and Kim Ozaki. Back row: Cheryl Zimmer, Gretchen Matthern and Penny Henne.

2006 — Mission Teams

Beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2016, St. Luke’s sponsored Mission Teams that served others through Group Work Camps. Teens and adults were welcome to participate in the week-long camp each year and traveled to various states plus Africa and Haiti.
Trips included:
Monument Valley UT 2085228465 | Loveland CO 2085228465 | Rocky Mount NC 2085228465 | Busby MT 2085228465 | Wasilla AK 2085228465 | Fort Yates ND 2085228465 | Desmet ID 2085228465 | Minnesota 2085228465 | Ethete WY 2085228465 | Leogane Haiti (2015, 2016) | Texas City TX 2085228465

2007 — Communal Dinners

“All our meals and all our living make as sacraments to thee, that by caring, helping, giving, we may true disciples be. Alleluia! Alleluia! We will serve thee faithfully” The Rev. Percy Dearmer English Anglican priest, author, and social-justice advocate.
What would church life be without a coffee hour, potluck, a Bishop’s reception, or a progressive dinner? When we gather at the Lord’s table or the parish hall table, we are a little bit closer to that upper room in Jerusalem. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, also, has a long history of sharing our reception space with community groups.

2008 —The Soup Kitchen

The Soup Kitchen, Inc. has its roots in the basement of St. Mark’s during the 1980’s. Joanne Galbraith and Lois Greenwood wanted to reach out to those who may be in need of a meal, and using just one hotplate, started providing 15-20 meals on Saturdays and Sundays each week.By 2004, it had moved next door to what is now The Community Outreach Center. The Soup Kitchen is now open 365 days a year, serving over 55,000 annually. Daily serving teams come from various area churches, service groups, and anyone who volunteers. It is supported financially by fundraisers, area churches and individual donations.
Pictured above is one of St. Luke’s serving teams including Buddy
Hall, Cheryl Creed, and Daniel Devasirvahan.

2009 —Blessing of the Animals

One of St. Luke’s traditions is the annual Blessing of the Animals. At the Sunday services close to St. Francis Day (Friar and Deacon Francis of Assisi, 1226), we welcome those present to bring their pets to church to be blessed by the service Officiant. From the common cats and dogs to the uncommon birds and tarantulas, all animals are blessed.
The St. Francis Garden on the east side of the church provides a resting place for the cremains of any beloved pet. The names of pets injured in the St. Francis Garden are placed on a plaque located in the Columbarium of St. Luke’s.

2010 — Turkey Boxes

In the late 1990’s, St. John’s started an outreach of providing “Turkey Boxes” in November to families that may not have the means to have their own meal. A Turkey Box gives a family everything they need to have their own Thanksgiving dinner, including the turkey. The first year we provided about 35 meals to local residents. Working in conjunction with School Districts 91 and 93, by 2020 this outreach had grown to almost 400 Turkey Boxes provided to students and their families.

2012 —The Flowering of the Cross

The flowering of the cross has been traced back to the 6th century. It is an especially striking and beautiful way to symbolize the new life that emerges from Jesus’s death on Good Friday. Traditionally before the Easter Sunday service, the cross is covered with real flowers and the top draped in white. The entire cross is covered with flowers and is placed prominently at the front of the church to symbolize the new life in our risen Lord to all the worshippers present on Easter Sunday morning.Every year, on Easter morning, all the children present are invited to help the Rector “Flower the Cross.”
Pictured: The Rev. Susan Spier assisting children as they flower the cross before the Easter service.

2013 — Stewardship

Stewardship is an important aspect of St. Luke’s; whether it is time, talent or treasure. We practice stewardship year-round and each year we hold an Annual Pledge Campaign.In 2013, our Annual Pledge Campaign included Dinner Theater In- the-Round, where members of St. Luke’s presented “Murder, Mayhem and Marshmallow Salad . . .”, by Shelly Sellepack ,” a stewardship-themed play directed by Johannah Grant and starring parishioners Roland Smith, Victoria Grant, Mark Lee, Paul Menser, Warren Jones, Brian Grant, Angie Lee, and Carolyn Neblett.

