The history of St. John the Evangelist is a convergence of two threads, the building and the congregation. The church building was built in 1823 as a Methodist meeting house and had been abandoned when it was purchased for the congregation in 1895 for $25. The congregation began meeting 1881, but the difficulties of getting a priest to come from Plymouth in winter meant interruption of services after the summer. In the early years Lucy Sprague Sampson was a driving force organizing a succession of priests, lay readers and meeting locations. The name of the church came from the Cowley Father's Mission Church in Boston. The Mission Church was called the Society of the Mission Priests of St. John the Evangelist (now at http://www.ssje.org/) and was located on Bowdoin St. Cowley Fathers were among the early preachers brought in by Miss Lucy.
The mission of St. John the Evangelist was organized on April 14, 1887 and continued as a mission until 1946. In the 1940s the town beganto change from a small and summer community to a suburban commuter town. The Rev. John Hatch Philbrick was the priest from 1940 to 1948 who oversaw the change from Mission to Parish of St. John the Evangelist in 1946. Since then we have had:
- 1949 - 1957 The Rev. William Stevens Anthony
- 1957 - 1967 The Rev. David John Siegenthaler
- 1968 - 1985 The Rev. Lewis Hartman Mills
- 1984 - 1987 The Rev. Paul Newman Taylor, Interim Priest
- 1987 - 2005 The Rev. Michael Joseph Marrone
- 2005-Present The Rev. William W. Eddy, Interim Priest
The history of St. John's reflects the character of the town and the historical changes that made it what it is. The source of this history is a fascinating pamphlet drawn from numerous sources, "History of The Parish of St. John The Evangelist, 1887 - 1987, Duxbury Massachusetts" and can be seen in the Parish office.
About our Parish Symbol
A Ship with a Cross:
Symbol of the Church bearing the Gospel to remind us of our call to witness in
the world. A Chalice: Symbol of St. John and of the Holy Communion to remind
us of the Saint whose name we bear and of the central act of Parish life. A Burning
Lamp: Symbol of St. John's reference to the Christ as "the true Light which enlightens every man" to remind us that membership in the Church and honor to St. John direct us to the Christ, the Lord of the Church, and the Light of His people.
The Eagle
The symbols of the
Evangelists: the Angel (St Matthew), the Lion (St Mark), the Eagle (St John)
and the Winged Bull (St Luke), are derived from Ezekiel's vision of four living
creatures (Ezekiel 1:10, also mentioned in Revelation 4:6-8). The eagle symbolizes
St. John the Evangelist because of his inspired witness to Jesus' divine nature;
his Gospel rises to the loftiest heights in describing the meaning of the Christ.
The eagle also refers to Isaiah 40:31: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
410 Washington Street P.O. Box 2893 Duxbury,
Massachusetts 02331-2893
Phone: (781) 934-6523 Fax: (781) 934-5488 Email: stjamy@comcast.net