St. Luke’s Episcopal Church began demolition today of its
original church building on the corner of Thirtieth and Gunn Streets.
The additional space will significantly expand St. Luke’s participation
in an innovative urban farming and culinary arts job training program for refugee women and youth run by the International Rescue Committee.
Begun in April, and launching in earnest this fall, the
MAKE Garden Café project will transform St. Luke’s vacant lot into a
productive and beautiful community space for at least the next three
years. The Café will serve handcrafted teas, coffees, baked goods and
salads prepared by refugee women employed in a job training program and
operating out of St. Luke’s soon-to-be renovated commercial kitchen.
Vegetables grown in the lot will be sold at the North Park Farmer’s
Market and used in the catering programs’ products. The Garden Café will
also feature a cultural arts gallery with rotating displays of
sculptures, murals, woven arts and musical performances representing the
many refugee and immigrant cultures in nearby City Heights.
“We look forward to the renewed and expanded use of St.
Luke’s adjacent lot,” said Jim Stiven, president of the standing
committee for the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego “As caretakers of
ancient traditions, we understand the value of the historic fabric of
our communities and the importance of process. We have worked closely
with the North Park Historical Society and the Save Our Heritage
Organization to consult the appropriate stakeholders in a thoroughly
transparent and open process over the past several years.”
"The Diocese has been working closely with the historic
preservation community, including the Save Our Heritage Organization
(SOHO) for the past several years in trying to find an interested party
willing to relocate the church building to another site,” said Scott
Moomjian, historian and attorney who specializes in land use issues
affecting historic properties. “Unfortunately, because the building was
in such poor physical condition, and would cost hundreds of thousands of
dollars to move and rehabilitate, no takers emerged."
“Our dream is to transform this property into a real
blessing for the neighborhood,” said Joseph Jok, the board chair of St.
Luke’s and a caseworker at the IRC. “I can’t wait to see where this new
partnership with the IRC takes our congregation and the North Park
community.” St. Luke’s is the spiritual home of about 50 families, many
of whom are refugees from South Sudan.
Since 2013, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego has actively
sought interested parties to move the former church building to a
different location, offering up to $7,500 to assist in moving costs. A
number of individuals expressed interest, but after inspecting the
structure, decided not to proceed.
The building was built sometime between 1887 and 1900. In
1924 it relocated from its original home at the corner of Sixth Avenue
and Pennsylvania Street in Hillcrest where it served as the sanctuary of
All Saints’ Episcopal Church. It measured 55’ x 32’ and consisted of
1,339 total square feet.
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St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is a mission congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego (stlukesnorthpark.org).
It is a multi-cultural congregation that welcomes everyone regardless
of ethnic background, creed, age, physical capabilities, size or sexual
orientation. All are welcome. The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is a
non-profit, religious organization comprised of 43 congregations in San
Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties, CA and Yuma County, AZ. The
Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses
and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member
province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. For more information,
please visit www.edsd.org.
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