By Mary O’KEEFE

On Saturday, Sept. 21, St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church celebrated its 100th anniversary with a gala in its courtyard.

During the evening The Reverend Boone Sadler was posthumously honored. Reverend Sadler was the church’s fifth priest since its 1924 founding. He served at the church from 1953 to 1983, and is the parish hall’s namesake.

“When the United States was at last beginning to under its long reckoning [in the 1950s] with centuries of racism and the legacy of Jim Crow, Boone Sadler became a member of the NAACP,” said the Right Rev. John H. Taylor.

The 100 years of church history was shared at the gala including its time of “standing apart from the Episcopal Church.” This occurred in 2006 when, after a vote by the parishioners present at the time, the church moved from being an Episcopal house of worship to align itself with the Anglican Province of Uganda. The move was due to “theological differences.” After a three-year legal battle St. Luke’s of the Mountains returned to being an Episcopal church.

“Many of us remember that St. Luke’s had an episode of standing apart from the Episcopal Church on other vital civil rights issues. By the end of the last century, it was becoming clear that our church was staking its future on Christ’s impartiality and radical inclusiveness when it came not just to race and nation but orientation and identification. Those were hard, hard years for St. Luke’s. For my predecessor and friend John Bruno, among your honorees tonight especially, John set the plum line for justice and inclusion and kept his eye firmly fixed on it. He had to battle in court,” Taylor said.

The present vicar of St. Luke’s, Rev. Guy Leemhuis, spoke of the church’s mission including its dedication to the community by offering a meeting place for many organizations. He also spoke of the church’s longtime commitment to the youth of the community.

“Reverend Sadler created a backpacking program. A lot of people don’t know we have a camp called Camp Stevens in Julian, California in San Diego County,” he said. “Boone Sadler is one of the reasons we have a Camp Stevens as he served on one of the original committees on what became the camp … It’s incredible for someone to have that kind of footprint.”

Leemhuis thanked those in the congregation who helped with the historical gala. The evening was also a time for the church to honor those who had supported St. Luke’s for a long time including Senator Anthony Portantino, who is termed out of the state senate this year.

“Senator Portantino has been a true community representative. Going far beyond his legislative work, he has consistency been there for the community whenever help was needed, sleeves rolled up and ready to pitch in alongside the rest of us,” the certificate stated. It included Portantino’s work with local organizations and schools.

“For years he has personally volunteered at the Prom Plus event and has supplied invaluable support for St. Luke’s and the non sectarian Fire House Youth Center,” the honor stated.

The church also honored several people with the “Love Your Neighbor” recognition. Posthumously honored were the Right Rev. Bishop Jon Bruno, church members Steve Fox and Sera and Larry Stammer. Larry was a long time religious and environmental reporter for the LA Times.

Other honorees for “Love Your Neighbor” included Jose Arellano, Rev. Dina Fulgoni, Rosa Grimaldo, Vanessa Ynda, Joanne Crispin and Peggy Smith.

St. Luke’s continues celebrating its 100th anniversary and continues to outreach for funds that are needed for maintenance of this century old church. For those who would like to donate visit www.stlukeslacrescenta.org or call (818) 248-3639.