A Parish at the Heart of Lynchburg
St. John's Episcopal Church stands at 205 Elmwood Avenue in Lynchburg, Virginia, a few blocks from the historic downtown and across the James River from the city's main residential streets. The congregation has worshipped on this corner since May 5, 1912, when a small group of Episcopalians gathered for the first service in a brand-new building. More than a century later, St. John's remains a family-friendly parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, known for its choir-led Sunday worship, an intergenerational program of formation, an active preschool, and a long list of hands-on outreach partnerships across the city. The parish describes itself as a welcoming, vibrant, loving and active community that shares Christ's love with each other and with the wider community.
Sunday Worship at 8:00 and 10:30
Two Sunday services anchor parish life. At 8:00 a.m., the church gathers for a quiet, contemplative service of Holy Eucharist with readings from Scripture, prayers, and a sermon. There is no music at the 8:00 service; the emphasis is on stillness and prayer.
At 10:30 a.m., the congregation assembles for the main Sunday service, a sung Holy Eucharist Rite II with the full choir and organ, a sermon, and prayers. The 10:30 service is livestreamed on YouTube, so members who are traveling, sick, or otherwise unable to attend can still join from home. During the program year, which runs from the Sunday after Labor Day through the Sunday before Memorial Day, the 10:30 service includes a children's chapel for children in kindergarten through third grade. After the children's hymn, they follow the cross to the chapel for an age-appropriate Bible story and worship, then return at the Peace to share communion with their families.
Children from birth through age three are welcomed in the church nursery from 9:20 a.m. through the close of the 10:30 service. The nursery is staffed by an attendant and assistants trained in Safeguarding God's Children, and is divided into an infant room with cribs and a separate toddler room.
Between the two Sunday services, from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m., teams of the Men of St. John's cook a full homemade breakfast in Magill Hall, a tradition that has been a fixture of parish life since the late 2000s. At 9:30 a.m., two parallel formation offerings begin: the Adult Forum and Chapel Chat, both running until 10:15 a.m. K-5 Sunday School meets at the same hour on the third floor, using the Whirl curriculum from Sparkhouse, while middle and high school youth gather for their own formation in the Chapter Room.
Midweek Prayer and the Daily Office
On Wednesdays at 12:10 p.m., the parish offers a thirty-minute Holy Eucharist in the chapel on Boston Avenue. The brief liturgy includes Scripture, a short sermon, prayer, and communion, often focused on a saint or feast day from the church calendar. Many parishioners slip in from work to take a breath in the middle of the week.
During the seasons of Advent and Lent, Morning Prayer is offered Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m. via Zoom. The parish draws on the Daily Office set out in the Book of Common Prayer, pairing the Eucharist and Daily Office with personal devotion as a threefold rule of prayer.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
Children, youth, and family ministries are coordinated by Lalla Sydnor Johnson, the Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries. The program serves every age from nursery through high school.
Nursery. Infants through age three are cared for each Sunday from 9:20 a.m. to the end of the 10:30 service by a paid attendant and trained volunteers in two rooms: one for infants with cribs, one for toddlers. Caregivers have been trained in Safeguarding God's Children.
Children (K-5). Sunday School for kindergarten through fifth grade meets from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. on the third floor during the program year, using the Whirl curriculum from Sparkhouse. A Children's Chapel, held during the children's hymn at the 10:30 service, offers children in K-3 a separate worship setting with an age-appropriate Bible story. New or nervous children are welcome to attend with a parent.
Youth. Middle and high school youth meet twice a month on Sunday evenings at 5:00 p.m. in the Youth House across Boston Avenue, with dinner unless otherwise noted. Sunday morning formation for youth runs from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. during the program year, where they dig into book topics, the gospel, and Bible study with the clergy. Many youth also serve as acolytes, choir members, and worship leaders at the 10:30 service.
Each summer the youth embark on a mission trip. Recent destinations have included Belize, the Navajo Nation, Salter Path in North Carolina, and Grace House on the Mountain in Appalachia. Throughout the year they take part in diocesan youth events, including retreats, trainings, summer camps, and day trips offered through the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.
A volunteer Children's Ministry Committee organizes seasonal events such as the St. Nicholas Day party on December 6, a Mardi Gras party, an Autumn Spooktacular, Parents Night Out, a Children's Christmas Pageant on Christmas Eve, Vacation Bible Nights, and summer gatherings. The Christmas Pageant, a highlight of the year, casts children from kindergarten through twelfth grade as angels, shepherds, animals, and the Holy Family, with costume fittings and rehearsals in the weeks before Christmas Eve.
St. John's Day School
The parish operates St. John's Day School, a preschool for children from age one through pre-kindergarten five, which the parish describes as its largest outreach ministry. Located in the parish buildings at 205 Elmwood Avenue, the school embraces children and invites them to love Christ, to love learning, and to love all people.
