The First 50 Years History - St. Luke's United Methodist Church

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church • THE FIRST 50 YEARS

Dear Friends: 

Most United Methodist Churches are started when the Bishop appoints a founding pastor to gather a new 

group of Christians together and organize a congregation. Most new churches are given funds to pay 

pastor salaries and to purchase land and build new facilities. However, that is not how St. Luke’s United 

Methodist Church was started in 1953. 

A small group of lay people from Central Avenue Methodist Church felt called by God to organize a new 

congregation of believers on the far north side of the city. Without the support of the Bishop and Cabinet 

these lay persons started a congregation themselves. They rented the American Legion Hall in Broad Ripple, 

invited retired pastors and lay people to lead the services, recruited Sunday School teachers and started a 

worshipping community all on their own. 

By March 1953 they had over 100 people worshipping together, so the District Superintendent came on 

March 8, 1953 and officially chartered the church –– St. Luke’s Methodist Church. Rev. Bill Imler was 

appointed as the first pastor in June 1953. St. Luke’s started without a pastor, without adequate facilities, and 

without outside support. It’s a miracle that this congregation came into being! 

In the course of fifty years most congregations will have ten or more senior pastors since most pastors only 

stay four or five years in one congregation. However, St. Luke’s has had only four senior pastors in 50 years: 

Rev. Bill Imler served for 6 years; Dr. Richard Hamilton served for 8 years; Dr. Carver McGriff for 26 years 

and Dr. Kent Millard for 10 years and counting. St. Luke’s has also been blessed with long-term associate 

pastors like Rev. Cindy Bates who served here for 14 years, Dr. Linda McCoy who has served here for 20 years 

and counting, and Rev. Carolyn Scanlan who has been on staff here 10 years and counting. 

When people ask how St. Luke’s grew to become one of the ten largest United Methodist Churches in the 

nation, I tell them it is because God has provided passionate lay leaders and staff and long-term effective 

pastoral leadership. The formula for growing large, society-transforming congregations is simple: 

competent and faithful lay and clergy leadership over a long time. 

For all that God has done through St. Luke’s over the past 50 years we say “Thanks,” and for all that God 

will do through St. Luke’s over the next 50 years we say “YES!” St. Paul put it this way: “Jesus Christ, whom 

we proclaimed among you …was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’; but in him it is always ‘YES!’” (2 Corinthians 1:19). 

Grace and Peace, 

Kent Millard

ABOUT ST. LUKE’ S 

“A very small group among church membership of an inner-city church had a dream of establishing a northside chapel for that church – 

a family-oriented church in which elderly, middle-aged, children . . . where everyone would have a definite part.” 

- Founding Member Fran Hughes, 1988 

On November 9, 1952, a group of approximately fifty persons interested in 

establishing a new Methodist Church to serve the rapidly growing far north 

side of Indianapolis met, selected officers and appointed committees. The first 

worship service of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church was held in the Broad 

Ripple Legion Hall at 6379 College Avenue on January 11, 1953. 

The name St. Luke’s was chosen at a congregational meeting on March 1, 1953. 

On the following Sunday, 119 persons became members at a Constituting 

Conference and St. Luke’s officially became a member of the Indiana 

Conference. Guest ministers and lay speakers filled the pulpit until June 28, 

1953, at which time Revered William A. Imler, assigned by the Indiana 

Conference as the pastor, preached his first sermon at St. Luke’s. 

The site for the new church at 86TH and Illinois was approved in the spring of 

1953, and the present church site was purchased in January of 1954. The laying 

of the cornerstone occurred on August 21, 1955, and the new church was consecrated 

by Bishop Richard Raines on March 4, 1956. The following year the 

church school wing and parsonage were added. 

Reverend Richard Hamilton was welcomed as the new pastor in November of 

1959. He served St. Luke’s for 7 1 /2 years, during which time a new sanctuary 

was constructed. In June of 1967, E. Carver McGriff became the new senior 

pastor, and it was he who preached the first sermon in the new sanctuary on 

September 10, 1967. Under his leadership, St. Luke’s grew from a 900-member 

congregation to one of 4,500 members in 1993. Several building projects were 

completed during the years Dr. McGriff served St. Luke’s, including the 

library, parlor, transept, new office area, new youth rooms, and the Great Hall. 

Dr. McGriff retired on June 20, 1993, after serving St. Luke’s for 26 years. 

Reverend Dr. Kent Millard was appointed senior pastor effective October 1, 

1993, following a comprehensive search of all jurisdictions from coast to coast. 

He served several churches with distinction in South Dakota and was a 

District Superintendent in the South Dakota Conference. Dr. Millard earned a 

Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary and an 

honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Dakota Wesleyan University. 

He studied for one year at Cambridge University in England and has two 

masters degrees from Boston College. 

In 1997, ground was broken for a new 1,500-seat sanctuary as well as a new 

children and adult education center and music facilities. The sanctuary was 

consecrated in September 1999, providing space for the dynamic and evergrowing 

congregation of St. Luke’s as well as space for large events such as the 

city-wide Celebration of Hope services, concerts by Christian artists Sandi 

Patti and Twila Paris, and presentation sites for nationally-known speakers 

such as John Rosemond, Bill Hybels and John Maxwell. During the 50th 

anniversary celebration in March 2003, a campaign to raise $1,000,000 in one 

month was launched to build a new youth building. In anticipation of yet 

another St. Luke’s miracle, groundbreaking for that building is set for April 13, 

2003 and the building is scheduled to be complete by December 2003. 

At the end of 2002,average worship attendance was over 3,300 persons (totals 

include attendance at The Garden, a St. Luke’s satellite ministry), with a total 

membership of over 5,000. Membership continues to grow, with 30-40 people 

joining St. Luke’s each month. In May 2003 St. Luke’s will host the annual 

nationwide Large Church Conference with a theme of “Passion + Vision = 

Transformation,” sharing with other churches St. Luke’s vision of “transforming 

our world into a compassionate, inclusive and Christ-like community,” by 

encouraging and supporting each person’s God-given passion for ministry 

and service.

WHO TO CONTACT 2003 

Adult Ministries 

ADULT EDUCATION 

Terri Coe, 846-3404 X332 

coet@stlukesumc.com 

CLASS REGISTRATION: 

DeAnna Moran, 846-3404 X367 

morand@stlukesumc.com 

Tom & Marsha Reynolds, Chairs 

CAFÉ CINEMA 

Dr. Max Case, 846-3404 X358 

casem@stlukesumc.com 

MARRIAGE MINISTRIES 

Wedding Coordinator: 

