On a quiet block off the village green in East Hampton, St. Luke's Episcopal Church has gathered worshippers around its 1910 stone altar for more than a century. The parish traces its roots back over 150 years and remains, in the words of its current rector, a community of "living stones" modeled on the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. Sunday morning at St. Luke's is built around the Book of Common Prayer, with both a quieter Rite I liturgy at 8:00 AM and a full choir-led Rite II at 10:00 AM, while a midweek Eucharist on Wednesday at 10:00 AM keeps the rhythm of prayer going through the work week. In summer, the parish extends to the shore at St. Peter's Chapel in Springs, and the church doors stand open year-round for personal prayer and meditation.
The Rector and the Congregation He Serves
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Shambaugh became rector of St. Luke's after a ministry that has taken him from Maine to Maryland, from Paris to Barbados, from the National Cathedral in Washington to the American National Parks. Ordained in 1988, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Northwestern University, a Master of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Seabury Western Seminary. Before arriving in East Hampton he served ten years as rector of St. John's Church and School in Olney, Maryland, and he has held diocesan leadership roles including chair of the Standing Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine and chair of the Maine Deputation to General Convention. He has also served as an auxiliary chaplain of support for the United States Coast Guard. He and his wife Shari, an educator and artist, are the parents of two grown children, and he spends his days off kayaking, hiking, and playing the tuba.
Shambaugh describes St. Luke's as "ancient worship and modern thought, catholic traditions and progressive theology, a Biblical perspective for thinking people, a respect for reason, science, and diversity of perspective, compassion and care for the wider community and one another, and a commitment to welcome and inclusion." The parish he leads draws full-time residents, weekenders, and visitors, with members living in East Hampton Village, Amagansett, Wainscott, and Springs as well as New York City.
Sunday Worship: Two Liturgies, One Altar
Sunday is the heart of the week at St. Luke's. Two services of Holy Eucharist are offered in the main church, both drawn from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and Enriching our Worship texts.
The 8:00 AM service follows Rite I of the Prayer Book and is the quieter of the two, with a smaller gathering and a slightly simpler musical setting that includes some hymns. The 10:00 AM service follows Rite II, with the choir singing the service music and a fuller congregational hymnody; this is the gathering at which most visitors and families arrive, and it is the service at which the annual Pet Blessing is observed on the first Sunday of October. Both liturgies include the reading of scripture, a sermon, prayers for the world and the parish, and the celebration of Holy Communion. All baptized Christians of any denomination are welcome to receive communion. Holy Baptism is normally celebrated four times each year in the context of the Sunday Eucharist.
Both services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and an archive of recent services and sermons is kept on the parish's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person. The livestream makes St. Luke's a recognizable voice for parishioners who winter away and for newcomers who first encounter the parish online.
The Wednesday Eucharist and the Quiet Days
On Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM the parish gathers again for a Eucharist service that is shorter than the Sunday liturgies but identical in shape. This midweek communion is offered for those whose work schedules or family commitments keep them from Sunday services and for parishioners who simply want a second touchpoint of the liturgy each week. It is also livestreamed.
During times when the rector is traveling, Wednesday services may shift to Morning Prayer, and a visiting priest from a neighboring parish commonly presides. The rhythm of weekday prayer, however, has been a steady feature of parish life for many years and is part of what makes St. Luke's feel less like a Sunday-only institution and more like a community whose calendar is shaped by the sanctoral cycle.
A Stone Church Built in 1910
The sanctuary that holds the 8:00 and 10:00 liturgies is the parish's most distinctive feature. The current stone church was built in 1910, reportedly using stones that had been excavated from below the East River in New York City and brought out to the East End to be re-laid as walls. Inside, the architecture is traditional English Gothic, with a rich wood interior and striking stained glass windows, and the nave accommodates up to three hundred people.
The building has long been one of the most popular venues on the East End for traditional Christian weddings, and the flower gardens just outside the sanctuary face Mulford Farm, Home, Sweet Home, the village windmill, and the green across the street, all of which provide frequent backgrounds for wedding portraits. The interior is also regularly used for funerals, baptisms, and confirmations, and the building is open twenty-four hours a day for personal prayer and meditation.
St. Peter's Chapel in Springs
Beyond the main campus on James Lane, St. Luke's has maintained a second worship site in the hamlet of Springs since 1881. St. Peter's Chapel, at 465 Old Stone Highway, was built with a donation of land from Jonathan Miller and with construction and labor costs paid by the East Side Chapel Association; its very first service, on June 6, 1881, was the funeral of Miller's eleven-year-old daughter, Katie. The chapel was dedicated two months later and eventually became a mission chapel of St. Luke's under the parish's first rector, the Reverend Oscar Treder, who gave it its present name.
