Tucked into the rolling neighborhood of Mt. Washington in north Baltimore, St. John's, Mt. Washington is a small Episcopal parish with deep roots and a contemporary story. Worship takes place not in the red-brick church that anchored Kelly Avenue and South Road for nearly a century, but in Springwell Chapel on the campus of Springwell Senior Living at 2211 W. Rogers Avenue. The decision to leave an aging building for a sunny chapel inside a retirement community reshaped the congregation's mission: an ecumenical, radically welcoming community that pours its energy into feeding the hungry and walking alongside partners half a world away.
From Washingtonville to a Hilltop in Baltimore
St. John's began in 1867, years before the surrounding neighborhood bore the name it carries today. The area was then a small mill town called Washingtonville, dominated by the Washington Cotton Manufacturing Company, a mill that began work in 1810 and still stands. Early Episcopal services in this rural stretch north of Baltimore were itinerant. The first gatherings were held in the local Methodist Episcopal Church, and the priest sometimes arrived soaking wet - he would wade across a swollen Western Run, then put on his vestments before entering the hall and conduct worship dripping into the front row.
The Rev. George C. Stokes, rector of Church of the Redeemer on Charles Avenue, began holding regular Episcopal services in Mt. Washington in 1864, and in 1867 was called by the vestry as St. John's first temporary rector. A layman named John A. Nichols, a prominent member of the village, organized the purchase of a lot and worked furiously to raise funds for an Episcopal-only building - many in the neighborhood had pushed for a multi-denominational structure. The cornerstone was laid on April 29, 1869, and by October of that year the original wooden church was complete, at a total cost of $8,450 for building, furnishings, and land. Only four of Mt. Washington's twenty families identified as Episcopal at that milestone, but the Sunday School already boasted a superintendent, twelve teachers, and seventy-seven scholars, and in 1870 St. John's presented its first class of eighteen confirmands to the bishop.
The Rev. James B. Purcell became the first permanent rector in February 1873 and served for eighteen years, growing the communicants from twenty-six to eighty-six. A layman of the same era, John Carter, founded the Mt. Washington Improvement Association in 1885. By the first quarter of the twentieth century the original wooden building was held together with iron rods and turnbuckles. When it was finally demolished, it largely collapsed on its own into rubble. Its replacement, the red-brick church that still commands the corner of Kelly Avenue and South Road, saw its cornerstone laid in a drenching downpour in 1928, across the street from the Mt. Washington trolley station. Stained-glass windows and a pipe organ arrived during the long pastorate of the Rev. Lance Gifford, with additional work undertaken after a 1941 fire did significant damage. The twentieth century brought a vibrant Christian education program, community outreach, and steady Sunday worship.
The Rev. Lori Babcock was called in 2008, first as priest in charge and then as rector. An assessment process begun in 2012 reached a difficult conclusion: too much time and treasure were required to maintain an aging brick building with a failing slate roof and expensive utilities, in addition to being too large for the congregation. The cost of building maintenance had become a severe impediment to other ministries, especially the Feed My Sheep outreach to the homeless. The decision was made to leave the old building and move to Springwell Senior Living, which had a sunny, welcoming chapel. Episcopal Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton led a ceremonial march from the old building up the hill to the new chapel. Not a single Sunday of worship was missed in the transition.
St. John's marked its 150th anniversary with a concert that celebrated the parish's long history and continuing spirit. The red-brick church on Kelly Avenue and South Road remains an icon of the neighborhood, but the daily life of the parish now unfolds in Springwell Chapel.
Holy Eucharist in Springwell Chapel
Sunday worship at St. John's centers on a 10:30 a.m. celebration of Holy Eucharist. Visitors find the Springwell Chapel just off the main lobby of the Springwell Senior Living campus - past the grand piano, on the left. The liturgy is comfortable for Christians from a variety of traditions, and for those who do not claim a tradition at all. The historical roots are in the Church of England, but the parish worships with inclusive and expansive language for God, fresh new prayers, and a steady commitment to modern ideas.
Holy Communion - the physical reenactment of Christ's Last Supper with his apostles - is offered at every Sunday service. The congregation teaches that it represents the sharing of God's gifts with God's people, the continued presence of Christ in the gathered assembly, and a sacred meal to which all are invited. Those who do not wish to receive bread or wine may receive a blessing, or simply remain seated and enjoy the music and a moment of quiet.
Worship is rooted in the Episcopal Church's historic liturgy. The order of service includes a Celebrant's greeting, the Collect for Purity, and the Great Thanksgiving at the center of the rite. On Palm and Passion Sunday the liturgy begins with the Blessing of the Palms, led by the Celebrant and answered by the People, recalling Christ's entry into Jerusalem.
Music for the Sundays
Music is a jewel of the parish, led by Music Minister Melody Quah, a Yale, Juilliard, and Peabody-trained musician who has performed on stages around the world. She is a doctoral candidate at Peabody and teaches International Music at Baltimore City Community College, and has served as a church organist, pianist, and music director in various settings for more than eight years.
The music draws on a range of traditions. Guest musicians frequently join the worship to supplement the core ensemble with flute, trumpet, strings, percussion, and voice. Hymns stretch from the familiar strains of Amazing Grace to newer compositions that quickly become favorites of the regulars. The breadth of the music is a deliberate choice in a parish that prides itself on welcoming visitors from many Christian backgrounds - and from none.
Coffee Hour Outside the Chapel
After the Sunday service ends, around 11:30 a.m., the parish gathers just outside the Springwell Chapel for fellowship and refreshments. Members of the congregation take turns providing baked goods, fruit, cheese and crackers, and a wide range of treats. The coffee hour is described by the parish as a wonderful opportunity to chat, get to know one another, and spend time in a relaxed and social setting - the unhurried counterpoint to the structured liturgy that has just concluded.
