St. John's Episcopal Church, in Clifton Springs, New York, is an Episcopal church founded in 1807. The parish is a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester.
History The official founding date is 1807, when a piece of land was given to the Episcopal community in Clifton Springs by Mr. John Shekel. A small, wooden structure was built in 1808, which became the First Episcopal Church of Clifton Springs. The building served as the worship home for the Episcopal community until around 1820, when, due to dwindling numbers, the congregation sold the building to the local Methodist community.
The Episcopal community gathered to worship in one another's homes until 1841, when the group grew too large, and a new building project was begun. The Second Episcopal Church of Clifton Springs was only in use for around 40 years, though, because in 1967, the current rector suggested a new edifice be built.
In 1879, the cornerstone was laid for the current St. John's structure. The building, made of Medina sandstone (from Medina, New York), was completed in 1883 and consecrated in 1884. In 2018, St. John's was inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame, which judges structures "based on their age, longevity, beauty and architectural uniqueness."
In 1967, St. John’s in Clifton Springs, St. John's in Phelps, and Trinity Mission in Shortsville were merged into one parish – St. John’s in Clifton Springs. Today, the church serves the villages of Clifton Springs, Phelps, Shortsville, and Manchester.
List of clergy
Davenport Phelps, 1807-1813 William A. Clark, 1811-1818 Orin Clark, 1811-1816 Alanson W. Welton, 1814-1821 Henry Onderdonk, 1817-1820 George Norton, 1818-1838 Virgil H. Barber, 1818 Erastus Spaulding, 1833-1854 Kendrick Metcalf, 1855-1864 William Gorham, 1858 George Gillespie, 1860-1861 Francis Russell, 1864-1866 William Edson, 1866-1883 George Le Boutillier, 1883-1886 Lewis Clover, 1887-1890 John Kinney, 1891-1893 John Banchet, 1894-1897 James Foster, 1898 Alexander McDuff, 1898 Frank Baum, 1989-1905 Louis Johnston, 1906-1908 Maskell Freeman, 1909-1916 W. Guy Raines, 1918-1923 Charles Purdy, 1924-1927 Irving McGrew, 1927-1936 Kenneth Frank Arnold, 1936-1938 H. John Van Duyne, 1959-1963 John J. Reinheimer, 1964-1971 James C. Wood, 1971-1972 Dustin P. Ordway, 1974-1977 Jasper Pennington, 1978-1980 Frank Howden, 1981-1993 Cristine V. Rockwell, 1994-1998 Thomas S. Gramley, 1999-2006 Denise Bennett, 2007-2014 Andrew VanBuren, 2015–2019 Donald Schranz, 2020–present
References
External links St. John's Episcopal Church Official Website Episcopal Diocese of Rochester