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Our Story

In many ways, St. John's is typical of a downtown "Episcopal parish" - and in other ways, unique and distinctly called by God in discipleship. 

Sharing Faith + Joined in Love + Christ-centered

St. John’s is located in downtown Elkhart on the corner of W Lexington Ave and 3rd. We are known by sight as the church with the red doors or the tower. We strive to live out our mission statement Sharing Faith + Joined in Love + Christ-centered. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are central to what we do making us Christ-centered. We are Sharing Faith through our actions and by telling others about our faith. “For God so loved the world” scriptures tell us and through Jesus we are Joined in Love.

St. John’s longest ministry other than worship and discipleship is our Food Pantry. The Food Pantry has served the community for over 30 years. Our clients refer to St. John’s as the downtown church. We added the Giving Tree to this ministry. The Giving Tree is a tree in our parking lot where clothing is hung up each week for the homeless to use.

St. John’s is committed to staying downtown and encouraging relationships with our community, both those living around the church, the businesses, and the larger community. We have previously been venues for Art Walk and the Elkhart Jazz Festival. We are looking for new ways to be involved post pandemic.

The Episcopal Church at large is committed to global ministry. We support students in Honduras and support Episcopal Relief and Development when disasters happen in the United States and around the world.

The Episcopal Church at large and St. John’s in particular supports communities and schools. Each year we collect school supplies for Beardsley Elementary School in Elkhart. For Christmas, we adopt families providing gifts and basic needs items like food.

As a Place of Worship

At the heart of St. John’s is a commitment to worship God and receive the Sacraments. We gather weekly for Sunday mass at 9am. Everyone is welcome to join us for worship whether you are baptized and are familiar with Jesus or you are new and interested in learning about Jesus. During the service you will experience the joy of singing along with the heavenly sound of the organ, you will hear readings from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Pastor shares a message using the scriptures, all baptized christians are invited to come forward for holy communion or a blessing for those who are not baptized yet, and the fellowship of those gathered. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to live our faith as shared in worship.

We are online. Our Sunday morning services are streamed live on our YouTube channel, stjohnsepiscopalelkhart or click here. Previous services are available to watch also.

Our Worship Space

The origin of our congregation begins in 1845.  The first church building was erected in 1873 on the present location of the northeastern corner of Lexington Ave and Third.  Inadequate for the needs of a growing parish, this building was moved.

The second and current building was completed in 1895 and has since become an identifiable landmark in downtown Elkhart. The church is built roughly on a cruciform or cross-like design, with the eyes directed to focus on the altar which is central in worship.  Some of the existing stained glass windows are original to the building. These windows are done in Tiffany Style stained glass. We have several other beautiful stained glass windows including a large window on the west side of the church. Jesus’ crucifixion is central in this window with God, the Father supporting the the arms of the Cross. Inside the sanctuary, your are surrounded by these beautiful windows and wonderful wood carvings. 

The sanctuary space was substantially altered in 1983 with the inclusion of a world class Casavant organ.  In recent years, St. John's works with organist and choral interns from the University of Notre Dame's Sacred Music Program. 

In 1953 the Parish Hall was erected on the eastern flank of the church building.  The Parish Hall included much needed office, classroom, and other utility spaces.  Since that time, the Chapel of Christ the King, the Common Room, the Theater Room, Food Pantry space, and the Choir Room emerged. The Chapel of Christ the King includes St. John's Columbarium (1992). 

To join us in worship you may enter the building through our main doors on W. Lexington Ave. The worship space, sanctuary is up a few stairs and then to the left. The building is handicap accessible with an elevator just inside the doors. An usher can help you with receiving a bulletin to follow during worship and direct you to the bathrooms. A guest registry is located just outside the sanctuary. Pastor Terri and Deacon Melissa greet worshipers as they leave the worship space. They would be glad to talk to you further about St. John’s and our faith. Connect with the Pastor through email.