At 3427 Olney-Laytonsville Road in Olney, Maryland, St. John's Episcopal Church is known for Anglican worship, a full Sunday rhythm of formation, and service that reaches from an open food pantry in Olney to refugee families and communities in Tanzania. Rooted in Montgomery County since 1842, the parish welcomes people at every point of faith and connects Scripture, sacraments, music, education, and service in the Anglican tradition.
Olney Roots, From 1842 to the Present
St. John's was organized June 22, 1842, as a separate congregation of St. Bartholomew's Parish. Ignatius Waters and his wife, Eliza, donated land for the church, and eleven founding members signed an agreement, pledged money for a building, and elected a committee to carry it out. The original building was completed in 1842 with four windows on each side. Dedicated in 1845, it is the oldest Episcopal church building in continuous use in Montgomery County.
When more land was acquired along Olney-Laytonsville Road in 1910, the original church was moved on rollers by a mule team to its present location. Milestones in the life of the parish include the founding of St. John's Episcopal School by the Rev. James Valliant in 1961, the arrival of African Palms USA as its headquarters in 1976, a second renovation in 1980, and the addition of a columbarium in 1999. The parish also has a cemetery and belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., led by the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde.
St. John's has also confronted its early history through race and racism. After a leadership retreat of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. encouraged parishes to undertake this work, Pam and Bill Fleming presented a detailed report based on months of research and historical records. It follows diocesan guidelines and includes a supporting bibliography. Mary Quinn, Lori Jones, Rowan Reynolds, Sophia Jones, and members of the history committee turned its core findings into a seven-minute documentary for the parish and community.
Two Sunday Services with Distinct Characters
The parish's worship is invitational and rooted in the traditions of the Episcopal Church. Its shape includes the inner grace of the sacraments, hymnody across a broad musical range, and Scripture through thoughtful sermons. The 8:00 and 10:30 services share a focus on Scripture, Eucharist, and the Anglican tradition while offering different forms of worship.
8:00 a.m. Quiet Eucharist
The earlier service is quiet worship with the Eucharist and does not include music.
10:30 a.m. Rite II
The later service follows Rite II from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, focusing on the Holy Scripture and Holy Eucharist. Classic and modern music is supported by the adult choir, piano, organ, and handbell ringers. The church's worship is also available through its YouTube channel.
Sunday's wider rhythm includes Adult Forum at 9:00 a.m., Holy Household from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall, and a middle and high school youth group from noon to 1:00 p.m. A nursery for children five and under is available from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Coffee Hour and fellowship for adults and children follow each service in the Parish Hall. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The welcome at St. John's is explicit and broad. The parish welcomes people across racial and ethnic identities, gender identities, ages, faith backgrounds, family circumstances, political affiliations, housing situations, and abilities. That welcome includes people who have never entered a church, have a strong or questioning faith, have no faith, carry addictions or regrets, or simply need a place to rest. Its commitment is to share the Good News in Christ Jesus, respect every human being's dignity, love the neighbor, and reach people who are hurting or marginalized.
Formation for Adults, Households, and Every Generation
Christian Formation at St. John's is designed to continue after worship. Resources for worship, Bible study, and discussion help people carry prayer, Scripture, reflection, and service into their homes and communities. The parish understands Christianity as both a practice and a communal life: faith passes from one person to the next across generations, households learn together, and prayer partnerships cross age groups. It calls this cross-pew pollination, a phrase capturing its aim of building friendships through shared faith.
Adult Forum
Adult Forum meets Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. It is an adult discussion group that takes up a book or topic for a season. Participants can drop in from week to week or stay with the group for the full season. Discussions explore the Christian story, Scripture, worship, and related questions through conversation and reflection.
Holy Household
Holy Household is St. John's intergenerational Sunday school. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., it brings people of all ages into the Parish Hall for 45 minutes of exploration, questions, experiments, and reflection. The program uses accessible learning to delve into the Christian story and Episcopal traditions. Coffee and breakfast options are available to make it easier to move from breakfast to worship.