The Day School uses the Learning Without Tears curriculum, with a multi-sensory approach tailored to different learning styles. Students attend weekly chapel, weekly Spanish classes, and weekly music classes called Melody Makers, where they learn the fundamentals of music and key composers and put it all to work in Christmas and spring concerts. Other features include a school library and science center, a newly updated playground with soft turf designed for children age one to five, a low-technology environment that emphasizes hands-on play, and yearly events such as Halloween and Mardi Gras parades, Christmas and spring concerts, Grandparents Day, and a PreK graduation ceremony.
Classrooms are organized by age. The Toddler Class serves ages one and two with a 1:4 teacher ratio and includes Baby Doll Circle Time to build executive skills. The Caterpillars (ages two and three), Butterflies (ages three and four), Pre-K 4, and Pre-K 5 classes follow a similar daily rhythm of morning work, circle time, free play, small group activities, and outdoor play, with ratios ranging from 1:7 to 1:9. Schedules can be customized, with Early Arrival beginning at 7:30 a.m., regular hours from 9:00 a.m. to noon, Lunch Bunch extending to 2:00 p.m., and Extended Care running until 5:30 p.m.
Priority enrollment begins in January for currently enrolled families and members of St. John's, with open enrollment following in February on a first-come, first-served basis. Amy Panzer is the Director of the Day School, and families can reach her at amy@stjohnslynchburg.org or 434-846-1914.
Music Program and Choirs
Music is described by the parish as an important and exciting part of common life and a vibrant witness to the community at large. Peggy Haas Howell serves as Organist and Choirmaster, leading a program that spans adult, youth, and children's choirs and frequently welcomes guest instrumentalists.
The Parish Choir, composed of men and women of the parish, rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. It sings a wide repertoire - from medieval chant and Renaissance polyphony to Shaker music, African-American spirituals, and contemporary composers - and performs several concerts, evensongs, and special musical events through the year. Choir members describe the ensemble as a kind of additional family, a place where they are fed spiritually and musically.
Cantate, a community children's and youth choir of about twenty-five singers from second grade through high school, rehearses at St. John's and is directed by Peggy Howell with Elizabeth Wilkinson at the piano. The choir presents an annual spring concert and is supported in part by scholarships from the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation. Advent and Lenten Choirs for second-graders and older rehearse on Wednesday afternoons and sing during those church seasons, with the Advent Choir also taking part in the Christmas Eve pageant.
St. John's regularly hosts concerts open to the wider community, including recent performances such as "All Creatures Great and Small," "Glimpses of Paradise," and a Haunted Halloween concert.
Adult Formation and Small Groups
Spiritual formation is described as a central part of parish identity, with classes and groups designed to help members grow in faith and connect with one another.
Adult Forum meets on Sundays from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. between services during the program year. The class gathers for conversation and a teaching between the two Sunday liturgies, following the parish breakfast. Recent and ongoing series have included "The Story of Salvation" and book studies on works such as Beverly Roberts Gaventa's When in Romans.
Chapel Chat is a parallel Sunday morning offering in the Rogers Room, formerly the parish library. The group uses engaging peer presentations and discussion as a starting point for deeper conversation.
Wednesday Bible Study meets at 11:00 a.m. in the Chapter Room and again at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom, led by the clergy. Past series have included the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles.
The Women's Book Study meets on Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. The group reads books selected by consensus, focused on theological themes.
The George Bean Men's Discussion Group gathers on Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. in Magill Hall, reading and discussing books suggested by its members.
A Young Adults ministry is in development; those interested can reach out to the clergy for more information.
Sacred Ground, a ten-week film- and readings-based dialogue series on race grounded in faith, is offered periodically.
Newcomers Classes are offered at points during the year for those considering making St. John's their church home. Confirmation classes for young people in tenth through twelfth grade are offered in the spring in preparation for the bishop's annual visitation; adults are also confirmed, reaffirmed, or received into the Episcopal Church at the same liturgy.
Men of St. John's and the Men's Morning Meetup
Men play a long-standing and visible role in parish life. Teams of the Men of St. John's cook a full homemade breakfast for the parish each Sunday morning between services during the program year, a tradition begun under a previous rector and still going strong.
Wednesday mornings bring the Men's Morning Meetup, held from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. in the Parish House. Men from St. John's and across Lynchburg stop by for coffee and conversation. The group has an agenda but does not always follow it; all men are welcome to drop in for a few minutes or stay the whole time. Periodic special events include the annual Men and Boys Wild Game Dinner.
Outreach and Mission
Service is, in the parish's words, the heart and soul of who they are as members of God's holy family. St. John's supports a wide range of local, regional, and global mission partners, with an Outreach Committee that meets quarterly to coordinate parish-wide service events and ongoing opportunities.
Local partners include Lynchburg Grows, a greenhouse and urban agriculture initiative; Lynchburg Daily Bread; Habitat for Humanity; the Lynchburg Boys Home; Miriam's House, which serves women and families experiencing homelessness; the Miller Home for Girls; and Meals on Wheels. The Youth House on Boston Avenue is home to Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, an arrangement that has been part of parish life since the building was acquired in 1957.
