A Snapshot of
St. Luke’s Chapel in the Hills
Los Altos Hills, CA
“Biblical in Teaching, Liturgical in Worship,Loving in Practice”
This paper is intended for those interested in installationas Rector of St. Luke’s Chapel in the Hills.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1964, 85 local Christians and members of the same Bible study formed a congregation under the name, “Chapel in the Hills”. Soon after, the church found as a permanent residence the old Purrisima School building, the oldest one-room school-house in the county. The original congregants made the needed renovations themselves, going so far as to dig out by hand the fellowship hall beneath the sanctuary. Worship has continued in the building since.
As Christians, we affirm the Nicene Creed as our statement of faith. As Anglicans, we hold the 39 articles as our standard. In worship, we use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
We are a member congregation of the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC), a founding body of the Anglican Church in America (ACNA). Further, we are in full communion with the Anglican Church of Nigeria, bringing us into communion with the Church of England and with the rest of the Worldwide Anglican Communion.
Being a small church, we are like a family. No one can attend long and remain anonymous. We desire to remaina true parish church, a sanctuary for the faithful, made up of those who are Low, those who are Broad, and those who are High Church. We are made up of liberals and conservatives, young and old, and every other group in-between. Our unity, however, is found in Christ.
Whereas other churches have modernized their liturgy, St. Luke’s has preserved her traditions of worship Our 10 a.m. service is usually Morning Prayer, supporting the traditions of the founding members. The noon service is always Holy Eucharist, for those who are broad or high in their churchmanship. We also have a monthly healing service for those who are more charismatic and Rosary on the first Saturday to support those who are Anglo-Catholic. Finally, for those more contemplative in their prayer life, we have instituted Evensong on the third Friday of each month. We have worked hard to foster mutual respect and love for each with our diversity of backgrounds.
We seek as rector a man that would respect and honor for our desires and traditions. We desire as rector a laborer for God’s harvest, a preacher of the gospel, a visitor ofthe sickandhomebound, one who receives children even as Christ did. We desire a rector that would lovingly shepherd us, establishing us where we are right and directing us where we are in error. Most of all, we desire a man of God felt called to this small church and hermission to be a beacon of faith, a house of prayer on the hill,and a sanctuary for all the faithful.