Good Shepherd's History

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church is the oldest Episcopal Church in Lake Charles; the original Church established in 1884. The first building was erected on the corner of Pujo Street and Kirby Street, in1886 for $1,400.00. In July of 1894 the "Ladies Guild" raised $1,500 to buy four lots on Kirkman Street where the Church presently stands. February 28,1897 Reverend Spearing had the new building and Altar consecrated. Good Shepherd has had an active ministry in the Lake Charles community since 1884.

     The ministry of Good Shepherd has continued to thrive even in the wake of several disasters. The main Sanctuary was built in 1894. In 1918, much of the Church was destroyed by a hurricane and rebuilt on the same site. Since the outer structure was made of sandstone; they were not destroyed, but many were lying on the ground. Stone masons came and set them back in place and they continue to be the outer shell of our sanctuary. However, the roof structure and much of the interior had to be rebuilt. This event began a long and loving relationship with the Jewish community of Lake Charles; who opened their doors to our congregation so that we could continue worshipping during the rebuilding process.   In 1926 our Parish Hall was built.

     A day school was added in the 1950's and today is a K-12 school with campuses in both north and south Lake Charles. Good Shepherd is proud of the educational system that has been forged at Bishop Noland Day School; and remains an active part of the school's development.
     In recent years Good Shepherd has weathered multiple hurricanes and sustained extensive damage during Laura and Delta. That damage is being repaired at the present time; although we are able to use our facility. Our Jewish friends at Temple Sinai experienced extensive damage; and almost 100 years later we were able to return the favor by offering them space to continue their community worship. We continue to enjoy close friendships between the two faith communities.
     Like all communities, we also endured the Covid-19 epidemic while we also endured our whole community torn apart by two powerful hurricanes and an ice storm. This enabled us to use creativity and innovation. We shared parking lot services; we developed our on-line presence through nightly Compline services and live streaming our main 10:30 am service on Sunday mornings. In the midst of all of that, we hired a new Rector.  In June 2022; we installed the Reverend Dr. Mitzi George as our 22nd rector here at Good Shepherd. 

     Now in 2026, we have added to our staff a new Associate Rector, the Reverend Countess West. In addition, we have added a new Permanent Deacon, the Reverend Deacon Paul Burgess; and we still enjoy the assistance of Mother Francis "Boo+" Kay, a longtime associate priest here at Good Shepherd.

     We hope to be finished with our historic sanctuary rebuild sometime this summer and hope you will come see the beautiful restoration of our historic site and enjoy the friendly hospitality of our Church community.