St. John's Presbyterian Church has stood on the same stretch of West Bellfort Avenue in Houston's Westbury neighborhood since 1956. Across the parking lot from the fellowship hall stand four duplexes that house single-parent families, the visible fruit of a partnership that nearly tore the congregation apart. The buildings embody what the people at St. John's say they are about: a small Presbyterian congregation that takes "glorify God by making disciples and meeting human needs" as a working mission statement rather than wall decoration.
The duplexes came after a fight.
The Four Duplexes Across the Parking Lot
In 2013, Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services approached St. John's with a proposal. PCHAS had piloted a single-parent family program in Weatherford, Texas, providing stable housing for up to two years while parents completed education or job training, surrounded by financial literacy classes, parenting support, counseling, job placement, and spiritual formation. PCHAS wanted to expand to Houston. They needed land for four duplexes that would house seven single-parent families plus a full-time social worker.
St. John's had the land and a long relationship with PCHAS. The church already hosted PCHAS offices and supported several of its programs. After months of study, prayer, and debate, the Session voted to move forward in April 2013.
Then the neighborhood went to war.
The Meyerland Civic Improvement Association organized opposition. Signs went up around the area: "St. John's Presbyterian Church we want you but STOP PCHAS! Love your neighborhood!" About 80 form letters arrived at the church office. Members came out of worship to find anti-PCHAS flyers on their windshields. Someone hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on the Weatherford pilot. The investigator's report backfired: all but one of the police calls about the program came from residents calling about problems outside the facility.
Three women who were not members of St. John's stood up for the project. Lisa Gossett and Gerda Gomez, both Meyerland residents, attended every civic association meeting and challenged the fearmongering. Both eventually won seats on the MCIA board. Debra Tice, a Westbury resident and Catholic mother of a single-parent daughter, brought her daughter and granddaughter to an anti-PCHAS rally carrying signs in support. Other attendees told her, "You might want to leave. There could be trouble." She stayed. Her son, journalist James Foley, would be taken hostage in Syria two months later.
The opposition eventually faded. The duplexes opened in 2014. By the program's own measurement, the results over the next decade:
- 40 families supported
- 71 children kept with their parents
- 104 lives transformed
- 80% of families achieved financial stability
- 84% of children showed improved emotional health
- 83% reached personal goals in education, employment, or family bonding
- 100% satisfaction rate from parents and children
Members of St. John's volunteer with PCHAS families, watching children during parenting classes and Bible study, attending graduations and job celebrations, walking alongside families through every setback and success. The mothers in the program attend worship, join Bible studies, and serve on committees. The children show up at Vacation Bible School and become part of the wider church family.
"While we lost some members because of this, we gained some new ones because of it, and the fierce opposition brought the rest of us closer together than we had been in a long time," Ann Hardy, who served as Clerk of Session during the controversy, wrote later. Ann has been a member since 1987 and has served as elder, Sunday school teacher, and Clerk of Session across the years.
Anchor House and a Network of Quiet Mission
St. John's runs several mission partnerships that operate more quietly but no less seriously.
Anchor House began in 1994 when Eleanor Brown and Esther Bender started providing furnished apartments at well below market rates to out-of-town patients receiving long-term treatment at Houston's medical center. Sally Shaw and Dan Shaw took over in 1997. Today Sally Shaw, Marie Kutz, and Ann Hardy run the ministry. The apartments give cancer patients and others facing life-threatening illness a home while they navigate treatment in an unfamiliar city. "Joining with Sally Shaw and Marie Kutz in the Anchor House Ministry keeps me mindful how blessed my family was when my husband John was diagnosed with lymphoma," Ann writes.
Braes Interfaith Ministries (BIM) is a coalition of twelve southwest Houston congregations providing food, clothing, and job counseling to people in need. St. John's provides volunteers and a steady supply of fresh vegetables from its community garden to the BIM food pantry. Dr. Jack Westmoreland, a longtime St. John's member, was instrumental in BIM after his medical practice retirement.
