The Plaid Door Consignment and Resale Shop and the Magi Gift Shop have been important ministries of St. Luke’s for more than 50 years. The 35 ladies who currently serve as volunteers are blessed by the close camaraderie of friendship, the people who shop at the Plaid Door are blessed with good stewardship of their money, and the many grateful beneficiaries are blessed by the proceeds from sales.

In the early days of St. Luke’s existence, parishioner Erma Suttle and five friends from St. Luke’s opened a consignment store (and a religious gift shop) with the purpose of selling clothing and other items to fund worthy projects. The Plaid Door officially opened on the church property on December 4, 1953, with “gently used” children’s dress clothes and the newly conceived line of James Avery religious gift products. At the end of each season, local merchants donated unsold garments and toys, and by 1974, business had increased substantially, enabling the ministry to raise half the cost of a new building. On November 2424, 1974, an open house was held in the new building (the cost of which was paid off in six months).

A direct beneficiary of the Plaid Door’s success has been St. Luke’s itself. In the early days of the struggling parish, funds were donated directly to the church and for the rectory. As profits increased, other entities became beneficiaries as well, including seminary students and their families, St. Philip’s Episcopal School in South Dallas, the Genesis Women’s Shelter, and the Austin Street Centre. During times of transition and economic downturns, the Plaid Door has consistently stepped forward to help sustain St. Luke’s parish itself.