Church of St. Luke in the Fields
40°43′57″N 74°00′25″W / 40.7324°N 74.007°W
The Church of St. Luke in the Fields is an
The church is affiliated with the
History
The church was founded in 1820 on farmland
When the surrounding neighborhood became predominantly poor and largely composed of immigrants in the late 1880s, the congregation moved north to a site adjoining Hamilton Grange at West 141st Street, and St. Luke's became a chapel of Trinity Church, only regaining its independence in 1976 under rector Ledlie Laughlin.[2][4][1]
Other prominent rectors in the past have included John Murray Forbes, who helped to bring the Oxford Movement to the United States[4] and Edward Schlueter, who served from 1911 until the 1940s, and developed programs which served the community, such as children's summer camps. Schlueter also had the church sanctuary redesigned in high Medieval style.[4]
The church building was damaged by fire twice, in 1886 and on March 6, 1981. After the latter fire, which gutted the building,[4] it was reconstructed by Hugh Hardy of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, who restored much of its original Federal style touches.[4] The reconstruction was completed in 1985.[2][1]
In 2000, the garden of the church received a
Activism
For many years, the church distributed bread to the poor after the 10am service on Saturdays. This "Leake Dole of Bread" was provided for in the will of John Leake.[3]
Starting in the 1980s, the
Gay civil rights hero, Dick Leitsch is interred within the church.[9]
Music
The choir of the church performs several concerts yearly, with a series of three concerts each spring season. In the past these concerts have included performances such as the New York premiere of
Gwen Gould, former music director of the School at St. Luke's was also the founder of the West Village Chorale, currently directed by Malcolm J. Merriweather. Until 2010, most of the Chorale's concerts were performed at the Church. They then moved to Judson Memorial Church at Washington Square Park.
The Orchestra of St. Luke's draws its name from the church.
Organ
The current organ at the church was installed in 1986 after the 1981 fire destroyed the previous organ. It is almost identical to the one that was destroyed, which had been installed in 1979, less than two years before the fire. Its keys are mechanical, though the stops operate electrically. It has 27 stops and 1,670 pipes.
In popular culture
References
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-231-12543-7., p.223
- ^ ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1., p.52
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60354-055-1. (Reprinted by Scholarly Press, 1976; often referred to as WPA Guide to New York City.), p.142
- ^ ISBN 0300055366., p.223
- ^ ISBN 0-195-11634-8., pp.447-448
- ^ "Past Village Award Winners". GVSHP.org. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ a b "History". Church of St. Luke in the Fields. 2010. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
- ^ Stiffler, Scott (Jul 12, 2011). "'Queer Theology' Aims to Transform Christianity". EDGE Philadelphia. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ https://gaycitynews.com/dick-leitsch-pre-stonewall-gay-activist-has-died/
- ^ "IMDB: Doubt (2008 film)," IMDb (Accessed 10 February 2011)