Charlie Albert I was born and raised in Long Beach and returned to the area in 1998 after a 30-year absence. After returning to Long Beach, I joined St. Luke’s parish and became active in the spiritual, social, and operational life of the Church. I now have been part of the St. Luke’s family for 19 years. During this time, I have worked in the Showers and Manna Meals outreach programs, and served as an Usher and as a Greeter, as a member of the Finance Committee, and as a member of the last Rector Search Committee in 2000-2001. I served as St. Luke’s Treasurer during the period of 2002 – 2008 and am a past member of the Vestry.
Silvia F. Chavez Some of the greatest things that I notice about St. Luke’s church are their focuses on revitalizing and attracting new members, welcoming and embracing everybody that visits the church, and serving the needs of its’ community. As a proud member of this church, I am involved with the monthly Manna Meals for the homeless and work with the Property Committee, as well as lending a helping hand on simple janitorial needs to make our church look nice for the comfort of everyone that attends or just visits. My husband, Salvador, and I are active members within the Spanish Congregation.
Sandra Cruz Sandra has attended St Luke’s for 5 years. She serves on the Vestry and volunteers in the shower program. Sandra works in the human services field and enjoys gardening, cooking and hiking on her days off.
Chad Foerster Chad and his family have been attending St Luke's for 7 years. He started serving the parish as an usher and has since expanded to serving on the property committee, finance committee, and vestry. He was born and raised in Maryland, came to California for college, and then never left. Chad works as a mechanical engineer and enjoys spending his free time gardening with his family.
Elizabeth Hutchinson Elizabeth has been attending St. Luke's for almost 11 years. What clinched her decision to come to St. Luke's was the fact that the church offers Taize services and has a Spanish-speaking congregation and ministry. Elizabeth works in the human services field and enjoys travelling, walking and exercising, gardening, and ballroom dancing.
Stephen Morris I have been attending St. Luke’s for about 10 years. My family and I love this church because of the caring hearts of the people.
Julie Von Pelz For the last ten years I have been developing women’s retreats, facilitating and presenting at Women’s Spirituality Group – Long Beach, CARA Ministries – Los Angeles, Women of Spirit and Faith Alchemy – San Francisco, and Caregivers Tender Mercies – Palos Verdes. After retiring from Verizon, as an account manager, I became a realtor in Long Beach, where my husband, Mike, and I live. We are long distance bike riders, enjoy beach living and spending time with both our families and longtime friends. We were married at St. Luke’s in September 2015 and are grateful for our St. Luke’s family and all their caring and support.
Thomas Warnke I have been a member of St. Luke's for more than 15 years and previously served on the Vestry, where I helped develop an earlier iteration of a strategic plan, and have also served on the St. Luke's Communications Ministry. I am also a loyal Manna Meals volunteer along with my spouse, Cecelia Lynch. We have two children – Brigid, who teaches in the New York City public schools and Aidan, now a senior at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
