St. John's Episcopal Church sits at the corner of Porter and Rayburn in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on the eastern shore of Biloxi Bay. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the parish has shaped the rhythms of Episcopal life since the late nineteenth century. Members gather for three Sunday Eucharists, a Wednesday healing service, a daily office of Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline online, and a long list of community ministries that reach beyond the brick walls of the worship space at 705 Rayburn Avenue.
A Parish Shaped by the Coast, Built by a Fortnightly Guild
The congregation was organized in 1856 under the name St. Paul's. The name changed to St. John's Episcopal Church in 1877. For decades, Ocean Springs was too small to support its own priest, and the parish was served by rectors from Pascagoula and, beginning in 1921, by the rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, who walked across the railroad bridge to celebrate a single Sunday service when there was no highway across the bay. St. John's was formally admitted as a parish by the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi in 1955.
The brick church that the parish still occupies was designed in a collaborative moment that links Ocean Springs to the wider architectural world. Local legend ties the early plans to Louis Sullivan, the Chicago architect and teacher of Frank Lloyd Wright, who wintered on the coast and worked with the women's "Fortnightly Guild" on ideas for a sanctuary. The actual plans were drawn by the Rev. Nelson Ayers from illustrations in "The Churchman," and the guild adopted them on October 11, 1891. The building follows the design of the Church of the Ascension in Rockville Centre, Long Island, by New York architect Manly N. Cutter; Historic Churches of Mississippi features St. John's on the cover.
In January 2010, the Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III led the dedication and blessed an 11,000-square-foot parish hall built for $1.8 million. The hall seats up to 150 for dinner using a commercial-grade kitchen, contains a multi-media center with a roll-down screen and a permanently mounted projector, and includes rooms for Christian education, a youth room, a choir room, a staff office, and a nursery. A "crying room" off the nursery is wired with live video and audio from the sanctuary so parents of infants can stay connected to the worship.
Sunday at St. John's
Three celebrations of the Holy Eucharist shape Sunday morning. At 7:30 a.m., the Early Service uses Holy Eucharist, Rite I, the older traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer. At 9:00 a.m., the Family Service uses Holy Eucharist, Rite II; the parish describes this as a family-friendly service, and at the same hour, children gather for Children's Chapel in the Godly Play room for a Bible story and an art or play response before rejoining their parents in the sanctuary for the Eucharist. At 11:15 a.m., the Principal Service also uses Holy Eucharist, Rite II.
Coffee hour fills the fellowship hall between the morning services, so first-time visitors can be greeted over coffee after any of the three Eucharists. Every Sunday service is livestreamed on LocalLive, with bulletins posted for those joining from home. A nursery is available during worship, along with the live-feed crying room off the hall.
Wednesday Healing and the Daily Office Online
On Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., the parish gathers for a Public Healing Service with Holy Communion. The service is livestreamed so members who are traveling or homebound can pray along, and the bulletin is posted in advance.
A full rhythm of prayer runs online through Zoom each day. At 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer begins the day; at 12:00 p.m., Noonday Prayer marks the middle; at 4:00 p.m., Evening Prayer closes the workday; and at 8:00 p.m., Compline prepares sleepers for rest. Each of the four daily offices has its own bulletin. The leadership of these services draws on the Book of Common Prayer, the standard prayer book of the Episcopal Church.
Music Across the Week
Music is woven into both worship and the parish's wider life. Mary Chaffe Brooks is the Choirmaster and Jonathon Mitchell the Organist. The Chancel Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. The RSCM Cherubs Choir, a formation program for younger singers from the Royal School of Church Music, meets Wednesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. Members of St. John's also maintain a bagpipe ensemble, with rehearsals on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday afternoons at 1:00 p.m.
Christian Education from Preschool to Adult Bible Study
Christian formation is organized by the Director of Religious Education, Ann McGraw, with Maraya Slaff as Assistant Director. On Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m., children gather for Children's Chapel in the Godly Play room, beginning with a Bible story and an art or play response before joining their families in the sanctuary. Vacation Bible School takes place during one week of the year.
Middle and high schoolers are part of the Episcopal Youth Community (EYC), which meets on Sunday afternoons at 5:00 p.m. at St. John's and is on Facebook at sjosms.eyc.
Adults gather for Adult Bible Study on Sundays at 10:15 a.m. in the Kindness Room with the Rev. Bruno Schroeder, and a parallel session of Gospel Reflections meets in the Rawls Room at the same hour. A Wednesday Bible Study meets at 11:00 a.m. in the Kindness Room, also led by Father Schroeder. The Rev. Harold Roberts leads a Thursday Theology Group at 2:00 p.m. in the second-floor Kindness Room. Centering Prayer gathers on Thursday afternoons at 4:00 p.m.
An Episcopal Parish within the Diocese of Mississippi
St. John's worships within the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, one of the dioceses of The Episcopal Church, the American province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, the 28th Presiding Bishop and Primate.
The parish's mission is "We will know, love and serve God, be renewed by His Spirit and share Christ." Its vision is to pursue spiritual maturity in Christ, to welcome those seeking renewal and growth, to offer programs and worship for all ages and backgrounds, to be responsive to the changing needs of the parish and the wider world, and to develop facilities in support of that calling.
