St. John's Episcopal Church - Parish Profile

Our Prayer for Transition

God of Love,

You are with us in every transition and change. As we enter into this new era with excitement and even some anxiety, we recall your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love.

We thank you for the gifts, talents, and skills with which you have blessed us. We thank you for the experiences that have brought us to this moment. We thank you for the work of others that gives breadth and depth to our own work. Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another. We ask this in your Holy Name.

Amen.

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 extended arms, friendly faces and open hearts The warmth of this welcome lets you know that we want this place to be YOUR 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, 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 beautiful mosaic that is the family of God. 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 all God's children begins " We invite you to join us!

An intro to St. John's

Where we've been, where we are, and where we hope to go...

St. John's was founded in 1953 to serve new neighborhoods that were being built in the Southeast hills of Huntington We are located within a 10 minute drive of downtown Huntington and only 20 minutes from the growing population of Barboursville and the areas east of Huntington.

Over St. John's nearly 70 years, we have proven to be a loving, accepting and resilient parish family. In times of transition or trauma, people have come together to support each other, explore where we find ourselves and commit to the time necessary to discern the best path forward In recent history, St John's suffered the shock of an intruder setting a blaze that caused significant damage in our Sanctuary. It became even more devastating when we learned of the young arsonist's difficult early life that led her to a place of hopelessness This event led the parish to a period of enhanced prayer and study to seek ways to become more aware of the mental health needs in our community -- especially of those in the foster care system -- and to find ways that we as individuals and a community could serve

You might be wondering why we have not called a Rector after nearly two and a half years. As we were beginning the discernment process that was to lead to calling our next Rector, the pandemic forced suspension of most in-person activities Much discussion and prayer led our Vestry to the decision that we could not, in good conscience, continue the process that would likely result in another parish losing pastoral support during that difficult time

We have done much work during this time to ensure that we have strong lay leadership and improved communication strategies in place to support the Discernment Process and prepare ourselves for a Rector who can lead us where we are called to serve in this day and time.

Who we are

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

Our Average Sunday Attendance in 2019 increased nearly 15%, despite the national trend of declining church attendance. Average Sunday Attendance in 2020 was not meaningful since we had only two months of in-person services due to the pandemic Our Sunday attendance has still not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but is slowly trending upward. In this regard, we see our statistics in line with national trends as we hover between 60 and 65% of our pre-pandemic levels. We continue to adjust to "regular churchgoers" being defined as those going as little as once a month Our challenge for the future will be how we continue to engage the 200+ on our rolls who consider themselves active members of our parish, but who we now 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 study and fellowship gatherings of all types. Our strong Lay Leadership was essential in navigating our season of virtual worship and community They will continue to be an integral part of revitalizing our in-person offerings, while maintaining our strong virtual presence

What we seek...

St. John's is a spiritually and socially engaged parish and we believe that everyone has a unique gift to offer. We value the ability to reach consensus over any system that creates winners and losers within the parish.

We seek a priest who has a sense of joy in liturgy and worship of all kinds and sees music and art as a means to enhance the worship experience. We hope that our Rector will be involved with the outreach and fellowship of the parish and active in the life of the community Listening is important to us! We seek someone who lovingly engages with those both inside our parish and in the community.

We desire a priest who is a thought-provoking homilist; someone who can clearly articulate the good news of the Gospels and their relevance in our day to day lives -- even when that takes us outside of our comfort zones

We want a priest who will walk with us on our journey, regardless of where we are; a priest who will respect the dignity and value of every person and bring an open-minded, passionate commitment to truth, inclusivity and the importance of each individual's spiritual journey -- someone who will work shoulder to shoulder with us in the hard work it takes to ensure that ALL are ALWAYS welcomed.

...and what we offer

We recognize and support the need for our priest to practice self-care and maintain healthy, loving connections with their family. It is our duty to protect that sacred time for our priest.

Continuing Education for clergy is a priority and we also understand the importance of time away to relax, recharge and renew. Our parish values an honest exchange of ideas and a strong partnership between the clergy and laity in leadership, spiritual formation, evangelism and outreach.

We look to our priest for vocational guidance of the laity and to recognize the particular gifts each parishioner has to offer to our parish, the larger church and our community. And it is our joy to pray for our priest!

