History

Our People

Historically, St. John’s has served as the mother church for the Episcopal presence in the Kanawha Valley. Saint Luke’s (now St. Christopher) on Charleston’s West Side began as a mission of St. John’s in 1873, as did St. Matthew’s in South Hills in 1893 and St. James in North Charleston in 1896. In 1953, a number of families from St. John’s helped form All Saints in South Charleston, and in 1956 Saint John’s formed the Church of the Good Shepherd in the Kanawha City section of Charleston.

We have long been on the cutting edge of social outreach. Manna Meal, a soup kitchen feeding nearly 400 people two meals each day, was founded by Saint John’s in 1976 and still uses our facilities to cook their meals which are now served at the former Garnett building and across the city through their mobile food truck.

The parish has given birth to and continues to nurture many agencies that serve the community, including Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center, Covenant House, Charleston AIDS Network, Women’s Health Center, Kanawha Hospice, and Health Right.

We are a diverse family; welcoming all without regard to race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, economic condition, physical or mental ability or sexual orientation. We strive to live our statement of mission: We reach out to the world in Christ’s name in the hope that all might find a home in God’s healing love.

Our Buildings

St. John’s Episcopal Church was originally consecrated in 1837 as Kanawha Parish, occupying a brick building on the northwest corner of Virginia and McFarland Streets. After use during the civil war as a quartermaster depot by the Union army, the building was repaired and refurbished.  The only piece of furniture remaining from the first building is the credence table in the sanctuary of the present church.

By 1884, the need for a larger building was evident, and the efforts were started to raise the money and acquire the present location at the corner of Quarrier and Broad Streets, the latter now named Leon Sullivan Way. The current building, in Late Gothic Revival Style, was designed by the renowned architect Isaac Pursell of Philadelphia. Ground was broken on November 1, 1883; the cornerstone was laid on April 26, 1884, and the building was finally consecrated in 1901.

The parish house was built in 1928, the same year the E.M. Skinner Pipe Organ was installed. In 1989, the church and parish house buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2019 the Skinner Organ was completely restored, and three ranks of pipework were added. The historic stained-glass windows were cleaned and updated in 2021.

Learn more about the buildings of St. John’s on our Art & Architecture page.

Our Music

Music at St. John's has a colorful and diverse past. Read more about the history of our music program on our Music History page.

Rectors of St. John's

  • Charles H. Page 1822 - 1826

  • F. D. Goodwin 1831 - 1832

  • John B. Martin 1834 - 1839

  • The Rev. James Craik 1839 - 1844

  • The Rev. Henry Dana Ward 1845

  • The Rev. Francis M. Whittle 1847 - 1849

  • The Rev. Richard Templeman Brown 1850

  • The Rev. Thompson L. Smith 1854 - 1860

  • The Rev. W. F. M. Jacobs 1865 - 1866

  • The Rev. Joseph A. Nock 1867 - 1869

  • The Rev. Charles McK. Callaway 1870 - 1875

  • The Rev. Robert Addison Cobbs 1875 - 1887

  • The Rev. Dr. Robert Douglas Roller 1888 - 1918

  • The Rev. Dr. Albert Neilson Slayton 1918 - 1924

  • The Rev. Dr. John Glass 1925 - 1935

  • The Rev. Robert Heyburn Gamble 1936 - 1938

  • The Rev. Dr. Harry S. Longley, Jr. 1939 - 1951

  • The Rev. Clarence Alfred Cole 1952 - 1953

  • The Rev. Dr. Louis A. Haskell 1953 - 1962

  • The Rev. William S. Pregnall 1962 - 1966

  • The Rev. Thomas H. Morris 1967 - 1973

  • The Rev. Richard Schmidt (rector locum tenens) October 1973 - April 1974

  • The Rev. E. James Lewis 1974 - 1982

  • The Rev. Henry McLeod, III, The Rev. Mary Adelia McLeod 1983 - 1993

  • The Rev. Dr. Karl Ruttan 1994 - 2006

  • The Rev. David R. Hackett (interim rector) 2006 - 2008

  • The Rev. Susan Latimer 2008 - 2011

  • The Rev. Anne Lovejoy Johnson (acting rector) January 2012 - May 2012

  • The Rev. Michael Jupin (interim rector) May 2012 - November 2013

  • The Rev. Marquita L. Hutchens November 2014 - August 2019

  • The Rev. Canon Donald Vinson (interim rector) September 2019 - June 2020

  • The Rev. Michelle C. Boomgaard (priest in charge) October 2020 - September 2022

  • The Rev. Chris Thompson (interim rector) February 2023 - Present

Organizations That Have Called St. John’s Home

Alanon

Alcoholics Anonymous

American Civil Liberties Union

Appalachian People’s Service Organization

Boy Scouts

Brotherhood of St. Andrew

CAMC Family Resource Center

Charleston AIDS Network

Charleston Council for Drug Information

Charleston Interdenominational Council

on Social Concerns

Charleston Light Opera Guild

Chess Club

Children’s Theater

Church Periodical Club

Coal Branch Heights Housing Project

Coalition of Legislation for the Elderly

Community Chest (United Way)

Concerned Nurses

Council for Senior West Virginians

Covenant House Junior League Committee

Dominican Guild

Eighth Level Productions

Family Welfare Society

Girl Scouts

Headstart Kindergarten-Piedmont

Heifer Project

Hilltop Housing Association

Integrity

Over the years St. John’s has served as a midwife for many groups. Space was provided for free or for a small fee so that a new, vital group could get started. When a group gained community support, it moved out on its own. Some groups we have played a role in the founding, or establishing a local presence of include:

Job Corps Program and Teas Support Group

Junior Auxiliary

Juvenile Court

Kanawha Hospice Care

Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center

Kanawha Players

Kanawha Hospice Care

Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center

Keep a Child in School

Kindergarten for Children of Low Income Families

Ladies’ Aid Society

Lake Isabel Farming and Education Project

Legal Aid Society

Manna Meal

Meals on Wheels

Narcotics Anonymous

National Abortion Rights Action League

National Association of Social Workers

National Guild of St. Barnabas for Nurses

National Hospital Union

National Organization for Women

New Abolitionist Covenant (Nuclear Weapons Ban)

Parents Anonymous

Patriots for Peace

People Against War Preparation

Public Health Nurses Association

SAGA (Straight and Gay Alliance)

School of Religion

Services and Socials for the Deaf

SPEBSQSA Barbershop Singers

Spina Bifida Group

Spokes4Folks

Sponsor Companion Diocese of Tanzania

Sweet Adelines

The Family Welfare Association

The Parish Service League

Thrift Shop - Opportunity Shop

Vietnam Vets Operation Outreach

Watchful Circle of King’s Daughters

Weekly Kindergarten Mercer School

Women and Employment

Women for Peace

Women’s Health Center of WV

WV Health Right

WV Interfaith Refugee Ministry (WVIRM)