A Nashville Congregation Rooted in Freedom
St. Luke Christian Methodist Episcopal Church sits on Ed Temple Boulevard in northwest Nashville, a brick-and-stone presence where worship has continued in some form for more than a century. Members describe themselves as a faith family committed to "improving the lives of all people" and to serving the underserved populations of their community. The congregation's vision - "Embracing God's Word; Embracing God's People" - and its mission of "Building an essential church through relevant ministries that touch lives, meet needs, and glorify God" frame a ministry that reaches well beyond Sunday morning, including an on-campus affordable housing complex for seniors, an active Social Action Committee, and a calendar of choirs, dance, youth and Bible study that fills the week.
From McKendree's Side Door to Ed Temple Boulevard
The story of St. Luke begins before the Civil War. Its members descend from enslaved and freed Black worshippers who attended McKendree Methodist Church in downtown Nashville. When McKendree's rolls listed 550 white members and 810 Black members, according to Rev. Henry T. Tipps's history of that congregation, a separate brick house was built so that Black members could worship on their own. After the founding of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, that house became known as Capers Chapel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. The name was changed for a time to Jackson Temple CME - the building stood under the viaduct on 12th Avenue North - before reverting to Capers.
Walter Raleigh Potter, who had brought his family to Nashville from Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, and preached at Jackson Temple, was among the members who settled in northwest Nashville. In 1915 he led a small group who wanted a place of worship closer to home. With the approval of Bishop Charles Henry Phillips, the group rented a storefront on Booker Street for $1.50 a month and began holding Sunday school in the fall of 1915. In 1916 the mission bought a building on Heffernan Street (now Meharry Boulevard) and took the name St. Luke Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Phillips appointed Potter as the church's first pastor; he served until 1920.
Between 1920 and 1958, twenty-three ministers served St. Luke, most for only one or two years. That pattern changed in 1958 with the arrival of Rev. John L. Glenn from Ida Bell, Oklahoma, whose pastorate lasted twenty-seven years. Under his leadership the church grew, and when urban renewal forced a relocation, the congregation moved to its current home on Ed Temple Boulevard. The first service in the new building was held on Sunday, October 13, 1968.
Rev. Glenn was transferred in 1985 to the Kentucky Conference and Rev. Alfred Miller was appointed to St. Luke. His pastorate ended with his death on April 7, 1989, and Rev. Geoffrey D. Nealy took over until 1994. Rev. Dr. Ronald Powe then served for twenty years, until 2014, when Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr. elevated him to Presiding Elder of the Southeast District of the East Tennessee region. After interim pastors Rev. Charles E. Winfrey, Jr. and Rev. Leon Parker, Dr. Powe was returned to St. Luke a third time on July 22, 2021.
The congregation also maintains a History Committee charged with preserving records, files, documents and photographs of the church's heritage. Angela Bonner serves as its president, with Bernice Campbell as emeritus.
A Pastor Coming Home a Third Time
Rev. Dr. Ronald M. Powe leads St. Luke while continuing to serve as Presiding Elder of the Southeast District of the East Tennessee region. A native of Thomasville, Alabama and the second of eleven children, Dr. Powe earned his B.S. (1972) and M.Ed. (1973) from Alabama State University, a Master of Divinity (1994) from Memphis Theological Seminary, and completed a doctorate in school administration at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College in 2008.
His career in education ran alongside his call to ministry. He taught and served as a special education supervisor in Clarke County, Alabama, then became principal of Jackson Middle School at thirty-two. He moved into Metro Nashville Public Schools in 1994, working with at-risk students at the Comprehensive Pupil Services Educational Center, then at McMurray Middle School, where he coached the Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle and sponsored the Men of Distinction program. He later served as principal of Thomas A. Edison Elementary and Napier Enhanced Option School, and briefly as interim principal of Bellshire Elementary. He and his wife, Patricia, have seven grandchildren.
In the CME Church, he pastored Williams Temple in Thomasville, Alabama (1979 - 1991) and Prospect CME in Memphis (1992 - 1994) before his first appointment to St. Luke, which lasted twenty years. In 2014 Bishop Williamson named him Presiding Elder of the Southeast District; in 2017 he was additionally appointed pastor of Historic Capers Memorial CME Church in Nashville. In 2019 he was assigned to Saint James CME in LaVergne, Tennessee, before returning to St. Luke in 2021.
He is joined by Rev. LaMel Bandy-Neal as Assistant Pastor; Rev. Dr. Julie Stinson-Reynolds as Children and Youth Pastor; Rev. Gwendolyn Langley as Pastor of Adult Ministry; local preachers Rev. Reginald Langford and Rev. Keith Bell; and Rev. Daryl A. Ballard, II, who serves both as Social Media Pastor and Assistant to the Pastor.
Sunday Mornings at the Luke
Worship at St. Luke follows a steady weekly rhythm. Sunday Church School gathers at 8:45 AM for every age group, with a virtual option that lets members join by Google Meet. Sunday worship begins at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary. A live broadcast of the service is carried on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page, with a connection page set up so that anyone who runs into trouble on one platform can switch to the other.
The current building on Ed Temple Boulevard has been the church's home since the first service was held there in October 1968, and the order of worship is shaped by the Christian Methodist Episcopal tradition. Visitors who arrive for the first time are met by greeters and by a Transportation Ministry whose members can be reached through the church office before 8:00 AM on Sunday mornings for a ride to worship. Those needing a ride should call (615) 256-5446 in advance.