Parish Development will be important to us as we continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic on parish participation and activities, so it is our pledge to work hand in hand with our next priest to discern both our parish goals and the path we will travel to reach them. Prior to each Vestry meeting, we pray for guidance and for wisdom. In praying for wisdom in discernment, we ask to be freed "from any bonds that tie us to our past, but hinder us in loving and serving in this time " We will strive to always keep an open mind to new ideas and forms of worship and keep "the way we've always done it" from hindering us in our ability to see where we are being led.

Our Worship

At St. John's we practice a traditional liturgical structure (primarily Rite II) that is infused with a sense of joy, and at times even 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 Rite I Morning Prayer for early risers, a Celtic Compline on Sunday evening and a Wednesday morning informal service of Morning Prayer

We encourage children to participate in the service -- whether thru Children's Time, special celebrations and processions or simply sitting on the bean bag chairs in the side balcony for a bird's eye view of the action!

We are also creating a digital library of on-demand slide shows to guide individuals through some of the less familiar spiritual practices such as the Anglican Rosary and Stations of the Cross.

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 also offering the hope our faith provides. The week before Christmas each year, we offer a "Service of Light 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 in public spaces) 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.

Out of necessity, our Covid response propelled us to a worship structure that was 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 become 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 how things have traditionally been done and more about how we can build more inclusively and deeper intention into our worship.

Our Music

The St John's Music Ministry is recognized as a Christ-ce musical offering to our church and beyond. Music is an im part of our corporate worship and the life of St. John's and a SINGING church. Parishioners sing out with joy on all music both traditional and "new!"

We indeed fortunate to have a Director of Music, Organist and Parish Life Director who hold advanced degrees in Conducting, Organ Performance, Collaborative Piano and/or Sacred Music. In conjunction with the Rector, this group carefully plans music for special events and services, primarily focused on supporting and reinforcing the theme and lessons of the day.

We were honored to have both our Director of Music and Organist serve in those same capacities for the Consecration of the 8th Bishop of West Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden. With a mass choir made up of churches throughout the Episcopal Diocese of WV, It was a day of glorious music befitting of the occasion!

Our choir is made up of enthusiastic and highly capable members of our parish and students of Marshall University. It is part of our mission share the love of sacred music by providing several choral scholarships each year to students from Marshall University. We are currently pursuing funds to create an Organ Scholar program at St. John's to help the next generation of keyboardists learn about the "King of Instruments!"

A bit about outreach

We believe that outreach can happen in many ways -- both formal and informal. It is about supporting our brothers and sisters regardless of what stage of life's journey they find themselves. 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 lease our first floor education wing to Early Head Start. We also sponsor various projects throughout the year that address specific needs that have been identified in the surrounding 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 Ours is the only baby pantry in the Huntington area, so it was important that we were able to continue serving the area during the pandemic. We initiated contactless pickup and delivery services to allow us to meet the need -- throughout the pandemic and the formula and diaper shortages that followed. In addition to families in our immediate neighborhood, we also serve babies and their caregivers in surrounding counties. Because transportation can be challenging for these families, we are exploring expansion of the program to include pickup locations in other areas of the Tri-state

Our Tri-State area has a significant homeless population. St. John's, in conjunction with our sister Episcopal Parishes and other churches, strive to provide services that help to make life just a little less difficult and a little safer for these, our brothers and sisters. We continue to expand these services as needs are identified.

Our Parish Life

Our life together at St. John's is important to us -- so much so that we have created the position of Parish Life Director. This allows us to more fully support outreach, fellowship, Christian Formation, community engagement and internal and external communications It takes many volunteers to support the parish activities and outreach and we want parishioners to feel joy and satisfaction (instead of frustration!) in serving the church and our community.

Just as outreach, care for our community and our world are important so, too, is the nourishment of our spirits. We come to the Church to be fed -- around the Eucharistic Table, the dinner table and the crafts table! We find strength in each other and learn from our diversity of backgrounds and ideas.

Throughout the pandemic, we tried to convert as many activities as possible to Zoom and assisted parishioners as needed in accessing those activities. As we resume more in-person fellowship, our challenge will be to remain mindful that we continue to have those who need to connect remotely with their parish family and provide meaningful access.

There are many ways to "connect" at St. John's: Our weekly Hook and Need Group, potlucks, our Greeting Card Ministry, receptions and party's for life's milestones (both big and small), Altar Guild, Coffee Hour, Friendly Feasts (for those who enjoy eating out), Grill Nights, Neighborhood Association activities, themed dinners (especially after Feast Days and major celebrations throughout the Church Year), All Hallow's Eve Witches Night and other seasonal events.