Outreach Along the Mississippi Coast
Members of St. John's have helped establish and sustain many of the community ministries of Ocean Springs and Jackson County. The parish has identified four long-standing partnerships.
Samaritan Ministries of Jackson County is an ecumenical relief agency co-founded with St. John's, serving the homeless and needy of the community. The Daughters of the King chapter at St. John's regularly collects canned and nonperishable food for the Samaritan Ministries Food Pantry.
The Lord is My Help prepares nutritious weekday meals in Ocean Springs and operates a Meals on Wheels program for homebound neighbors.
Rebekah's House, the former Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean Springs, helps homeless families with children move toward self-sufficiency.
The parish also supports the Boys and Girls Clubs of America through Mary B. Ruddiman's Unit, which serves youth across Jackson and George Counties.
Neighbor to Neighbor: Welcoming Refugee Families
The parish's longest-running social ministry is Neighbor to Neighbor, a refugee resettlement team of more than thirty volunteers. Each year, the team welcomes a new refugee family to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, working under the Episcopal Migration Ministries in cooperation with the U.S. State Department and the International Organization for Migration. For the first ninety days, the team ensures housing, food, clothing, and health care, then helps the family find work, apply for benefits, enroll in school, and navigate language and cultural barriers.
The team's chairperson, Cynthia Ramseur, has been featured alongside Lena Melton and Peggy Butera in a podcast produced by Episcopal Migration Ministries, sharing their experience of joining together to welcome and support a newly arrived refugee family.
Daughters of the King
St. John's hosts a chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King, an international order for women communicants of the Episcopal Church and of other churches within the Anglican, Lutheran (ELCA), and Roman Catholic traditions. Daughters reaffirm the promises made at baptism and confirmation and commit to a life-long Rule of Prayer and a Rule of Service, wearing the cross of the Order and offering prayerful support to their clergy and parish. The local chapter hosts an annual Christmas in July drive, gathering items for Christmas bags that are packed each October for neighbors in need, and the chapter meets on the first Saturday of each month at 10:30 a.m. in the old EYC room.
Wonderful Wednesdays and Parish Life
Parish life extends well beyond Sunday. Wonderful Wednesdays is the centerpiece: a parish dinner served in the fellowship hall following the 5:30 p.m. healing service. Coffee hour fills the fellowship hall between each of the Sunday morning services.
Other regular gatherings include Chair Yoga on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and Gentle Mat Yoga at 11:30 a.m.; the Ocean Springs Bridge Club on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays; Mahjong for Beginners on Tuesday afternoons with Emily Lancaster; and a homeschooling cooperative that meets on Fridays. The church building is also home to a Cursillo group on Mondays, the Ocean Springs Al-Anon and an AA meeting on Wednesday evenings, and the local NAACP chapter on Thursday mornings.
The fellowship guilds include the Saints & Sinners, which meets on the second Tuesday of the month, and St. Luke's Guild, a pot-luck group on the third Thursday that supports the parish's preschool through fellowship.
Accessibility and Finding St. John's
The church works to make Sunday worship accessible to all who come. Large-print service leaflets, printed copies of the sermon, and assistive hearing devices are available each Sunday; ushers can direct visitors to any of these resources. Communion is brought to the pew for anyone unable to come to the altar, and pew cushions are available for those who want extra comfort during the service.
From Biloxi, take Highway 90 east across the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge, turn right on Washington Avenue at Cadence Bank and Burger King, and continue south for about 0.3 miles to Porter Avenue. Turn right on Porter; at 0.2 miles, St. John's is on the far-right corner. From I-10, take Exit 50 south on Highway 609, cross Highway 90, and follow Washington Avenue south to Porter Avenue. From Gautier or Pascagoula, take Highway 90 west into Ocean Springs and turn left on Washington Avenue. A note for visitors with cars: the parish asks members to refrain from using the parking lot of neighboring St. Paul's Episcopal Church, with parking concentrated on the streets around Porter and Rayburn.
Stewardship, Giving, and Parish News
St. John's runs an annual stewardship campaign. The Rector's annual letter frames stewardship as a religious devotion tied to prayer and the reading of scripture, and invites the parish to grow toward the tithe (ten percent of income) as a spiritual discipline rather than an obligation. Online giving runs through Realm; members and visitors can pledge annually, give recurring gifts, or text STJOHNSOS to 73256 to give by phone. Realm also powers the church directory and event registration.
The parish communicates through the monthly newsletter, the Grapevine, weekly parish announcements, and a regular presence on Facebook and X (Twitter). The rector, Father Charles Hawkins, also writes a personal blog.
Clergy and Ministry Leaders
The Very Rev. Dr. Charles Hawkins serves as Rector. The Rev. Deacon Linda Healy assists in lay-led ministries. The Rev. Bruno Schroeder serves in pastoral care and teaches the Sunday Adult Bible Study and the Wednesday Bible Study. The Rev. Harold Roberts and the Rev. Elizabeth Graham are honorary clergy of the parish.
Mary Chaffe Brooks is Choirmaster and Jonathon Mitchell is Organist. Ann McGraw is the Catechist and Director of Religious Education, with Maraya Slaff as Assistant Director.
The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., reachable at (228) 875-4454 or parish.office@sjosms.org. The mailing address is 705 Rayburn Avenue, Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564.