*Taken from the History of the Parish as recorded in the 40th Anniversary Album with minor changes. A newer version will follow.

In the early 1960s the Westpark area of Dollard des Ormeaux was growing rapidly. Paul-Émile Cardinal Léger was asked if a local parish could be established. The bilingual parish of St. Luke / St-Luc was canonically erected on July 28, 1964 with about 400 families.

The first weekend liturgies were celebrated in the gym of Dollard-des-Ormeaux School; weekday mass, in a chapel in the home of founding pastor Fr. David McKee.

The parish grew and soon a church was needed. The first fund-raising campaign, under Jim Thompson, netted $36,000. The founding Wardens including Jim, Dave Beasley and Michel Dubois decided that construction should begin. Québec architect André Ritchot and local contractor Marcel Rivard were hired. The estimated cost was $400,000. for church and rectory; $80,000 for the land. We borrowed $400,000 from the Toronto Dominion Bank at 5¾% . The church opened in the summer of 1967. In 1988, the parish center was added for offices and meeting rooms; in 2002, part of the rectory was converted for Faith First Classes, Children's Liturgy and meetings.

As we celebrate our 45th Anniversary, we rejoice that we are a cell of the Body of Christ; a branch of Jesus, the Vine, who promised "Attached to me you will bear fruit in plenty'' (Jn 15:5) All that we are and all that we have achieved has been through Jesus our Risen Lord. Each week we have gathered as a family around the table of the Lord. We have heard His voice in Scripture and homely; received Him in the Eucharist; raised our voices in praise; and in our Communion Meditations, given thanks and responded to His Word.

We have come to the Lord in many ways. Since 1974 our Charismatic Prayer group has kept our community in prayer, and Life in the Spirit Seminars have opened countless people to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Parish Renewal in the 1980s gave new vitality to our community. In three-day retreats, more than 400 parishioners renewed their love for Christ, His Church and each other. 'Growth in Faith' evenings have combined teachings with testimonies of God's love. Parish Missions and Retreats, Faith-Sharing Groups, RCIA and Alpha sessions have enriched our faith life and widened the circle of our community. The Catholic Women's League promotes prayer and service to others. Eucharists at the Arena allow our parish family to celebrate our faith together. Our Good Friday Walk of Faith enables us to give public witness to our Crucified Saviour with members of other Christian Churches. In so many ways we have become attached to Jesus, our Vine! Through Him, we have borne much fruit.

Transmitting our faith to our children is a priority. Through past programs and today's "Faith First'' and Sunday liturgies, children have met and continue to meet the Lord. Youth and young adults inspire us with their faith, commitment and eagerness to share their gifts. The World Youth Day Cross and our celebrations with young Korean Pilgrims enriched our spiritual journey. We rejoice in our diverse cultures. We support the sick, handicapped and shut-ins. We honour Christ's love for the poor through such projects as the building of 57 homes in India in the Great Jubilee Year; our 40th Anniversary Malawi School project; and other 'Helping Others' programs. St.Luke's community has, indeed, borne fruit through Jesus, our Vine.

Lord, we thank you for 45 years of rich blessings. We are privileged to serve in your Name.
As branches attached to you, the Vine, may we bear greater fruit in the coming years. Amen.

*Written by Catherine Cherry in May 2000
This banner is suffused with prayer. Throughout, we offered our questions, our discernment, and each stitch – for the healing, reconciliation, and spiritual growth of every member in our parish community.

Originally we pondered: What do you put on a Jubilee banner? What message should it embody? We decided that the statement of paramount import was: "And God so loved the world that God sent his only son". Thus we centered the world and surrounded it with a large heart. It is within this center, this world, that God’s act of love 2000 years ago was and will be made manifest. Thus, this center will change seven times throughout the liturgical year. At first it will encompass the Star, then Jesus on mission, Jesus in the bread and wine, a stark cross, a resurrected cross, the dove and flames of Pentecost, and finally Jesus as the tree of life.

We began with the Star, the symbol of all those who look up and try to discern the presence of God in their own lives and God’s loving action in the world. Even today wise men and wise women follow the way of the light, the wise follow the star to Christ. Thus, all those of the age of wisdom, all those over seventy, who led the way for us, came up on the last Sunday before Christmas to place silver streamers, shining star dust, on our star.

After the Epiphany, the star was replaced by Jesus – a Jesus, arms outstretched in welcome as he began his mission. Before Jesus was placed on the banner, everyone in the parish was invited to sign his robe. This way we were in Christ, and could be Christ to the world. Lacking hands and feet, we were to be his hands and feet in the world.

On Holy Thursday, a chalice and paten were placed over his heart – as he gave himself to us in the bread and wine.

The stark cross of Good Friday gave way to the vibrant resurrected cross of Easter Sunday – a mosaic made from two inch squares of fabric donated by each of the parishioners – so that we too are part of the resurrected cross of Christ.

At Pentecost, the world is aflame with the Spirit of God. Later in the summer, we recognize creation in all its glory. Jesus becomes a large tree out of whose arms flow branches, leaves and fruit of all kinds. All of this is centered within the five-foot circle of the world.

This world is held so gently and yet so firmly within God’s hands – a strong male hand, and a gentle feminine hand. This feminine hand points down to the stories of God’s faithfulness to all generations: our first parents, the tree of life, and along the bottom, the waters – the primal waters of life, of Noah and the flood, of the parting of the Red Sea, and ultimately of our Baptism. On the right, beneath the rainbow, the symbol of God’s steadfast covenant of love, rest the stone tablets, the Ten Commandments of Moses, represented by the first ten letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Above the world, and decorating one arm of God, is the symbol of the Jubilee: the five coloured doves overlaying the cross of Christ. As this interlocked circle of doves represent the presence of the Spirit of God throughout the world, we were inspired to make the five people on the banner the colours of the doves, for the Spirit is present, alive, and subanimates all peoples.

Beside this decorated arm is a large sun radiating the light and warmth of the son of God who sustains and motivates the family on the road to the right, as they head off on mission. They have been illuminated by Spirit of the Son of God.

If we too have been illuminated by the Spirit of God, what then is our mission in this year of the Jubilee? Why, it is to proclaim the Good News that "God so loved the world he sent his only son. 2000 years ago God sent Jesus to declare his steadfast love to all generations".