Contributed by Evelyn Edson, President
Scottsville Museum
I have been happy to see the painters at work, refreshing the exterior of St. John’s Church with white paint. The church at the corner of Bird and Harrison Streets, was built in 1875 in the Episcopal Parish of St. Anne’s, replacing the original church from 1845, that had burned down in 1865.
St. Anne’s Parish was organized in 1745, and during British rule the Episcopal Church was “established,” meaning that it was supported by taxes and that everyone was required to attend, as was the case in England. After the Revolution, the Episcopal church was “disestablished,” other churches were allowed to flourish, and the parish fell on hard times. The parish began to revive with the building of Christ Church, Glendower, constructed in 1831, and St. Stephen’s Church in Esmont (1914).
St. John’s added a Parish Hall adjacent to the Church in 1952, which has served to house various community activities, Sunday school, a kindergarten, and most recently a meditative art exhibit, “The Mothers.”
Currently the Church hosts Celtic Evensong at 5 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month, as well as a weekly Thursday morning prayer service at 8 a.m. After the morning service, attendees adjourn to Baine’s for coffee and scones. Sunday services are held at Glendower. There will be a Christmas Service at St. John’s this year.
During Covid, all services were held on Zoom or outdoors at Glendower. The music director and organist is Cenie Re Sturm, who succeeded her mother, Cenie Moon, in that position. Sandy Schwartz is the parish administrator. There is no permanent pastor now, but the Rev. Ryan Lesh often presides over services.
When I last went by, one of the painters was in a cherry picker, painting the steeple. The architectural style is called Carpenter’s Gothic and features lovely decorative wooden trim. Stop by and admire the new paint job.