Carol Helmus, 846-3404 X370 

helmusc@stlukesumc.com 

MEN’S MINISTRIES 

T.J. Burch, Coordinator 

SINGLES MINISTRIES 

Terri Coe, 846-3404 X312 


Wes Street, 846-3404 X312 

streetw@stlukesumc.com 

Susie Canon, Chair 

SPIRITUAL LIFE CENTER 

Betty Brandt, 846-3404 X339 

brandtb@stlukesumc.com 

Carol Ernst, Chair 

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN 

Terri Coe, 846-3404 X332 


Jennifer Todd, President 

Children’s Ministries 

Lorie Lee Andrews, 

846-3404 X328 

andrewsl@stlukesumc.com 

Alison Strawmyer, Chair 

PRESCHOOL/PARENTS’ DAY OUT/ 

KINDERGARTEN 

Bobbi Main, 846-3404 x330 

mainb@stlukesumc.com 

Fellowship Ministries 

ELDERBERRIES 

Adra Wheeler, 846-3404 x315 

wheelera@stlukesumc.com 

FELLOWSHIP COMMISSION 

Carolyn Scanlan, 846-3404 x324 

scanlanc@stlukesumc.com 

Mark & Erica Lampe, Chairs 

ReachOUT 

Mary Boyer, 846-3404 x304 

boyerm@stlukesumc.com 

Xandra Hamilton 

and Henry Greene, Chairs 

SOWERS 

Mary Katherine Schnitz, 

846-3404 X365 

schnitzm@stlukesumc.com 

Cheryl Conwell, Chair 

Member Care/Caring Ministries 

DEAF MINISTRY 


846-3404 X365 


Marilyn Ogan, Chair 

GRIEF MINISTRY 


846-3404 X365 


HEALTH MINISTRIES 


846-3404 X365 


Natalie Manges, Chair 

MEMBERSHIP 


846-3404 X365 


MEMBERSHIP CLASS REGISTRATION: 

Sylvia Forbes, 846-3404 X343 

forbess@stlukesumc.com 

Roger Frick, Chair 

PRAYER MINISTRY 

Dr. Jean Wilson, 846-3404 X340 

wilsonj@stlukesumc.com 

STEPHEN MINISTRY 


846-3404 X365 


Troy Watkins, Chair 

Mission Outreach 

COMMUNITY MISSIONS 

Jayne Moynahan Thorne, 

846-3404 X370 

thornej@stlukesumc.com 

Barb Danquist, Chair 

WORLD MISSIONS COMMISSION 

Dr. Donald Griffith, 

846-3404 X358 

griffithd@stlukesumc.com 

Kay Walla, Chair 

Music Ministries 

ADULT MUSIC 

Dr. Charles Goehring, 

846-3404 X334 

goehringc@stlukesumc.com 

Linda Hardwick, Chair 

CHILDREN’S MUSIC 

Debra Nethercott, 846-3404 X329 

nethercottd@stlukesumc.com 

Jeff & Sharon Hearn, Chairs 

MUSIC OUTREACH 

Mary Lynne Voigt, 846-3404 X464 

voigtm@stlukesumc.com 

TAIZÉ PRAYER SERVICE 

Pamela Haase, Taizé Coordinator 

Youth and College Ministries 

Brian Durand, 846-3404 X326 

durandb@stlukesumc.com 

Gary Schnitz, Chair 

Worship 

Dr. Kent Millard, Senior Pastor, 

846-3404 X341 

millardk@stlukesumc.com 

Dr. Linda McCoy, The Garden, 

846-3404 X344 

mccoyl@stlukesumc.com 

Dr. Dennis Flaugher, 

Word on Wednesday, 

846-3404 X337 

flaugherd@stlukesumc.com 

Rev. Carolyn Scanlan, 

Later@St. Luke’s, 

846-3404 X324 

scanlanc@stlukesumc.com 

Dr. Jean Wilson, Living Waters 

(coming Summer 2003) 

846-3404 X340 

wilsonj@stlukesumc.com 

Supporting Ministries 

ADMINISTRATION 

Julia Skiles, 846-3404 X335 

skilesj@stlukesumc.com 

Mary Boyer, 846-3404 X304 

boyerm@stlukesumc.com 

CHURCH COUNCIL 

Dr. Kent Millard, 846-3404 X341 


Jim Thorne, Chair 

COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLICATIONS 

Lori Crantford, 846-3404 X342 

crantfordl@stlukesumc.com 

ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE 

Bob Zehr, 846-3404 X301 

zehrb@stlukesumc.com 

Chuck Wise, Chair 

FINANCE COMMITTEE 



Jeff Peek, Chair 

HOSPITALITY AND VOLUNTEERS 

Adra Wheeler, 846-3404 X315 

wheelera@stlukesumc.com 

Rosy Brownell, Chair 

LEADERSHIP CABINET 



Marilyn Burger, Lay Leader 

MEDIA MINISTRIES 



Ron Pettigrew, Chair 

OASIS BOOKSTORE 

Sharon Holyoak, 846-3404 X350 

holyoaks@stlukesumc.com 

STAFF PARISH COMMITTEE 



Gary Walla, Chair 

STEWARDSHIP COMMISSION 

Bob Zehr, 846-3404 X301 

zehrb@stlukesumc.com 

Kelly Queisser, Chair 

TRUSTEES COMMITTEE 



Curtis Rector, Chair 

Partnering Ministries 

THE GARDEN AT 

BEEF AND BOARDS & OAK HILL 

Dr. Linda McCoy, 846-3404 X344 

mccoy@stlukesumc.com 

Suzanne Stark, 846-3404 X347 

starks@stlukesumc.com 

Bob Blake, Chair

ST. LUKE’ S FOUNDERS 

Mr. & Mrs. Vincent Adams 

Miss Georgiana Adams 

Miss Lynn Adams 

Ms. Linda Scott Arant 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bach 

Mr. & Mrs. Ed Bailey, Sr. 

Dr. & Mrs. George Baldwin 

Mr. & Mrs. Leo Baldwin 

Mrs. Frank Ball 

Mrs. Carrie Bassett 

Mr. & Mrs. Wells Bishop 

Misses Anna & Edna Bixler 

Mrs. C. A. Borchers 

Mr. & Mrs. William Brannock 

Mr. & Mrs. Burt Brinkerhoff 

Mr. & Mrs. Carl Brown 

Miss Barbara Brown 

Mr. & Mrs. Royer Brown 

Mr. & Mrs. James Bumgarner 

Mrs. Parke Burford 

Mrs. Howard Burgess 

Mr. & Mrs. Gene Busche 

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Buschmann 

Mrs. Hazel Calvin 

Miss Rena Carver 

Mrs. Esther Cavanaugh 

Mr. & Mrs. Joe Cavanaugh 

Mr. & Mrs. William Clark 

Mrs. Mary Jane Clark 

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Clifton 

Miss Jena Coffin 

Mr. & Mrs. Morris Conly 

Mr. & Mrs. A. D. Conner 

Mr. & Mrs. Curtis Conrad 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Cook 

Mr. & Mrs. William Craigie 

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Crane 

Mr. George A. Crossland 

Mr. & Mrs. George M. Crossland 

Mr. & Mrs. Glenn Darnell 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Duke 

Mr. Jack Dyer 

Mr. & Mrs. John Dyer 

Mr. & Mrs. Jack Ebbeler 

Mrs. Donald Ellis 

Ms. Carol Crane Engledow 

Mrs. Norma Everett 

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Fairley 

Mrs. George Ferry 

Mr. & Mrs. James Forsythe 

Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Fry 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Gangstad 

Mrs. Maxine Gordon 

Mr. & Mrs. John Gardis 

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Guthrie 

Mrs. C. T. Hanna 

Mr. & Mrs. John Harmon 

Mr. & Mrs. Henry Hebert 

Mr. & Mrs. George Heiny 

Mr. E. R.Hisey 

Mr. & Mrs. Roger Hooker 

Mr. & Mrs. Walter Houppert 

Mr. Donald E. Hughes 

Mr. David B. Hughes 

Mr. & Mrs. Francis Hughes 

Mr. David L. Huncilman 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Huncilman 

