About St. Luke’s

Who We Are

Historically Black, Radically Inclusive, Walking With Jesus.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is a parish of the Diocese of East Tennessee, of the Episcopal Church of America, which is a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Congregations of the Church of England in the former American colonies formed the Episcopal Church in 1789. The word “Episcopal” means “having bishops,” which is derived from the Greek word for bishop, “episkopos.”

The Episcopal Church is in communion (meaning “united”) with the Church of England and other Anglican Churches around the world with the Archbishop of Canterbury serving as a symbol of unity and Chief Pastor. These Churches make up the Anglican Communion with a family of nearly 80 million members in 36 self-governing Churches in 164 countries around the world.

Our Mission

Our mission is to invite everyone to Christ’s table and to offer fellowship, love, justice, healing, and caring to all.

Our History

From its inception, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has accepted the challenge to evangelize among the African-Americans in Knoxville when they were denied full participation in other churches.

The Rt. Rev. Edward Thomas Demby, second black bishop of the Episcopal Church, officiated at St. Luke’s first service on March 22, 1936. Worship was held at the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA Branch and at other venues through the early years.

In 1951, the mission moved to a six-room frame house at the corner of Chestnut Street and Selma Avenue, our present location. A brick church building was constructed and part of the old house was remodeled as the parish hall.

In 1953, the Rev. Matthew A. Jones, the first African-American priest in the Diocese of Tennessee, was appointed the first vicar and served St. Luke’s for nearly eighteen years. Fr. Jones provided major leadership to Knoxville’s civil rights movement.

Following Fr. Jones’s departure, the Rev. Royden C. Mott was appointed prest-in-charge in 1973. The Rev. Dr. Reynell Parkins, an attorney and University of Tennessee Housing and Urban Development professor, became assistant priest and oversaw adding the wing now used to house the East Knoxville FISH Hospitality Pantry.

Upon Fr. Mott’s retirement in 1977, Fr. Parkins was appointed priest-in-charge and was followed by The Rev. Billy Johnson as vicar. Eight months after his arrival, Fr. Johnson died in a tragic plane crash, but his passion for providing attention to at-risk children is honored through the diocesan Camp Billy Johnson, now in its third decade.

St. Luke’s continued on through the appointment of several vicars in the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 2002, St. Luke’s became a parish in the Diocese and the first rector, The Rev. Gayle Hansen Browne, was installed in September of 2005. The Rev. David A. Pina became the second rector in April of 2010. The Rev. Dr. Kay Reynolds served as associate priest to Fr. Pina. Upon his departure, she became the supply priest. In May of 2013, The Rev. James R. Anderson, a retired United States Air Force chaplain and priest, was installed as the third rector of St. Luke’s.