At the corner of Belvedere and Peabody in Midtown Memphis, Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church is known for music-rich Holy Eucharist, a strong choral tradition, and a welcome shaped by beauty, tradition, diversity, wonder, and questions. The parish serves adults, children, and youth at 1720 Peabody Avenue through weekly worship, formation, fellowship, recreation, music, and outreach that extends into the surrounding community.
Sunday Worship at 8:00, 10:30, and 5:00
The regular Sunday pattern moves from quieter worship and breakfast into a fully sung Eucharistic service, then toward contemplative worship in the evening.
- 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with hymns and homily.
- 8:45-9:30 a.m. Breakfast by the Crossmen in Trezevant Hall from August through May.
- 9:30-10:15 a.m. Sunday School for all ages.
- 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist with sermon, choir, and Children's Chapel.
- 11:30 a.m. Fellowship and refreshments in Trezevant Hall.
- 4:00 p.m. More Than A Meal in Trezevant Hall.
- 5:00 p.m. Contemplative Holy Eucharist with instrumental music or Choral Evensong.
All are welcome at the services. Worship incorporates readings from and meditations on Holy Scripture, music, silence, and, for most services, Holy Communion. The 10:30 a.m. Eucharist is also shared through the church's Vimeo, Facebook, YouTube, and GSL Live livestream. Nursery care for children eight weeks through four years accompanies Sunday morning worship and formation.
Breakfast by the Crossmen is one of Grace-St. Luke's longest-standing traditions. Cook teams serve foods including eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, pancakes, biscuits, and gravy, along with cereal, yogurt, fruit, coffee, milk, and juice. Gluten-free and dietary-restriction options are available. Breakfast pauses during summer, when coffee is served before and after worship.
Noon Eucharist and Healing Prayers on Wednesdays
A second regular rhythm centers on the Holy Eucharist with Healing Prayers at noon on Wednesdays. The service lasts about twenty-five minutes and takes place in the chapel. It offers a midweek expression of the prayer, Scripture, Eucharist, and pastoral care that continue throughout the parish's life.
Parking at Belvedere and Peabody
Grace-St. Luke's stands at the corner of Belvedere and Peabody in Midtown. Parking is available along Peabody, Belvedere, and Lemaster, as well as in the surface lot on the southwest corner of Peabody and Belvedere, across Peabody from the church. A small circle lot beside the church includes accessible parking spaces.
Drivers coming from Downtown, Midtown, or East Memphis can take Poplar to Belvedere Boulevard, turn south toward Madison, and continue to Peabody Avenue. From north and east of the I-240 loop, the route uses Sam Cooper Boulevard, East Parkway, Union Avenue, and LeMaster. From west and south, drivers can take I-240 to Union Avenue, continue east to Belvedere, and turn toward Peabody. Additional parking and travel directions accompany the church's location information.
Choir, Organ, and Choral Evensong
Music is central to Grace-St. Luke's identity. The 10:30 a.m. Eucharist receives choral leadership from the Grace-St. Luke's Choir, whose adult and teen volunteers sing alongside semi-professional and professional singers. Guest strings, brass, percussion, and soloists also contribute to Sunday morning worship and special services.
Dr. Patrick A. Scott serves as Director of Music and Organist, and Sam McDaniel serves as Assistant Organist-Choirmaster, conducts the parish choir, and leads the children's Chorister Program. The Summer Choir welcomes adult and teen singers who can meet with the music leaders for an informal audition. The Friends of Music fund supports guest instrumentalists, concerts, and special musical events.
Young singers from Senior Kindergarten through twelfth grade can participate in two choirs based on the Royal School of Church Music model. St. Cecilia Training Choir serves children in Senior Kindergarten through second grade, while the Grace-St. Luke's Boy and Girl Choir serves third through twelfth graders. Participation is open to children regardless of whether they are connected to the church or school.
The parish also hosts the annual Belvedere Chamber Music Festival, produced by Luna Nova Music. The festival presents major twentieth-century works and new compositions by emerging composers, with lectures, masterclasses, and private instruction for young performers and composers. Audio sermon recordings and previously recorded services preserve the preaching and musical life of the church beyond the Sunday gathering.
Children at Nursery, Sunday Formation, and Children's Chapel
The nursery is supported by trained staff and nursery guild members committed to a safe, professional environment. It welcomes infants through four-year-olds during Sunday mornings and other church events when care is offered. Parents are asked to complete an annual Sunday School registration form before leaving a child in formation care.
