All Souls Episcopal Church

All Souls Episcopal Church grew out of the post Katrina efforts of churches throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and the national Episcopal Church to provide relief, cleaning supplies, food, clothing, clean water, medical assistance and spiritual counseling to returning residents.

The church has grown from a tiny group meeting in a garage to the present location in a former Walgreen’s. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, dedicated the worship facility in September 2007.
The church community seeks to rehabilitate and transform the physical space of 5500 St. Claude Avenue, a former Walgreen’s store into a unique and dynamic church and community center, with the assistance of generous donations and hundreds of volunteers from around the world. The design of the Church is a collaborative venture of John Williams Architecture, LLC. Tulane City Center and RuffWorks Studio. The design of the community center portion of the building is the work of John Williams Architecture LLC. With the renovated facility, All Souls Episcopal Church will be able to more effectively be a locus of inspiration, hope and faith within the greater New Orleans area, continuing its mission of facilitating volunteers who live within the area and those who offer their services throughout the nation.

The adaptive re-use of the facility consists of two phases. Phase one is the redesign of the interior, with an emphasis on the completion of the sanctuary and altar. Phase two is the re-design of the exterior of the building. In the Spring of 2010 Scott Ruff led combined groups of community volunteers, national volunteers, and Tulane School of Architecture students in the design and building of the altar, which serves as the architectural and spiritual focal point of the sanctuary. The design utilizes re-claimed wood from de-constructed houses in the Lower-Ninth Ward as the primary construction material.