Our Building and Grounds

St. John's sits high in the Southeast Hills of Huntington at the corner of Washington Blvd. and Wallace Circle. The design and architecture of the church were chosen to be representative of Bruton Parish at Williamsburg. The's soaring, clear glass windows and cruciform floorplan provide an open, airy worship space. The acoustics of the building are some of the best in the city for speaking, singing and a variety of instrumental music.

Over the years, St. John's has taken steps to ensure that the church, parish hall and educational wing are accessible to all. Our Vestry is currently reviewing a plan to create a space in the Nave that will be more flexible and comfortable to allow those with accessibility issues or families with young children to feel fully integrated into our congregational space.

The church and the education wing, built in 1955 and 1968 respectively, have been well cared for but are in need of some preventive maintenance brought about by age. A group has been formed to assess the needs and provide a funding plan for those projects that will require capital expenditures in the coming years

The Schlicker pipe organ at St. John's was installed in 1973, rebuilt and updated in 2013 and cleaned in 2017 after the fire in the church. The instrument is well suited to the space and serves the parish well.

Stewardship

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

Jesus didn’t shy away from talking about money, so neither do we Many years ago St. John's was experiencing some lean years. We began to pray for our mission in the world and for "the resources, but spiritual and financial, to accomplish it." This petition, in one form or another, remains a regular part of our corporate prayer

Financial statements don't tell the whole story. Here at St. John’s, Stewardship seems to be an organic, year-round process. If we identify a specific need (for which there isn't a budget line item), we present the vision or the need to the parish and ask for help As a small to mid-sized parish, we never have a lot of “cushion.” But we have found through the years that (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 ” 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 can not

Financial Health: 2019-2022

Our Community

Huntington, one of the largest cities in West Virginia, is located on the Ohio River and is the seat of Cabell County.

One of the nation's first planned cities, the town was platted in 1869 by Collis P. Huntington, president oft the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) and was named in his honor Incorporated as a city in 1871, we are the proud home of Marshall University, home of the Thundering Herd.

Our town is a pleasant, safe place to live. Huntington's leaders a inventive and forwardthinking. Mayor Steve Williams has had a progressive agenda, as evidenced by the city's perfect score from the Human Rights Index for inclusivity and equal protection for all.

In addition, there has been impressive public and private investment in the business districts. Our downtown continues to grow and improve even -- in spite of the challenges of a pandemic. The city has successfully secured grants for projects which have resulted in highly visible community improvements: A new baseball field for Marshall University; mixed use commercial and residential projects targeting unused industrial property, and livability projects to improve roadways that accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

A quest to have Huntington designated as a "Tree City USA" was spearheaded by one of our St. John's parishioners. Huntington received this designation largely due to the large number of green spaces in the city, including Ritter, Rotary and Harris Riverfront Parks Within a few minutes of town, there is Beech Fork State Park with hiking, camping, fishing, and boating.

In terms of fun things to do, Huntington offers all sorts of leisure activities that rival cities twice its size. Our university town offers sporting events, festivals and performances yearround, with events scheduled every weekend during the summer months.

A town built on rich history with a brilliant arts scene and thriving food and shopping venues, Huntington is the center of activity in the Metro Valley and Tri-State area Our proximity to Lexington KY, Cincinnati OH, Columbus OH, Charleston WV, New River Gorge National Park, ski resorts and area state parks provides a wide range of activities with just a short drive.

Huntington by the numbers

According to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, Cabell County's population was 94,350, making it the fourth most populous county in West Virginia Huntington's population was 46,842 However, the region we serve as a parish is referred to locally as the “Tri-State area”, and colloquially as "Kyova." This region spans seven counties in the three states of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia with a population of 361,580. St. John's has members from all three states and six of the counties.

RACE

The racial demographics of Huntington are 85.3% white, 8.3% African American, 3.4% two or more races, 1.7% Asian, 1% Other and .3% Indigenous Peoples. Additionally, 1.9% of the population identifies as Hispanic

EDUCATION LEVEL

Among the adult population 25 years and over, 87.4% of Huntington residents have at least a high school degree or equivalent, 27.3% have a bachelor's degree and 11.9% have a graduate or professional degree

BY AGE

Huntington's population has the following age distribution:

OUR SCHOOLS

For the 2022 school year, there are 26 public schools serving 12,806 students in Cabell County School District. There are 2 high schools, 5 middle schools, 23 elementary, and 18 pre-K schools. This district's average test ranking is 8/10, with is in the top 30% of public schools in West Virginia