Who we are
Saint John’s Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, located in Charlestown, a residential neighborhood of the city of Boston.
We are a multi-generational church, with active members in every decade of life from newborn infants to members in their 90s. One of the best parts of our life together is the opportunity for children, teenagers, young adults, new parents, experienced parents, retirees, and elders to build real relationships with one another and accompany one another through life.
Many of our members live in Charlestown and walk to church. Others come from Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Everett, Malden, Belmont, and Boston.
Whoever you are, and wherever you’re coming from, you belong here.
History
Saint John’s was founded in 1840 on the eve of a population boom in Charlestown. Preceded by diverse Christian denominations—Baptist, Universalist, Unitarian, Methodist, Roman Catholic and the First Congregational Church—Saint John’s became the town’s only Episcopalian congregation. Even though it is a relatively late addition to Charlestown’s religious landscape, Saint John’s stands today as the oldest extant church in town.
The first public Episcopal service in Charlestown was offered at Fuller’s Hall on the east side of the Town Square, (now known as City Square), on Sunday January 5th, 1840. The Chaplain of the Navy Yard, Reverend Nathaniel Bent of Philadelphia, led that service and became the first Rector shortly thereafter. The following month Articles of Association were drawn up and signed by approximately twenty-four representatives of about twenty founding families. The congregation was born and fundraising began in earnest to raise the necessary $10,000 to build a House of Worship. By the fall of that year a lot on Town Hill was purchased for $4,700. The cornerstone of the church was laid on May 5th 1841. On November 10th of the same year the finished church was consecrated.
Walk up Devens Street today and you will discover Saint John’s, a venerable old Episcopal church in the early Gothic Revival style, designed by architect, Richard Bond, (1797-1861), of Boston. The church is notable for its dark ashlar granite facade, quatrefoil windows and square, crenellated tower. The adjacent 1870s Carpenter Gothic stick-style chapel, designed by Ware and Van Brunt was lifted to allow the addition of a brick ground floor, thereby creating the current Parish House in 1901. It stands today as the finest Victorian building in the neighborhood.