It’s a 2-in-1 Celebration!
Let’s Celebrate the Community We Live In and the Church We Worship In Together
on Thursday, May 29th 

As the culminating act of our major effort and successful milestones of the capital campaign, which has raised $1,047,305 in pledges and contributions., we’d like to celebrate surpassing our initial goal by participating in the Ithaca Festival Parade AND hosting a parish-wide cook-out at St. John’s.

Our beloved choir will ride atop a decorated float, singing popular hymns, while the youth of our Church walk along side passing out goodies to the parade watchers. 

Our float is planned to resemble St. John’s Church with a series of windows on each side and pews for the choir. The windows will be constructed in the shape of our actual windows and be “pomped” with colorful tissue to resemble stained-glass. Parade participants are encouraged to purchase a t-shirt with a tongue-in-cheek modern expression “OMG” on the front and St. John’s gorgeous eagle logo on the crest while the youth pass out individual packets of tissue that say “God Bless You” along with worship times and a welcome to join our family.

So mark your calendar for this eventful and delightful day. We so look forward to the occasion and hope you will join us. Details and an e-vite to follow soon!


Dear Friends in Christ:

I strongly commend you for your prayerful consideration and enthusiastic support of our campaign, “Living our Faith, Sharing our Future”. It is exciting to know that our dreams and goals to renovate will serve not only our needs, but those of the community around us. You will be investing in the present and future needs of our congregation to welcome people and disciple them in the Christian faith.

I hope and pray that you will be generous givers with joyful hearts. With your participation, we can realize our goal.

We wish to thank each family/individual who has made their financial commitment to the “Living our Faith, Sharing our Future: Capital Campaign, which to date totals over $1,000,000 in pledges and contributions.

Each St. John’s family/individual will be contacted in the next few weeks by a fellow parish member for a personal visit regarding the Capital Campaign and the 2014 Annual Operating Budget Stewardship Pledge Drive. When a fellow member calls, we would be honored if you would say, “Yes” to the visit. These visits are enjoyable and important. The visit allows everyone an opportunity to be updated on our plans, to give input, and to ask questions in the privacy of your home.

If you would like your visit scheduled sooner than later, call or email our Capital Campaign consultant, Glendon Smith; you can get his contact information from the church office at 607-273-6532

Sincerely, Fr. Rich


Click the link Capital Campaign Testimonials to see what St John’s people have written about the 2014 Capital Campaign and what St John’s means to them.

Click the link Capital Campaign Visits to see what is involved in a Capital Campaign visit.


Press Release, Wednesday, March 5, 2014

MARDI GRAS FESTIVAL AT ST. JOHN’S: BEADS, BANGLES, AND PLEDGES

ITHACA, NY – Celebrating not only Mardi Gras but also great news about their capital fund drive, parishioners of St. John’s Episcopal Church, located at the corner of Cayuga and Buffalo streets, stepped out to “When the Saints Come Marchin’ In” on Tuesday night. Parading around the parish hall in outfits from holiday masks to feather boas, they rejoiced in the fun-filled finale preceding the commencement of Lent’s austerities. In his opening prayer the rector, Fr. Richard Towers, included the historic phrase: “Tomorrow we fast, today we feast!”

At the climax of the event, when the lucky token had been found in a cake and the selected king and queen had greeted their court, attention turned to the church’s capital campaign. Cheers rocked the hall when campaign leaders announced that more than $992,000 had been raised in pledges from the parish’s members. Clearly, the targeted total of $1 million could be reached — and likely exceeded –after completion of the remaining calls to parishioners. Necessary improvements to the church structure and hoped-for extensions to its mission programs could be expected beyond those listed in the campaign’s immediate objectives.

For the young and old members of the parish who attended, the feast of jambalaya and rice-with-beans ended with the drum-beating conclusion that St. John’s is on the march. The campaign’s motto – Living our Faith, Sharing our Future — is being realized as a creative force within the Ithaca community. Frigid weather and penitential days can only give counter-point to the push toward Easter and completion of the drive.

St. John’s Episcopal Church is one of the oldest churches in Ithaca, having been founded as an Episcopal Society in 1822, one year after the founding of the Town of Ithaca. It is home of Loaves and Fishes ministry that serves thousands of meals each year, and has a history of opposing racial segregation, establishing one of the first Christian education classes for mentally challenged adults, and in providing space for other faiths and congregations when needed including the Greek Orthodox Church and First Baptist Church.


Press Release, Monday, January 27, 2014

Despite cold weather, more than 100 members and friends of St. John’s Episcopal Church turned out and pitched in on Sunday, January 26, for a very special parish lunch. Its purpose was to initiate a fund-raising campaign for the renovation of their historic church building. Located on the corner of Cayuga and Buffalo Streets, the handsome Gothic structure, built in 1859-1860, stands on the site of the original church, built in 1824 – only four years after the founding of Ithaca. Not only a resonant space for Episcopal worship, the church has traditionally provided a home for a variety of in-city social service groups, including Loaves and Fishes. Appropriately, it was the volunteer staff of Loaves and Fishes that prepared and served the food for this kick-off event.

In keeping with the church’s history, the theme of St. John’s million-dollar campaign is: Living our Faith, Sharing our Future. The work to be done, including repair of the sanctuary roof and bolstering of ceiling trusses, will benefit not only the congregation, whose numbers continue to grow, but also the many organizations that meet under that roof. As evidence that the stated goal is within reach, former Senior Warden Lloyd Hall on behalf of the campaign’s steering committee announced the astonishing news that $690,000 had already been raised.

Contributing to the excitement of Sunday’s event, Pastor Richard Rose of the neighboring First Baptist Church delivered the main address. He emphasized the “vital place” that St. John’s holds in the community and the “phenomenal scope of its ministries.” Remarks were overheard that the lunch provided a “great chance for parishioners from all three of our worship times to pray and talk together.” St. John’s worship services are held at 8:00 and 10:30 AM on Sundays and 12:10 PM on Tuesdays.

The capital campaign, which is scheduled to wind up at the end of February, is being conducted in conjunction with the church’s regular annual appeal. It commenced with a series of focus groups in which the rector, the Rev. Richard A. Towers, asked parishioners, “What are your hopes and dreams for St. John’s?” Their answer is now clearly seen: to unite in prayer and to renovate the church so that, from this strengthened base, they can carry out existing and new missions within the Ithaca community.

For further information about St. John’s and its capital campaign, please call the church office at 607 273-6532