Mrs. William Imler 

Mr. & Mrs. William Jeffries 

Mrs. Donald Johns 

Mr. & Mrs. Paul Johnston 

Mrs. Karl Kayser 

Mr. & Mrs. William Keenan 

Mrs. Kathleen Keilman 

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Kiger 

Mrs. Clarence King 

Mr. George King 

Mrs. Ruth King 

Mr. & Mrs. William Klingholz 

Miss Minnie Knapp 

Mr. & Mrs. Burton Knight 

Miss Alice Krause 

Mr. & Mrs. Hurley Lee 

Mr. & Mrs. Everett Light 

Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Lugar 

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Lugar 

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Lund 

Mr. & Mrs. Loral Mahan 

Mr. & Mrs. Rogers Malone 

Mr. & Mrs. Francis Manifold 

Mr. & Mrs. George Marshall 

Mr. William Martin 

Mr. & Mrs. John McColgin 

Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd McColgin 

Mr. & Mrs. Allan Means 

Mr. & Mrs. George Miller 

Mrs. Grace Miller 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Moore 

Mr. & Mrs. Albert Morgan 

Miss Helen Noble 

Mrs. J. W. Noble 

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Nolen 

Miss Pamela Ann Nolen 

Mrs. Warren D. Oakes 

Mr. & Mrs. Garland Oglebay 

Mrs. W. E. Orr 

Mr. & Mrs. Julian Pace 

Mr. & Mrs. Wilbur Porter 

Mr. & Mrs. A. L. Pressell 

Mr. & Mrs. Roy Price 

Mr. & Mrs. Ted Pruyn 

Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Reeve 

Mr. James Roberts 

Mr. & Mrs. John Roberts 

Mr. & Mrs. O. T. Roberts 

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Sage 

Mr. & Mrs. William Schiltges 

Mr. & Mrs. Lester Scott 

Mr. & Mrs. Chalres Sharp 

Mr. Verne Sharritts 

Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Shields 

Mr. & Mrs. Frazier Shipps 

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Simison 

Mr. & Mrs. Vincent Smith 

Mr. & Mrs. Oscar Smitha 

Mr. & Mrs. Percy Snively 

Mr. & Mrs. Deane Stephenson 

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Stewart 

Mr. & Mrs. John Vaughan 

Mrs. George Vickery, Sr. 

Mr. & Mrs. George Vickery, Jr. 

Mr. & Mrs. P. W. Vickery, Sr. 

Mr. & Mrs. P. W. Vickery, Jr. 

Mrs. Alta Walker 

Mr. & Mrs. Merlyn Walker 

Mr. & Mrs. William Weest 

Mr. & Mrs. Glenn White 

Miss Marie White 

Mrs. Gene Williams 

Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Williams 

Mrs. C. S. Wiltsie 

Mr. & Mrs. Albert Wood 

Mr. & Mrs. Edward Ziegler 

*The names on this list include 

families who were part of the 

Constituting Conference and those 

who joined in the years prior to 

the move to West 86TH Street.

PART 1 OF 4 

reprinted from the September/October 2002 issue of the Communion 

The Pioneers 

(1953-1959) 

ABOVE: Portrait of Rev.William Imler 

by Rosemary Browne Beck. 

RIGHT: Frame of the first St. Luke’s 

Sanctuary, 1955. 

It may not have been the authentic Wild West, but 

when a group of Methodist pioneers pulled up 

stakes in their urban home church and, in effect, 

hitched their wagon to God, bound for the wooded, 

barely populated terrain of northside 

Indianapolis... well, it had all the trappings of a Big 

Adventure. 

The story of How St. Luke’s Began contains all 

the quintessential ingredients of a good How the 

West Was Won-like story. There were strong men, 

brave women, and obedient children (look, if 

you’re going to take literary license with history, 

always have the children be obedient) on the 

journey that began at Central Avenue United 

Methodist Church, in the heart of downtown 

Indianapolis at 12TH & Central. The journey had 

its small but potent roots in a November 1952 

meeting where 46 people (representing 27 out of 44 interested 

families) decided to start a new Methodist church to serve the 

far northside of Marion County. 

Every good western has a saloon, and How St. Luke’s Began is no 

exception. By January 1953, the group had taken squatter’s rights 

(aka rented) a space to hold weekly Sunday morning worship. 

That space was the American Legion Hall in Broad Ripple. Not 

exactly a saloon, you say? “First thing we did every Sunday 

morning was clean up from Saturday night,” says Alice Weest, a 

charter member and currently a part-time employee at St. Luke’s 

In a conversation with fellow founding members Betty Vickery 

and Morris Conly, they remember and smile like it was yesterday. 

“There were so few of us,” Alice begins. “Everyone kicked in to set 

up.” “You cleaned up the cigars, didn’t you?” Morris teases. Alice 

laughs. “We took care of the babies, pushed aside the pool tables 

to set up the playpens.” 

In 1953, Morris was a young widower with five children, the 

youngest of whom were toddling triplets. “The triplets were in 

the poker room,” he remembers. “That’s where we had Sunday

School.” A donated brass cross and candlesticks, along with the 

faith of those present and the spirit of God, transformed the Hall 

into a place of worship. An offering was taken by passing the 

hat – literally. 

Services began bright & early at 8:15 in order to borrow pastors 

who were willing to lend a hand to this raw church before 

heading off to their own. Congregational meetings were held 

following each service to lay plans. Al Wood, who was the group’s 

chairman, writes “We worked on selecting a name, assigning 

duties, collecting a bit more money (if we didn’t yet have the $35 

for the week’s rent), creating our new organization... I studied 

carefully the “Book of Discipline” of the Methodist church to 

prepare the proper ritualistic agenda that would “constitute” 

(create) our new church.” 

Months of work, faith and vision came together on March 8, 1953. 

A Constituting Conference was held with Dr. Charles Alexander, 

District Superintendent, and the chosen name, St. Luke’s 

Methodist Church, became official. One hundred nineteen 

strong men, brave women and obedient children were accepted 

into membership that day. It was only the beginning. 

The next necessary ingredient was a pastor. Just like when the 

townsfolk in the Wild West wired the governor for a new sheriff, 

the new St. Luke’s group was waiting for the bishop to appoint a 

pastor. And so, in June 1953, Rev. Bill Imler rode into town. It was 

his second pastoral appointment, his first having been a 

“two-point” assignment, serving two small churches in New York 

State. His church was being held in 

a pool hall; his parsonage was a 

rented Broad Ripple bungalow 

which doubled as the church 

office. How did it feel to walk into 

what amounted to a grassroots 

operation? “I really had no concept 

of how it would feel to start a new 

church – no one was doing it,” 

Imler shares. “This was a church 

that wasn’t formed by a conference, 

district or pastor. It was 

formed by lay people. As a young 

pastor I was very blessed to have 

lay people with experience who 

had carried the ball this far.” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch... oh, wait. There was no ranch! 

After the organizational groundwork for forming St. Luke’s had 

been accomplished, next came the need for a building and land 

to put it on. The land issue was resolved through the work and 

generosity of founding member Fran Hughes, who traded a 

parcel of land he owned for the land where St. Luke’s now sits. He 

then sold it to St. Luke’s for $10,000 after holding it for the church 

until funds could be secured. He wasn’t interested in profit; “He 

just wanted to get back his father’s legacy,” Morris Conly says. 

