What We Are
St. Luke's is a Christian Church
First and foremost, St. Luke's is part of the universal (or catholic) Christian Church. This means that St. Luke's joins with the many Christians throughout history and the world in acknowledging Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior who has redeemed us from our sins and brought us together into one Body. The Church of England has a webpage on What it Means to be a Christian. The Episcopal Church has a Basic Introduction to Christianity.
St. Luke's is an Anglican Church
St. Luke's is part of the international Anglican Communion. There are over 70 million Anglicans of all races in 38 autonomous Provinces spreading across more than 160 countries under the spiritual leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Anglican Communion traces its lineage back to the Church of England.
St. Luke's is an Episcopal Church
St. Luke's is part of the Diocese of Northern California, which is one of the many dioceses (or regional grouping of local churches) of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. The Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion. Each diocese of the Episcopal Church is led by a bishop. Within California there are seven dioceses: Northern California, California (the Bay Area), San Joaquin (the Central Valley - original diocese left the Episcopal Church in 2007 and was replaced by a new diocese with the same name), El Camino Real (the Central Coast), Los Angeles, and San Diego.
History of St. Luke's
The church building was begun in 1884 by early settlers in the Galt area. Although first used by Congregationalists, Episcopalians conducted their service in 1901 and shared the building with the Congregationalists until 1914. From 1915 to 1922, the priest in charge of St. John's , Lodi , conducted biweekly services. From 1922-1969, Sacramento based supply priests teamed with St. Luke's lay leaders in conducting services. In 1970, the Rev. V. John Shankland began a 22 year tenure as vicar. During his tenure, the parish hall and side building containing additional office space, a nursery and classrooms were built. Recent vicars and long term supply clergy have included the Rev. Mary Hauck, the Rev. Robert Blumenstock, the Rev. Roger Wilkowski (who served as vicar until his death in 2005), and currently, the Rev. Barbara Elizabeth Nixon.
A history of several Galt churches, including St. Luke's can be found here.