NORTHAMPTON — St. John’s Episcopal Church of Northampton will welcome a weekend celebration of its bicentennial and invite Northampton and state leaders to honor the church’s 200-year legacy.
The celebration will take place at the church on the weekend of Oct. 3-4. On Saturday, the church, located at 48 Elm St., will host an open house beginning at 3 p.m., which will be followed by remarks at 5 p.m. from several dignitaries, including Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, Manna Community Kitchen Executive Director Niki Lankowski and Bishop Miguelina Howell of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Mass.
On Sunday, a special bicentennial church service will take place at 10 a.m., featuring a sermon from special guest Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, the first Black woman elected diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church and a Smith College alumna.
The Rev. Anna Woofenden, rector of St. John’s, will preside at all events over the weekend.
“We continue forward in faithfully following Christ by being curious and asking the question: What does it mean to faithfully love our neighbor in this generation? We are committed to reimagining what it means to be church as a place of restorative justice, real healing and radical welcome,” Woofenden told Reminder Publishing of the milestone. “St. John’s is a beautiful ecosystem, committed to following in Jesus’ way of Love. It’s an honor to be the priest of this community at this time, as we look back and look forward.”
“Two hundred years is not only a milestone; it’s also an achievement,” said Kathy Whittemore, a member of St. John’s senior leadership team. “The church has really been a pivotal part of helping our neighbors in need in Northampton and acting as a place of worship where people can feel welcomed, healed and rejuvenated.”
St. John’s began as an Episcopal group meeting at Northampton City Hall in 1826. In 1829, the group founded a small church on Bridge Street and, as the congregation grew, built a new church in 1893 at its present location at 48 Elm St. next to Smith College. Ecclesiastical architect Robert W. Gibson designed the historic Romanesque Revival Church. George Bliss, a New York banker and Northampton native, funded the project.
Before Helen Hills Chapel opened, St. John’s served as the worship home for generations of Smith students.
“As we look back on our history, we are guided by the words carved over our sanctuary doors, ‘Given to Hospitality,’” said Woofenden. “These words have guided us through the generations to welcome Smith students who need a place to call home, to be the space for feeding programs and community support agencies to be housed, and to stand firm on our faith commitment that all people are beloved children of God and worthy of dignity, welcome and care.”
Over the last four decades, St. John’s has launched several Northampton organizations, including Manna Community Kitchen, the Northampton Survival Center, and most recently, the Trinity Room emergency freeze overflow shelter. In 2018, St. John’s undertook a significant building project to expand its capacity to serve the community, adding a commercial kitchen, elevator, showers, and laundry facilities to support Manna and its guests.
Manna Community Kitchen is a nonprofit in Northampton that has served meals and built community for 40 years. Manna provides a hot, nutritious lunch five days a week to anyone who needs one, along with a welcoming space where guests can access showers, laundry, mail resources and connections to other services. Lankowski told Reminder Publishing that Manna’s work is grounded in a simple idea that everyone deserves good food, dignity and a place where they are welcomed and treated with care.
“Manna’s work would not be possible if it were not for the radical generosity of St. John’s Church. Manna’s meals and Community Center bring up to 100 people through the doors on an average day, many of them with complex needs as they experience homelessness, mental health challenges and food insecurity,” Lankowski said. “St. John’s hospitality enables Manna to provide food, respite, access to medical care, essential supplies, showers, laundry and most importantly, a place to belong.”
Whittemore said that as an incubator for community organizations, St. John’s long and tangible commitment to social justice is how the church follows Christ’s call to “love our neighbor.” Whittemore added that through the church’s involvement in the Nourishing Beloved Community, a collaborative interfaith initiative that brings together local congregations and community members for mutual support, St. John’s bicentennial celebration is also a celebration for the community at large.
“The future is ecumenical, people working together to help the community,” Whittemore said. “We’re part of a faith community here that does a lot for the Northampton area. Some of which is seen and some of which is unseen, and I think people are not aware of just how much the churches are doing for our neighbors in need right now.”
That vision has brought together the congregation’s historic Episcopal commitment to respect the dignity of every human being, Whittemore added.
“While our bicentennial is a celebration of our history, it is also an invitation to imagine the next 200 years,” said Woofenden. “We are being faithful to the way of love when we open our doors, listen to the community and respond to what people need. That is what radical welcome means to us.”
Whittemore added that the church plans to grow and attract younger people. He said that, in a world filled with divisiveness and feelings of uncertainty, many are seeking refuge in faith.
“People look for meaning and solace, and perhaps tradition that’s been there all along, and one of those places people are looking for those things is St. John’s,” Whittemore said. “The public is welcome to the occasion. They’ll learn a lot about the history of the church but also see a very authentic, vibrant community that perhaps they’d like to be a part of.”
For more information on the upcoming bicentennial celebration or to learn more about St. John’s Episcopal Church of Northampton, visit www.stjohnsnorthampton.org.