The site was chosen very deliberately. “86TH St. was Road 100 

then,” says Alice Weest. “It was going to become a highway of 

sorts, and we knew there was going to be growth.” Bill Imler 

ABOVE: 1953 Indianapolis Star 

headline. 

RIGHT: Newspaper announcement.

TOP: Dona Lou, Don, Bill, 

Carol and Lee Imler. 

BOTTOM: Laying the cornerstone. 

shares that people on the church committee 

had great ideas. “We consulted 

utility companies for statistics on 

growth – mostly phone and electric. 

We knew it was going to grow but had 

no idea... when we came back [to visit] 

we were overwhelmed!” 

Early 1954 saw the purchase of 8 acres 

at 86TH and Illinois and the establishment 

of a Building Fund Crusade, 

which raised over $65,000 in pledges, 

almost twice the amount anticipated. 

The selection of an architect was a 

careful process. Even though, according 

to Rev. Imler, “someone even 

suggested a log cabin!” the ultimate 

design by church architect Harold 

Wagoner was a mixture of Colonial 

and Modern styles featuring Indiana 

limestone and stonecutter’s art. On 

March 4, 1956, only three years after it 

was officially created, St. Luke’s opened the doors to its new 

Fellowship Hall, education area, office and parlor. The number 

on the membership roll was nearing 300. 

The final element of every good Western is, of course, bad guys. 

Fortunately for the founding members, (but unfortunately for 

this analogy), there was no bad guy, no Snidely Whiplash waiting 

at the railroad tracks, waxed moustache in tow. Any “bad guy” 

element would have to put down to sheer hard work and selflessness. 

“You have to remember,” chides Alice Weest in her Alice 

way, “we did not have lots of money. When we built the church, 

the husbands did a lot of the work. They laid the tile in 

Fellowship Hall, dug the septic, painted.” The original organ was 

donated by the Vickery family (the organ now resides in the 

Parlor). Carrie Oaks used an inheritance to purchase the 

Fellowship Hall stove and refrigerator. That’s right – the ones 

that are still in that kitchen 50 years later. 

Did they feel like pioneers? “Hmmm,” say Morris Conley, 

mulling it over. “We made the decision to do it,” says Alice. 

“Determined,” says Morris. Founding member Betty Vickery 

remembers her husband George saying, “Tab [Tabernacle 

Presbyterian] is too big – let’s go to that little church in the wildwood,” 

meaning St. Luke’s.“Mrs. Vickery [Betty’s mother-in-law] 

said, ‘There’s no one here I know, but that’s good. It means young 

people are coming,” Betty remembers. Morris takes up the 

theme. “It’s hard to realize what’s been accomplished in such a 

relatively short time, but we’ve always had this attitude – you are 

the guiding light – it’s yours to take up and do it. The talent of 

the new people is what’s made it a success. 

“Oh my, yes, we are proud. It’s unbelievable.”

PART 2 OF 4 

reprinted from the November/December 2002 issue of the Communion 

Changing Times 

(1959-1967) 

When Dick and Anna Lee Hamilton arrived at St. Luke’s in 

November 1959, the U.S. looked like this: 

What Things Cost: 

Car: $2,200 

Gasoline: 30 cents/gal 

House: $18,500 Milk: $1.01/gal 

Postage Stamp: 4 cents 

Average Annual Salary: $5,500 

Minimum Wage: $1.00 per hour 

there and here have many parallels. “St. Mark’s was 

a new church,” Dick says. “As a matter of fact, Anna 

Lee was my only member for a while,” he recalls, 

chuckling. “Bloomington was growing, and it was 

a post-war time when new churches were being 

started. We held our services in a funeral home 

before we finally built a first unit, much like St. 

Luke’s did, but no sanctuary. I was 15 years into my 

ministry before I had a sanctuary.” 

• Alaska and Hawaii become the 49TH and 50TH states. 

• Virginia Supreme Court rules that state's laws against school 

integration are unconstitutional. 

• Popular Television Shows: Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Father 

Knows Best, The Price is Right, Perry Mason. 

• Popular Songs: Mack the Knife, High Hopes, 

Personality, Venus 

• Best Picture: Ben Hur 

• Sports: Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs 4-2 in the 

World Series 

St. Luke’s origins were, of course, in a legion hall, 

not a funeral home, and there were about 300-350 

members when the Hamiltons took over the St. 

Luke’s pastoral duties from the Imlers. Worship 

was still held in the original building (now 

Fellowship Hall), but everyone knew there would 

expansion. “The whole church was started on the assumption 

that this was a growing area,” Dick says. “It was never an issue of 

shall we do that [build a sanctuary], but when. It takes time to get 

the congregation feeling that they can do something like that.” 

ABOVE: Portrait of Rev. Richard 

Hamilton by Rosemary Browne Beck. 

So – the Price Is Right is still on TV, and the Cubs are still losing, 

but otherwise America has seen very significant change in the last 

45 years. The emerging change that faced America as it entered 

the turbulent ‘60s was something few could have foreseen. It 

brought with it great emotion, great division and the need for 

great faith. 

The Hamiltons came to Indy at the end of the ’50s from St. Mark’s 

Methodist Church in Blooming-ton, Indiana. Their experiences 

But as we all well know, the heart of St. Luke’s lies with the 

passion and vision of its members to fulfill God’s plans. “St. 

Luke’s was built on the energy, commitment and wisdom of the 

lay leadership,” Dick says. “They were a wonderful group who 

guided the church. They were very wise.” 

Wise heads were needed for their next project: selecting an architect 

and a design concept for the expansion. “The Big Question 

became who to hire,” Dick recalls. “We wanted to make a more

BELOW: Dick, David, John 

and Anna Lee Hamilton. 

distinctive statement in this building. It became quite a point of 

discussion.” (Archival documents make reference to the committee 

wanting a “significant” church.) The architect of the first 

building, Harold Wagner, wasn’t available, so the search was on. 

Through St. Luke’s member and architect Ray Thompson, 

Edward Dart of Chicago was brought to the committee’s attention. 

“We went through the process of asking things like, ‘If this 

building weren’t here, what would you want to build?’” Dick 

remembers. “It was very apparent that he would not build a neo- 

Colonial building. In fact, he made it disappear!” Dick says with 

a laugh. “But the congregation did buy into this design; there was 

no division.” Gone was the spire, up went a tower to accommodate 

bells. Where did the spire go, Dick? “I’m so sorry you asked 

me about that,” he replies. “I have no idea.” 

The new sanctuary (now Robertson 

Chapel) was intentionally designed to 

hold no more than 550 people. “The 

decision was made, back around 1964, 

that this church was not going to 

get larger than 1500 members,” Dick 

recalls. Megachurches did not exist, 

and “the whole milieu of church 

thinking has been revolutionized since 

then,” Dick states. 

While the construction continued all 

around them, the members of St. Luke’s 

were forced to deal with another type 

of building: the building pressure of 

the civil rights movement and the changing society of the sixties. 

A 34-year-old Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. 

began to attract the nation’s attention as he campaigned for civil 

rights. His messages of nonviolence were often overshadowed by 

the violence that erupted–Birmingham, Montgomery, Jackson. 

The year 1963 was the 100-year anniversary of the Emancipation 

Proclamation, and King was determined to see that the black 

community would be further freed from the shackles of segregation 

and discrimination. 

