A Brief History of St Luke's, Idaho Falls, Idaho

The Episcopal Community of Idaho Falls was established in 1899 in a small wooden church called St. John's.  Vestiges of the original church in the form of a "Rose" stained glass window, credence table and pews are located in various sections or our present church.  Descendents of the origianal parish members are among our present congregation.  In 1960 the parish hall and education wing were added.  Later in the 1960's a new sanctuary was completed.

Over the continuing years there was a slow departure of a few families due to personal and doctrinal confilcts.  Many of these families joined in the formation of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in the early 1980's.  During the next twenty years, both churches grew and established active outreach programs including the food bank and soup kitchen.

The Episcopal Diocese of Idaho felt that since these two communities were only four blocks apart, it was not the best use of our stewardship resources.  After numerous meetings and frank discussions, reconciliation  was achieved and the two churches combined together in 2002 and became a new Episcopal family named St. Luke's.  During this period of transition, minor remaining differences were put aside at the discovery of felony embezzlement by the parish secretary.  Dealing with this new problem actually assisted us in moving forward in the unification and healing process.  Trust has been reestablished and ministries from both churches continue to thrive through the present St. Luke's congregation.

The Rev. Bruce Henne was called to St. Luke's in June 2002.  Father Bruce's task of reconcilation and transition was recognized as complete with his retirement in 2007.  St. Luke's now views itself as a complete entity striving to be the "Heart and Hands" of Jesus in Idaho Falls.