The community garden has grown to roughly fifteen raised beds where members and neighbors grow vegetables together. The harvest feeds hundreds of families a week through BIM. The garden is a teaching space for the PCHAS residents, a quiet place for prayer, and a way to meet neighbors who might never otherwise walk through the church doors.
Houston International Seafarers' Center receives funds, supplies, and other resources from St. John's for recreational and religious programs for sea-weary sailors coming through the Port of Houston.
Lulwanda Children's Home in Uganda, an orphanage run by the Grace International Children's Foundation, receives donations from St. John's for food, clothing, books, and tuition. Members have traveled to Uganda to help develop school curriculum, train teachers, and support staff. Leonie Tchoconte has been on numerous mission trips and helped bring many people into the church through her enthusiasm for the work.
Living Waters for the World, a clean-water mission supported by St. John's, has sent teams to install water purification systems in communities without access to safe water.
The Faith in Action committee oversees these partnerships and runs an annual Holiday Gift Market each December where every dollar spent goes directly to mission work. A ten-year-old boy who sold painted ornaments knew his money would buy school supplies for children in Uganda.
Sunday Worship at 11 AM
Worship on Sunday morning at St. John's follows a traditional Presbyterian liturgy. The service starts at 11:00 AM and runs about an hour. The order of worship is familiar to anyone who has spent time in a mainline Protestant church: call to worship, opening hymn, prayer of confession, assurance of pardon, scripture readings from the Old and New Testaments, sermon, prayers of the people, offering, communion on the first Sunday of each month and on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Christmas Eve, closing hymn, benediction.
The sanctuary seats roughly 200 people and typically holds 50 to 75 worshipers on a given Sunday. The room was completely remodeled after Hurricane Harvey flooded the building in 2017. Stained glass windows catch the Houston sun, and the acoustics are good enough that professional musicians from around the city ask to perform there. Every spring the church hosts a Lenten Arts Series featuring string quartets, brass ensembles, and piano arrangements.
The Chancel Choir, directed by Music Director Mark Swindler, leads congregational singing from the chancel. Alina Klimaszewska, who holds a PhD in piano, accompanies on organ and piano. A Handbell Choir rings monthly under Mark's direction. A Children's Choir, led by a volunteer named Shirley, sings in worship regularly.
Hymns come from the Glory to God hymnal and include theological depth, drawing from centuries of Christian tradition alongside more contemporary pieces selected for substance rather than trend. The choir and musicians play at a level that would be at home in a much larger church, but the atmosphere stays conversational rather than performative. The service is worship for participants, not a show for spectators.
Communion is served the first Sunday of each month and at special services throughout the liturgical year. Ushers guide each row forward. Worshipers receive a small piece of bread and a small plastic cup of juice, partake at the front or return to their seats, and place their empty cups in bowls held by elders. Communion is open to anyone who trusts in Christ, regardless of church membership.
The sermon runs about fifteen minutes. Pastor Jon Burnham tries to connect the biblical text to real Houston life and to preach grace, justice, mercy, and costly discipleship without sugarcoating hard teachings.
Children's Church is offered during the worship hour for children second grade and younger. It meets in Building 2, the church office building, in the room nearest the sanctuary. A young adult church member who teaches in Houston public schools leads, joined by experienced volunteers who have taught the church's children for decades. Children are always welcome to remain with their parents in the sanctuary, where a rocking chair and small table at the back accommodate families with little ones.
After the service, the breezeway outside the sanctuary fills with conversation. Coffee is served, and people stay, talk, share prayer requests, plan meals for families in crisis. The lingering is part of the design. Visitors are introduced to people who will remember their name by the third visit.
Worship is also livestreamed each week, and services are archived for later viewing.
What Presbyterians Believe at St. John's
St. John's is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and sits within the New Covenant Presbytery, the regional body that ordains ministers, holds churches accountable, and coordinates shared mission across southeast Texas. Beyond the local congregation, St. John's relates to the PC(USA) General Assembly, which meets biennially to set denominational policy.
