History of St. John's Church

St. John's was established in the same year the city of Stockton was founded -- 1850 -- serving a rapidly growing and somewhat rowdy town that was an important link between the San Francisco Bay area and the "mother lode," home of the California gold rush. It is the third oldest parish on the entire west coast. The Reverend Orlando Harriman was the first rector.

The parish was officially chartered as part the newly-constituted Diocese of California in 1858, by the great missionary bishop William Ingraham Kip. Land for a building in downtown Stockton was donated by the city's founder, Captain Charles Weber, at the corner of Miner Avenue and El Dorado Street. An attractive brick structure was erected during the 1860s. At that time, a pipe organ, built in Boston, was shipped "around the horn," through the Golden Gate, and in to Stockton's inland port, just a couple of blocks away from the church. The pipes from that organ are still in use.

St. John's grew steadily along with Stockton. Fifteen priests served as rector of the parish during its first fifty years -- one of them, the Reverend Elias Birdsall, three separate times! One of the interim rectors during the 1870s was the Reverend Dr. James Lloyd Breck, one of the great missionaries of the Church, and co-founder of two of our seminaries (Nashotah House and Seabury-Western). The lay leaders of St. John's were also leaders within the community, and among its most prominent families.

In 1889, the Nordic-style Guild Hall was constructed on Miner Avenue east of the church. Three years later the first church itself was razed and the present cruciform Norman-style building put up in its place. The stained glass from above the altar in the old church was moved to the new one and placed over the west door. It is the oldest stained glass in the San Joaquin Valley. Over the years, memorial windows in both the Victorian style (earth tones and pastels) and the older European style (bold reds, greens, and blues) have been gradually added. St. Margaret of Scotland filled the last vacant niche, in the west face of the lantern tower, in 1995.

The turn of the century brought with it a period of more stability in the clergy leadership of St. John's. The Reverend William Renison served as rector during the decade preceding the First World War, resigning only to accept a commission as an Army chaplain. Father Renison returned several years later, serving as an assistant during his retirement. In 1911, St. John's separated from California's "mother diocese," and became part of the newly formed Missionary District of San Joaquin. During the episcopate of Bishop Sumner Walters ('50s and '60s), the diocesan office was located in Stockton and St. John's served as de facto pro-Cathedral.

In the early 1950s, the vestry of St. John's made a conscious decision to remain located in downtown Stockton, even as the long slow decline of the central city had already begun. To that end, they purchased the next building to the east on Miner Avenue, which had been the showroom and office of Chase Chevrolet. In 1964, the Budget Shop was established in this space, providing bargain clothing and household goods to mostly lower-income shoppers in the inner city. Today, this is the vital outreach ministry of the parish, raising nearly $10,000 annually for local ministries and charities.

Over the years, St. John's has founded several parochial missions which have gone on to become parishes of the diocese: St. John the Baptist in Lodi, St. Anne's in the Lincoln Village area of north Stockton, St. Stephen's in west Stockton, St. Mark's in Tracy, and St. Mary's in Manteca. The 1990s have seen another re-commitment to downtown Stockton. When Chase Chevrolet made the decision in 1993 to re-locate to the new auto mall, the vestry stepped out in faith and borrowed the money to purchase the small showroom building on El Dorado, as well as the portion of the parking lot lying directly to the north of the church and Guild Hall. Just before her death in 1994, longtime parishioner Jane Raffety generously paid off the note on this property. In her honor, the building -- now housing parish offices and a conference room -- was dedicated as Raffety Hall on All Saints Day, 1995.

Before 1995 was over, even more real estate was unexpectedly acquired! Responding to overtures from the Chase family, the vestry negotiated to continue the tradition of taking over former Chase Chevrolet showrooms, this time adding the 15,000 square foot, one and a half story structure at the corner of Miner Avenue and Hunter Street, along with the adjacent 10,000 square foot parking lot. The property was deeded over to St. John's in return for the parish taking care of the necessary asbestos abatement. This gives us fully two-thirds of the city block bounded by Miner, El Dorado, Lindsay, and Hunter.
 

With a beautiful and well-maintained physical plant, adequate off-street parking, easy freeway access from anywhere in San Joaquin County, and having celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2000, St. John's is looking forward to the next 150 years of worship and service in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.