Sunday formation runs from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Children ages three and potty trained through Senior Kindergarten gather in the Little Lambs Room, while first- through fourth-graders meet in the Meet the Saints Room. These classes are part of the same 9:30 hour used for adult and intergenerational formation.
Children's Chapel is a sacred service rather than childcare. Children from age four, or a potty-trained age three, through second grade follow the wooden cross after the opening hymn or procession. They hear the day's readings at their level, sing, pray, and sometimes use crafts, activities, or games. The service follows the general order of the Book of Common Prayer in child-friendly language. Children return to the Eucharistic service during the Peace, before Communion. A parent may accompany a child during an initial visit or two.
Messy Church adds an occasional intergenerational worship expression built around fun, creativity, hospitality, and connection. Grace-St. Luke's also welcomes families formed through adoption, foster care, birth, choice, or circumstance, as well as adults and couples whose lives do not include children. Parents Connect creates additional gatherings for adults raising children and youth.
Youth Formation, Acolytes, Scouting, and Sports
Fifth- through twelfth-graders meet for Sunday formation during the fall, winter, and spring. Youth explore Scripture, prayer, and service through an inclusive and relational approach, sometimes joining adults for intergenerational learning.
- Episcopal Youth Community gathers middle-school students in grades five through eight on Sunday afternoons and high-school students in grades nine through twelve later in the day. Meetings include prayer, games, fellowship, service, and faith together.
- Acolytes carry the cross and candles in procession and assist clergy during worship. Training is open to fourth- through twelfth-graders and adults.
- Biscuits and Bible gathers youth in grades five through twelve for a free breakfast, prayer, and a brief Bible study before school on Wednesdays during the school year.
- Scouting troops and church sports leagues for Junior Kindergarten through fourth grade place young people within the wider parish community.
Grace-St. Luke's soccer, flag football, baseball, T-ball, softball, and basketball programs emphasize fundamentals, leadership, integrity, teamwork, and participation. The recreation ministry also offers yoga and a Wednesday fitness class for adults age 60 and older.
Adult Learning, Small Groups, and Fellowship
Adult formation is approached as a lifelong process of growing in relationship with God, self, others, and all creation. The parish offers choices in large and small groups led by clergy and lay ministers, with subjects that connect biblical learning, spiritual practice, and everyday life.
- Sunday Morning Formation meets from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. and can include intergenerational learning.
- Weekday small groups meet in mornings and evenings for Bible study, conversation, and prayer.
- Parish Community Nights bring together supper, a short Eucharistic service, adult classes, and play for children and youth on selected Wednesday evenings.
- The GSL Daytime Book Group meets on the second Thursday from September through May, with no obligation to have finished the selection or to participate beyond enjoying conversation with others who read.
- Men's Morning Fellowship gathers on Thursday mornings for prayer, laughter, books, spiritual growth, and thoughtful conversation.
- Young Adults Fellowship welcomes adults from their late teens through age forty and beyond for worship, friendship, outreach, justice, and spiritual formation.
Some midweek Bible-study cycles meet at 11:00 a.m. and use a biblical book as a guide, with participants invited to continue into the noon Eucharist. Inquirer and confirmation classes, spiritual guidance, daily spirituality, and formation for people seeking freedom from addiction add further avenues for learning and support.
Food, Fellowship, and Justice Beyond the Parish
Grace-St. Luke's Food Pantry supports individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. It especially seeks in-date, easy-to-open food such as:
- Canned fruit and vegetables, tuna, chicken, soup, and stews
- Peanut butter, pudding cups, and boxes of corn, bran, and oat cereal
- Shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and soap bars
Donations can be left at the front office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In partnership with Church Health, parish cooking teams prepare healthy frozen meals that are distributed weekly to Church Health clients.
More Than A Meal gathers people experiencing homelessness and hunger in Trezevant Hall every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. for a nourishing meal, music, and conversation. The parish's broader outreach ministries include Room in the Inn, the food pantry and cook teams, a grant team, and a special initiatives team. Volunteer roles extend through worship, music, formation, breakfast, recreation, events, food preparation, and neighborhood service.