Compline and Prayer Partnerships
Compline, or Night Prayer, is held by Zoom at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. It is a quiet service of reflection at the end of the day. Prayer partnerships pair two people from different generations. The partnerships have grown to more than 40 and span ages from 3 to 80, with regular check-ins and participation in parish events.
Youth Fellowship and Summer Learning
The youth group usually meets twice a month on Sundays for middle and high school students, with fellowship, service, learning, and activities such as bowling, axe throwing, study of Paul's letters, and group games. St. John's partners with young people from St. Bart's in Laytonsville and St. Nick's in Darnestown. The all-parish Vacation Bible School welcomes all ages and households from the parish and community, bringing together dinner, Bible study, games, and challenges during a week of evening activities.
Music That Gives the Liturgy Its Shape
Music is integral to St. John's worship, especially at 10:30 a.m. The all-volunteer adult choir leads Sunday morning worship and some summer services. Members rehearse Sundays from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. and bring music across the breadth of the church's hymnody to the congregation.
Children and young people have their own places in music. The K-5 children's choir learns vocal and choral skills through songs that teach faith concepts and the story of God's people, and it contributes to Sunday worship about once a month. Grades 6-12 meet in the youth choir, which sings about once a quarter and connects its music with the themes studied by the youth group. The youth handbell choir welcomes grades 3-12 with no musical experience required. Experienced and new ringers are also welcome in the three-octave handbell program.
Solo instrumentalists and small ensembles add their gifts to worship and parish events, while guest artists and special concerts provide additional music throughout the year. Music Minister Cambria Van de Vaarst sees music as an act of community and works to help singers, ringers, and players of every level gain confidence. Her approach emphasizes that everyone can become a capable musician and that music adds richness to the rituals of worship.
Faith-Based Learning at St. John's Episcopal School
St. John's Episcopal School, founded in 1961 by the Rev. James Valliant, is a traditional Episcopal school serving children from the youngest grades through eighth grade. Its research-based curriculum combines small classes with intellectual, moral, and spiritual challenge and service to the community. The school prepares students academically for high school while helping them develop character and enduring faith. School families and students also contribute food and volunteer time to the parish pantry, connecting education with service to people in Olney.
An Open Door for Hunger
St. John's Food Pantry occupies an outdoor brick cabinet accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every year. Its design reflects the conviction that every person has a right to nourishment without embarrassment, discrimination, judgment, or loss of privacy. Church and school volunteers stock shelf-stable, nonperishable food twice daily Monday through Friday and once on weekends. Contributions come from parishioners, school families and students, Olney Help, and the surrounding community; cash gifts are used when supplies run low. The pantry serves families and people without housing, favoring single-serving foods that are easy to carry and open.
Requested foods include canned proteins and vegetables, pasta dishes, cereal, fruit, soup, peanut butter and jelly, shelf-stable milk, water, crackers, granola bars, pudding, and toothpaste. For people without housing, the parish prioritizes ready-to-eat, single-serving items that are easy to open.
Furnishing First Homes and Welcoming Refugees
Our Neighbor's House is St. John's ministry for refugee and migrant families legally resettled in the United States through the U.S. State Department and the International Rescue Committee. The parish furnishes first apartments for arriving families and organizes mentoring teams of up to four people. Mentors meet with a resettled family weekly for six months to offer friendship, advice, and support. Afghan and other refugee families are welcomed into this work as neighbors, extending the parish's commitment beyond its own walls.
African Palms USA: Weaving and Water
African Palms began in 1965 when Father Alan Talbot, after serving as a missionary in Tanzania, saw an opportunity for villagers near Masasi to increase their income. He encouraged them to weave palm crosses from the dried leaves of the dwarf palm. St. John's accepted the distribution ministry in 1976, and African Palms USA became its headquarters. The handwoven crosses are sold primarily through wholesalers to churches, schools, hospitals, prisons, bookstores, and church-goods distributors for Palm Sunday and other occasions. Net proceeds fund humanitarian grants in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa through partnerships with verifiable organizations.
