St. John's Episcopal Church
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Our History

St. John's Episcopal Church and Rectory

Built in 1911, St. John's Rectory was the first location in Jackson Hole to hold regular Episcopal services. In addition to Sunday services, the Rectory was used as a meeting place and social hall as well as a hostel so that ranchers and lodgers at dude ranches more than a day's travel away could stay overnight.

Through the years, St. John's Rectory was used as a community library, accommodated primary classes when the population in the valley began to grow, and established the first hospital in the valley, St. John's Hospital, which is now St. John's Medical Center.

Butch and Ed Robinson of Jackson built St. John's Chapel in 1916 using logs cut and cured by George and Clarence Blain, with finish work by master carpenter Raul A. Imeson.

The Chapel and Rectory were designed using the locally prevailing rustic style that was becoming popular for dude ranches and park structures. The church measures approximately 60 feet (18 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m), covered with an open log-trussed roof.

The Chapel of Transfiguration

The chapel was built to serve guests and employees of the dude ranches that stretched north of Jackson along the base of the Teton Range. The land was donated by Maud Noble, owner of nearby Menor's Ferry, predating the establishment of Grand Teton National Park in 1929 and its expansion into the Moose area in 1950. Construction materials, labor, and local ranchers provided funds.

The chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1980 and still holds regular Sunday Services.

Episcopal Church History

When Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine as a missionary to England in the year 597 AD, Augustine was astounded to find a fully developed Christian Church already there. Called “The Celtic Church”, this branch of Christianity had functioned for hundreds of years with no contact with Rome. (Sts. Patrick and Columba were famous members of this non-Roman Church.) Legend says that St. Joseph of Arimathea who built the first Christian Church on earth in Glastonbury, England established this non-Roman Church in the first century. Celtic Bishops attended the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.

In any case, the Church of England is practically as old as Christianity. In the 16th Century, the English Church hierarchy supported Henry VIII's political declaration that the Pope had no more jurisdiction in England.

The “English Reformation” was at its outset a purely political move. The same clergy and the same Churches simply continued as they had before, but without jurisdiction by the Pope. The Church of England did NOT undertake theological changes, as did the Continental Reformers. She continued with the same clergy, the same Sacraments, the same teachings as she always had.

During the history of the Church of England, there were high times and low times, with on-going theological debate and ritualistic struggles. At one point – during the rule of Bloody Mary (Henry's oldest daughter) – England returned for a brief time under the control of the Pope. At another time – during the non-monarchial rule of the Calvinist Protestant Oliver Cromwell – the Church of England's rites were actually outlawed in England. Nevertheless, through it all, the ancient and Catholic Church of England managed to survive and today, our Episcopal Church represents the American branch of that ancient Church. Unlike the Protestant Churches, our origins are not found in the 16th Century, but in the midst of the earliest centuries of Christianity. Hence, we are a Catholic Church in that we teach and practice the primitive Christian religion without the human additions of later years and we are a Reformed Church in that we reject the later additions made by the Roman Catholic Church (such as the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope).


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Holiday Service Schedule

Welcome to St. John's

Gender Equality

Stewardship


  • Dec 8 |  Second Sunday of …
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What's Happening with St. John's Episcopal Church Members

December 12, 2019 @ at 7:30 AM: Men's Breakfast Study Group

All men of the parish are invited to join together…
Learn More

December 12, 2019 @ at 12:00 PM: Women's Luncehon - Donnan Meeting Room

Join us for conversation and connection. We encour…
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December 12, 2019 @ at 5:30 PM: Evening Prayer

Please join us for an Evening Prayer service that…
Learn More

December 12, 2019 @ at 5:30 PM: Laundry Love

The Laundry Love initiative helps to wash the clot…
Learn More

December 12, 2019 @ at 6:30 PM: Thich Nhat Hanh Meditation

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual l…
Learn More

December 13, 2019 @ at 7:00 PM: GTMF Community Concert

GTMF presents Community Concerts the second Friday…
Learn More
Copyright © 2019 St. John's Episcopal Church · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy
PO Box 1690 (Mailing), 170 North Glenwood Street, Jackson, WY 83001 · (307) 733-2603
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Men's Breakfast Study Group

Thursday, December 12, 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

All men of the parish are invited to join together for discussion, fellowship and breakfast.

Get Directions

Women's Luncehon - Donnan Meeting Room

Thursday, December 12, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Join us for conversation and connection. We encourage you to put aside the demands and frenzy of the outside world.

Get Directions

Evening Prayer

Thursday, December 12, 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Please join us for an Evening Prayer service that includes readings, prayers and song. We will be in the Sanctuary on Thursdays at 5:30 pm.

Get Directions

Laundry Love

Thursday, December 12, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

The Laundry Love initiative helps to wash the clothes and bedding of the low income individuals and/or families throughout the US. Our community's is the second Thursday of each month at the Jackson Laundromat.

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Thich Nhat Hanh Meditation

Thursday, December 12, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world.

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GTMF Community Concert

Friday, December 13, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

GTMF presents Community Concerts the second Friday of each month from October to April at St. John’s Episcopal Church. These free concerts spotlight professional musicians who call the Mountain West their home and ensure that exhilarating classical music concerts are available in our community all year long.

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Service Times

Sundays Services: St. John's Chapel 8 AM and St. John's Church 10 AM

Christmas Eve Services: 12 Noon, 3:30 PM Family Pageant, 6 PM with Choir, 9 PM with Brass

For more information and the full Advent/Christmas schedule, see our Worship page.

In summer, services include Chapel of the Transfiguration 8 AM and 10 AM

Location

St. John's Episcopal Church
PO Box 1690 (Mailing)
170 North Glenwood Street
Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-2603

Contact Us