The congregation worships within the Reformed tradition, the stream of Protestant Christianity shaped by John Calvin in Geneva and John Knox in Scotland. Four core convictions shape everything that happens on Sunday morning.
God's sovereignty. Presbyterians believe God rules over all creation and human history. Suffering and chaos do not mean God has lost control. God's sovereignty is anchored in God's goodness, so Presbyterians do not read bad events as expressions of God's will. But they do believe God works through all circumstances, including painful ones, to accomplish redemptive purposes beyond what any single person can see.
Salvation by grace alone. No one earns God's favor through good works, religious effort, or moral striving. A person's standing before God depends entirely on what Christ has done on the cross and in the resurrection. The Christian life flows from gratitude for grace already received, not from a desire to rack up spiritual credit.
Scripture as the primary authority. The Bible is God's Word written and the foundation for faith and practice. Presbyterians take Scripture seriously enough to pay attention to genre and context, treating poetry as poetry and apocalyptic literature as apocalyptic literature. Sermons work carefully through biblical texts and do not use the Bible as a springboard for motivational talks.
The priesthood of all believers. Every Christian has direct access to God through Christ. No priest or pastor mediates between a believer and God. Pastors and elders teach, shepherd, and provide guidance, but they do not stand between people and the Almighty. This conviction shapes how St. John's operates. Members read Scripture personally, pray directly to God, and use their gifts in service. The church is not divided into clergy who do ministry and laity who receive ministry. Women serve as elders at St. John's because the PC(USA) recognizes the Holy Spirit's gifts without regard to gender.
Presbyterians recognize two sacraments because Jesus commanded two. Baptism marks God's covenant promise and welcomes both infants and adults into the body of Christ. The congregation joins the parents in vows to raise the child in faith. Communion is a means of grace, a real spiritual encounter with Christ, though Presbyterians do not teach that the bread and cup become Christ's physical body and blood.
Predestination and election are part of the Reformed inheritance. Presbyterians believe God chooses those who will be saved before the foundation of the world. The doctrine appears throughout Scripture, and St. John's takes it seriously without using it as a club. Everyone who trusts in Christ will be saved. No one who comes to Christ will be turned away. The gospel invitation goes to all people.
St. John's belongs to a denomination that takes positions on social and political issues some members celebrate and others find troubling, including the ordination of women and LGBTQ individuals, support for abortion rights in certain circumstances, and advocacy on climate change and immigration. Individual members hold diverse views. The church focuses on what unites the congregation: the authority of Scripture, salvation by grace through faith in Christ, and mission to neighbors in Jesus's name.
Studying Scripture Together
St. John's runs several ongoing Bible studies because members take seriously the conviction that Scripture, engaged consistently in community, shapes disciples over time.
The Sunday Lectionary Study meets at 9:30 AM in the education building and studies the passages that will be preached at the 11 AM worship. Members arrive, dig into the texts, ask questions, and form their own thoughts before they hear the sermon. The current series works through Kingdom Stewardship themes from the Sermon on the Mount.
A Sunday afternoon Book Study at 1:30 PM on Zoom tackles Christian books and topics needing sustained attention. Recent studies have included "The Way of Discernment" by Steve Doughty.
A Tuesday afternoon women's study meets at 1:30 PM on Zoom. Women in this group have been meeting for years. They work through Christian books and pray for each other through aging parents, difficult marriages, career pressures, health crises, and the long, complicated work of following Jesus in adult life.
A men's Bible study gathers every other Wednesday at 6:30 PM for what the men themselves call an intense one hour Bible study. They start and end on time. They read Scripture with focus, ask direct questions, and hold each other accountable. The men also work on practical service projects around the church building. Two of the church's elders, Bill and Mary, recently led the confirmation class, walking teenagers through Presbyterian beliefs and what it means to claim the faith for themselves.
