St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will observe the 200th anniversary of its founding with a bicentennial worship service at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 4 at 320 Second St. in Marietta.

The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, will be present for the occasion.

The history of Episcopal worship in Marietta reaches back to the earliest years of settlement in the Ohio Country. In the late eighteenth century, before Ohio achieved statehood, Anglican forms of prayer were already being used by families who brought the Book of Common Prayer west as part of daily life.

These early gatherings reflected a desire for continuity and shared order in a developing frontier town, according to a press release announcing the anniversary.

That tradition took formal shape in 1826 with the organization of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

As Marietta grew, so did the parish. A first church building was erected in 1833, followed by the construction of the present church in 1856.

For nearly two centuries, worship has continued there through periods of expansion, conflict, economic change, and local transformation, the release said.

The significance of this anniversary lies not only in longevity, but in faithfulness over time, the release said.

Across generations, St. Luke’s has been a place where people gathered for worship, marked life’s milestones, and sought grounding during times of uncertainty.

Its history mirrors the lives of those who have shaped Marietta itself, the release said.

The bicentennial marks an opportunity to acknowledge that long continuity and to reflect on the role a parish can play–steadfast, rooted, and enduring–within a community across centuries, according to the release.