A Parish on State Street
St. John's Episcopal Church occupies a corner of downtown Kirkland, just a few blocks from the Lake Washington waterfront. Red doors mark both entrances, one facing State Street and the other opening onto the main parking lot between 1st and 2nd Avenue South. The parish traces its roots to a single service on January 8, 1922, held in the Kirkland home of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Caldwell and presided over by the Reverend D. C. Lees, then of St. Mark's (now St. Luke's) in Ballard. From those first gatherings of devout families and their Prayer Books grew the congregation that today describes itself with the words A Community for Hope, Blessed to Give, Called to Serve. The church building stands at 105 State Street S; the parish office and mailing address is 127 State Street S, Kirkland, WA 98033.
The Mission and the People
St. John's is part of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its stated mission is to be Christ to the world just as Jesus was Christ to those he encountered in his earthly ministry - to be the Body of Christ offering healing and wholeness, reconciliation, and liberation to all people, making God's reign visible in the world. A land acknowledgment accompanies every gathering: the parish worships on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples, especially the Duwamish people, the original inhabitants of the Lake Washington shoreline, and it actively encourages its members to learn about and support the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snoqualmie, Suquamish, Snohomish, Tulalip, and Puyallup peoples who have cared for these lands and waters since time immemorial.
Worship at the Heart of Parish Life
Worship is at the heart of St. John's. Every Sunday at 10:00 a.m., the congregation gathers in the sanctuary for a Celebration of Holy Eucharist, a liturgical service shaped by the Book of Common Prayer that typically runs about ninety minutes. Visitors are welcome to participate fully or simply observe; every word of the service is printed in the worship bulletin handed out at the door or available to follow on a mobile device. A recent Sunday bulletin walked worshipers through the entire order of worship, beginning with an opening acclamation, continuing through the Gloria, the Collect of the Day, Hebrew Scripture and Epistle readings, a psalm, a Sequence Hymn, the Gospel, the sermon, the Nicene Creed, the Prayers of the People, confession, the Peace, the Offertory, the Great Thanksgiving, the Sanctus, the Lord's Prayer, the Fraction, Holy Communion, a post-Communion collect, the Blessing, a closing hymn, and the Dismissal.
Green and purple prayer cards are distributed during worship; green cards carry the names of those who are sick or suffering, purple cards carry the names of the recently departed. Those who hold a card are invited to speak the name aloud during the intercessions and to continue praying at home during the week. Holy Communion is open to all who wish to receive; the presider explicitly invites "whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on the journey of faith" to the table. Ushers guide communicants by pew row; the bread is laid into open hands and a chalice bearer gently offers the cup with the words "The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation."
The Rector's Preaching
The rector, the Reverend Michael J. Ryan, joined St. John's in January 2020 after ten years as rector of the Church of the Epiphany in South Haven, Michigan, where he more than quintupled the congregation and built what he calls a "radically welcoming community." He was ordained to the priesthood on December 20, 2009, and his sermons at St. John's are typically extemporaneous. He does not write them fully before delivering, preferring what he describes as a "reverent, relaxed, broad church" style and the chance to forge a direct spiritual connection with the congregation. He and his wife Susan now reside in Kirkland.
A Monthly Eucharist Beyond the Walls
On the last Sunday of each month, the parish carries the liturgy past its own doors and into the larger community. At 1:00 p.m. on those Sundays, Father Michael celebrates Holy Eucharist at Merrill Gardens Senior Living, in the Movie Room. Residents, family members, and visitors are all welcome to attend, and parishioners often come straight from the morning service to join in.
Daily Prayer Across the Week
Beyond Sunday, the parish maintains the older Anglican tradition of the Daily Office with online services throughout the week. Morning Prayer is offered at 9:00 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays; Noonday Prayer is offered at noon on Wednesdays. Each can be joined on Zoom. The Men's Bible Study gathers on Tuesday mornings at 8:00 a.m. via Zoom (passcode 1234). Past services can be viewed on the parish YouTube channel, which streams live and keeps recordings available for those who cannot be present.