The parish is a member of Interfaith Outreach, a Lynchburg-wide assistance association. It also partners with the diocese's ministry at Grace House on the Mountain in Appalachia for service trips, and supports Episcopal Relief and Development for international disaster response and long-term development.
Annual and ongoing service projects include Kids Haven, a center for grieving children, where St. John's hosts a Family Grief Support Night and provides meals; the Mustaches 4 Kids Lynchburg fundraiser each November, in which parishioners grow mustaches to raise money for local children's charities; Lenten and Advent mission collections; the Day of Sharing; and ongoing food drives for area agencies.
Youth and adults both take part in mission trips. Recent youth destinations have included Belize, the Navajo Nation, Salter Path in North Carolina, and Grace House on the Mountain. Adult mission trips are also offered periodically.
Cathy Dalton chairs the Outreach Committee and can be reached at daltonrc@lumos.net.
Sacraments and Pastoral Care
The parish marks many of life's milestones alongside its members. Baptisms are the rite of Christian initiation and the way newcomers formally join the church; both children and adults are baptized at St. John's. Those baptized in another tradition may be received into the Episcopal Church, and adults and older youth are confirmed, usually in the spring when the bishop visits.
Weddings are celebrated at St. John's when at least one member of the couple is a member of the parish or has a family connection to it. Couples interested in being married at the church are asked to contact the clergy.
Funerals are held at the church, and the parish operates a columbarium on the campus for those who wish to be interred there. To make funeral arrangements, members of the parish contact a member of the clergy or the Director of Administration.
Pastoral care is an active part of ministry. The clergy regularly visit parishioners who are sick or shut-in, and a lay team of Eucharistic Visitors brings communion to those at home. Each Sunday the community prays for those on the prayer list, the universal Church, the nation, the local community, those who suffer, and the departed. To add a name to the prayer list read in church, members call the parish office.
The Campus on Elmwood
The St. John's campus is a collection of buildings in the middle of Lynchburg that together support worship, formation, fellowship, and outreach. The main church, designed by architect Stanhope Johnson and completed in 1928, anchors the corner. Its chancel was enlarged and beautified in 1919, and over the years the parish has invested in repairs to address long-standing water intrusion problems.
Adjoining the church, the Parish House holds Magill Hall, where Sunday breakfasts and the George Bean Men's Discussion Group meet; the Rogers Room, renovated and now home to Chapel Chat; the Chapter Room, where Wednesday Bible study gathers; and additional classrooms. The Parish House was recently dedicated following a Phase III construction project, with its Sunshine Room, Cross, and drive blessed in a service that began with a combined liturgy in the church and ended with a joyful reception across the campus.
The chapel on Boston Avenue hosts the Wednesday midday Eucharist, and the Youth House across the street houses youth gatherings on one side and Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings on the other. The Fauber Gallery, adjacent to The Commons, is a bright space for local and regional art exhibits. Artists sell their work directly, with a portion of proceeds supporting the gallery and the parish's outreach mission. Curator Alex Sayer oversees the gallery.
A columbarium on the grounds provides a place for the interment of ashes, and the parish keeps a playground and outdoor spaces for children from the Day School and Sunday programs.
A Parish Rooted in Lynchburg
St. John's grew out of a meeting in February 1911, when a group of Episcopalians in the growing city of Lynchburg decided to raise funds and build support for a new parish. Just seven months later, the Reverend George Floyd Rogers accepted the call to be the first rector, and the building was completed the following spring. The first service was held on May 5, 1912.
In 1919 the parish added two wings to the parish hall and enlarged and beautified the chancel. As the congregation continued to grow, it was decided in 1926 to build a permanent church; the present sanctuary was designed by Stanhope Johnson and completed in 1928. The Great Depression left the parish in difficult financial straits, but the congregation weathered the years and welcomed the Reverend Robert Magill as the third rector in 1931.
In 1952 the parish added to the Parish Hall and started the original St. John's Day School, which operated for ten years. The Boston Avenue house that is now the Youth House and AA House was purchased in 1957 and expanded in 1960. The Reverend Frank Dunn arrived as rector in 1993; under his leadership the Day School was reopened and St. John's hired its first female priest, the Reverend Fran Stanford, as Assistant Rector.
The Reverend Michael Sullivan served as rector from 2007 to 2010 and introduced programs that remain vibrant today, including the Sunday breakfast teams and a photographic directory. The Reverend Bill Watson became rector in 2010 and led a significant capital campaign for repairs to address long-standing water intrusion in the church. The Reverend Chris Roussell became the parish's tenth rector in July 2019 and served faithfully for nearly six years before his sudden death on May 24, 2025. The Reverend Ken Ritter was welcomed as Interim Rector in September 2025.
Over the years, St. John's has been served by a number of female assistant rectors, including the Reverend Diane Vie and the Reverend Kim Glenn. The Reverend Ben Cowgill now serves as Associate Rector. The parish continues to thrive and grow through its many programs and outreach opportunities, working to share Christ's love with each other and with the wider Lynchburg community.