[5] Greenwich Village at the time was a sanctuary for people fleeing the endemic diseases of the city proper, and the name of the new parish – St. Luke in the Fields – was chosen to evoke the pastoral quality of the area.

[5] When the surrounding neighborhood became predominantly poor and largely composed of immigrants in the late 1880s, the congregation moved north to a site adjoining Hamilton Grange at West 141st Street, and St. Luke's became a chapel of Trinity Church, only regaining its independence in 1976 under rector Ledlie Laughlin.

[2][4][1] Other prominent rectors in the past have included John Murray Forbes, who helped to bring the Oxford Movement to the United States[4] and Edward Schlueter, who served from 1911 until the 1940s, and developed programs which served the community, such as children's summer camps.

[3] Starting in the 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic deeply affected the Village community, hitting the congregation hard.

[1] The AIDS Project of St. Luke's was founded in 1987, providing Saturday dinner and weekend teas to tens of thousands of afflicted persons.

In the past these concerts have included performances such as the New York premiere of Telemann's St. Matthew Passion, the Tenebrae settings of composer Richard Toensing and many other works.

Gwen Gould, former music director of the School at St. Luke's was also the founder of the West Village Chorale, currently directed by Malcolm J. Merriweather.