Stephen Luke: Faces Lismore court after St Carthage’s Cathedral fire

A former youth minister has told a Lismore court he is ‘mortified’ by delusions which saw him set fire to a Hillsong property and Lismore cathedral.

A former youth minister who set fire to a Sydney Hillsong property and a Lismore cathedral has told a court delusions of being a “soldier in God’s army” led him to the acts.

Stephen Anthony Luke, 47, appeared via videolink in Lismore District Court on Friday, August 19, pleading guilty to carrying out a week-long crime spree across NSW which involved setting fire to Lismore’s St Carthage’s Cathedral and stealing money and cars in September 2020.

The court heard Luke began by threatening a 20-year-old woman in a Sydney car park with a knife before demanding she give him the car keys on September 14.

He then fled the area in her Volkswagen Polo.

Luke set fire to garden plants and irrigation plumbing pipes at the Hillsong property in Norwest, causing about $2000 worth of damage, and painted an insulting message for his ex-wife’s partner and Hillsong founder Brian Houston there on September 16, according to agreed facts.

He then travelled to Lismore, where he set fire to St Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore on September 18.

NSW Fire and Rescue crews at the St Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore.

The court heard from Luke on Friday who detailed how the 2020 spree was spurred by him stopping the medication he was on after burning down Singleton’s St Clements church in 2008.

In a trial for that offence, Luke was found not guilty by way of mental illness, the court heard.

Luke said he had resumed the medication during his nearly two years in custody for the 2020 offences and had become “mortified and bereaved” by his actions.

“I don’t know how I’m going to reconcile it with who I am for the rest of my life,” he said.

“It’s horrendous what I did.”

Luke told the court he heard urgent voices to set the church buildings alight and steal the money and cars to do so.

“I convinced myself firstly, that God wanted me to do it and secondly, that somehow (I was) an enlisted soldier in God’s army and the rules didn’t apply to me,” he said.

“I was in a false reality where ultimately things didn’t matter.

“Not that I wanted to hurt anyone in any physical way but I didn’t have any respect for their property.”

Clean-up and assessment of the damage is under way at St Carthag’'s Cathedral, Lismore, after a fire. Picture: Alison Paterson

He said this extended to conspiracy theories about MyGov, Centrelink and Big Pharma who he called “criminals” in a Facebook post after the Lismore fire admitting his act, the court heard.

“I don’t have any ill feelings or emotions towards the church,” he said

“I was watching a lot of conspiracy theories on YouTube and believed this world was not what it appeared and that I had to stand up to do something about it.”

Luke said ever since taking a role as a Christian Anglican youth minister in 1999 and later an aged-care worker and Hillsong volunteer he had been “helping people and trying to support people”.

Stephen Luke is charged with allegedly setting fire to Lismore St Carthage’s Cathedral.

Luke told the court he stopped the medication as he thought he may have had an “emotional illness” stemming from the separation with his wife and the loss of his children in 2006.

He said an argument with his ex-wife’s partner before the offences may have led him to starting the crime spree and that was why, upon looking back with a clear mind, he may have included his name on the “crude and offensive” Hillsong property vandalism.

“I think that contact where (Luke’s ex-wife’s partner) contacted me and abused me sent me into a bit of a spiral of maybe leading to my psychosis which led to why I’m here in jail,” Luke said.

He denied having any “personal beef” with founder Brian Houston.

“I feel terrible,” he said.

“Brian Houston has achieved incredible things in life and I feel like I’ve slapped him in the face quite severely.”

A view of the damaged roof at St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore after the blaze. Picture: Alison Paterson.

The court also heard from Luke’s victim Kate Mara who was just 20 years of age at the time of being held up.

She said she was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” but the event had left her traumatised.

“I was terrified the night of my event,” she said.

“Stephen had my driver’s licence, he had my address, he knew where I lived.

“I’m terrified the same events will happen again, that I will be held up by a knife and everything will be taken from me.”

Luke’s solicitor Rod Behan said the offences had been a “wake up call” and his client now accepted he would need to take his medication the rest of his life.

Crown prosecutor Josh Hanna said the protection of the community and diversity of offences needed to be considered.

Judge Priestley adjourned the judgement for Coffs Harbour District Court on September 7.

He will be sentenced on that occasion for causing more than $15,000 in property damage from fire, using a weapon to prevent arrest, two counts of assault with intent to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, and causing about $2000 in property damage via fire.

Other matters, including intentionally marking premises without consent, two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and larceny, will also be considered upon sentence.