Justice work grows from the Baptismal Covenant's call to strive for justice and peace among all people. Grace-St. Luke's combines self-reflection with direct action through MICAH, Courageous Conversations, the GSL History Team, and Sacred Ground. Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series that examines the history of race and racism through family stories and threads of class, political identity, and regional identity.
Two Congregations, One Parish Since 1940
Grace-St. Luke's was established in 1940 through the merger of Grace Church and St. Luke's Church. Each predecessor had developed a rich history of roughly a century before becoming one parish. Grace Church's history reaches back to 1852, and the combined congregation marked its fiftieth anniversary in 1990.
Fragments of the parish's musical life survive from those earlier years. A record preserved by the church contains the Grace-St. Luke's Choir singing O Come, All Ye Faith on Christmas Eve 1942, alongside Bach chorales attributed to organist E. Power Biggs. What began with two long-established congregations continues through a present-day parish of worship, formation, music, recreation, and service.
Time, Talent, and Treasure Sustain the Work
Grace-St. Luke's describes giving as a spiritual practice that includes time, talent, and financial support. Online giving supports annual commitments, one-time gifts, the Food Pantry, More Than A Meal, memorial and honorary gifts, and altar flowers and Eucharistic supplies. These gifts support parish operations, ministries, worship, property care, and programs throughout the year.
The congregation's Endowment was created in 1976 from an Endowment Trust established in 1963. It helps provide capital for property maintenance and can support operational needs, ministries, and major repairs. The Cornerstone Society recognizes people who include the church in their estate plans. Planned gifts may take the form of bequests, appreciated assets, life-income gifts, life insurance beneficiaries, or retirement plan assets.
Baptisms, Weddings, Confirmation, and Burial
Grace-St. Luke's treats birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, and death as important parts of community life. Holy Baptism is one of the Church's seven sacraments and normally takes place at the Great Vigil of Easter, Pentecost, All Saints' Sunday, or the Baptism of the Lord, with at least one additional Sunday generally offered each year. Baptisms are public celebrations of Holy Eucharist rather than private ceremonies, and preparation includes a required Water Into Life class.
Members and nonmembers may request Holy Matrimony, subject to the church's criteria and approval. Couples meet with the rector, and premarital counseling is required. Music staff assist with weddings and funerals, while the church provides for burial of the dead and offers Baptism, Confirmation, and marriage as sacraments of parish and family life.
Clergy, Lay Leadership, and the Episcopal School
The Rt. Rev. Phoebe A. Roaf serves as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee. The Rev. Ollie V. Rencher is Rector of Grace-St. Luke's and works with the wardens, Vestry, treasurer, ministry committees, staff, and school. The Rev. Laura F. Gettys serves as Associate Rector for Community Engagement, The Rev. Dr. Jesse W. Abell as Associate Rector for Pastoral Care, The Rev. Anne S. Carrière as Priest Associate, and The Rev. Jessica T. Abell as Parish Deacon and school chaplain.
Ministry leaders include Jocelyn Busby, Director of Children and Family Ministry; Marta Lopez-Flohr, Director of Youth and Family Ministry; Dr. Patrick A. Scott, Director of Music and Organist; and Christi Authement, Recreation and Wellness Director. Sam McDaniel leads choir and children's music programs, while Amy and Jerry Hudson co-lead the Food Pantry.
Grace-St. Luke's Vestry is a fifteen-member spiritual leadership council and governing body elected at the Annual Meeting of the Parish. It supports the Rector in overseeing policies, operations, and property and gathers on the third Tuesday of each month.
Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School has been an independent, coeducational school since 1947. Serving children from two years old through eighth grade, the school emphasizes intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. As an Episcopal school, it welcomes families of all faiths and beliefs while cultivating curiosity, collaboration, critical thinking, and respect for different perspectives.
Hope, Belonging, and Healing
The mission of Grace-St. Luke's is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. Its vision describes a thriving community of hope, belonging, and healing through worship, parish life, and service, rejoicing in the love of Jesus to transform the world.
Belonging at Grace-St. Luke's means all means all. The church welcomes people of many religious backgrounds and ages who seek to love God and participate in a community rooted in the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. It affirms the dignity of every human person and welcomes all regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Questions, debate, and discovery are welcomed alongside tradition and beauty.
Holy Eucharist stands at the center of the church's Episcopal life, while baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial help mark the journey through faith. At Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church, worship, learning, music, relationships, service, and Midtown Memphis meet in a community organized around belonging and care.