“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” ~ Jeremiah 33:3
Through the decades, each generation of the faithful have made additions and renovations to the church buildings. Below, please find a timeline of major milestones of St. Luke’s.
- 1832 – Church building constructed
- 1834 – Pipe organ, the first in Newtown, was installed
- 1855 – Wooden bell tower was erected, previously the bell hung on a pole in the south east corner of the property
- 1860 – Brass pulpit installed
- 1893 – Parish house built on the east side of the church (left side)
- 1902 – Altar was given by a Boston parish in memory of their rector, who had been a member of the parish, and was buried in the Newtown Cemetery.
- 1904 – Wooden bell tower was replaced by the present brick tower
- 1905 – Organ replaced with a tracker organ; although the facade pipes remain
- 1929 – A separate sacristy was added
- 1929-1933 – The “east” wall or altar wall was restyled
- 1932 – A beautiful copy of Andrea della Robbia’s 1485 masterpiece, The Coronation of the Virgin, was installed as a reredos for our centennial celebration.
- 1932 – Ceiling and false beams are of hammered tin
- 1955 – Pulpit replaced
- 1958 – The present pipe organ was built and installed
- 1964 – Four properties were purchased for the location of the new parish house
- 1964 – Old Parish House razed and new parish house constructed
- 1982 – Three stained glass windows were added
- 1995 – Major renovation to the church interior which included replacing the flooring system and the pews. St. Luke’s used random-width floor boards and installed custom-made pews patterned on the original pews, to retain the style and “feel” of the original interior.
- 1995 – Organ was renovated by upgrading its circuitry, and adding a MIDI synthesizer.
- 2011-2012 – Sacristy Renovation which included two phases – altar guild side, and vestments and choir. This included new cabinetry, and added a wash sink.
- 2013 – Kitchen renovation in the Parish House
- 2020 – New stained glass transom installed at the nave’s entrance
- 2021 – Replaced parish house slate roof with standing seam metal roof
- 2021 – Added new Audio/Visual equipment including PTZ camera and microphone