Grants have supported clean and safe drinking water, education and schools, medical and health facilities, agriculture, and food. The ministry has also developed microloans intended to benefit people in the region. A palm cross made in a village can therefore help fund clean water, education, or care in that same region.
Community Work Beyond the Pantry
The wider Outreach Ministry coordinates coat and food drives, collects school supplies, and joins other local groups and churches in meeting basic needs. Its work has included hygiene kits for the Maryland Correction Institution for Women and support for orphaned children in Odessa, Ukraine through Universal Aid for Children, an organization providing health care, education, and emotional support. The parish also supports the United Thank Offering of The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion.
Clergy and Music Leadership
The Rev. Henry McQueen has served as rector since 2016. Before ordination, he completed an MBA, worked in the corporate world, and owned a business. He earned his Master of Divinity at Virginia Theological Seminary and has served in the dioceses of Central Pennsylvania, Southern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. His ministry emphasizes Anglican worship, the universal welcome to the table, and making room for people with different backgrounds within one parish.
The Rev. Shivaun Wilkinson has served as associate rector since 2019 and as chaplain for Northern Montgomery County since 2017. Her background in children, youth, and family ministry includes service in Palm Desert and the founding of a youth council in the San Diego Diocese. At St. John's, she emphasizes formation that carries faith through all seven days of the week, particularly through intergenerational household formation, Holy Households, and Vacation Bible School.
The Rev. Nancy Stockbridge arrived in 2021 and was ordained a deacon in 2022. After a career in education, corporate organizations, and nonprofit work, she answered a call to the diaconate. Her work focuses on outreach, and her faith includes prison ministry, migrant ministries, study, and contemplative practice. Micah 6:8, with its call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, is central to her ministry.
Ways to Serve Within the Parish
Worship ministries invite participation from children and adults. Acolytes, open to anyone in fourth grade or above, carry the crosses, candles, and other items in the procession and recession. Altar Guild members care for the altar, vestments, vessels, and linens, preparing the sanctuary for Eucharist, Baptisms, and Morning Prayer. Lectors read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms, and trained mature youth and adults may serve in that role. Ushers greet visitors, distribute programs, assist with seating and offerings, and guide people to and from the communion rail.
The Esther Deel Circle gathers once a month after the 10:30 service for knitting and crocheting. Members make prayer shawls for people grieving the loss of a loved one or living with illness and despair, and they make baptismal blankets that are blessed and presented at baptisms. Parish Life builds community through an annual parish picnic, pie auction, Advent and Epiphany dinners, and a pancake breakfast.
Women of St. John's, formerly the Monday Mission Society, is open to all women in the parish. It meets monthly in person and gathers for online Monday prayer at 7:00 p.m. each week. Members assist with parish events, send care packages to college students, bake and package baked goods for the National Cathedral Flower Show, and stuff eggs for the Easter egg hunt. The parish also coordinates volunteers through a Ministry Scheduler Pro platform.
Giving, Facilities, and the Shape of Parish Life
St. John's Episcopal Church is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Financial gifts can be made through secure online giving, and the church also accepts stock donations with a dedicated transfer process. The church makes its facilities available for rental and provides zero-waste guidance for rental events. It has also prepared liturgies and prayers for companion animals, from welcoming a new animal into a home to marking a final goodbye with gratitude for the animal's place in life.
Called by Christ in Love
Three commitments shape St. John's: inspire through Scripture and worship, build relationships of trust and prayer, and strive to serve beyond the walls. They connect the quiet 8:00 Eucharist with choir and handbell music, Sunday forums and household learning, the Episcopal school, pantry and refugee work, African Palms, and many volunteer ministries. St. John's in Olney is an Anglican parish rooted in 1842, serving its neighbors and connecting them across the world under its motto: Called by Christ in love, to live in truth and action.