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A Fitting Tribute
Logan Circle Heritage Trail
12 Care for the City
Luther Place Memorial Church has been a neighborhood fixture since 1873, when the Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church established it as a "memorial to God's goodness in delivering the land from slavery and from war." It quickly established a reputation for community service. A century later, this very urban church was galvanized by civil disturbances following the 1968 assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Place offered shelter during and after the riots, and provided food, clothing and medical care for thousands of affected people.
With the 1970 arrival of the Reverend John Steinbruck, the church expanded its social justice program. New women's shelters eventually became N Street Village, a community of empowerment and recovery for homeless and low-income women. Luther Place hosted the Community for Creative Non-Violence, which operated Zacchaeus Medical Clinic, housing for offenders awaiting trial, and a group residence. Zacchaeus later merged with Bread for the City, which was organized by Luther Place in 1976. The church declared itself a sanctuary for refugees of the war in El Salvador (1979-1992).
Social justice leaders, including Harriet Tubman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dr. King, Dorothy Day, and St. Francis of Assissi are memorialized in stained-glass windows and outdoor murals. The church building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Just behind you, near the intersection of Vermont Avenue and N Street, is where the organizing meeting for what would be Howard University took place in 1867. Dr. Charles B. Boynton of the First Congregational Society hosted the meeting in his home (since demolished). |