About St. Luke · Salyersville, Kentucky
St. Luke Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic mission parish serving Salyersville, Kentucky, and the surrounding rural communities of Magoffin County in the foothills of Appalachia. Founded in 1982 and placed under the care of the Diocese of Lexington, the parish gathers for Sunday morning Mass and a midweek Wednesday evening Mass at 1221 Parkway Drive. Beyond its worship life, St. Luke is widely known in the region for an unusually strong outreach footprint — a food pantry serving around 90 families each month, the Open Door Thrift Store, and partnerships with local health and homeless-advocacy groups — all operated out of a single-story church that the community rebuilt by hand after a tornado destroyed their original building on March 2, 2012.
- Established
- 1982
- Patron
- St. Luke the Evangelist
- Rector
- Rev. Eric Anya (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lexington
Why belong here
St. Luke is a small but deeply active Catholic mission in rural eastern Kentucky where worship and service are tightly woven together. Parishioners gather for Sunday Mass at 9 AM and a Wednesday evening Mass with confessions beforehand, and then put their faith into action through a food pantry serving roughly 90 families a month, the Open Door Thrift Store, and partnerships with the Magoffin County Health Department and Lexington-based groups that assist mothers and people facing house fires or flooding. Joining or visiting St. Luke means becoming part of a tight-knit Appalachian Catholic community that rebuilt itself from rubble after the 2012 tornado and continues to serve its neighbors in tangible ways.
Mass times at St. Luke
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Parish Identity & Location
St. Luke Catholic Church is a mission of the Diocese of Lexington serving Salyersville and Magoffin County in eastern Kentucky. Its address is 1221 Parkway Drive, Salyersville, KY 41465, with mailing via PO Box 129. The phone number is (606) 349-5320 and the parish maintains a Facebook page at facebook.com/StLukeSalyersville.
- Diocese: Diocese of Lexington
- Type: Mission
- Founded: 1982
- Address: 1221 Parkway Drive, Salyersville, KY 41465
- Mailing: PO Box 129, Salyersville, KY 41465
- Phone: (606) 349-5320
History: From 1982 Founding to Tornado and Rebuild
St. Luke was founded in 1982 to minister to the Catholics of Magoffin County. For three decades the parish worshipped in a two-story church building. On March 2, 2012 a tornado devastated Salyersville and destroyed the church, rectory, outreach ministry building, storage building, grotto and picnic shelter. Parishioner Helen Pennington survived by sheltering in the church basement, and statues were later recovered from the rubble largely intact. The diocese and neighboring Catholic communities — including St. Ann Parish in Terre Haute, Indiana, which donated sacred art and liturgical furnishings — helped St. Luke get back on its feet.
- 1982: Parish founded (per GCatholic).
- March 2, 2012: Tornado destroys the original two-story church, rectory and ancillary buildings.
- Parishioner Helen Pennington survives the storm in the church basement.
- St. Ann Parish (Terre Haute, IN) donates sacred artwork and liturgical furnishings to help St. Luke rebuild.
Architecture & Facilities
After the 2012 tornado the parish rebuilt as a single-story church, choosing the design both for simpler construction and for greater accessibility for parishioners and visitors. The rebuilt building is home to the sanctuary as well as the parish's outreach operations, with a kitchen, food pantry and the Open Door Thrift Store. Six HVAC units serve the sanctuary, kitchen, pantry and thrift store.
- Single-story design chosen for accessibility.
- Includes sanctuary, kitchen, food pantry, and Open Door Thrift Store.
- Six HVAC units serve the facility.
Outreach & Charity: Food Pantry
The parish food pantry is the heart of St. Luke's community ministry, serving roughly 90 families each month. Demand surged after pandemic-era supplemental SNAP benefits ended, forcing the pantry to roughly double its food distribution. The pantry partners with other local groups, and on Thanksgiving the parish teamed up with a local homeless advocacy group to feed approximately 275 people.
- ~90 families served monthly.
- Doubled output after COVID-era SNAP supplements ended.
- Thanksgiving 2023: ~275 meals served with a local homeless advocacy partner.
Open Door Thrift Store
St. Luke runs the Open Door Thrift Store as part of its outreach campus. Proceeds help sustain the parish's charitable operations, and the building also makes donated clothing and household goods available to families in need through a voucher-style client services program.
- Proceeds support parish outreach operations.
- Vouchers channel donated clothing and household goods to qualifying individuals and families.
Community Partnerships
St. Luke partners with both local and regional organizations to extend its reach. The Magoffin County Health Department and a group from Lexington collaborate with the parish to provide necessities to mothers in need, and the parish helps families who have lost homes to house fires or flooding.
- Magoffin County Health Department (maternal and family support).
- Lexington-based partner group (maternal and family support).
- Emergency help for families displaced by house fires or flooding.
Creation Care & Energy Stewardship
St. Luke has emerged as a leader in the Diocese of Lexington's Laudato Si'-inspired drive to net-zero emissions across its 50 counties by 2030. Working with the Mountain Association and Appalachian EnergyWorks, the parish reviewed its utility bills (recovering a $2,100 sales-tax overcharge and saving about $735 a year), switched to a Time-of-Day rate, installed a timer on its hot water heater, replaced 42 light fixtures with LEDs, and added smart thermostats for off-peak preheating and cooling. The parish is now in conversation with the diocese about installing solar panels.
- Corrected erroneous sales-tax billing → ~$735/year saved.
- Hot-water heater timer → ~$65/month saved.
- 42 light fixtures converted to LEDs.
- Smart thermostats installed for off-peak heating and cooling.
- Solar installation under discussion with the Diocese of Lexington.
Clergy & Leadership
The parish is currently administered by Rev. Eric Anya, per the Diocese of Lexington's parish finder. Earlier directory entries also list Rev. Brandon Bigam in association with the parish.
- Current administrator: Rev. Eric Anya (Diocese of Lexington parish finder).
- Earlier listing: Rev. Brandon Bigam (third-party directories).
Get Involved
Because St. Luke is a small mission, virtually every parishioner ends up helping run its ministries — sorting and pricing donations for the Open Door Thrift Store, packing food-pantry boxes, cooking community meals, or pitching in with energy and building projects. Volunteers are at the heart of everything the parish does for Magoffin County.
- Volunteer at the Open Door Thrift Store.
- Help pack or distribute food-pantry boxes.
- Assist with community meals and seasonal outreach.
- Support the parish's creation-care / stewardship efforts.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Brandon Bigam
Listed as pastor in older directory entries (JoinMyChurch); no longer shown as current administrator in the diocesan parish finder.