On Sunday, August 22, 1963, Dick Hamilton’s sermon was 

entitled “Ten Questions for the Marchers.” The March on 

Washington for Jobs and Freedom was planned for the following 

Saturday, and it had the attention of the nation. At the end 

of the sermon, Rev. Hamilton made a surprising announcement 

to the St. Luke’s congregation. “I announced I was going 

on the march,” says Dick. “I was a pretty young, wild preacher,” 

he begins. “Not wild, just dedicated,” Anna Lee interjects. 

Dick smiles and continues. “I went downtown that Friday, got 

on a bus with an Indianapolis group that was going to 

Washington. We drove all night. I met Milton Willford when I 

got there. He was a former Marine and had been on the Capitol 

police force. At that time Milton was a student at CTS (Christian 

Theological Seminary) in Indianapolis and a part-time youth 

leader. Because he knew the city, he got me around.” 

While Dick was in Washington with nearly 250,000 others listening 

to the dreams of Martin Luther King, Jr., back home in 

Indiana some St. Luke’s members were upset by what their

pastor had done. “There were some who were upset that I was 

going,” Dick remembers. He pauses, struggling with his memories 

and emotions as he continues with some difficulty. “That’s a 

good example of the role of Fran Hughes in those days,” he says 

tearfully. “He quietly went around to people, calmed them down. 

These folks weren’t racist, they were just concerned about change, 

fearful about schools. In the end people did not remain angry or 

divided. We had no long-lasting problems because of this issue.” 

St. Luke’s ties to the black community continued through the 

efforts of many families and individuals who continued to 

work with the Central Avenue Methodist Church community. 

St. Luke’s itself, however, remained a white congregation. “There 

were no blacks in our immediate neighborhood, none in our 

congregation,” Dick says.“We would have black visitors occasionally, 

but the issue of membership did come about. We were just a 

small church,” he states. “They [the black community] would not 

look at St. Luke’s to change things.” 

Just as the tumultuous events of the summer of 1963 began to 

fade, President Kennedy makes a fateful trip to Dallas Texas on 

November 22. A shocked and mourning nation turned to one 

another and their faith for answers. When asked to compare 

Kennedy’s assassination to the events of September 11, 2001, Dick 

Hamilton notes, “It was very similar in how it [the assassination] 

shook the nation’s reality. It was just an unbelievable event and it 

had a strong impact on people. What kind of society had we 

become? How can this kind of violence happen?” St. Luke’s service 

that Sunday was packed, and partisanship was nowhere to be 

seen. “The idea that a young man could be shot down like that,” 

Dick says, shaking his head. “Politics 

took a huge backseat.” 

Still, in the midst of these events, St. Luke’s grew and remained 

unified. The construction progressed, but before Dick Hamilton 

could preach his first sermon in the new sanctuary, he was 

transferred back to Bloomington as a Methodist District Superintendent.“I 

never wanted to be a D.S.,” Dick states,“so when they 

discovered they had one too many D.S.’s in that district after the 

merge, I quickly volunteered to vacate my position.” Dick served 

at the Methodist Temple in Evansville, Indiana from 1969-1974 

before taking the senior pastor position at North United 

Methodist Church in Indianapolis. He retired from North in 1997, 

but it remains their home church. 

So that the Hamiltons would have some sort of official event in 

the new sanctuary before they left St. Luke’s, a farewell dinner was 

organized and held there. “There was no floor, and we sat at card 

tables,” Anna Lee remembers. “They just wanted to make sure we 

were in there.” During the Hamiltons’ time here, they remember 

Don Hughes (one of Fran Hughes’ sons and now a Methodist 

minister) doing a film series much like our current Café Cinema. 

And a young Dick Lugar, recently returned from a stint with 

Navy Intelligence, became chairman of St. Luke’s Education 

Commission and also started a book study. “Our time at St. 

Luke’s was a wonderful time for us.” More things than the price 

of a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk had changed by 1967,but at 

St. Luke’s some things still remained: the willingness to be an 

open community of Christians gathering to seek, celebrate, live 

and share the love of God for all creation. 

ABOVE: Rev. Hamilton in the pulpit for 

his going-away party in 1967.

PART 3 OF 4 

reprinted from the January/February 2003 issue of the Communion 

Carving Out Their Niche 

(1967-1993) 

ABOVE: Portrait of Dr. Carver McGriff 

by Rosemary Browne Beck. 

By the time the Fall of 1967 rolled around, 

St. Luke’s was 14 years old, had a built a new 550- 

seat worship space and was losing a beloved 

senior pastor. Dick Hamilton was on his way to 

Bloomington, and 42-year-old Carver McGriff 

was on his way to take the helm at St. Luke’s. Dick 

& Carver had known each other for years, dating 

back to the time when Dick was pastor at St. 

Mark’s in Bloomington and Carver – well, Carver 

owned a children’s clothing store on the square 

in Bloomington. 

“My dad always said ‘Be your own boss if you 

can,” says Carver. Sound advice, especially since 

Carver was fired from his first sales job “for 

incompetence.” An Indianapolis native, Carver 

served in the Army in World War II, then came 

back home to attend college at Butler University. The ill-fated 

sales position was followed by a stint as assistant manager in a 

department store. “I can do this better on my own,” Carver 

thought, and so he opened the children’s store. “It was not a great 

success,” he admits. 

Whether it was the tedium of tights, the odiousness of overalls 

or simply Divine intervention, Carver is hard-pressed to say 

what exactly prompted him to go into the ministry. “It’s hard to 

define that moment,” he shares. “I was never happy or right 

about my life until the day I left for seminary. And I have never 

felt unhappy or wrong about my life since then. Somewhere 

along the line I crossed the Great Divide.” 

He attended Garrett Theological Seminary in the Chicago area, 

then came back to Indianapolis and started a church on the eastside. 

His from-scratch church (Asbury Park, which is a different 

denomination now) grew to 320 members in the time Carver 

was there. When the Bishop reassigned Dick Hamilton as 

District Superintendent in the Bloomington area in 1967, he 

tapped Carver as the new St. Luke’s Senior Pastor. Carver & Dick 

Hamilton had also maintained a friendship and before he left 

St. Luke’s, Dick Hamilton said, “It was not up to me to pick my 

successor, but if it had been, I’d pick the man they picked.” 

It might have literally been the proverbial match made in heaven. 

When he came in 1967 St. Luke’s membership was 900. When he 

retired in 1993, it was nearing 4000, with 2000 in regular worship 

attendance. Why the phenomenal growth? “We had community 

growth, certainly,” says Carver, “and we had fantastic staff, clergy, 

members... but deep in my heart, I think God wanted St. Luke’s to 

grow. Time and time and time again God stepped in at crucial 

moments to make up for my mistakes.” 

There were certainly enough landmines to step in if he’d had a 

mind to. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s and RFK’s assassinations . . . 

Vietnam . ..Kent State . . . Watergate . ..the OPEC oil crisis . . . 

inflation . ..Roe v.Wade ...Three Mile Island & Love Canal . . 

. the Iran hostages . . . Reaganomics . . . corporate takeovers . . . 

drug epidemic . . . Challenger space shuttle . . . AIDS . ..Iran-contra 

...Desert Storm ...Rodney King beating. While there were 

highlights (Neil Armstrong walks on the moon, Communist 

reform, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall), the 26 years that 

found Carver McGriff at the spiritual helm of St. Luke’s had

their share of tragically powerful events. Carver’s approach to 

tackling the issues: “I felt that many contemporary issues that are 

political should not be talked about from the pulpit. We would 

use small groups and invite people on either side to discuss 

views.” Some issues, however, ended up meriting a sermon. 