Office hours at the church are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Wednesdays from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Wednesday: Dinner, Bible Study and Noon Prayer
The middle of the week carries its own pattern at St. Luke. The doors open at 6:00 PM for a community dinner, and at 6:30 PM Bible study groups for all ages begin meeting in the building. The church also hosts a weekly Noon Day Prayer on Google Meet, where members and friends stop in during the workday to pray together; a dial-in number and PIN are published for those who prefer to join by phone.
Kingdom Kidz, the children's ministry, meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM and again during worship on the first, second and third Sundays of the month.
Children, Youth and Sunday School Anywhere
Sunday School at St. Luke is intentionally intergenerational, and it travels. "Sunday School Anywhere," coordinated by Sunday School President Sherry Bowins, runs on Sundays from 9:00 AM to 9:50 AM as a virtual meeting open to all ages.
The Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) gathers young people in grades 6 through 12 (ages 12 to 17) for study, worship, fellowship, leadership and service, with A.J. Thurman serving as advisor. The Young Adult Ministry keeps the next age band engaged. Rev. Dr. Julie Stinson-Reynolds leads the children's and youth work across the board.
The Missionary Society underwrites several of these efforts through its three departments: the Rossie T. Hollis Department for ages 9 to 12, the Mattie E. Coleman Department for ages 12 to 17, and the Phyllis H. Bedford Department for ages 18 to 35. All sit under the umbrella of the Ida Mae Black Missionary Society, with named circles that also serve the wider congregation.
St. Luke is also a partner in One Church, One School, a national CME initiative founded in 1992 by Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr. that links congregations with neighborhood schools to support academic achievement, social behavior and personal development. St. Luke connects that work locally to the children of northwest Nashville.
A Sound Made of Choirs and Praise Dancers
Music is woven through everything at St. Luke. The music ministry includes a Children's Choir, a Praise Team, the Mass Choir, a Male Chorus, and a Youth and Young Adult Choir, with members singing, playing instruments or both. The Praise Dancers ministry is open to children, youth and adults who want to praise God through movement, with a preferred starting age of four to six for the youngest dancers and no upper age limit. The Men of Distinction and Women's Ministry groups gather around their own parallel ministries of mutual strength, support, prayer and biblical instruction.
A Place for Seniors: The Glenn Center and Alsup Arbors
One of the most distinctive ministries at St. Luke is not inside the sanctuary at all. The John L. Glenn Residential Center and the Peggy Ann Alsup Arbors, located next door at 2020 Ed Temple Boulevard, are a campus of affordable housing for persons sixty-two years of age and older. The campus is owned and operated by the church.
The apartments of Alsup Arbors are designed with a private hallway entrance, a spacious living room with a ceiling fan, a separate kitchen with modern appliances, a dining area, a large bathroom and ample storage. Residents of both buildings share a computer learning center, two activity rooms, a library, an arts and crafts room and two furnished laundry rooms. Lobbies and group areas are furnished for socializing, and a state-of-the-art electronic security system provides twenty-four-hour video surveillance of the buildings' interiors and grounds, with a personal alert system in each apartment.
The Missionary Society's circles schedule regular activities with the residents through holidays and across the year, and residents are invited to every church event. A Bible study is held every Wednesday at the Glenn Center and is open to all residents. The campus also hosts lectures, shopping trips, recreational outings, board games, exercise classes and other functions. An independent resident council carries concerns and desires to the buildings' Boards of Directors. The Housing Ministry office can be reached at (615) 259-4048.
Tending to the Wider Community
The Social Action Committee at St. Luke exists "to empower and educate ourselves through opportunities and events that inform us and encourage engagement in local, state, and federal socio-political events that impact our community," grounding the work in Isaiah 1:17. The committee curates a list of partner organizations, including The Equity Alliance, the Tennessee NAACP, The Tennessee Holler, the Tennessee Democratic Party, the Tennessee Republican Party and the Tennessee Independent Party, so members can follow legislation and civic action in their own time.
Other practical ministries keep the building and the people moving. The Security Ministry (the Peacekeepers) secures the sanctuary during services and events. The Transportation Ministry drives members to church and outreach activities. The Media and Technology Ministry keeps sermons uploaded in audio and video, maintains the church's Facebook and Instagram presence, and sends weekly e-blasts to keep the congregation connected. The Evangelism Ministry (the Board of Evangelism) welcomes visitors, gathers them into fellowship, captures pertinent data for church records, and pairs new and returning members with prayer partners.
Joining the St. Luke Family
Anyone interested in learning more about membership at St. Luke is invited to join a New Members Group, which is designed to walk newcomers into the Christian faith and help them find their place in the life of the congregation. The church extends a standing welcome: "We the St. Luke family extend a cordial welcome to all visitors and invite them to become a part of this Christian family."
Gifts to support the church's ministries can be made in person, through the One Church giving app, through Cash App at $stlukenashville, or by texting a tithe amount to 866-947-9238. The church's stated purpose for those gifts is straightforward: "We exist to touch lives with compassion that sees people where they are and walks with them toward hope. We meet needs by responding to real conditions - spiritual, emotional, and material - through service, advocacy, and shared responsibility."