Two Cornerstones, One Parish
St. John's Episcopal Church sits at the corner of Forest Hills Drive and Park Avenue in eastern Wilmington, North Carolina, but the story begins in 1851. That year the vestry and people of St. James Parish, then at Third and Market Streets, decided their downtown church had outgrown its pews, and their rector, Dr. Robert D. Drane, insisted the new daughter church be called St. John's, after James and John, the sons of Zebedee. The first cornerstone was laid on November 21, 1853, at Third and Red Cross Streets. Miss Magdalene deRosset, the daughter of Dr. Armond deRosset, was the first benefactor; in her final illness she asked her father to give her portion of his estate toward the lot, and he did. Plans drawn by New York architects Willis and Dudley were approved in December 1852, and the gothic edifice held its first worship on July 10, 1855.
Nearly a century later the neighborhood had changed around the old building. Garages, grocery stores, and railroad yards crowded the block. Third Street had become a busy thoroughfare, and without air conditioning the windows could not be closed in summer. In October 1951 Bishop Thomas Wright presided over a parish meeting that set a move in motion. The MacRae family donated the land on Forest Hills and Park. The parish made its last downtown Easter services in 1954, and the old church, parish house, and rectory were deconsecrated and demolished that spring. The original cornerstone was opened and its contents placed inside the new cornerstone on October 23, 1954. The Esty pipe organ and eight stained glass windows were carried across town and installed in the new sanctuary.
The new building, designed by Knoxville architects Barber and McMurry to echo the gothic lines of the first, was constructed of native North Carolina stone with North Carolina oak interior woodwork. First worship in the new, air-conditioned sanctuary was held July 10, 1955, one hundred years to the day after the first services downtown. The 125th anniversary was marked on October 1, 1978, when St. John's and St. James congregations worshiped together at St. James' and then shared lunch on the grounds. The 150th was marked on November 21, 2003, with a Choral Evensong and a commissioned stained glass window from Willet Studios that now hangs in Elebash Hall.
Gothic Lines in Native North Carolina Stone
The Forest Hills sanctuary carries forward the gothic silhouette of the 1855 building, with pointed arches and native stone walls finished in warm North Carolina oak. The Esty pipe organ anchors the front after its second installation. Eight stained glass windows from the original sanctuary still light the interior, and the chancel and altar rails are still dressed in needlepoint cushions and kneelers produced by the St. John's Episcopal Church Women in the years after the move. The campus today includes the sanctuary, a parish hall, kitchen, common room, nursery, choir room, and the classrooms shared by SJC Kids and the preschool.
Sunday Mornings at 8:30 and 10:00
Sunday worship gathers twice in the sanctuary. The 8:30 am service features hymns on the organ or piano, vested clergy and worship leaders, a printed bulletin, and the Prayer Books and Hymnals in the pews. It is the smaller of the two services and tends toward a quieter, contemplative feel, usually finishing in less than an hour.
The 10:00 am service leans the other direction. Modern music on keyboard and guitar, lyrics and prayers projected on the screen, and an unvested worship team set the pace. It is energetic and lively and typically runs about seventy minutes. Between the two, the parish spreads bagels, coffee, and fellowship in the common areas. Holy Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper, is celebrated at both Sunday services every week. Wafers and wine are offered, with gluten-free wafers available, and a blessing at the rail is offered to anyone who prefers it.
Wednesday Mornings in the Side Chapel
On Wednesday mornings at 11:00 am, the church gathers again, this time in the side chapel of the sanctuary. The order consists of prayers, a reading, a short sermon, and a song. Communion is available, the Prayer Books in the pews are used, and the priest is vested. The service is the smallest of the three weekly gatherings and finishes in less than forty minutes. It suits retirees, midweek commuters, and anyone who prefers a quieter morning.
Online Worship on YouTube and Facebook
For those who cannot make it in person, the parish produces an Online Worship XP*, a simple liturgy of songs, prayers, scripture reading, and a message. It premieres each Sunday at 10:00 am Eastern on the church's YouTube and Facebook channels and remains available on demand afterward.
SJC Preschool, Since the Fall of 2004
The preschool opened in the fall of 2004 as an integral part of the ministry of St. John's. It serves children age one through PreK in a four-hour morning program that runs 8:30 to 12:30 from late August through May. Classrooms are arranged by age, with lead and assisting teachers in each room, and the approach is hands-on, exploring language, math, social studies, science, and Christian education through thematic units and play. Beth McLean, who joined the staff in 2005 and became director in 2012, leads the program. Five-day tuition runs nine payments of $410; three-day Monday-Wednesday-Friday tuition runs nine payments of $360; and two-day Tuesday-Thursday tuition runs nine payments of $335.
