No doubt there have been Episcopalians living in San Benito County since its earliest farming days. In 1876, the first Book of Common Prayer service was celebrated for local residents by Bishop Kip, who traveled to Hollister from his cathedral in San Francisco, and Father Hammond, who came from St. Stephen’s in Gilroy, for the special occasion.
In 1898, the congregation of St. Luke’s Church took the bold step of purchasing land at the corner of Monterey and Seventh streets. Construction of the church didn’t begin until October 1902, but to the amazement of all, the first service in the new building was held Jan. 25, 1903.
Over the next 110 years, many important events occurred: priests came and went, a parish hall was built, the church was enlarged and an adjoining house was purchased to be a rectory (now parish offices).
Recently the congregation decided to refurbish their historic building, to update while keeping it true to its original look and feel. A capital campaign generated $12,000 within months. One late-summer Sunday morning, 15 members of the congregation remained after the worship service and began removing pews and readying the interior for big changes.
Over the next months several projects were completed using volunteer labor:
• Replacing a forgotten and shingled-over window to brighten the entry
• Refinishing floors and wainscoting to lighten them and display wood grains
• Refinishing half the pews (so far) and making them moveable for seating flexibility
• Installing a moveable altar rail to provide more room in the chancel.
Still to be completed are additional improvements:
• A large screen will be installed near the pulpit for showing videos
• The whole building is being made more handicap accessible.
On Jan. 25, The Rt. Rev. Mary Gray Reeves, bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real, will visit St. Luke’s to join in the 110th anniversary celebration. There will be an open house at 5:30 p.m., including a candlelight labyrinth walk and historical displays. A festival Eucharist will be celebrated at 7 p.m. with incense, organ and guitar music, blessing of the threshold and prayers of thanksgiving. A dessert reception will follow in the parish hall.
St. Luke’s has long served the people of San Benito County. Decades ago there was a ministry to the hospitalized and housebound, and each year personnel from Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital were invited to a special St. Barnabas Day blessing.
Today’s community service includes support of the local food bank and battered women’s shelter, offering an afterschool tutorial program and Vacation Bible School during the summer and Christmas holidays and providing a wedding ministry for those seeking a spiritual venue. The Rev. Amy Denney Zuniga, priest in charge of St. Luke’s, explains that the refurbishing wasn’t done just for the congregation, but to improve the facilities to benefit the whole community.
A book written to mark the congregation’s centennial in 1976 makes the following statement that continues to resound today: “In retrospect, the day-by-day and year-by-year functioning of the Episcopal Church in San Benito County for a full century appears as a living memorial to the persistent devotion of those men and women who, in each successive generation, have had a vision of ‘what love of God and man’ must mean and have acted in accordance with that vision. Whatever the changes and chances of an unknown future, it is to be hoped that St. Luke’s may continue to present to its community a fresh and arresting witness to the glory of God.”
