ST. LUKE'S United Methodist Church began as a prayer group in the Fondren Community in 1908 with meetings conducted by ministers and ministerial students from Millsaps College.  The next year, a church was organized as a subsidiary of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, with about twenty charge members.  As First Methodist became Galloway Memorial Church, the Fondren congregation was called “Galloway Chapel.”

A WOODEN BUILDING constructed on Mitchell Avenue was shared among Galloway Chapel, the Baptists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians of this small community.  “Galloway Chapel” became “Millsaps Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, South” in 1913. During a Sunday worship service in 1929, the roof of the church caught fire and the structure burned to the ground.  Members present at the service saved most of the furnishings, including the pulpit, which remains at St. Luke’s to this day.

A PARCEL OF LAND had been purchased on Duling Avenue for the purpose of building a larger church.  Construction commenced, and the congregation held its first service in the new building on February 23, 1930, less than one year after the fire. Shortly thereafter, members of all ages contributed labor to build a parsonage on an adjacent lot.

DURING THE 1930s, when money was scarce, the congregation of Millsaps Memorial raised funds to meet expenses by sponsoring a booth at the Mississippi State Fair.  In an open-air building constructed by church members, the congregation served homecooked meals that were fondly remembered from year to year by fair patrons.  The project was a successful fundraiser, but it was something more — a church-wide effort that afforded a way for everyone to contribute.

BY 1942, beautiful stained glass windows were added to the sanctuary to memorialize early members and friends of the church and to serve as a source of inspiration and education.  The Sunday School had outgrown the original building, so additional construction was necessary.  The 1948 building program might never have been completed if not for the leadership of Reverend Seth W. Granberry, Sr., who not only supervised all of the building and remodeling but also did a portion of the work himself.  The remodeling resulted in a more attractive sanctuary with a higher ceiling and beams encased in wood finished with a walnut stain.  The art glass window featuring the large portrait of Jesus Christ, given in memory of Mrs. Mamie Gray Cook Greaves by her husband in 1949, became a focal point of the sanctuary.

YOU MAY BE WONDERING when Millsaps Memorial Church became St. Luke’s Methodist Church.  In 1949, the name was changed to avoid confusion caused by misdirected mail as a result of the similarity of the name to Millsaps College.

THROUGHOUT ST. LUKE'S HISTORY, and with our blessings, members of St. Luke’s left to help establish other churches, including Broadmeadow, Wesley, Briarwood, and Christ Methodist Churches. Membership also shifted in the 1950s and 1960s when dissension developed regarding civil rights. Although emotions were high and hostilities arose concerning these issues, the problems at St. Luke’s were in part resolved by diplomatic young members who mediated the differing views. Ultimately, St. Luke’s remained in the United Methodist Conference but lost more than 200 members to a newly formed “Independent Methodist” church on Riverside Drive.

IN 1955, air conditioning came to St. Luke’s!  (Well, parts of the building.)  A few years later a large educational unit was added to the main building.  The church built a Boy Scout Hut at the rear of the property, and the building behind the church was renovated as a Recreation Hall.  In 1990, the church held a service of Celebration and Dedication for the newly purchased Reuter pipe organ that enriches our worship with glorious music every week.

MINISTERING TO OUR COMMUNITY has been a privilege at St. Luke’s.  The year 1978 marked the dawn of a significant outreach ministry.  Recognizing the need in the community for affordable clothes, housewares and sundries, the church opened the Thrift Shop in the old Scout Hut.  Funds raised through the Thrift Shop are in turn donated to worthy projects in the community and in the church.  In 1983, with the help of students at the UMC Dental School, St. Luke’s began a yearly Dental Mission at the Church of the Good Samaritan in La Bartolina, Mexico.  St. Luke’s Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) was established in 1985 and continues to hold a special place in the community.

THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE appeared in a previous summary of St. Luke’s history:

AS THE RECORD of the past thrills us with the “endless line of splendour” of the achievements of God’s people in and through all kinds of circumstances, we are reminded that the beautiful church building and all of its furnishings and equipment, the opportunities for service and fellowship presented by St. Luke’s today were made possible by the dedication and ministry of those of the past.  We have inherited so much.  We build on the foundations which others have laid.  We are reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase . . . For we are labourers together with God.”

APPROACHING THE CENTURY MARK, St. Luke’s remains a steadfast, joyful church in the heart of Fondren, with dedicated members from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties and beyond.  Consequently, St. Luke’s continues to provide meaningful programs in the church and to minister to the community and the world.  Although St. Luke’s has withstood substantial challenges and momentous changes, its members are ever-aware that God has richly blessed St. Luke’s, and we look forward to fulfilling the responsibilities God has placed on our church.

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