St. John & St. James Episcopal Church

     St. John's Episcopal Church was established as a mission of the Diocese of Missouri in 1904 as Sullivan grew and Episcopalians moved into the area. Regular services were held until the beginnWWII. The church was closed then so the Rev. O.V. Jackson, who also served Christ Church, Rolla could minister to troops at Ford Leonard Wood. It was reopened in the late '40's with the Rev. Paul Hebbeger of Trinity Episcopal Church in St. James as Vicar. Later Vicars were the Rev. Frank Maples, the Rev. John Langlitz, the Rev. Michael Ellis, the Rev. Thomas Smythe, Jr., and the Rev. James Armstrong. Another church, St. James, was built in St. Clair as the congregation grew. The Rev. Langlitz held the first service in St. Clair in December, 1956 and served both St. John & St. James.

      By the mid-60's, the original church on South Clark Avenue in Sullivan was no longer adequate for the congregation. It was quite small, had no running water or sanitary facilities and was heated in winter by a monster of an oil burner in the back of the church. (And of course, by that time, air conditioning had become something of a necessity as well.) A well-known St. Louis architect, Kurt Landsberg, was engaged to design a new church on North Church Street resulting in the award-winning building we still enjoy today.

      In 1974 the Rev. Richard Knudsen came and served faithfully until his retirement in 2000. Through the years membership declined as older members died and many younger ones left the area for better career opportunities. The decision was then made to merge the two churches. The Rev. Canon Thomas Doyle was sent by Bishop Rockwell to oversee the merger. The first service of the new congregation of St. John & St. James was held the first Sunday of Lent in 2001. A few months later the Rev. Canon Doyle became ill and retired. The Rev. Dr. Carol Wesley, who had come to the church as an intern for parish experience before her ordination, stepped into the breach and has since served us capably and with great enthusiasm.

     As we go forth into our second century, we begin our community gardening ministry, and look forward with confidence to fulfilling our mission of living our baptismal vows in the world and maintaining an Episcopal presence in the community. With God's help, we are proud to say that "we are small, but we are mighty!"      

                                                                                                                    Viola Bryant, Bishop's Warden