The exercise class called Stay Young Stay Strong meets Tuesday and Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM in Room 209 of Building 2, based on Miriam E. Nelson's research-based strength training program. Beyond the workout, the regular attendance builds community: people learn each other's names, notice absences, and pray for each other.
Healing Hearts, a grief support group, meets on Mondays at 11 AM in the Prayer Room of Building 2 and on Wednesdays at 7 PM.
Children, Teens, and the Sunday School Room
Children's ministry starts with a child protection policy that defines children as anyone from birth to eighteen and covers every church activity where minors are present. Volunteers who work with children must have been active members for at least one year. Paid staff undergo criminal background checks. Two adults must always be present with children. All classroom doors have windows or split doors, or the door stays open.
The Sunday School meets during the 11 AM worship in Building 2. The teachers take children's questions seriously. When a six-year-old asks why God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the teachers do not deflect. They talk about it at a level the child can understand. Crafts reinforce what the children are learning rather than serving as entertainment.
The youth program at St. John's does not try to compete with the elaborate middle school and high school ministries at larger churches. There is no youth pastor or dedicated youth building. There is a small group of teenagers who know each other well, adult leaders who care about them as individuals, and a focus on mission work that gives them hands-on experience serving others. Through the New Covenant Presbytery, the teens participate in Youth Conclaves and other retreats where high school students lead sessions and help younger teens grow as disciples.
Confirmation class prepares teenagers to profess their faith for themselves. It involves wrestling with what they actually believe. Bill and Mary led the most recent confirmation class. The class met weekly for several months. When a teenager admitted they were not sure they believed in God anymore, the leaders did not panic. They met the doubt with patience and the kind of questions that lead toward deeper faith.
St. John's also sponsors Scout units. Girl Scout Troop 21174 and Troop 21151 and Boy Scout Pack 8 and Troop 688 meet in the church's Scout Room in Building One.
Music and the Sound of the Sanctuary
The music program at St. John's draws on the gifts of trained musicians who serve as part of the worshiping community rather than as performers.
Mark Swindler, the Music Director, is a graduate of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and brings years of experience directing choirs and worship music. He leads both the Chancel Choir, which sings on Sunday mornings, and the Handbell Choir, which rings monthly during worship.
Alina Klimaszewska accompanies the choir and plays organ and piano during worship. She holds a PhD in piano and combines advanced musical training with warm presence in the congregation.
The Chancel Choir rehearses on Wednesday nights at 7:30 PM and again at 10:00 AM on Sunday mornings. The Handbell Choir rehearses on Mondays at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. No special talent is necessary for either group.
The Children's Choir, under Shirley's leadership, shares its music in worship on a regular basis. All children are welcome.
Ushers, liturgists, scripture readers, and prayer leaders all serve as part of the worship. The priesthood of all believers finds practical expression in the way members lead different parts of the liturgy. A liturgist like Mary Gaber might read the prayer of confession one Sunday and an elder might read scripture the next.
Senior Adults and Friends United
Senior adults at St. John's gather monthly as St. John's Friends United, formerly known as Keenagers, for potluck meals, programs, and fellowship. Mahjong has been added to the monthly gatherings. Some members teach others how to play. The program portion might feature a guest speaker, a discussion of current events, or shared stories.
The group takes trips together, shares meals, and watches out for one another. When someone stops showing up, others notice and reach out. They are adults in their seventies, eighties, and nineties who refuse to be invisible.
Senior adults serve as elders, deacons, teachers, and mission volunteers. They work in the community garden, organize the food pantry, and visit homebound members. Many participate in Bible study groups that mix generations, and they say that cross-generational contact adds depth and perspective to their study of Scripture.
The Stay Young Stay Strong exercise class at 5:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays is built for adults who want to maintain strength, balance, and flexibility in later years. The class uses Miriam E. Nelson's research-based strength training program. Beyond the physical benefits, the twice-weekly gathering creates friendship and accountability.
The Sacred Calendar
The congregation at St. John's marks the church year through seasonal observances that bring members together around central Christian events.
