St. John's Episcopal Church

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak is a faith community of about 300 parishioners who come from all over the metropolitan Detroit area. We are diverse by age, ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, education and economic status. We are a welcoming and affirming parish. Everyone belongs!

St. John’s has a long history of outreach programs. Since 1984, we have been honored as a Jubilee Ministry Center- a designation from the wider Episcopal church that recognizes our outstanding outreach ministries to the larger community. All of our ministries are led by lay people, and everyone is welcome to get involved. Our signature outreach ministries are the New to You Resale Shop and the Open Hands Food Pantry. The Open Hands Garden provides fresh produce for Open Hands.

St. John's has programs for children and youth on Sunday mornings:
Meets during the 10:15am service: Godly Play age 4 – 8 Connect (tweens) age 9– 11
Meets immediately following the Eucharist at the 10:15am service: Youth Group I 6th - 8th grade Youth Group 11 9th- 12th grade

Our adult education includes Bible study, book discussions and other small groups. We also offer a weekly healing service and a meditation group. The building is host to many community programs and 12 step programs.

St. John’s began as a mission of the Episcopal Church in 1902 with the gathering of three families in the basement of the old Royal Oak school building at the corner of 4th and Williams Streets. In 1917, St. John’s gained its first full time clergy person and had its own building, a two-story wood frame structure. We grew, and by 1920, the year before Royal Oak formally became a city, we became a full parish. St. John's was in the forefront of racial equality, holding joint programs with St. Matthew’s African-American congregation in 1922. In 1923, the church purchased property at the corner of 11 Mile and Woodward and the first service in the new building was held in 1926. The Great Depression severely tested the parish and the building was almost lost to creditors, but the parishioners continued to run ministries for those in need. In the years before and during World War II, the parish held services for special intention for persecuted Jews, and after the war helped in the resettlement of war refugees. During the 1950s, a new education wing was built, and in 1958 our current worship space, featuring an open altar was completed. During the 1960s, when America was experiencing a dramatic transformation, St. John’s was in the forefront of peace, justice and protection of the environment. In the 1980s we also began and later expanded our ministries to the poor. St. John’s today continues its long tradition of commitment to social justice, outreach, diversity, inclusion, and positive change in the world.