Today the chapel holds worship on Saturdays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, beginning at 5:30 PM. Through Labor Day, the service is the Holy Eucharist; from Labor Day through Columbus Day weekend, the service shifts to Evening Prayer, led by members of the local community with the permission of the rector. The Saturday liturgy runs about forty-five minutes and, when conditions allow, is followed by a pot-luck supper. Because of technological limitations at the Springs site, these chapel services are not livestreamed.
Music at St. Luke's
Robert Peterson has been the parish's music director since 2008, leading the music program and the volunteer choir. The 10:00 AM Sunday service is the principal setting for the choir, which sings the service music and anthems drawn from the Episcopal hymnal and a wide repertoire of Anglican choral traditions. A pickup choir gathers at the 10:00 service on the first Sunday of each month, with a rehearsal after the 10:00 service the week before, and Peterson welcomes new singers at any time. The 8:00 AM service also includes hymns, though without the full choir.
Music at St. Luke's is not a Sunday-only affair. The parish's Hoie Hall regularly hosts the THFM MainStage Series, a chamber music concert series that fills the parish hall on summer evenings and brings performers and audiences into the life of the building. The parish also has a long association with Pianofest, the free summer piano concert series that travels across the Hamptons, and St. Luke's has been a recurring venue for those recitals.
Christian Education and Sunday School
Colleen Stonemetz has directed Christian Education at St. Luke's since 2012. Her program includes the Sunday School for children from toddler through teenage years, occasional adult forums, and seasonal Bible studies. Sunday School meets during the 10:00 AM service, beginning in the Pre-K classroom upstairs, and it is open to all children in the parish and to visitors. The curriculum is built around Sermons 4 Kids, a three-year liturgical resource that walks children through the same Gospel passages the adults are hearing, and it includes a customized weekly Children's Worship Bulletin designed for two age groups so that even the youngest worshippers have a sense of belonging to the liturgy in the pews.
Special events punctuate the Sunday School year: an Easter Egg Hunt, a Christmas Pageant, and scavenger hunts through the church building. Parents are encouraged to volunteer as teachers' aides and classroom helpers, and St. Luke's Christian Education program subscribes to the Safe Church policies of the Diocese of Long Island, which establish standards of behavior and reporting for anyone working with children and youth. Registration for the fall Sunday School begins in late summer, and the program takes a break during the summer months.
The Memorial Garden and Columbarium
Between the western wall of the church and the rectory lies St. Luke's Memorial Garden and Columbarium, a quiet green space that the parish describes as giving off "a feeling of beauty, peace and undisturbed eternity." The garden is open to members of the parish and their families for interment, and reservations can be made in advance. A brochure detailing the garden's history, the policies for interment, and the available options is available from the parish office, and donations toward landscaping and improvements can be made in lieu of flowers.
The Memorial Garden is tended by a committee of the parish and supported by gifts from families who want a permanent, prayerful resting place close to the church that has shaped their lives.
Weddings at the Parish
St. Luke's welcomes couples of diverse faiths to be married at its altar, and weddings are one of the parish's most visible ministries to the wider community. The sanctuary, with its English Gothic interior, dark wood, and stained glass, can seat up to three hundred guests. For more intimate ceremonies, the smaller pastoral setting of St. Peter's Chapel in Springs is also available during the summer months. Receptions and gatherings are held in Hoie Hall, the parish's multipurpose space that can seat up to one hundred and twenty at tables, with a full kitchen and a terrace just outside. The parish administrator, Tara Brinka, walks couples through the guidelines and the practical details of planning a wedding at St. Luke's.
Outreach and the Wider Community
The ministries that radiate out from the church building are central to St. Luke's identity. Outreach to those in need takes many forms.
St. Luke's is a sustained supporter of three local food pantries, and parishioners are encouraged to make financial contributions to the East Hampton Food Pantry on Pantigo Road, the Springs Food Pantry on Old Stone Highway, and the Montauk Food Pantry at St. Therese Parish Center, as well as to Long Island Cares. The parish also donates regularly to East Hampton Meals-on-Wheels and to the East Hampton Community Council, and it supports a wide circle of regional and national ministries: ARF, Camp DeWolfe, The Retreat, Inc., East End Hospice, Share the Harvest Farm, the East Hampton Day Care Center, the Seaman's Church Institute, Episcopal Charities of Long Island, the General Theological Seminary, Episcopal Relief and Development, and the diocese's chaplaincy ministries.