On the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent, forty or fifty people show up for hanging of the greens. Boxes of greenery and poinsettias fill the sanctuary. Children help. Coffee brews. The older members teach the younger ones how to secure garland. The church prepares its sanctuary, and the community prepares its hearts, for the mystery of God becoming human.
Christmas Eve worship at 5:00 PM carries the same spirit forward with classical music, young adults reading Scripture, and candlelight that reminds the gathered congregation that light entered the world's darkness.
Lent brings Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday services, both with communion. The Lenten Arts Series each spring features string quartets, brass ensembles, and piano arrangements in the acoustically rich sanctuary.
Easter Sunday transforms the sanctuary from Lenten purple to white and gold. Easter lilies line the chancel. At the center stands the flower cross. Worshipers arrive with flowers from their gardens or stores and place them on the cross one by one. Barbara always brings roses from the bush her late husband planted. The Chen family brings orchids that remind them of their homeland. A child insists on dandelions because they are sunny like Easter. By the time worship begins, the cross has been transformed from instrument of death into symbol of new life.
When members die, the memorial services happen in the sanctuary and then move to McPhail Hall, where the Caring and Fellowship Committee has prepared food. Real plates, real silverware, and stories specific to the person who has died. Members of the congregation do not cluster in comfortable groups. They approach the family and share specific memories.
The annual Holiday Gift Market in December turns the fellowship hall into a marketplace where every dollar spent goes to mission work, with proceeds supporting the Lulwanda Children's Home in Uganda, PCHAS, and Braes Interfaith Ministries.
The People of St. John's
The Rev. Dr. Jon Burnham has served as pastor since August 2007. He brought advanced theological training and a contemplative bent shaped by many years of practicing Centering Prayer. He has published dozens of books on Christian spirituality, including works on stewardship, the Lord's Prayer, contemplative practice, the parables of Jesus, the role of angels in Scripture, and thoughtful faith in conversation with contemporary questions like artificial intelligence. Pastor Jon preaches, teaches, visits the sick, and walks alongside families through every transition the congregation faces.
Rev. Linda Herron rejoined the staff after years as a member with her husband Dan since 1977. She visits the sick, assists in worship, occasionally preaches, and helps in whatever way the pastor needs help.
Mark Swindler directs music with the skill of a Rice-trained musician. Alina Klimaszewska brings a PhD in piano and warm people skills to the organ and piano bench. Lupe Alvarado keeps the buildings clean and supplied.
The Session, the elected body of elders, governs the church alongside the pastor. Ann Hardy served as Clerk of Session during the PCHAS controversy and has been part of the congregation since 1987. She writes, "God has been very good to me! St. John's has been a gift of God to me."
Bill and Mary lead confirmation. Shirley leads the children's choir. Mary Gaber serves as a liturgist. Leonie Tchoconte coordinates mission travel. Sally Shaw, Dan Shaw, Marie Kutz, and Ann Hardy run Anchor House. Dr. Jack Westmoreland helped build the Braes Interfaith Ministries partnership. Tom, eighty-three, teaches teenagers how to hang garland properly. Marcus, ten, sells painted ornaments at the Holiday Gift Market to buy school supplies for children in Uganda.
St. John's belongs to the New Covenant Presbytery and through it to the Presbyterian Church (USA). The church holds to the PC(USA)'s historic confessions and submits to the broader church's accountability while remaining a particular congregation with its own story, voice, and call.
The mission of St. John's Presbyterian Church is to glorify God by making disciples and meeting human needs. The vision is to be a place of healing, compassion, grace, and love, where real people come and share authentically with each other.
Four duplexes sit across the parking lot. The garden grows vegetables. The choir sings. The session meets. Bible studies gather. The sanctuary holds worship. The community extends into a neighborhood that once protested and now mostly does not. New families move into the duplexes. Children grow up. People are buried from this building. New people walk through the door on a Sunday morning, are greeted by name, and discover that this small Presbyterian church in southwest Houston has been quietly building something larger than itself for nearly seventy years.