St. Luke's Church, Kensington Explained

St. Luke's Church, Kensington, was an Episcopal congregation in Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The parish was founded in 1904 as an outgrowth of the Episcopal Hospital Mission. The church  - located at the northwest corner of East Huntingdon and B Streets at Kensington Avenue  - was designed by Allen Evans of Furness & Evans, and completed in 1904.^[1] Its parish house, just north of the church, was designed by Furness & Evans, and completed in 1905.^{[2] [3]} Description: "The new [parish house] building will cost $35,000, and is to be a two-story building constructed of Holmesburg granite. The first floor will be used for classes - the Sunday School numbers 1,500, - the second floor for the chapel and library, and a gymnasium will be located in the basement."^[4]

The parish closed in 1987. St Luke's Church, Kensington, is an among the few surviving reminders of the mid to late 19th century English immigrant experience and community in Kensington and Philadelphia. Movement has been made to celebrate the colonial experience (i.e. Penn Treaty Park) and preserve the 19th century "new immigrant" experience (i.e. St. Laurentius Church, in Fishtown) in the greater Kensington area. Scholars often refer to this immigrant group as hidden and forgotten.^[1] These immigrants, to outsiders, blended in and disappeared. However, as the property demonstrates, mid to late 19th century English immigrants, far from being hidden, built unique neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and worship sites.

Denomination:	Episcopal
St. Luke's Church, Kensington
Country:	United States
Location:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Consecrated Date:	May 1, 1904
Status:	Closed
Groundbreaking:	1903
Diocese:	Pennsylvania
Province:	Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	39.9889°N -75.1274°W

Leadership

Rectors

In the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the rector is the priest elected to head a self-supporting parish.

• The Rev. Joseph Manuel (1904-1914)^[5]
• The Rev. Samuel Babcock Booth (1914-1919)^[6]
• The Rev. Perry Austin (1919-1923)^[7]
• The Rev. William J. Hawthrone (1923-1936)^[8]
• The Rev. David C. Colony (1937-1942)^[9]
• The Rev. Gideon C. Montgomery (1943-1947)^[10]
• The Rev. William H. Jefferys (1949-1951)^[11]
• The Rev. John Waterloo Treleaven (1952-1958)^[12]
• The Rev. H. Roberts Lorenz (1958-1969)^[13]
• The Rev. Theodore H. Henderson (1970-1977)^[14]
• The Rev. E. Clifford Cutler (1978-1985)^[15]
• The Rev. Carl Metzger (1986-1987)

External links

• Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke's Church, Kensington (1979)
• Parish Handbook of St. Luke's Church, Kensington (1979)
• Yearbook of St. Luke's Church, Kensington (1945)
• Parish Profile of St. Luke's Church, Kensington (1985)

Notes and References

1. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display_allarchitects.cfm/110791 St. Luke Church
2. George E. Thomas, et al., Frank Furness:The Complete Works, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, revised 1996), p.338, cat. 593.
3. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/50090 St. Luke Church Parish House
4. The Church Standard (magazine), vol. 40, no. 8 (June 24, 1905).
5. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
6. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
7. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
8. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
9. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
10. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
11. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
12. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
13. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
14. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.
15. Web site: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Booklet of St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (1979). mjk38. 2016-09-19. Philadelphia Studies. 2016-10-19.