The Late Rev. John Luke is shown here in a photo taken a number of years ago. Luke was a well-known local preacher, who traveled tirelessly through Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes counties to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Memories of the late Rev. John Luke shared

The Reverend John Luke was much more than a mountain preacher whose first and last names echoed those of two Gospel writers. His was a mission to touch people's lives and win souls for the Lord.

Ordained by the Winston-Salem Presbytery in 1927, his ministry spanned nearly sixty years of daily Christian service to people in rural Alleghany, Ashe, and Wilkes counties.

Soon after arriving, he preached at Obids, Ebenezer and Peak Creek Churches, starting Bible schools at each place. This tall, robust man stepped into the pulpit with a Bible and whatever message the Lord had laid on his heart; no notes, no outline, no pre-selected Scripture passages or hymns.

In the ten Great Depression years following 1929, ‘Preacher Luke" organized more churches and Bible schools at Low Gap, Laurel Fork, Bethel, Millers and Glendale Springs. Adding these to his first three, weekends included two services on Saturday afternoon and night, followed by three on Sunday — including Bible schools at all those churches. But he didn"t stop there. His view of ‘organizing" usually included his hands-on help in church-building, drawing volunteers from the area and young men from both Columbia Bible College and Bob Jones University, who spent summers working at his side.

In 1930, Myrtle Williamson gave a presentation at Wagram Presbyterian Church, discussing ‘Preacher Luke's home missions efforts in the mountains. A good friend of hers, Miss Mary Shaw, decided to help with his summer Bible schools and revivals. She became Mrs. Mary Shaw Luke on May 23, 1933. Their wedding was held at Wagram Presbyterian Church.

They lived in the Glendale Springs Hotel for a couple of years while a small house in the area was being rebuilt for their use. Their daughter, Mary Frances, graduated from Montreat College and taught for a year at Glade Valley School. Following that, she became involved in the Christian Education program at Danville, Virginia's, First Presbyterian Church. She later married, and the couple had two sons, named William Luke and John Bricker, after her father. Proving the adage that "the apples don't fall far from the tree," she also attended Alabama's Samford University Nursing School and became a Registered Nurse.

Bill Wingler, an Alleghany County resident, still has great respect for ‘Preacher Luke."

"I've never known anyone more dedicated and caring about others," he recalls. Bill also remembers ‘Preacher Luke's" persistence in getting kids to church. "Myers Park Presbyterian Church gave Preacher Luke an International Carryall. He took a bunch of us kids to church in that oversized station wagon, stopping at each house to pick up another one," Bill laughed. "I'll bet that old truck had more than thirty kids in it and on it by the time we got to church! If a kid wasn't out front when he came by, Preacher Luke came back to find out why."

‘Preacher Luke" was as successful at inspiring dedicated volunteers as he was to rounding up kids. Kathryn Hunt walked to services at Low Gap, Big Ridge and Obids, since she had no other transportation. Lois Calhoun worked "with youth groups, Sunday schools, Women of the Church and Bible schools." Evelyn Acheson filled the same roles in all the churches the Reverend Luke pastored, yet still found time to help with the Girl Scouts.

Luke was deeply involved in the Boy Scouts, and organized Ashe County's first troop in Fleetwood. He and the Scouts often traveled to Pond Mountain, White Lake and Carolina Beach.

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