Music in the Sanctuary
The music program is led by Michael Monnikendam, who holds a Bachelor of Music from Duquesne University and a Master of Music from Carnegie-Mellon University, where he studied voice with minors in piano and organ. He has served parishes in Pennsylvania, New York, Arkansas, and most recently St. Stephen's in Seattle, and he believes that congregations can be moved physically, emotionally, and spiritually through different traditions of church music. Sunday services include choral anthems and hymns drawn from the Episcopal hymnal, often accompanied by the historic 1892 Cole & Woodberry organ that the parish rescued from a demolished church in Lowell, Massachusetts, and installed in the choir loft in 1974.
The St. John's Choir welcomes new members without audition or prior experience. Rehearsals and ministry happen weekly, and the choir's role during Sunday worship is central to the parish's sound. Music across a recent Sunday included hymn 686 "Come, thou fount of every blessing," the Gloria sung to tune S-280, the Sequence Hymn "Rock of Ages," and Mark Schweizer's Offertory anthem "Crown of thorns, crown of glory." Communion music is led by Monnikendam himself, and Eric Lewis's postlude, "Praise Him in the Sanctuary," sends worshipers into the rest of their Sunday with one last hymn ringing through the nave.
Welcome for Visitors
St. John's works hard to make a first visit feel easy. The congregation is described as warmly hospitable, genuinely welcoming, thoughtfully liturgical, and grounded in prayer. Visitors are urged to come as they are: "You will see all variations of dress and will be welcome wearing whatever makes you feel comfortable."
Children, Nursery, and Activity Bags
Children are always welcome in worship. Activity bags for all ages sit behind the back row of pews, and a Welcome Counter Host is stationed at the kiosk under the TV in the narthex to help families find what they need. A staffed nursery is available for children from birth through age four during the service, and the children's program runs from age five through fifth grade with a Godly Play curriculum, crafts, skits, and the occasional themed series such as "Building Faith Brick by Brick." Middle and high school youth ministry is in an active season of discernment; the Director of Youth Ministry position is currently open, and the parish is looking for a part-time leader (eight hours per week) to build weekly gatherings, retreats, mission trips, and Confirmation preparation.
Parking, Accessibility, and Getting In
Plenty of parking surrounds the church. The main lot sits between 1st and 2nd Avenue South behind the building, with street parking along State Street and nearby streets. First-time visitor spaces are reserved in the main lot, accessible parking spaces sit close to the State Street entrance, and a wheelchair-accessible entrance is available on both sides. Accessible restrooms are available inside, and a limited number of wheelchairs are kept on hand for visitors who need one. A hearing assistance system is available during worship.
Coffee Hour Afterward
After the Sunday service, the congregation moves into Marsh Hall for Coffee Hour - coffee, refreshments, conversation, and a relaxed chance to meet newcomers. Hosting is a simple ministry of hospitality: the coffee is already prepared, the plates, cups, utensils, and napkins are disposable, and a refrigerator and microwave are available. Simple refreshments such as cookies, fruit, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, popcorn, or coffee cake are all that is needed. Hosts can sign up individually, as a team, or as a substitute.
What the Parish Believes
At St. John's, faith is rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ - whose life, death, and resurrection, in the parish's words, "saved the world." Members seek to follow Christ's example of love, compassion, forgiveness, and justice in their daily lives. As part of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion, the parish values Scripture, tradition, and reason as guides for faith. Worship is shaped by centuries of Christian tradition and grounded in the Book of Common Prayer.
The parish affirms belief in one God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and describes the Trinity as the means by which Christians experience "a God who is loving, liberating, and life-giving." It claims a legacy of inclusion and a belief that God's love is for every person, working to be a community where all people are welcomed and respected. Clergy and laypeople share leadership; members actively participate in ministry and service, and faith is practiced together through worship, prayer, learning, and service to neighbors. The parish belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia and currently sits under its ninth bishop, the Right Reverend Philip N. LaBelle.
A Century on the Eastside
The first Episcopal service on the eastside of Lake Washington took place on January 8, 1922, in the Caldwell home. Less than a month later, on January 26, the early founders petitioned to organize a mission, formed their first bishop's committee, and appointed a warden and treasurer. Priests had to journey from Seattle in those early years: the Reverend Cameron Morrison, who served the Church of the Epiphany in Seattle, took the Madison Street ferry to Kirkland, walked from the ferry dock to wherever Evening Prayer was being held, and walked back to the ferry for the return trip to Madison Park.