SJC Kids and SJC Youth
On Sunday mornings, children from newborns through fifth grade are cared for through SJC Kids, staffed beginning at 8:15 am. The rooms are split by age: a nursery for infants and toddlers through age two, a preschool room for ages three to five, Elebash Hall for kindergarten through third grade, and an upstairs loft for fourth and fifth graders. The program uses the First Look curriculum for younger children and 252 for older elementary, both from Orange. Christina Garrison leads the children's ministry. Children of every age are always welcome in worship with their parents, and children older than fifth grade are welcome to serve as helpers in the classrooms and nursery.
SJC Youth, called UNITED, gathers one Sunday a month from 6:00 to 7:30 pm during the school year for students in fifth grade and up. The evenings include food, games, a lesson, and small group time with caring adult mentors.
Alpha, Foundations, and the Pathways
The parish organizes its adult formation around a few entryways. Alpha is a casual, dinner-and-a-video exploration of the Christian faith offered twice a year, with space for questions and conversation. Foundations is a short course, now two weeks, that covers beliefs, vision, and how to get connected, and is offered several times a year. Together with Story Night and Discover, these form the Pathways through which newcomers can move from first contact to baptismal commitment and, eventually, confirmation, reception, or re-affirmation when Bishop Rob Skirving visits.
Groups that Meet Across Wilmington
Small groups gather in living rooms, coffee shops, and on Zoom across the week. The Monday Co-Ed Life Group meets in Forest Hills. A Wednesday women's Christian book study meets at 8:30 am at Panera. A Thursday women's group meets on the first and third Thursdays in Forest Hills. A Saturday men's Bible study meets at the church at 8:00 am. A Monday sunrise group meets by Zoom, and other groups have met on Tuesdays at a wine sampler and on Thursdays in midtown. Laura Cavagnaro coordinates Alpha and Jeannie Puhger coordinates groups.
SJC Cares: Prayer Shawls, Frozen Meals, Hospital Visits
The pastoral care ministry, SJC Cares, gathers a network of lay volunteers around the people of the parish. Hospitalizations and surgeries are followed by prayer and visits. Communion is brought to those who cannot attend. The prayer list is prayed over several times a week and read aloud during Sunday worship. A Prayer Cloud sends a text request to a small group the moment a need is shared, and a Tuesday morning prayer group meets at 10:15 to pray over the list. The Meals ministry stocks bags of frozen individual meals for a week at a time. Prayer Shawls are knitted by members, blessed at the altar, and given to those in need, from aging members to new mothers. Cards, calls, altar flowers, and visits round out the network, and clergy and care team members visit regularly or as needed.
Partners Across the City
The parish sends members out to serve the wider Wilmington community. Volunteers help pack emergency food boxes at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard on Thursday mornings at the organization's building on Red Cross Street. Members collect school supplies through Communities in Schools of Cape Fear's Stuff the Bus campaign. Teams share meals with residents at Eden Village, a tiny home community for the chronically unhoused. The church partners financially with the Harrelson Center and serves as a food collection point for NourishNC, helping to provide healthy food to hungry children.
The Bright Tomorrow Campaign
Bright Tomorrow is a two-year capital and ministry initiative with a two-million-dollar goal. The plan calls for 1.3 million dollars to sustain the growing church and programming, 300,000 dollars to form the next generation through expanded children's, youth, and family ministries and a new clergy position, and 400,000 dollars to renew the sanctuary's dated audio, organ, lighting, and seating and address maintenance needs around the campus. Members and families are invited to fill out a commitment card, and recurring and one-time gifts can be made online, by mail to 1219 Forest Hills Drive, or by text to 844-982-2584.
Beliefs Rooted in the Book of Common Prayer
St. John's holds the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the revealed Word of God and the rule and ultimate standard of faith. The parish confesses and affirms the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds as sufficient statements of the Christian faith. Liturgy follows the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and the parish especially affirms the statement of the Council of Chalcedon, the Creed of St. Athanasius, the Preface to the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, and the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886 and 1888. The parish is a congregation of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of East Carolina, and its mission is to help others discover their purpose through the gospel of Jesus Christ, welcoming people to belong before they believe.