Overcoming Difficulty Together

In 1912 Saint Andrew’s was established as a sister church to serve the neighborhood of West Ghent. St. Luke’s had built a magnificent building on Granby Street (currently the location of the Federal Courts) but it was destroyed by a lightning fire in 1921, and they moved to Colonial Avenue.

A fire severely damaged Christ Church in November, 1914, but the church immediately began repairs, meeting in movie theaters and other churches and synagogues in the area, and rededicated the building on Easter Day, 1915. The church built a Parish House in 1919 designed in the same style as the church proper. By the mid-1930s, there was a need for an updated facility, but plans were postponed due to financial uncertainty.

Given these economic realities of 1935 the Bishop decided to consolidate St. Luke’s, St. Andrew’s, and Christ Church. Christ Church was renamed Christ & St. Luke’s reflecting the two congregations, while St. Andrew’s continued to worship in their own facility on Graydon Avenue. With the improving economy, St. Andrew’s became a separate parish from Christ & St. Luke’s in 1940.

Csl history street 1

In the mid-1950s, the long-desired expansion was built in what is called Lloyd Hall. Over the latter part of the 20th century, Christ & St. Luke’s has been a leader in the community, serving the homeless and working poor through our soup kitchen and outreach ministries, and working abroad to build medical clinics in Nicaragua and water wells in Haiti.

Because of the acoustical splendor of the church, it is frequently used for concerts by local and international musicians.

In the 21st century, Christ & St. Luke’s continues to grow and thrive in this ever-changing world.  We open our doors to all people, regardless of their faith or background. We continue to write our history, launching a major building renovation and expansion program in 2016. This project will preserve our historic buildings and leave them ready for generations to come.

Buy The Book

Want to Read More?

Get Sigur Whitaker’s book, Christ & St. Luke’s: Norfolk’s Landmark Church.

An illustrated history of Norfolk’s landmark Episcopal church, Christ & St. Luke’s in the beautiful turn-of-the century neighborhood called Ghent. This narrative includes the church’s colonial history and is liberally illustrated with images of earlier buildings that served the changing congregation over the years.

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