Our History
St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church was founded on the banks of the Chipola River in August of 1867, under the leadership of Rev. Samuel Brown. Shortly after the church was organized, one of the members who owned a blacksmith shop allowed his shop to be used as the first permanent home of the St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church. In 1890, Rev William King and congregation selected the present site of old Saint Luke located on 617 E. Jackson St.
A wooden structure was erected St. Luke had annual revival meetings which were usually held the last week of July and the new converts were baptized in the Chipola River the first Sunday of August. The location of the place where the baptizing was done was a portion of the river that is behind the Auto Zone Store near Marianna, Florida. This event attracted many potential converts from the whole area. Some of them had different religious backgrounds. In conjunction with the church being utilized as a religious institution, during the late 1920s and early 1930s, the edifice also served as an educational facility housing the grade school aged African American children of Marianna and the surrounding area.
In 1921, under Rev. KD Britt’s leadership, residents of the black and white community of Marianna, Florida worked together to begin building the present structure located at 617 E. Jackson St. in Marianna. The church was completed over a period of years under the leadership of Rev. L.C. Herring, Rev. L.B. Brown, and Rev. A.H. Parker. St. Luke experienced the greatest amount of growth during the pastoral leadership of Rev. K.D. Britt. The enrollment was over 300 members. The format for the order of service that we still use today can be attributed to Rev. K.D. Britt.On April 5, 1946 Dr. Rev. A.H. Parker, (1907-1995), was called to pastor St. Luke. He has the distinction of serving as pastor with the longest tenure, (1946-1990). His first job as pastor was to complete the building of the church. This he did. He then installed a baptismal pool which marked the beginning of indoor baptism for St. Luke. The church also was used for recreational purposes as the basement of the church was used as a skating rink because there were not any skating rinks for African American children in the whole county. Boy Scouts of America was headquartered there also as Rev. A.H. Parker was appointed by the National Council to be Committeeman of Troop #59, December 31, 1946.
On October 19, 1956, Rev. A.H. Parker, a pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church, wrote a letter to John D. Milton, Superintendent of Jackson County Schools expressing a desire to purchase the land of the Old Jackson County Training School. The property is located on the Northwest corner of Orange and Clay streets. At the April 23, 1963 Jackson County School Board meeting, the property was appraised for $6250.00. A bid from St. Luke Baptist Church dated July 24, 1963 in the amount of $6,254.97 was accepted.
A new beginning:
2871 Orange St., Marianna, Florida 32448
Approximately 20 years later in 1984 under the leadership of Rev. A.H. Parker a new edifice was constructed on Orange Street.
In 1989 Rev. Oranza Waddell Jr. was installed as assistant pastor and later served as interim pastor. Under his leadership, the first church constitution was written and adopted by the church on February 15, 1990.
In March 1993, Rev. Riley J. Henderson was called to Pastor St. Luke. The Official Directory: Pastor, Rev. Riley J. Henderson; Ordained Ministers: Revs. H.H. Wynn St., Carlton Cotton Sr., Orenza Waddell Jr., and H.H. Wynn Jr. Deacons: Bros. D.B. Baker Jr., Chalmers Wilson Jr., L.L. Hawthorne Jr., Roger Clay, Maurice Clay, Earl Williams, Ronald Mitchell, Charlie Martin, Billie Mack St., Joseph Fagan, William Al Hayes, Ben Paramore, Alexander Wallace. Trustees: Leila Hawthorne, Jerry Sylvester, Vernon Cofield, Randy Williams, Sarah Pender, Deloris Holden, Annie Garvin, Howard Milton Jr., Roger Clay, Walter Robinson, and Jefferson Koonce. Clerk: Annie Garvin. Deaconesses: Leila Hawthorne, Christine Anderson, Lillian Baker, Julia Wynn, Mary Gray, Eliza Clay, Annie Paramore, Lucy Hawthorne, Evelyn Wilson, Chalullah Clay, Exie Wallace, Juanita Hayes.
St. Luke Baptist Church stands on the corners of Orange and Clay Street. Our church stands clear of all indebtedness and we employ a fulltime pastor. We are loyal supporters of Local, State, and National works and Home and Foreign Missions. In the words of the Patriarch Rev. K.D. Britt, I quote “With our doors ajar we stand ready to receive our missionaries and Christian workers whenever chances permit them to come to us. Thus at the foot of the Mountain of Life stands the Son of Man willing and able to guide us. He stands ready to throw about us his strong arms of love and if we will only let Him, He will lead us up the winding and dangerous paths of this hard life and at last, we shall find our feet firmly planted on the summit of Mr. Zion, where we shall behold all the beauties of the New Jerusalem prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Come thou with us, and we will do thee good.
Written and compiled by Roger Clay