JULY BUSINESS: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

With the opening day of their new facility drawing near, members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church’s Edmond campus are ready to impact the community in ways they never could before.

For the past two years, members met for services inside Sequoyah Middle School, and in September, they’ll be able to open their new, permanent location up to church members and the community.

“It’s truly going to be a place for people to call home,” the Rev. Josh Attaway said of the new location at 900 N. Sooner Road in Edmond. “It’s a place to be supported, to grow, to be uplifted, to have our spirits refreshed, to have our lives and souls touched.”

Not only will the Edmond campus have an official home base in the new 41,000 square-foot building, but the church will be able to offer services that weren’t possible before, like weekday community programming, before- and after-school programs, Sunday school, an indoor playground and a Monday-Friday child care center that can accommodate 150 children. This indoor play area will be open to the public, providing a great opportunity for parents wanting to escape the summer heat or winter chill.

The church will also house its Threefold coffee shop and bookstore, which serves Starbucks coffee and supports the church’s missions. The lobby will serve as a beautiful space for get-togethers and events, Attaway added. The building will have classrooms, offices and a worship center (holding up to 500 people) for contemporary and traditional worship. Until now, traditional worship services weren’t possible.

“Being in a middle school cafeteria, there was no place to have an organ or a choir or anything like that,” Attaway said. “This new building will certainly expand what we can offer the community.”

Attaway said St. Luke’s members are grateful to Edmond Public Schools for hosting them for two years and they look forward to continuing the partnership once they’re in their Sooner Road location.

The new location won’t just benefit current church members, he said, but it will have a lasting, long-term effect on the community as a whole.

“It’s not about building a building; anyone can do that,” Attaway said. “It’s about offering a place to enrich lives, become better parents and better people, the people God created us to be. How we’re able to use a building to bless lives—that’s what it’s all about for us.”

Learn more about the Edmond campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church at stlukesedmond.org.