St. John's Episcopal Church-Austin, TX / La Iglesia Episcopal de St. John - Austin, TX
ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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  • Main Menu
    • The Bridge Newsletter >
      • 2022 Archive - The Bridge
      • 2021 Archive - The Bridge
      • 2020 Archive - The Bridge
    • services >
      • sunday worship
      • baptism
      • confirmation >
        • membership
      • first communion
      • presentations
      • quinceañeras
      • marriage
      • funerals
      • Pet Blessing
    • ministries >
      • community garden
      • pastoral care
      • daughters of the king
      • farmer's market
      • alcoholics anonymous
      • overeaters anonymous
      • worship ministries
      • ushers and greeters
      • choir
    • learn with us >
      • sunday morning
      • Wednesday Evening
      • Cornerstone Literary Circle
      • Thursday Bible Study
      • Becoming Beloved Community >
        • Vestry Statement Against Racism
        • Black History Month
        • The Way of Love
        • Celebrating Juneteenth >
          • Celebrating Juneteenth - June 2
          • Celebrating Juneteenth - June 9
          • Celebrating Juneteenth - June 23
      • yoga
      • Youth Formation
    • Online Calendar
    • resources
    • stewardship >
      • stewardship faq
      • Online Giving
      • Electronic Banking
    • Zoom information
  • Info for Visitors
  • About St. John's
    • the episcopal church
    • accessibility
    • clergy
    • vestry >
      • Vestry Minutes
    • staff
    • history
    • yearly planner
    • 2023 Annual Parish Meeting >
      • 2023 Candidate Biographies
  • Photos
  • Holy Week 2023
  • News and Announcements
  • contact us
    • Prayer Requests
    • Flower Dedications
    • Donate to St. John's
  • español

History of St. John's Episcopal Church - Austin, Texas


The Reverend Malcolm Riker founded St. John’s Episcopal Church on December 8, 1960. The first congregation was a “home church” which met in a residence on Caddo Street approximately two miles east of the present site. St. John’s was one of the four “Gospel” churches that Father Riker started.

The church was welcomed into the Diocese of Texas as an organized mission at the annual church council held in February 1961. In 1963, a church building was erected at the present site on a street called “Pecusa” (for Protestant Episcopal Church, U.S.A.), which later became a part of the Parkfield Drive extension. The church grew from about 20 people to almost 80 by the time Father Riker left in 1964. In 1981 the Reverend Seth Deleery became the first full time vicar of St. John’s. Previous vicars of St. John’s – the Reverends Cooper, Jackson, Perry and Redmond – had been shared with other area churches.

In 1987 the fourth and most major structural addition to the original church building was undertaken. This last addition was completed under the leadership of the Reverend Murray Powell, who became vicar in 1984 and stayed at St. John’s until October of 1992. The Reverend Paul Taft became the 8th vicar of St. John’s in December 1992 and became St. John’s first rector when St. John’s became a parish at the annual church council held in Tyler in February 1995.

In February 1999, the Reverend Albert R. Rodriguez became the first priest St. John’s has chosen through a search committee. Under Father Al’s leadership, the congregation built a new worship space behind the original building. The new sanctuary was dedicated in September 2004, with Bishop Don Wimberly officiating. The original church building was remodeled to become the present parish hall.

Following Father Al’s retirement from St. John’s in December 2013, the Reverend Dr. Matthew Thomas Seddon joined the church as Priest-in-Charge in August 2014, and accepted the Vestry’s call to become St. John’s rector in November 2014. Fr. Matt accepted a call to a parish in Mexico City, Mexico, in October 2018.

In April 2019, the Reverend Ann McLemore joined St. John's as our Interim Rector.
Rev. Ann guided us through the search process for a new Rector and helped us navigate the shift to online and remote worship during the Covid19 Pandemic of 2020.


In January, 2021, the Reverend Minerva Camarena Skeith became the Fifth Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church!

READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
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View of St. John's from the corner of Parkfield and Braker Lane.
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The main entrance of St. John's church as seen from the parking lot.

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The original church building,
​now used as the Parish Hall
.

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The Annex building and platform

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​Download the St. John's 60th Anniversary Book of Memories, published in December, 2020 


One Year Later - A Retrospective on Worship at St. John's During the Pandemic

As part of acknowledging the one year anniversary since our last worship services in the Church building, we have written a retrospective to summarize the story of how our worship services at St. John’s evolved during the COVID19 pandemic. It is told through the various articles that were published in The Bridge newsletter or its predecessor blast emails starting on March 8, 2020. The articles are presented in the exact text that appeared in the newsletters.

Download the Retrospective in English

en Español 

 St. John's Episcopal Church
​11201 Parkfield Drive, Austin, TX 78758  ​(the corner of Parkfield Drive and Braker Lane)

P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX   78708-1493
512-580-0200 ​
 © St. John's Episcopal Church-Austin, Texas     ​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2016-2023

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