“Vietnam,” Carver says. “I started out as a hawk (pro-war) and 

ended up as a dove (anti-war). Many people questioned the 

patriotism of clergy who were opposed to the war. But because I 

was a veteran, had been wounded, was a POW (Carver’s unit was 

part of the invasion of Normandy in WWII), they couldn’t do 

that with me.” Civil rights continued to be a focus at St. Luke’s, 

as staff and members continued to work on fostering harmony. 

Another issue that began to gain more attention was homosexuality. 

“I knew I had to speak my mind, and I tried to be neither 

disdainful nor disrespectful. I got a call from a member,” he 

continues,“who said,‘Carver, I don’t agree with you on this issue 

and I don’t know if I can be part of this church.’ We met and 

talked for over an hour. I told him I respected how 

he felt but he also knew my position. He ended up 

staying as a member – not sure he ever agreed with 

me, but he stayed.” 

Lots of people stayed, and they needed more space. 

During this time, St. Luke’s added on Great Hall, 

the Parlor, the Library and the Transept to the 

Sanctuary. If the word “Transept” doesn’t sound 

familiar, try “The Penalty Box.” While St. Luke’s 

legend has it that Carver put you in the penalty box 

if you brought children into the Sanctuary for service, the truth 

is it was affectionately known as the penalty box because latecomers 

often had no choice but to sit in this area where the view 

was, shall we say, Grade B rather than Grade A. And what about 

the Carver-doesn’t-like-kids-in-worship legend? “Yes, it’s true,” 

Carver admits but hastily adds, “I like kids, I really do!” and 

launches into several warm & fuzzy Carver & Kids stories where, 

by the time he’s done, you can actually imagine him in a purple 

dinosaur suit singing “I Love You, You Love Me.” “I just always 

felt that when kids talked or cried during worship it was distracting 

for everyone,” he says. “But really, we babysit a lot and I like 

kids, I do!” 

ABOVE: Carver, Ruth Ann 

and Amy McGriff. 

RIGHT: McGriff, Imler, Hamilton and 

LeRoy Hodapp at the September 

1967 Sanctuary consecration service. 

In 1972, tragedy struck St. Luke’s in a very personal way. Carver’s 

wife, Ruth Ann, died in an automobile accident. “The congregation 

ministered to me in a wonderful way,” he says reflectively. 

“Many people said it made me a better preacher. The death of a 

person you love most, coupled with the necessity of going on, 

caused me to draw upon my faith more deeply than I ever had

ABOVE: Too full for the Sanctuary 

already – Easter 1982. 

before. Some of the 

things I believed in 

my head ...I now 

believed in my heart.” 

Despite that tragedy – or perhaps in light of the congregation’s 

response – Carver insists that he does not have one unpleasant 

memory of his time as senior pastor of St. Luke’s. “In 26 years I 

never encountered a single moment where someone did not act 

Christian. Not that I didn’t meet a few screwy people,” he says 

with a chuckle, “but there’s a great spirit here that is generated by 

the people, the thousands of people who have worshipped at 

St. Luke’s. It was passion-driven then and it is passion-driven 

today.” When asked what he sees for St. Luke’s ten years down the 

road, he responds, “I think it will be one of the most important 

forces for good in Indianapolis and the surrounding territories.” 

Carver takes a bit of credit himself for St. Luke’s growth, saying “I 

was something of a factor – you can’t have someone in the pulpit 

and not have an affect,” but he gives most of the credit to God for 

sending wonderful staff and lay leaders to St. Luke’s during its 50- 

year history.“I would like to name various staff members to whom 

I feel great indebtedness, but if I did I’d surely forget someone,” he 

says. “So if they read this, please let them know how grateful I am.” 

“Part of the joy in my life is to watch things happen at St. Luke’s. 

I treasure my friendship with Kent Millard,” Carver concludes. 

“I think the most extraordinary example of God being at work 

here is sending Kent. He’s a sweetheart.” A sweetheart and a kidloving 

softie... looks like our God really is a loving God after all. 

Two St. Luke’s Mysteries 

The Bells 

I asked both Dick Hamilton & Carver McGriff about the bells that 

don’t ring (in the tower over what is now Robertson Chapel). 

“Not enough money, I think, to put in real bells,” was Dick’s 

answer. Carver just said,“No, they’re not real, they play a recording.” 

Dick relayed a story about a call he received from a Jewish 

woman who lived nearby complaining about the loudness of 

the recorded bells on Sunday morning.“You know,”she told Dick, 

“Jewish people don’t get up early on a Sunday morning. Could 

you turn those bells down?”They complied. 

The Steeple 

You can’t get a straight 

answer from Hamilton or 

McGriff on the subject of 

where the tall, extremely 

noticeable steeple from 

the first St. Luke’s building 

went. “I don’t know – 

you’ll have to ask Carver 

about that one,”Dick says. 

Carver’s response to the 

same question: “People 

would come up to me and 

say, ‘Hey Carver, have you 

seen Dick Hamilton lately? 

He’s trying to sell a 

steeple.”

A Transforming Vision Rides into Town 

(1993-present) 

PART 4 OF 4 

reprinted from the March/April 2003 issue of the Communion 

October 1993.A 51-year-old pastor, not from this conference, not 

from this place, steps up into the pulpit where Carver McGriff 

might just as well have actually left his shoes. The significance of 

the job at hand, the immense popularity of the man that Kent 

Millard had to replace, the not-quite-figurative collectively held 

breath of the congregation – all these things were palpable at 

St. Luke’s on that fall Sunday morning. 

For his debut, St. Luke’s new senior pastor had written a sermon 

entitled “For All That Has Been, Thanks, and For All That Will 

Be, Yes.” Nearly a decade later, it is a theme that continues to 

frame Kent Millard’s approach to pastoring –– grateful for those 

people and actions that have shaped St. Luke’s, and an openness, 

an eagerness for accepting God’s will for what will come. 

In the quiet hours of that week before he first took the St. 

Luke’s pulpit, Kent had to be thinking of alternative sermon 

titles . ..titles like, “I Came, I Saw, I Got Kicked Out.” “Give a 

Bald Pastor a Break.” “I’m OK, You’re OK, Carver Was Just 

Tall.” “For All That Has Been, Thanks, and for All 

That Will Be, Well, I Probably Won’t Be Here to 

See It.” It was against the advice of many friends 

and colleagues that he took the St. Luke’s job. 

Following a long-term, beloved, effective senior 

pastor is risky business. “My friends said ‘Don’t 

go [to Indianapolis]. Put your name on the list, 

but don’t really go –– it’s professional suicide,” 

Kent shares. “Only about 10% of pastors who 

follow a long-term pastor last more than a year 

or two.” In fact, in a Communion exclusive, Kent 

reveals that he was actually 4th or 5th choice on 

the list for the job. “Yes, there were others ahead 

of me,” he confides in a Barbara Walters-type moment. “They 

ultimately turned it down because of the significant risk of it 

being a short-term assignment.” 

But Kent was reared in Faith – Faith, SD that is. “Population 500, 

70 miles to the next town in any direction,” Kent says. “I look at 

the journey from there to St. Luke’s –– it’s amazing to 

me.” He credits that journey with getting him ready for 

the work here. “It seems all my life in ministry has been 

preparing me for St. Luke’s. I learned lessons at each 

church –– managing staff, building facilities, mission outreach, 

race relations –– without those experiences I would 

not have been ready to come here.” 

