In the 1840’s the population of the South Eastern end of Staten Island was very small.  The area known as Clifton was occupied by large landed gentry and opportunities for worship were limited.  The first suggestion about worship was that a “union church” be built which would serve all the various denominations.  This plan seemed impractical and since the Episcopalians were the largest and most influential group, it was agreed that an Episcopal Church would be built and it would join the diocese of New York. The agreement was that a pastor of “evangelical views” would be called as rector.

On September 23, 1843 a meeting was held at the residence of William B. Townsend for the purpose of organizing the parish.  Wardens and vestrymen were chosen.  All were men of prominence in the community and in larger affairs. 

The first services were held at the Clifton Hotel on Cliff Street but a steady increase in attendance revealed a need for a proper Church building.  Construction of a small Carpenter’s Gothic structure across the road from the present church was completed in 1843 and consecrated on March 30^th the following year.  It is of particular historical interest that the first child baptized in the church, was Cornelius

Vanderbilt and the first bride married there was Mrs. Sophia J. Torrance, the daughter of Commodore and Mrs. Vanderbilt.

The first rector, the Reverend Kingston Goddard, had served Emmanuel Church in Brooklyn and for three years he provided faithful pastoral leadership and eloquent preaching at St. John’s.  With his departure to become rector of a large Philadelphia parish, he nominated the Rev. Dr. Alexander Mercer who was then a professor at the University of Pennsylvania to be his successor.  He was unanimously elected rector by the vestry.  Ill health forced this brilliant preacher and thinker to retire after five years.  He was followed by Richard Abercrombie the scion of an illustrious family both in the States and in England.

Certainly no name is more associated with St. John’s Parish in the Nineteenth Century than the Rev. John C. Eccleston who was rector from 1856 to 1863 and again from 1867 to 1899.  His ministry at St. John’s spanned nearly half a century.  In his Jubilee sermon of December 31, 1893 he exhorted the parish not to rest on past achievement however grand or however weary they might be, but to press on to what remains to be done for realizing God’s Kingdom here on earth.  It is also worth noting in passing that his daughter Gertrude was Alice Austen’s best friend and she and Austin enjoyed many happy hours together at the rectory.

Bishop Horatio Potter laid the corner stone of the present church on November the tenth, 1869 and the church was consecrated on September 30, 1871. It was built in Victorian Gothic style with the exception of large clock tower and steeple that served as a landmark for ships entering New York Harbor.  At the close of World War I, St. John’s sexton, Frank Pfleging, welcomed each shipload of soldiers returning from the War by waving a flag from the steeple and ringing the fine bells of the church.

  In 1881 a rectory was built on the grounds.  It was a charming Victorian home, made of stone and cedar shingles with a rich piazza running across the back of the building. Later a legacy of $5,000 from the estate of the Rev. Dr. Mercer was the nucleus for building the Mercer Chapel.  This was the first Sunday school building and parish house.  All three buildings are reportedly the work of Arthur Gilman a noted 19^th Century architect who donated his services as well as a stained glass window as a memorial to his son. From Bay Street the three buildings presented a picturesque scene. 

Later, in 1911 a large hall, the John C. Eccleston Parish House, was added and until it was razed in 1998 served as center for Christian education as well as for social and community functions of all sorts.  There were classrooms, a large auditorium, kitchen, and later, even a basketball court.

In the 1950’s the church was redecorated by colorful decorations of blue, green, red and gold painted in the arches and at the heads of columns of the church

Most recently, in July of 2000, four new memorial stained-glass windows were added to the Church, which were designed and rendered, by Michael and Son, a venerable Staten Island institution.

One interesting aspect of the clerical leadership in the Twentieth Century was the length of their tenures.  Edward Dodd served from 1907 until 1920; William Pott served from 1920 to 1940; Albert Frost, 1940-1943; Alexander Frier, 1943-1960; Howard Bingley from 1961 to 1978, and John-Michael Crothers, 1978-1999.  Presently the rector is John Romig Johnson, who for many years was the William Augustus Hoffman Professor of Pastoral Theology at the General Theological Seminary. 

Today we are in a period of restoring our buildings, deepening our faith, and extending our witness to the wider community.  Since 1974 the church has been granted landmark status because it has “a special character, special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City.”  We are concerned both to honor our rich heritage as part of the historic Catholic Church and our new opportunity to serve Christ in the 21^st Century.

Social, demographic and economic changes in the 1970’s and 80’s hit St. John’s Church hard and for a time in 1973 the parish house had to be closed in the winter to save fuel costs. The parish house, the sexton’s cottage and the rector’s garage were all in appalling condition and presented the parish with an overwhelming financial burden that could not be ignored. Eventually through the efforts of the Wardens, Vestry and the then rector, Rev. John-Michael Crothers, a bold plan was conceived.  The old, dilapidated parish house was taken down and a new building began to be constructed.  This gave birth to Canterbury House, a moderate-income senior apartment building with lovely ground floor rooms for Church School classes, parish gatherings, and other social and religious occasions.  The building is a model for such facilities in the future and a major opportunity for ministry.

When Dr. Eccleston spoke at the Jubilee celebration of St. John’s Church on December 31, 1893, he chose as his text, Joshua 13:1.  “Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said to him, thou art old and stricken in years and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”  Eccleston argues that while the Israelites were weary and their zeal was flagging, God called them to fresh exertions.”  Dr. Eccleston’s point was that God will not let his people rest on past achievements, but calls them to new challenges and new fields of wider service for His purposes.  It seems that this dear old parish has struggled valiantly with a limited number of lay leaders and difficult hills of financial necessity to climb.  We, responding to God’s clarion call, have begun to identify this church as “none other than the house of God, the gate of heaven” and it is becoming a place of refreshment, peace and cheer for all of us.  We are deepening our devotion to our Lord and gaining inspiration and purpose to tackle the future under His guiding hand.

A thumbnail sketch like this does not do justice to the rich and varied programs, which this church has sponsored and directed over the many years of its life and ministry.  There have been large church schools, choirs and youth choirs, boy scouts and campfire girls, pageants and plays, basketball teams, altar guilds, and the Episcopal Church Women just to mention a few.