St Luke parish began in 1987 on the Feast of St Luke (October 18th) with a small group of founding parishioners who gathered on Sundays in the movie theatre of Matthews Festival. Our first pastor, Father Joe Mulligan urged the launching parishioners, like our Patron the physician, to be a “healing presence in the community” which is reflected in our mission statement today. By Christmas that year, the parish was able to move away from the smell of popcorn and nomadic life to a small, renovated storefront in the Mint Hill Festival shopping plaza. This would be home for the next seven years, where members worked together to dream up and became the warm, welcoming St Luke community we love. Those families collaborated on a vision of our developing parish by participating in ongoing town halls.

Through their passion, dedication, and generosity, we were able to begin building on the Diocese’s 11-acre plot on Lawyers Road. The multi-purpose building was completed by the feast of St Luke in 1994 and dedicated by Bishop William Curlin on January 7th, 1995. In 1997, an addition to the worship space and the faith formation wing - with classrooms and the family life center - was completed. In 2001, following Father Joe Mulligan’s sabbatical, Father Jim Hawker was appointed pastor and served at St Luke’s until Father Paul Gary was appointed in 2008. As we grew and used every corner of the present space, we added the Spirituality Center for an additional 6 modular classrooms. We grew to over 1,500 families and needed more space to accommodate our growing needs, and our current location offered no useable land to expand. Our Building Peace campaign allowed us to purchase a 30-acre plot on Fairview Road in 2009 where our dream could be realized.

In 2019, we launched our Cornerstone Capital Campaign, and with the prayerful support of our growing parish, we met our goals and began building on the new property – first the pavilion, then 3-bedroom rectory, and finally our new church to seat 840. Construction is set to finish early 2023 with the Dedication Mass and reception on Sunday, February 19th, 2023. The church will have ample parking, plenty of pews, and even room to grow. We will be across two campuses until we are able to build offices, classrooms, and meeting spaces on our new property. The Lawyers Road building will continue to serve us for functions, faith formation, and administration until we are able to sell the property and consolidate on one campus in the coming years. We look to the bright future and God as we put ourselves in His hands and continue welcoming new parishioners in the warm and inviting St Luke’s way!