St. John's Episcopal Church (Fayetteville, North Carolina)

St. John's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

is a congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina

Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina

The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina was formed on October 9, 1883 by action of the General Convention. It consists of the congregations of the Episcopal Church in the eastern portion of the state of North Carolina and forms part of Province 4 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of...

, a division of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Founded in 1817, it is located on Green Street in historic downtown Fayetteville. The congregation was formally organized April 7, 1817, and it became the first Episcopal church in the city. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. Public tours are available by appointment.

Organization

When the city was founded, Fayetteville's Episcopalian families had no congregation of their own. Because the town's population was mainly of Scottish descent, Episcopalians typically worshiped together with the Presbyterians. In 1816, John Winslow went to Wilmington

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

to consult the Rev. Dr. Bethell Judd, and the following year St. John's Episcopal Church was founded in Fayetteville. The Rev. Dr. Judd became the church's first rector.

Original church

The foundations of the original church building were laid in 1817 by the local chapter of the Masonic Order. The church had a single spire which housed the town clock, and the total cost was about $16,000. In 1831 the Great Fire destroyed the church building, along with hundreds of other historic downtown sites.

Current building and recent renovations

The current church was constructed in 1832. The main church, which has a seating capacity of over 400 people, features stained glass windows from Munich, Germany depicting Biblical scenes. The Chapel of the Beloved Disciple provides a more intimate setting for smaller services. In 1990, St. John's purchased the Kyle House, a 139-year-old home adjacent to the church which is often used for receptions, classes, and meetings. In 2002, the parish dedicated a building project which connected the original church structure to the Kyle House. The project also included the addition of a gymnasium, a pre-school facility, and an expanded fellowship hall.

Rectors

St. John's has had eighteen rectors since its organization.

The Rev. Bethel Judd (1817–1818)
The Rev. Gregory T. Bedell (1818–1822)
The Rev. William Hooper (1822–1824)
The Rev. Henry M. Mason (1825–1827)
The Rev. Philip B. Wiley (1828–1830)
The Rev. William G. H. Jones (1930-1831)
The Rev. Jarvis B. Buxton (1831–1851)
The Rev. Joseph Caldwell Huske (1851–1888)
The Rev. Thomas Atkinson, Jr. (1888–1893)
The Rev. Isaac Wayne Hughes (1894–1909)
The Rev. Charles Tyndall (1910–1912)
The Rev. Archie Boogher (1912–1938)
The Rev. Tate Young (1938–1942)
The Rev. J. F. Ferneyhough (1943–1954)
The Rev. Roscoe C. Hauser, Jr. (1954–1974)
The Rev. Robert L. Ladehoff (1974–1985)
The Rev. David M. Chamberlain (1987–2002)
The Rev. Louanne Mabry-Loch (2003–2007)

Worship

The Eucharist is always at the center of worship at St. John's. The church generally has a Broad Church

Broad church

Broad church is a term referring to latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England, in particular, and Anglicanism, in general. From this, the term is often used to refer to secular political organisations, meaning that they encompass a broad range of opinion.-Usage:After the terms high...

to High Church

High church

The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...

style of worship, with the vast majority of services following a formal, traditional format. Both the Rite I and the Rite II forms of worship from the Book of Common Prayer

Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...

are used. St. John's recently began a contemporary service on Wednesday evenings.

Preschool

St. John's also operates a nondenominational, Christian preschool for children ages 6 months through four years of age. The preschool is in its ninth year of operation.

External links

St. John's Episcopal Church website

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