The parish calls itself an imperfect community, connected in Christ, courageously seeking purpose through God. In its own words, in a world that moves and changes so fast whether anyone wants it to or not, one thing remains constant: the love of God through Jesus Christ. While God's magnificence is witnessed in a glorious sunset or the sweet smell of a newborn baby, God's love is most fully experienced in relationship with others.
Feed My Sheep: A Decade of Bagged Meals
Caring for those in need beyond the doors of the parish is not, the congregation says, an option for those who follow Jesus. It is a calling. Feed My Sheep, the parish's long-running feeding ministry, has made and distributed more than 10,000 bagged meals to hungry neighbors in Baltimore since 2008. Georgia Hilliard heads the program.
Every Monday before the second Tuesday of the month, volunteers of all ages and abilities gather in the Terrace Grille at Springwell Senior Living to make sandwiches, which go into a brown bag with snack chips and a baked good. The local Daisy Troop helps with the project. The bagged meals are then picked up by the Salvation Army's Feedmore Van, which serves the hungry seven nights a week. St. John's volunteers also ride along on the van every Tuesday to hand out meals at various stops along the route. Volunteers are picked up and dropped off at the Salvation Army facility in Hampden.
Anyone can help make sandwiches - just come on over. Sandwich-making evenings run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the van ride runs from 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. Other ways to help include shopping for food and supplies and delivering the bagged meals to the Salvation Army facility in Hampden. To learn more, call the parish office or look for Georgia Hilliard after church.
Walking with Ochan in Northern Uganda
The community of St. John's has become an avid supporter of Ochan Self-Help Alliance, a charity that operates in war-ravaged northern Uganda and works to support resettlement for an estimated 4,500 civilians in their original villages in Awei sub-County, Alebtong District. The organization was founded by former parishioners Bonnie and William Boto. In 2013, then-Rector Lori Babcock visited the village of Opach as a guest of the Botos to learn about their work and to connect with the Christian community in Uganda.
St. John's raises funds to purchase Mama Kits for the village - sterile medical supplies that help ensure a safer, healthier labor and birth for mothers and babies. Each kit costs $15. A recent drive sent 100 kits to Opach Village, giving 100 babies a better start in life. The parish also collects new and gently loved books in English for the children at Ayaa Nursery and Primary School in Opach; the books can be dropped off at Springwell Chapel on Sundays or at the Spiritual Arts Center on Saturdays during the summer, and the Botos carry them on their next visit.
To support either program, donors may send a check to the Ochan Self Help Alliance at P.O. Box 172, Cockeysville, MD 21030-0172, marking the memo line Books or Mama Kits accordingly.
The Pastor and the Lay Leaders
The Reverend Dr. Neil O'Farrell is the parish's Mission Pastor. He first joined the congregation on July 10, 2016, as Interim Rector, and became Mission Pastor two years later. Neil is a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is in full communion with the Episcopal Church, a relationship that allows clergy and laity to move freely between the two churches. He holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard University and was ordained in 2003. Before entering seminary he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., specializing in health care. For fifteen years he also served as a hospice care volunteer, and he continues to serve as a part-time hospice chaplain. He lives in Mt. Washington with his husband, Stephen.
Melody Quah, the Music Minister, leads the parish's musical life. Her training at Yale, Juilliard, and Peabody, and her international performance experience, anchor a music program that ranges from ancient hymnody to brand-new compositions, with frequent guest instrumentalists supplementing the core group. Georgia Hilliard, the parish's Junior Warden, also leads the Feed My Sheep ministry and coordinates the parish's partnership with Ochan Self-Help Alliance.
Parish Administrator T. "Faye" Keene brings more than twenty years of nonprofit experience in education, information technology, health care, and international missionary work to the office. The parish is led by a vestry that includes Senior Warden Devon Holmes, a Kentucky native who joined St. John's when she moved to Baltimore for law school and who occasionally plays flute in church; Sarah Fawcett-Lee, Senior Warden Emerita, a native of the United Kingdom who was born and raised in the Church of England; Charmion (Charms) Worrell, who is involved in the Altar Guild, Hospitality, and Daughters of the King and loves to coordinate the hospitality hour; and Jay Williams, who has been part of St. John's community for forty years and serves as an usher on Sundays.
Visiting Springwell Chapel
First-time visitors can find Springwell Chapel on the Springwell Senior Living campus at 2211 W. Rogers Avenue in Baltimore. To park, take the first right past the entrance on Rogers and follow it around past the construction; make a right at the deliveries sign, where the lower parking lot is located. Once inside the main building, the chapel is easy to find - it sits just off the main lobby, past the grand piano, on the left.
The Sunday service begins at 10:30 a.m. and is followed by coffee hour at about 11:30 a.m. The parish office is in the Homestead Building's Unit 211, on the second floor; from the front entrance, take the elevator to level two. The parish phone number is 410-367-7287, and the parish can be reached at mtwashingtonstjohns@gmail.com or admin@stjohnsmtwashington.org. Online giving is available, and the parish's Reflections and Bulletins archive keeps the order of worship for past Sundays available online. Those who wish to receive the parish's e-pistle by email can subscribe through a simple form.
St. John's describes its ministry as ecumenical and radically welcoming, with a strong emphasis on social justice and elders. Walking uphill from the old brick building on Kelly Avenue and South Road to a sunny chapel inside a senior living community, the parish has chosen to keep its focus not on the structure that holds it but on the neighbors it serves - in Baltimore, on the streets where Feed My Sheep volunteers hand out bagged meals, and in the villages of northern Uganda, where books and Mama Kits are now part of the congregation's wider vocabulary of love.