Introduction to St. John's, Huntington, WV

ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

3000 Washington Blvd.

Huntington, WV 25705 304.525.9105 stjohnshuntingtonwv.org facebook.com/stjohnshuntingtonw

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Welcome Welcome to St. John's! We are a mid-sized community parish in Huntington, WV -- the home of Marshall University, Marshall University School of Medicine and Mountwest Community & Technical College.

When you walk into our doors, we welcome you with open arms, friendly faces and open hearts. The warmth of this welcome reminds us that this is a place to worship and serve, to heal and to rejuvenate.

Our parishioners span the generations and are a diverse group in gender, sexuality, family type, socio-economic and education levels and more. You might find St. John's a little more progressive than average. We believe that you have a mind to use and ask questions, that Love is Love, Black Lives Matter, that science is not the enemy, that the immigrant and the refugee and the under-resourced are all part of this mosaic of God's family. In our baptismal covenant we are asked to "seek and serve Christ in all persons" and to "strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being." These are the guiding principles for our worship and service at St. John's.

Our mission is singular - To reach out to ALL God's people with love. Our vision is to follow Jesus' examples of loving service and radical hospitality to all people (no exceptions!).

Near the end of each Service, we are reminded that "as our Liturgy ends, our service to God's children begins." We invite you to join us!

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A little about St. John's

Like many churches, we find ourselves with the majority of our parishioners over the age of 55. However, we do have families with babies, young children and teens, and an active group of parishioners in their 30s and 40s.

Unlike many churches our size, our Average Sunday Attendance increased nearly 15% in 2019. Average Sunday Attendance in 2020 was not meaningful since we only had two months of in-person services due to the pandemic. Our Sunday attendance has still not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but is slowly increasing. In this regard, we see our statistics in line with national trends, hovering between 50 and 60% of our pre-pandemic levels. Also in keeping with national trends, we continue to adjust to "regular churchgoers" defined as those going as little as once a month. How do we continue to engage the 200+ on our rolls who consider themselves as active members of our parish, but we see with less frequency?

St. John's has strong Lay Leadership thanks, in part, to years of active Education for Ministry participation. As a community, we are curious and engaged. We value book studies, film discussions and fellowship gatherings of all types. Our strong Lay Leadership was vital in navigating our season of virtual worship and community and will continue to be as we revitalize our in-person offerings this year.

Our Worship

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Out of necessity, our Covid response propelled us to a structure that is more flexible and responsive to the needs of our members and the community. While already livestreaming prior to the pandemic closing our doors to in-person worship, we learned that we had to be more proactive in finding ways to reach both existing parishioners and seekers. We are committed to being open to experimentation with worship and outreach in new forms. We envision a future that is less about us and more about our neighbor.

At St. John's we practice a traditional liturgical structure (primarily Rite II) that is infused with joy and a sense of revelry. We recognize the value of ritual, but try not to take OURSELVES to seriously. We strive to leave room for wonder and mystery ...and even a little fun... by designing liturgies, music, visual arts and homilies that can be thought provoking long after the day's final dismissal. In addition to our primary service on Sunday morning, we also offer an early morning Rite I Morning Prayer, a Celtic Compline on Sunday evening and a Wednesday morning informal service of Morning Prayer.

We are a family of faith that worships together, prays together and plays together, but we also believe that grief cannot be ignored. We offer special liturgies and vigils to acknowledge those feelings, while simultaneously offering the hope our faith gives us. The week before Christmas each year, we offer a "Service for the Longest Night" (sometimes called Blue Christmas) to gather and acknowledge the emotional struggles the holiday brings for many.

Since 2018, we have offered regular prayer vigils (both in our Sanctuary and out in the community) to allow the community to gather in prayer after events ranging from deaths due to gun violence, the opioid epidemic and natural disasters to the war in Ukraine.

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A bit about Outreach We believe that outreach can happen in many ways -- both formal and informal -- and it is about supporting each other in whatever stage the journey finds us. In addition to formal, parish sponsored projects, many of our members are active volunteers in the community; from Red Cross, to Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, Faith in Action and more. Parishioners are encouraged to volunteer in ways they find most meaningful.

It is important to us to be civic minded and supportive of our community. Therefore, we welcome groups from AA, ALAnon, NA and Transgender Support to meet in our facilities and rent our first floor education wing to Early Head Start and host various project throughout the year that address specific needs in the community.

The Gabriel Project Baby Pantry at St. John's supports infants, toddlers and their caregivers by distributing diapers, wipes and formula to families and guardians of children from birth to 3 years. We also provide other baby necessities such as car seats, porta cribs, new or lightly used clothing and other baby necessities.

As the only baby pantry in the Huntington area, it was important to us that we were able to continue serving the area during the lock downs of the last years by implementing contactless pickup and delivery services.

In addition to families in our immediate neighborhood, we also serve families in surrounding counties. Because transportation can be challenging for these families, we are currently exploring expansion of the program to include pickup locations in other areas of the Tri-state.

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Stewardship As is the case in most churches, varying financial and social demographics require ongoing creativity around the discussion of Stewardship. While we have the traditional stewardship campaign that focuses on “time, talent, and treasure,” we try not to limit the discussion to a "once-a-year-and-forget-it" event.

While our operating expenses are covered by our annual budget and our Stewardship Campaign does tell what we have to work with, the budget doesn’t tell the whole story. Here at St. John’s, Stewardship seems to be an organic, year-round process. If there is a specific need we have found, when we lay out the vision or the need, that need is usually met. As a small to midsized Parish, we never have a lot of “cushion,” but have found (to paraphrase the Rolling Stones) “You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you'll find you get what you need.”

And since Jesus didn’t shy away from talking about money, neither do we. If there is a special need in the community or in the world, we request special gifts to help with that need. The needs of our neighbors are vast and love calls us to respond.

It goes without saying that we are extremely grateful for all the monetary support we receive from parishioners to keep the lights on and staff in place. But it is equally important to recognize the contributions our parishioners make to St. John’s that go beyond financial resources. Clearly, a church of our size relies on those who can give of their time and talents to fill the many roles that staff members do not.

Our Stewardship Campaign is underway with an ambitious goal to meet a $300,000 budget for 2.

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Financial Health:

3rd Qtr. 2022

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Financial Health:

2019 - 2021 (plus 2022 budget)

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Financial Health:

2019 - 2021, continued (plus 2022 budget)

Everybody needs a place to belong... ...make St. John's yours!

Contact Us: www.stjohnshuntingtonwv.org 304.633.1797 office@stjohnshuntingtonwv.org 3000 Washington Blvd., Huntington, WV 25701