The 1920s and the Little Brown Church
Formal consent to organize a mission arrived on February 1, 1923, from the Right Reverend F. W. Keator, the first bishop of Olympia, and the new mission was admitted to the Diocesan Convention that year. A building committee met on September 13, 1923, accepted a low bid of $528 for materials (the building fund then totaled $1,288.82), and by December the little church was ready for occupancy. On July 26, 1922, ten charter members had formed St. John's Guild (later renamed St. Margaret's Guild and lasting into the 1980s), and on July 30 of that same year the parish purchased one and a half lots on State Street from the town of Kirkland - the same property St. John's still calls home. Through the rest of the decade, communicants averaged 30 to 35, the first baptisms were celebrated in 1925, and four teachers worked with 30 to 39 Sunday School pupils. The Baxters, the Heaths, the Caldwells, the Pratts, the Stalhammers, the McPhails, the Gillilands, the McIlhargys, Lucille Nelson, and Frances Gordenier were among those who shaped this first chapter.
Depression, War, and a Building Too Small
The Great Depression hit St. John's hard. Diocesan help was curtailed, no priest was regularly assigned from 1932 to 1938, and the Sunday School closed its doors. Lay readers such as Gerald Pratt stepped up to lead services each Sunday, Olive Allison cleaned and played the organ, and visiting priests came once a month for communion. The first person to arrive lit the stove. By 1936 the parish had only seven families and twenty-two communicants, and the church treasury was down to $401. The 1940s brought clergy stability and growth under the Reverend Richard Underwood, a former China missionary who served until his sudden death on December 10, 1942; the Reverend Frederick J. G. Kepler, who followed in 1943 and saw family attendance nearly triple; and the Reverend Lewis Bailey, who became St. John's first full-time vicar in 1947. By the end of the decade the parish had 81 families and receipts of $5,104, and the little brown church building had actually become too small.
Fire, Rebuilding, and the New Sanctuary
The little brown church burned on the night of September 9, 1953, exactly thirty years after the parish's founding. Vestments and prayer books were saved; the building itself was a total loss. Within a week, parishioners began planning a new church. One man donated $1,000, a young boy emptied his piggy bank of his sailboat savings, and ultimately the congregation raised $30,000. Many other churches sent gifts, and an additional $19,577 in fire insurance helped fund architect Durham, Anderson and Freed's design. The total cost came in between $75,000 and $80,000. Ground was broken on January 17, 1954; Bishop S. Arthur Huston laid the cornerstone on April 25; the new church was dedicated on September 5.
Through the 1960s, St. John's became a parish rather than a mission on April 19, 1960, with the Reverend Robert F. Hayman as its first rector. Hayman had arrived in September 1958 and would serve for nineteen years. The church purchased the Jewell House at 210 2nd Avenue South in 1961, saw its church school grow to 165 children, and began Wednesday-evening Youth Night programs. Marsh Hall was added in 1963, paid for largely by a bequest from Katherine Marsh, and Bishop Curtis dedicated it on September 13, 1964. St. Timothy's in Redmond (1962) and St. Gregory's in Juanita (1965) were planted under St. John's wing until they became separate diocesan missions in 1974 and merged into what is now Holy Cross. When the Kirkland Civic Center burned in April 1967, St. John's finished the roughed-in northwest wing of Marsh Hall to provide space for the Eastside Handicappers and the Teenage Activity Center; the building also became home to Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Boy Scouts, and a wide swath of community life.
A Historic Organ and the Preschool
The 1970s brought two lasting additions. In 1974, the parish acquired a remarkable pipe organ originally built in 1892 by Cole & Woodberry for the Highland Congregational Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. When that church was demolished for a freeway in 1970, the organ had nineteen ranks of pipes and tracker action; Jim Neal and his committee, working with Glen White of Olympic Organ Builders, spent Maundy Thursday 1974 unloading all 10,000 pounds of the instrument and, with hundreds of volunteers, installed it within five months. The parish's other lasting 1970s legacy is the preschool that still operates today. Moss Bay Preschool (now St. John's Preschool) was born out of a $100 Outreach Committee grant and a great deal of volunteer paint. Shirley Allert, Diane Smith, Doreen Duggan, Jan Spangenberg, and Mary Baldwin opened the first two classes in September 1974, with Jan Spangenberg as the first Board Chair and Rainy Husband later becoming the first Director.