ABOVE: Portrait of Dr. Kent Millard by 

Rosemary Browne Beck. 

LEFT: Renderings for the 

new Sanctuary. 

Still, the choice was not an easy one. Kent & Minnietta 

talked, prayed, wrestled with leaving family & friends 

behind. Last year, Kent shared that one of the songs from

RIGHT: Dr. Millard’s contribution 

to the Sanctuary support 

beam graffiti. 

BELOW: Ready for Easter, 1999. 

“Superstar” helped him make that decision. 

“Minnietta and I had come to Indianapolis to meet 

with Bishop White and some members of our Staff 

Parish Committee. I was absolutely torn over what 

God might be calling us to do. On the one hand, I 

was happy in Sioux Falls and excited about the next 

chapter in the life of that congregation. On the 

other hand, I wanted to be open to do whatever 

God called me to do and to go wherever I was sent. 

“We were staying at the Wyndham Gardens hotel and I had 

about three hours to make a decision and give an answer . . . 

finally, I went for a walk in the little park north of the hotel. I 

knelt down and started praying the prayer that Jesus prayed: 

"Father, let this cup pass from me yet not my will but thine be 

done." I prayed that prayer over and over and then a song from 

Jesus Christ Superstar came to me. In the Garden of 

Gethsemane scene Jesus 

prays: “God thy will is 

hard but you hold every 

card. Take me now before 

I change my mind.’ 

After praying that prayer 

a feeling of peace came 

over me and I asked God 

to "take me now before I 

change my mind." I went 

back to the hotel and told 

Minnietta that we would 

let God take us to St. Luke's and I have felt since that moment 

that God led us to serve in this congregation.” 

(Minnietta had a turning-point song as well. “I was listening to 

an easy-listening radio station,” she shares, “which is why it 

was so strange when "Indiana Wants Me" –– definitely a 

Country/Western song –– came on. I'd never heard it before. 

And it was the last song I heard at 5 p.m. when I was going home 

so we could leave early the next morning for the interview at 

St. Luke's! I think it was one of those “God incidences.”) 

One big decision led to another: “When I got here,” Kent says, “it 

was really important to me to meet Carver. He was the main 

person I wanted to get to know.” Determined not to become what 

others had predicted (he was referred to as the “unintended interim, 

short-term pastor” by a major church consultant), Kent nixed 

all the naysayers by becoming friends with Carver. “While Carver 

& I are different,” Kent confides,“we have the same heart’s desires, 

the same agenda. Carver did not want to see a church he loved 

and had worked so hard for fall apart, and neither did I.” They’ve 

done weddings and funerals together, and have co-authored a 

book (The Passion-Driven Congregation). “It’s a huge testimony

when two senior pastors can work together,” Kent says. “Carver 

has always been very supportive of me.” Kent also extends his 

thanks to Bishop White, because “he took a risk and entrusted the 

largest congregation in his area to an unknown pastor from South 

Dakota. It was a huge leap of faith.” 

But then leaps of faith are what St. Luke’s has always been about. 

Reflecting on the 50TH anniversary of this church, Kent says, “I 

thank God for the miracle of the establishment of St. Luke’s. 

Most churches are started by the Bishop and the Cabinet with an 

appointed pastor. St. Luke’s was started by 120 or so lay people –– 

led by Fran Hughes, Al Wood and others –– who organized without 

a pastor and were chartered on March 8, 1953, still without 

a pastor! They went six months without a pastor and did so 

because of their commitment to organizing the church, getting 

preachers or preaching themselves ...that kind of lay leadership 

and commitment, that passion has continued. At most churches, 

lay people come up with ideas and rely on the pastors to implement 

them. Here,” he continues, “lay people come up with ideas 

and don’t expect anyone else to implement them. They model 

what it means to rely on the passion of the people to get things 

done. Most churches start ministry from the top down; at 

St. Luke’s it’s from the bottom up. That’s our culture.” 

Before Kent’s arrival, a visioning committee painstakingly 

crafted St. Luke’s mission statement: “An open community of 

Christians gathering to seek, celebrate, live and share the love of 

God for all creation.” That open, loving and active environment 

continued to account for steady growth in membership, and the 

issue of space became St. Luke’s “toddler” –– something that 

simply could not be ignored. In 1997 the “Expect a Miracle” campaign 

was launched, and over $8 million in gifts and pledges was 

raised to expand the Education Wing, create a larger space for 

the Music Department and build a 1500-seat Sanctuary. 

Those spaces were completed in 1999. A second campaign, 

“With God, All Things Are Possible” raised 

another $5 million to help pay for expanded parking and 

assist with the building expenses. And this month, Kent is 

leading the charge for the “Miracle Month of March” to 

raise $1,000,000 in one month for the new Youth Center. 

“Being at St. Luke’s has taught me to expect miracles,” 

Kent says emphatically. “The miracle of generosity has 

happened as we’ve spent $16 million in facilities –– $13 

million in pledges with $11 million of that paid in a 5-year 

period. Meanwhile, the annual fund giving continues 

to increase as well. Amazing.” That type of generous 

giving in 2002 made possible St. Luke’s first-ever operating 

contingency fund to tide the church over during the 

low months of giving, eliminating the need to borrow 

money to pay expenses. Always looking forward, Kent 

speaks to a future challenge. “In 2006 St. Luke’s will 

probably have to provide space for our burgeoning 

Children’s Ministry. The ‘99 building is already about 

85% full, so we’ll need another capital campaign. If we 

want to keep reaching more children,” he continues, 

“we’ll need more space. By the time I retire I’d like to see 

those identified needs completed.” 

BELOW: Cornerstone.

ABOVE: Rendering for proposed 

youth building – 2003. 

Those needs are simply 

another result of 

St. Luke’s vision –– to 

transform our world 

into a compassionate, 

inclusive and Christlike 

community. “I see St. Luke’s continuing to make a huge 

impact in our community, state and nation,” Kent says. “St. 

Luke’s has always been a paradigm-breaking chuch. The conventional 

wisdom paradigm is that only fundamental churches can 

grow –– St. Luke’s is a progressive church that’s growing. Another 

paradigm-breaking aspect of St. Luke’s is that the senior minister 

is not the only one who preaches –– at St. Luke’s all pastors are 

preaching pastors. Another paradigm shift is holding all services 

in the Sanctuary –– we have services in many locations. 

vision engenders passion in me,” he says, leaning across the table 

to emphasize his point, “because I see how we can make a 

difference. The local church is the hope of the world because it 

makes a difference to and in people. I see St. Luke’s as a flagship 

church of leading hope.” 

Even though the “R” word – retirement – escaped Kent’s lips a 

time or two, it’s not in his imminent plans. “I’m 61 and my plan is 

to retire when I’m 70 or so,” he states. “St. Luke’s has become a 

spiritual home for my children. When we moved here the one 

sacrifice we thought we were making was leaving our family 

behind,” he says. “Then our daughter Koretta came to the 

University of Indianapolis, our son Kendall went to law school at 

IU, Minnietta’s mom came to live with us and then my mom 

moved here! God is so faithful, he brought them here.” 