2015 — Celebrations

We enjoy celebrating the major events of all of our congregant’s lives; whether it is a birthday, anniversary, graduation or recognizing another accomplishment in their life.
Each year in May we celebrate the parishioners who are graduating from one aspect of their education by recognizing them during the church services and enjoying fellowship time with them after the services.
Pictured below: Victoria Grant and Anya Smith cut into the Graduates Cake during coffee hour.

2016 — Music

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church celebrates music with three distinct music groups:
The St. Luke’s Bell Choir also known as Tintinnabulation, the ringing or sounding of bells.
Faith and Harmony is our choir that provides more contemporary music at services. They welcome musicians playing a wide variety of instruments including violin, bongo drums, guitar, and more. The St. Luke’s Adult Choir provides more traditional music during our church services.
Pictured: Johannah Grant, Angie Lee, Marva Hoard, The Rev. Deb Adams, Holly Crawley, Carolyn Neblett (directing) and St. Nicholas.

2017 — Celebrations

Weddings, baptisms, confirmations and funerals are celebrations in the Episcopal Church, and we love to share these celebrations with our church families.

In order to be married in the Episcopal Church, at least one member of the bridal couple must be baptized. We offer full service premarital counseling. We require that your intended spouse be in your will and life insurance, and we suggest Financial Education and a personality survey.

Pictured: In 2017, St. Luke’s celebrated the marriage of Grechen Grant and Jeff Hargrove.

2018 — Necessary Needs Outreach

Outreach is an important part of St. Luke’s. In 2018, Phoebe Jones presented our Vestry with her proposal for earning a badge for Girl Scouts: A Necessary Needs Cabinet which she would build and fill with items that are not provided by other agencies, especially personal products and pet food.
In October of 2018, Bishop Brian Thom blessed our newest outreach project with Phoebe standing by his side. Acolytes pictured are Anya Smith, Xavier Jones and Eden Smith.

2019 —St. Nicholas Day

St. Luke’s recognizes St. Nicholas Day every year, as well as many other Saints throughout the year. St. Nicholas (Bishop Nicholas of Myra, 342 CE) always falls during the season of Advent.Advent season marks the beginning of the Christian year across many western churches in the United States. Its length varies from 22 to 28 days, starting on the Sunday nearest St Andrew’s Day and encompassing the next three Sundays, ending on Christmas Day. St. Nicholas usually visits St. Luke’s at a Sunday service, as well as making an appearance at our Family Advent Party. Pictured here are Ginger Wright, Pageant Jones, St. Nicholas, Misty Martinell and Jacquie Janibagian.

2021— Pray-Ground

A Pray-Ground is a designated place in the front of the sanctuary where young children can experience worship through age appropriate worship materials and tools that will help keep them engaged. St. Luke’s Pray-Ground was introduced in 2021 in response to a number of shifts in church culture, such as:
parents desiring to have their young children in worship with them | congregations that do not have enough children to sustain a nursery | the understanding that the children can only learn to worship by regularly being in worship.

2022 — Baptism

In the waters of Baptism, we are lovingly adopted by God into God’s family, which we call the church, and given God’s own life to share and reminded that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ. Holy Baptism, which can be performed through pouring of water or immersion in it, marks a formal entrance to the congregation and wider church; the candidates for the sacrament make a series of vows, including an affirmation of the Baptismal Covenant, and are baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are marked as Christ’s own for ever, having clothed themselves with Christ.

2023— Maintaining God's Ministry

Maintaining God’s Ministry (MGM) is our funding for the stewardship of our physical property. Throughout the years, the MGM account has allowed us to update and replace capital improvements to our church. Our church was originally built in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. The Parish Hall was renovated in the mid-1990’s to remove several pillars, update the restrooms, and open the floor plan. The ramp and columbarium area were added in 2010. In 2023, we updated our kitchen to meet current building codes for commercial kitchens. Some of the original cupboards, that were hand-built by a parishioner, were upcycled and are now in the Rector’s office.

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270 N Placer Ave, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

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