Reaching Out in the 1980s and 1990s
In January 1976, St. John's sponsored a Vietnamese refugee family, Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Anh and their sons Phi and Hiep; Mr. Anh had been a Saigon bureau photographer for United Press International. By the 1980s, the parish was hosting Kairos Weekends at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, training Stephen Ministers in pastoral care, and joining the 1987 Ecumenical Covenant signed by Holy Family Catholic, Holy Spirit Lutheran, Kirkland Congregational, Lake Washington Christian, Lake Washington United Methodist, Trinity Lutheran, and St. John's Episcopal churches - a covenant that has produced shared Vacation Bible Schools, Good Friday Stations of the Cross Walks, Cropwalks for world hunger, and ongoing work through the Kirkland Interfaith Network. In the 1990s, the Reverend Donald Mackay III arrived from Billings, Montana, in April 1991, presided over the parish's 75th anniversary in February 1998 with a full day of services, and oversaw the new narthex and courtyard projects before his retirement. The "I Am" stained-glass window series along the side walls of the nave - funded by individual memorials and completed by Perry Stained Glass Studios in 1992 - remains one of the sanctuary's quiet treasures.
The 2000 Fire and the Rebuild
On Friday, May 12, 2000, a roofer's torch accidentally ignited the insulation under the roof of Marsh Hall. Preschool, Sunday school classrooms, the nursery, and the chapel were destroyed; the canopy connecting Marsh Hall to the sanctuary burned as well. Miraculously, the main roof of the sanctuary held, and only minor smoke damage touched the interior. The Future of St. John's committee had met the previous evening and asked God for a sign of direction; the next day's fire became, in a strange way, that sign. The committee was quickly renamed the Church Building Committee, and parishioner John Cannon, an architect, joined the lawyer Jim Miller in shepherding the insurance process and a four-option redesign that ultimately produced today's seamless marriage of the 1954 sanctuary with the rebuilt Marsh Hall, the new narthex, and the courtyard above the corner offices. The legal effort produced a settlement of $2,241,674, well above the original $1,767,000 policy limit.
The parish is very much a creature of that rebuilding. The stained-glass windows from the west wall were combined into one large new window between the sanctuary and the narthex, with a skylight above to back-light it. Twelve doors to Marsh Hall represent the twelve Tribes of Israel, and the church chimes live in a bell tower over the covered play area roof. The parish celebrated its centennial across 2022 and 2023 with a series of events: the inaugural celebration on January 9, 2022; memories of former clergy including Father Hayman (March 2022) and Father Bob Dunn (May 2022); a pulpit exchange with the Church of the Epiphany in Seattle (November 2022); stories of the 2000 fire and rebuild (January 2023); and a rededication concert for the Cole & Woodberry organ.
Children, Youth, and the Preschool
Children and youth programs welcome families from birth through high school. The staffed nursery (birth through age four) provides a safe, toy-filled environment during Sunday worship. The children's program (ages five through fifth grade) follows a Godly Play curriculum and a mix of storytelling and hands-on activities, with themed programs such as "Building Faith Brick by Brick" appearing through the year. Middle and high school youth ministry is in an active period of recruitment: the parish is searching for a Director of Youth Ministry to lead weekly gatherings, retreats, mission trips, and Diocesan youth events, and to support Confirmation preparation.
St. John's Preschool has educated the children of the Moss Bay neighborhood since 1974. Born out of a $100 Outreach Committee grant and a great deal of volunteer paint, the program still operates from a sunny dedicated wing of the church campus with classrooms, an underfloor radiant heating system that keeps little ones comfortable on chilly mornings, and an attached covered play area. The preschool's flat roof was designed to allow for a future second story if expansion is ever needed.
The Men's and Women's Groups
The Men's Group has been gathering since 1979 and began holding dinners in 1980. The first dinner, in May of that year, brought in Don James, then the head football coach at the University of Washington; the second featured Andy Smith, president of Pacific Northwest Bell. The format has hardly changed since: gathering time, a dinner prepared by different men each time, and a program, usually a speaker, who is encouraged to share their faith. The group meets eight times a year, on the second Thursday of each month from September through November and January through June, skipping the month that contains Easter. Tuesday-morning Men's Bible Study at 8:00 a.m. via Zoom extends the rhythm into the rest of the week.
The Women's Group meets throughout the year for Bible studies, potlucks, lectures or presentations, projects, and outings. On the first and third Sundays of every month, after the 10:00 a.m. Eucharist, the women of the parish gather for a historical, literary, and theological study of the New Testament. Recent community gatherings have included storytelling afternoons and seasonal lunches.