Within the parish, the St. Luke's Guild meets on the first Wednesday of every month and has grown from a social club into a charitable group that funds community needs through annual events. The Altar Guild prepares the sanctuary for every communion, baptism, funeral, and holy day. Ushers and greeters create a welcoming atmosphere for newcomers at the doors; lay readers and lay Eucharistic ministers assist during services; acolytes serve at the altar; and a flower-delivery ministry brings Sunday arrangements to homebound parishioners. Pastoral visitation, hospital visitation, transportation assistance, office help, and a grounds-care committee fill out the list of ways the congregation serves itself and its neighbors.
The parish has also hosted conversations on immigration with the Executive Director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, with the meeting livestreamed on the parish's Facebook and YouTube pages, and it joins the Episcopal Church's Public Policy and Witness team for monthly "Vote Faithfully" networking calls on civic engagement consistent with Episcopal values.
The Scholarship Program
Since 1988, the St. Luke's Scholarship Committee has supported the educational journeys of young adults in the parish. Graduating high school seniors and current college students between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four who are members of St. Luke's are eligible to apply, and scholarships may be renewed annually for up to four years of continuous education. The application asks applicants to describe their service to St. Luke's and to the wider community, and recipients agree to complete at least five hours of community service within a year, ideally through the parish's annual Summer Fair. Checks are sent directly to the recipient's college tuition or bookstore account.
Yoga for Seniors and Other Year-Round Programs
On Thursday at noon, the lower level of St. Luke's opens for free chair- and mat-based yoga for seniors in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond. The classes, led by Dominick Koss, are designed to improve balance, mobility, and well-being, and an elevator connects the main floor to the AA meeting room where they are held. Participants are asked to bring a yoga mat if they have one.
Other recurring community programs include the annual Community Pet Blessing at the 10:00 AM service on the first Sunday of October, occasional winter talks by visiting scripture scholars, and the parish's annual Summer Fair, traditionally held in July, which opens the church grounds to the wider East Hampton community for an afternoon of food, games, and family activities. The proceeds of the fair support the parish's outreach and ministries.
Hoie Hall and the Building as Community Space
Hoie Hall is the parish's multipurpose room, and over the course of the year it hosts wedding receptions, the Summer Fair, community meetings, the THFM MainStage concerts, scripture scholar talks, and the Sunday coffee hour that follows the 10:00 AM liturgy. The hall seats up to one hundred and twenty at tables and opens onto a terrace that looks out toward the gardens. St. Luke's welcomes inquiries from community groups that wish to rent the hall, and the building's lower level includes meeting rooms and an elevator that makes the space accessible to those who cannot manage stairs.
Becoming Part of the Parish
Membership at St. Luke's is open to all baptized Christians, regardless of denomination, who want to make the parish their spiritual home. Those who have been confirmed or received in the Episcopal Church may serve on the vestry and vote at congregational meetings; members transferring from other Episcopal congregations can request a transfer of membership through the parish office. Newcomers' classes are held in the spring, usually during the 9:00 education hour, and they conclude with a festive newcomers' lunch or dinner.
The responsibilities of membership, the parish teaches, are those named in the canons of the Episcopal Church: faithfulness in worship, work, prayer, and giving. In practical terms, that means participating regularly in Sunday worship, joining in the life of a committee or ministry, and completing an annual pledge card. Members have the right to vote at parish meetings, to serve on the vestry, and to use the parish's facilities and clergy at reduced rates for weddings, funerals, and other rites.
Stewardship at St. Luke's
St. Luke's receives no financial support from the Diocese of Long Island; in fact, the parish pays roughly ten percent of its annual budget to the Diocese to support diocesan outreach initiatives. Pledges and donations from parishioners are therefore the foundation of the operating budget. The 2026 stewardship campaign set a preliminary pledge target of $575,000, an increase over the prior year that reflects growth in attendance and rising costs across the parish's programs and services.
Pledges can be made online through the parish's giving platform, by downloading and returning a pledge card, or by placing a card in the offering plate during Sunday worship. The parish's tax ID is available for those who wish to make qualified charitable distributions from an IRA or to donate appreciated securities, and planned giving options include bequests, charitable gift annuities, and charitable remainder trusts.
A Parish with Ancient Worship and Modern Thought
St. Luke's identity is shaped by five articulated core values: Worship, Faith Formation, Fellowship, Outreach, and Stewardship. Around them, the parish has built a rhythm of liturgical prayer, Christian education, intergenerational friendship, service to the East End, and careful stewardship of the gifts entrusted to it. The stone walls of the 1910 church, the small white chapel in Springs, the food pantries in three different hamlets, the music of the Sunday choir, the laughter of children in Sunday School, and the steady Wednesday Eucharist are all part of a single story.
For those looking for a community rooted in the Anglican tradition and open to the questions of contemporary life, St. Luke's Episcopal Church at 18 James Lane in East Hampton keeps its doors open and its calendar full.