CHURCH HISTORIES Terrebonne Parish, LA BAPTIST - ST. LUKE BAPTIST CHURCH, DULARGE Submitted by: Cynthia Daigle Source: The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press, Houma, LA. Last modified: 10 MARCH 2008 ================================================== NOTE: Most histories were submitted by the church to the Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press as part of the newspapers Sesquicentennial Edition. Not all churches submitted histories. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ================================================== BAPTIST - ST. LUKE BAPTIST CHURCH, DULARGE Location in 2007 - 1089 Bayou Dularge Road, Houma, LA The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press Houma, LA, Oct. 8, 1972, Sunday, Section E FRENCH PASTOR STARTED CHURCH ON DULARGE ST. LUKE BAPTIST CHURCH, BAYOU DULARGE Two years before the federal troops were withdrawn from the South, ending Reconstruction after the Civil War, the St. Luke Baptist Church was organized by Rev. Del Mente Redo. Rev. Redo was a black Opelousas Frenchman. The year was 1877, only fourteen years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1897, under the leadership of Reverend T.L. Welch, the members of the newly organized St. Luke Baptist Church, located on lower Bayou Dularge, went out into the woods of St. Michel Plantation and cut down the strong cypress logs to be used to build the church. Men, women and children all did their share of the sawing, pulling, nailing, chopping and sweating. As the laborers worked to build their own church, one of the men working was hit by a falling tree and was killed. There are tales of others who died in order that there might be a Baptist church for blacks on Bayou Dularge. Some of the people that helped to build St. Luke were Washington Neville Sr.; Joulas Howard; Pierre Peters; Cloville Celestine; Mary Nixon; Willie Neville; Lizzie Celestine; Octavia Neville; Victoria Brown; Celestine Jones; Henry Perkins; George Nixon; Jim Stewart; Charlie Celestin; Hag Celestine; Lou Antoine; "Mr. Brumfield"; Martha Perkins; Andria Jones and the Reverend Welch. St. Luke was built on land donated by the Marmande family of Dularge. At the first services, "The church was packed from front to back," commented Mrs. Rebecca Westly as told to her by her father, Washington Neville Sr. After many years of service, the members instituted a school at the church. As recalled by Sidney Neville, some of the teachers were Mr. Adam King, Mrs. Ruth Nixon, Mrs. Jessina, Mr. Dumas, "Miss Ethel," and Mr. Dennis. To this list, Mrs. Eva Gaithen added Mrs. Helen Carter and "Professor Allen." Long before the public schools were available for blacks, nearly all the black children on Bayou Dularge received their education at the church's school. This school remained opened throughout the year except during harvesting time. Nearly all the children worked in fields of Bayou Dularge. In 1909, the St. Luke Baptist was destroyed by a hurricane. The church was blown off its blocks but was later restored by John Hite and his sons. John Peters tore off the shingled roof and replaced it with tin. Trustees of the church were C. Williams, A. Jones, S. Bell, C. Celestine, A. Brown, N. Crump, J. Carter, J. Stuart, R. Watkins, S. Harding, A. Celestine, J. Champagne, N. Duglass and J. Howard, secretary. The pastors of St. Luke Baptist Church, according their terms, were Rev. Del Mente Redo, Rev. T.L. Welch, Rev. Augustus Brown, Rev. Talbot and Rev. D.L. Brown, Rev. H. Trayler is presently serving as acting pastor, filling out the term of Rev. D.L. Brown, former president of the Fifth District. Saint Luke Baptist Church is located directly across from the Saint Michele Plantation. The church stands on the side of the bayou opposite Highway 315. The past pastor of Saint Luke was the Rev. Daniel L. Brown. Mr. Brown was the past president of the Louisiana Southern Baptist Association, Fifth District. The present (acting) pastor of Saint Luke is the Rev. Huey Trayler.