About Us

On December 27, 1834, the first religious service in the Lockport region was held by frontier pioneers and the founding members of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church. The church was received on June 7, 1841 as a duly organized parish by The Rt. Rev. Philander Chase, first bishop of the then Episcopal Diocese of Illinois.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the mid 1980s, the congregation launched  a massive renovation project. It has included the reclamation of four chancel arches, and a narthex arch which were covered over at the 1910 rebuild. In the late 1990's a new digital-pipe organ was installed on a balcony attached to the west wall. The reredos (the large wooden structure behind the altar), which had been removed prior to the 1909 fire, was discovered and returned to the church. It was restored to its pre-fire condition and is the only wood article in the building pre-dating the fire. Also air-conditioning was recently installed when the main furnaces were replaced.

 

The parish is now in the midst of a major building program which will provide community and fellowship space, meeting space, and much needed classroom space for the ever-growing church school program, as well as an auxiliary chapel, and garden area.

 

The parish has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. The congregation’s dedication to Scripture, Anglican tradition, and relevant ministry are to be admired and credited to its dynamic leadership. Offering joyful worship and sound spiritual direction, the congregation enjoys a strong  growing ministry and presence in the ever rapidly growing southwestern communities of Chicagoland.

St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church

Lockport, Illinois

Founded 1834

History of St. John’s, Lockport

Several blocks east of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1844 our first oak frame church was built. In 1870 our current structure became the congregation’s permanent home. A classic example of English Gothic Revival architecture, it was designed by P. N. Hartwell, a local architect and built using native yellow limestone by Julius Schreibe of Lockport. Fire gutted the church in 1909. Struggling to rebuild, it was re-dedicated in 1910.