Church members at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, participate in a Nov. 2 groundbreaking for their new church building. Photo: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, via Facebook
[Episcopal News Service] A Louisiana congregation whose church building was destroyed by fire in 2024 has broken ground on a new building.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge celebrated the start of its reconstruction project with a ceremony Nov. 2 that followed its Sunday worship service.
“This groundbreaking is more than just the start of construction,” the Rev. Bryan Owen, St. Luke’s rector, said in a news release. “It’s the first visible sign of resurrection after the loss. Almost nothing inside the church survived the fire, but what did, the cremains of our loved ones in the columbarium, a few sacred vessels, and a cross warped by flame, will now become part of the new space.”
The former church building, built in 1964, was engulfed by fire early Feb. 17, 2024. https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/02/19/fire-destroys-church-building-at-st-lukes-in-baton-rouge-louisiana/ The blaze also destroyed the congregation’s Pope Hall and library but spared its school and other buildings.
Baton Rouge Fire Department later said there was no evidence the fire was set intentionally, but its investigation did not reveal the cause. https://www.wafb.com/2024/03/19/new-details-released-about-st-lukes-episcopal-church-fire-investigation/
The congregation’s worship schedule continued uninterrupted, first in the school’s gymnasium the day after the fire and then in another building on the church’s campus known as Witter Hall.
“Throughout this journey, the love of God has been at the center of our conversations, guiding us with openness, honesty and respect as we work together to restore St. Luke’s to a new sacred space,” Joseph Kahler, senior warden, said in the church’s announcement.
Working with architects from Hoffpauir Studio, the congregation aims to create a new worship space that looks and feels like the old St. Luke’s building, “while also embracing the opportunity to create something spiritually renewed, refreshed and updated.” The project is estimated to coast $12 million, much of it covered by the congregation’s insurance, and church leaders are hopeful they can being worshipping in the new building by Advent 2026.
“The community of St. Luke’s and the wider diocese celebrate together,” Louisiana Bishop Shannon Duckworth said in a statement released by the congregation. “May this new church rise as a beacon of grace, service and resurrection for generations to come. I look forward to the day when these doors will open, and we bless this building to God’s glory and service.”