“St. Luke’s has always had a forward-looking history. [Author and 

church consultant] Lyle Schaller says that the church in the year 

2030 will look much like St. Luke’s –– a large church with 

several satellites. We’re really made up of “mini churches” – kids, 

youth, adult ed, missions, The Garden, Later, singles, etc. Right now 

our average attendance is 3300,” Kent continues.“In terms of numbers, 

Jesus once fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Our goal 

is to feed 5000 people weekly in multiple services and locations. In 

2002 the people of St. Luke’s gave $850,000 to missions beyond our 

church; I think by the time I retire we’ll be giving away $1 million 

annually, and we will be transforming the world.” 

When it comes to St. Luke’s, there may be no subject nearer and 

dearer to Kent’s heart than the goal of transformation. “Our 

What about Kent? “I want people to know how much I love this 

congregation,” he says sincerely. “Sometimes I have to keep my 

composure on Sunday mornings when I sit up front and look at 

the congregation and think ‘I love these people!’ Longevity deepens 

affection, and I grow more in love with this congregation, its 

mission and vision every year. I’m the luckiest pastor in the 

world to serve St. Luke’s . . . there’s an ambiance of ‘with God 

anything is possible,’ that we can do anything we set our minds 

to. There is more talent, commitment and generosity here than 

in any church I’ve been a part of.” 

And his message to the members of the past 50 years, the members 

of the next 50 years? “For Everything That Has Been, 

Thanks, and For Everything That Will Be, Yes.”

MY HOW YOU’ VE GROWN 

“I used to worry about the size and what St. Luke’s would grow into, but I don’t anymore. When we had real needs 

this year at the hospital, at the hospice, in the marketplace . . . well, I now hope that St. Luke’s will get so big that there 

will be a St. Luke’s where ever there are people with need.” - Lay Leader Marilyn Burger, 1988 

It’s been a fifty-year growth spurt for St. Luke’s UMC: 

1953 2003 

Membership 119 5,043 

Worship Space Pool Hall 1500-seat Sanctuary 

Annual Budget $10,000 $3,200,000 

Building Campaign $65,000 $1,000,000 

St. Luke’s was started as an outreach church, and that mission also continues 

fifty years later. In addition to a commitment to offer opportunities for spiritual 

and personal growth within its own walls, St. Luke’s members continue to 

breathe life into the vision statement through their generous donations of 

time, talent and monetary gifts. In 2002, the following outreach ministries 

received assistance: 

Africa University 

Brightwood Community Center 

Central Ave. UMC Food Pantry 

Earthquake and Flood Relief 

Fletcher Place Community Center 

Fresh Start 

Habitat for Humanity 

Haitian Academy Hospital 

Heifer Project 

Indiana United Methodist 

Children’s Home 

Inter-Faith Alliance 

Jamaica and Zimbabwe Scholarships 

United Christmas Service 

World Missions Support of 

Work Trips 

Total outreach giving by the people of St. Luke’s totaled over $850,000 in 

2002.That spirit of giving has been a guiding light, passed from decade to 

decade, never fading but growing steadily stronger. In 1954, our founders 

stated it this way: “From the beginning, St. Luke's has been destined to have 

the wonderful and rewarding experience of shaping vision into reality. 

Through prayer, faith and sacrifice, much has already been accomplished. 

Much is yet to be done. In this spirit each can discover his part, and objectives 

will become realities. We know that the taking of one step has made it 

possible to take another. We know that what we have begun we shall finish. 

We know –– because it is a work of God.” 

ST LUKE’S STAFF • MARCH 2003 

CLERGY STAFF: 

M. Kent Millard 

Linda McCoy, Dennis Flaugher 

Carolyn Scanlan, Jean Wilson 

Max Case, Don Griffith 

PROGRAM STAFF: 

Lorie Lee Andrews, Director of Children’s 

Ministries; Mary Boyer, Administration 

Manager; Betty Brandt, Director of Spiritual 

Life Center; Terri Coe, Director of Singles 

Ministry & Adult Education; Lori Crantford, 

Publications Editor; Brian Durand, Director of 

Youth & College Ministries; Andy Engle, Youth 

Intern; Nate Faris, Associate Director of Youth 

Ministries; Charles Goehring, Director of 

Music; Don Griffith, Director of World 

Missions; Pamela Haase, Taizé Prayer Service 

Leader; Derek Hakes, Assistant Director of 

Handbells; Carol Helmus, Wedding 

Coordinator; Sharon Holyoak, Manager of 

Oasis Bookstore; Marsha Hutchinson, Grief 

Ministries; DeAnna Moran, Singles Special 

Events Coordinator & Adult Ministries 

Assistant; Tamara Lorinczi, Child Care 

Coordinator; Bobbi Main, Director of Weekday 

Ministries; Charles Manning, Assistant 

Director of Music; Debra Nethercott, Director 

of Children’s Choirs; Sarah Nevin, Publications 

Design; Anne Oskay, Associate Director of 

Youth Ministry; Mary Katherine Schnitz, 

Director of Care and Outreach Ministries; 

Julia Skiles, Executive Director of Ministries; 

Wes Street, Young Singles Coordinator; 

Jayne Moynahan Thorne, Director of 

Community Ministries; Mary Lynne Voigt, 

Music Outreach Coordinator; Cheryl West, 

Director of New Song Choir; Adra Wheeler, 

Director of Hospitality & Volunteers; 

Kit Williams, Technical Director; Terry Woods, 

Later@St.Luke’s Director of Music; Bob Zehr, 

Director of Business Development. 

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT STAFF: 

Jan Emmons, Sylvia Forbes, 

Dee Higginbotham, Faina Kleyner, 

Linda McGlothlin, Janet Miller, 

Brandon Truax, Alison Strawmyer, 

Amy Walker, Alice Weest, Tonda Zeek. 

CUSTODIAL/MAINTENANCE STAFF: 

Rich Potterf, Building & Grounds Ministry; 

Brad Cherry, Tujuianna Lockhart, 

Rickie Murphy, William Taylor, 

Wanda Wilburn, Rich Wisman. 

THE GARDEN: 

Dr. Linda McCoy, Pastor; Suzanne Stark, 

Director of Music; Stan Abell and 

Marion Miller, Pastoral Assistants; 

Judy Tolley, Administrative Assistant; 

Parry Schreir, Music Assistant. 

FORMER ST. LUKE’S PASTORS: 

SENIOR: 

William Imler, Richard Hamilton, 

E. Carver McGriff 

ASSOCIATE: 

Lucinda Bates, Fletcher Graham, 

Louis Cain, Charles Cruse, Robert Epps, 

Barry Fitzgerald, Gene Merrick, Steve Miller, 

Richard Moman, Jay Morrison, 

Albert Nunery, Craig Overmeyer, 

David Owen, Holly Rudolf, Allen Rumble, 

Lynn Thayer, Wayne Trevathan 

50TH ANNIVERSARY BOOKLET: 

Copy: Lori Crantford 

Design: Sarah Nevin

Who we are: 

“An open community of Christians gathering to seek, 

celebrate, live and share the love of God for all creation. 

~mission statement 

Where we are going: 

To transform our world into a compassionate, 

inclusive, and Christ-like community. 

~vision statement 

How we get there: 

By encouraging and supporting each person’s God-given 

passion for ministry and service. 

~method statement 

IMAGE: September 11, 2001 Service 

100 W. 86TH St., Indianapolis, IN 46260 • 317.846.3404 

Fax: 317-844-1034 • www.stlukesumc.com

The First 50 Years History - St. Luke's United Methodist Church

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