St Lukes Point of Grace of Mansfield Ohio

St. Luke's building has been on the western edge of downtown Mansfield since 1891, at a time when the area was quite residential.  When St. Luke's Lutheran Church in 2012 made the humble and faithful decision to disband as a congregation, they were hoping to see the site continue to have significance for the neighborhood.

 Paul Lintern had just started looking "for something to hang my hat on, following the death of my wife Peggy, after 31 years of marriage.  The vision God gave me was to live in part of St. Luke's and use the energy I would give "home" to maintain and develiop meaningful activities in the building, in my "Chome (church-home).

 Five years later, St. Luke's Point of Grace has resurrected the meal program, serving more than 20,000 free meals in more than 180 events.  In addition, it has hosted dozens of concerts, workshops and weddings, and been the venue for more than 25 dinner theaters bringing history to life. Tenants Church Requel, led by Pastor Mark Pierce, provide a contemorary worship experience in a traditional setting, and the building hosts a large (14 by 25 feet) photo image of Mansfield as the City of Churches from a century ago, as well as an exterior display of Boy Scouting in Richland County history, and a monument to the Lincoln Memorial Highway.

 Immediate future plans include creating an historical display of Mansfield congregations of at least a century.  A dinner theater about Mansfield in 1928 was a big success, and a CD of the program (an old-time radio program style) is yours for the asking.

The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation Oct. 31 was especially meaningful at St. Luke's because of a baptismal font placed there in 1891, using a boulder from the Wittenberg Cathedral in Germany, which is the birthplace of the Reformation. 

 Donations benefit the meal program, plus building improvements that speifically involve aspects of St. Luke's program; donations are not applied to anything involving personal living space.