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Who We Are As A Church
St. John's History
The Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Ramsey, Rector
St. John's Staff
St. John's Vestry
St. John's is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, which is
a diocese of the Episcopal Church USA and a member of the worldwide
Anglican Communion. Within the Diocese we participate as a parish in
the Alewife Deanery.
Who We Are As A Church
A Brief Church History (written in preparation for the 125th anniversary
of the church in 2000):
For more than a hundred years Arlington Episcopalians have united in the service and worship of Almighty God in the congregation known as St. John's Church. On the afternoon of October 3, 1875, in response to the call from the Reverend Theodosius S. Tyng, Rector of St. James, Cambridge, sixty-five people attended the first Episcopal service in Arlington. In just over three months, on January 19, 1876, the organization of St. John's Church was completed.
Conditions were difficult at the start, since the country was in a period of depression following the panic of 1873. However, under the leadership of the Reverend David G. Haskins, who was elected the first rector at the January 19 meeting, a movement was soon started for a church building. Thanks largely to the energy and acquaintances of Mr. Haskins, contributions were secured, many from prominent Episcopalians in Boston and the vicinity. This effort resulted in the erection on Academy Street of the first parish edifice in 1877. Currently this building is the home of The Arlington Friends of the Drama. Architects Arland A. Dirlam and George W. Chickering designed the new church.
The life of the congregation in the twentieth century has been diverse, but is has largely centered on the particular areas of education and youth work, ecumenism, and outreach and service to the wider church.
As we enter the twenty-first century, St. John's prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary. This will be a far different century but perhaps not far removed from the mission spirit of the sixty-five persons who gathered in the Arlington Town Hall in 1875. Since those days, the parish has been served by its people, strengthened by its clergy, most notably the Reverend Robert McConnell Hatch, later Bishop of Western Massachusetts, and the Reverend Halsey I. Andrews for twenty-eight years, the longest rector to date. Our present rector, the Reverend Dr. Ronald Ramsey, began his ministry with us in January 1998 after a three-year search and interim period. St. John's has tried and succeeded in becoming a spiritual center for servants of the Lord. Individuals from many walks of life have brought their talents to St. John's where they have worked together to bring people closer to God's Kingdom today.
For more than a hundred years Arlington Episcopalians have united in the service and worship of Almighty God in the congregation known as St. John's Church. On the afternoon of October 3, 1875, in response to the call from the Reverend Theodosius S. Tyng, Rector of St. James, Cambridge, sixty-five people attended the first Episcopal service in Arlington. In just over three months, on January 19, 1876, the organization of St. John's Church was completed.
Conditions were difficult at the start, since the country was in a period of depression following the panic of 1873. However, under the leadership of the Reverend David G. Haskins, who was elected the first rector at the January 19 meeting, a movement was soon started for a church building. Thanks largely to the energy and acquaintances of Mr. Haskins, contributions were secured, many from prominent Episcopalians in Boston and the vicinity. This effort resulted in the erection on Academy Street of the first parish edifice in 1877. Currently this building is the home of The Arlington Friends of the Drama. Architects Arland A. Dirlam and George W. Chickering designed the new church.
The life of the congregation in the twentieth century has been diverse, but is has largely centered on the particular areas of education and youth work, ecumenism, and outreach and service to the wider church.
As we enter the twenty-first century, St. John's prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary. This will be a far different century but perhaps not far removed from the mission spirit of the sixty-five persons who gathered in the Arlington Town Hall in 1875. Since those days, the parish has been served by its people, strengthened by its clergy, most notably the Reverend Robert McConnell Hatch, later Bishop of Western Massachusetts, and the Reverend Halsey I. Andrews for twenty-eight years, the longest rector to date. Our present rector, the Reverend Dr. Ronald Ramsey, began his ministry with us in January 1998 after a three-year search and interim period. St. John's has tried and succeeded in becoming a spiritual center for servants of the Lord. Individuals from many walks of life have brought their talents to St. John's where they have worked together to bring people closer to God's Kingdom today.