The State Street Free Pantry
Outside the church, on State Street, stands the State Street Free Pantry, a small 24/7 community food pantry open to anyone in the neighborhood. There is no registration and no questions asked; donors give what they can and neighbors take what they need. The pantry is stocked and cared for by volunteers who make quick visits during the week to check it and restock items from food shelves inside the church office. Because the pantry is used daily, even a small commitment makes a meaningful difference.
The pantry is heavily used and its needs are specific. Most-needed items at present include canned proteins (tuna, chicken, stew, soup), peanut butter, and pet food. A longer list of suggested donations spans pantry staples (peanut butter and jelly, rice and dried pasta, mac and cheese, ramen, crackers, shelf-stable tortillas), canned and ready meals (soup, shelf-stable ready-made foods, pop-top foods, tuna, chicken, Vienna sausages), snacks and grab-and-go items (applesauce, fruit cups, dried fruit, protein bars, nuts, jerky, juice boxes), breakfast items (cereals, individual oatmeal packets, baby food jars), cooking basics and condiments, and hygiene and paper goods. The Pet Pantry within the pantry welcomes wet dog and cat food (preferred), dry kibble, and especially wet food for cats. Donations can be placed directly in the outdoor pantry at any time, in a basket in the narthex, or mailed to the church office. The pantry continues to operate thanks to gifts from neighbors, the Rotary Club, and substantial recent donations from the American Sewing Guild.
The State Street Community Garden
The State Street Community Garden is a shared space on the church grounds where neighbors grow food, build relationships, and support the local community. It began as a partnership with Girl Scouts working on their Silver Award project and has since grown into a meaningful part of parish and neighborhood life. This season the garden partners with the New Bethlehem Center, a local shelter and day center, to provide fresh vegetables and herbs to its residents and Day Center guests.
Volunteers plant, water, tend, and harvest together, sharing the produce with neighbors and with the residents of New Bethlehem Center. New raised beds, funded in part through the Ignite Kirkland campaign, are allowing the parish to grow even more fresh produce than before. Every week, passersby stop to ask what is growing, how the garden works, or simply to admire it, and many become volunteers themselves.
Community Dinner
Once a month, in partnership with IMAN Center, St. John's hosts a Community Dinner that brings neighbors from many backgrounds together around the table. Good food and conversation are the simple idea. The parish's invitation to attend is simple: "There's a place at the table for you."
Sheila Stanton Place
St. John's joined community partners in celebrating the grand opening of Sheila Stanton Place, a 101-home permanent supportive housing community in Kirkland named in honor of beloved parishioner Sheila Stanton. The development provides stable housing and on-site support services for adults exiting homelessness and continues the spirit of compassion and service that Sheila embodied throughout her life. Volunteers from St. John's joined partner organizations for a work day in advance of opening, preparing apartments and assembling welcome baskets for residents. The project represents a tangible expression of the parish's conviction that it is called to be Christ to the world.
The Rector's Discretionary Fund
On designated Sundays, all "loose plate" offerings (cash and checks that are not the fulfillment of a pledge) are placed in the Rector's Discretionary Fund. The fund exists to help those in need in the congregation and in the larger community and is entrusted to Father Michael for charitable and pious purposes. Typical uses include helping families with food, utilities, and emergency expenses; the church office receives calls daily for assistance.
A Place to Call Home
St. John's offers several ways to connect before and after a first visit. Coffee Hour hosts warmly welcome newcomers after the Sunday service, and the parish's Companion newsletter and weekly emails keep the wider congregation informed of upcoming events, parish milestones, and prayer needs. Anyone in the parish can use the volunteer interest form on the Connect page to share how they would like to serve, and the parish makes a point of helping newcomers find a place that fits their gifts and interests.
St. John's Episcopal Church is at 105 State Street S in downtown Kirkland, Washington, with its office at 127 State Street S. The office can be reached at (425) 827-3077, Monday through Friday except Tuesday, when it opens at 10:00 a.m. rather than 9:00. Faithful to a century of witness, mindful of the Coast Salish ancestors of the land on which it stands, and committed to the work of reconciliation and service in the wider Kirkland community, the parish continues its long run as a center of Episcopal life on the eastside of Lake Washington.