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.