St. John's Church History
Copyright 2012 Saint John's Episcopal Church
74 Pleasant Street
Arlington, Massachusetts 02476
74 Pleasant Street
Arlington, Massachusetts 02476
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and
every where to give thanks to you, Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
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Information from a 2000 publication of the Boston
Organ Club on the Church buildings and the pipe organs
of St. John's Church:
St. John's Church was established in 1876 as a mission of St. James' Parish in North Cambridge. Property at the corner of Academy and Maple streets was purchased a small frame church, designed at no charge by H.M. Upham of Boston, was opened for services on 21 October 1877. The building was raised, provided with a brick foundation, and enlarged with the addition of a "parish room" in 1892. In 1905, with an eye to the possible construction of a new church, the parish purchased the old Abel G. Peck mansion, which was used in the meantime as a parish house. The 1734 First Parish meetinghouse, which had been located since 1804 on Pleasant Street, on the corner of what was to become Lombard Road, had been moved father west on Pleasant Street in 1850 to make way for the Peck mansion. The ancient meetinghouse had been moved from its original location and converted to a private dwelling in 1804. In 1933, the 1850 Peck mansion was razed, and a new stone church was constructed on the site. The edifice was designed by Arland A. Dirlam, described by the Boston Evening Transcript as "a young architect whose ecclesiastical designs are attracting much attention." The first services in the new church were held 24 June 1934. The old building was sold to the Arlington Friends of the Drama, and is still used by that organization as of 2000.
The first organ used at St. John's was a Mason & Hamlin reed organ obtained in 1882. A Parish Meeting on Monday, 21 November 1898 considered "a proposition to erect an organ in the church." The plan met with favor, and the church was "closed for two Sundays, for painting, etc., and for the erection of an organ." In December 1898, the Arlington Advocate reported that "The organ about to be placed in St. John's church was built by Hook & Hastings. It has two manuals and pedal, eleven speaking stops and six mechanical registers, with a total of 455 pipes." The current St. John's Church organ was built in 1934 by M.P. Moller with a friend of the organist, Edward B. Gammons, consulting on the design. The organ cost $3,000 in 1934.
St. John's Church was established in 1876 as a mission of St. James' Parish in North Cambridge. Property at the corner of Academy and Maple streets was purchased a small frame church, designed at no charge by H.M. Upham of Boston, was opened for services on 21 October 1877. The building was raised, provided with a brick foundation, and enlarged with the addition of a "parish room" in 1892. In 1905, with an eye to the possible construction of a new church, the parish purchased the old Abel G. Peck mansion, which was used in the meantime as a parish house. The 1734 First Parish meetinghouse, which had been located since 1804 on Pleasant Street, on the corner of what was to become Lombard Road, had been moved father west on Pleasant Street in 1850 to make way for the Peck mansion. The ancient meetinghouse had been moved from its original location and converted to a private dwelling in 1804. In 1933, the 1850 Peck mansion was razed, and a new stone church was constructed on the site. The edifice was designed by Arland A. Dirlam, described by the Boston Evening Transcript as "a young architect whose ecclesiastical designs are attracting much attention." The first services in the new church were held 24 June 1934. The old building was sold to the Arlington Friends of the Drama, and is still used by that organization as of 2000.
The first organ used at St. John's was a Mason & Hamlin reed organ obtained in 1882. A Parish Meeting on Monday, 21 November 1898 considered "a proposition to erect an organ in the church." The plan met with favor, and the church was "closed for two Sundays, for painting, etc., and for the erection of an organ." In December 1898, the Arlington Advocate reported that "The organ about to be placed in St. John's church was built by Hook & Hastings. It has two manuals and pedal, eleven speaking stops and six mechanical registers, with a total of 455 pipes." The current St. John's Church organ was built in 1934 by M.P. Moller with a friend of the organist, Edward B. Gammons, consulting on the design. The organ cost $3,000 in 1934.
History of St. John's Organ