The Canterbury Site: Our New Campus
"We've completed the first phase of building, and moved to the new campus, and this section tells the story of how we made the decision to move and carried it through. Glory be to God," Rev. Steve Ellis, June 21, 2009
The idea of relocating our ministry emerged at St. John’s in the early 1960s and was supported by our then Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Kilmer Myers. Even then, the congregation knew that growing on Depot Hill would be very limiting.
The attendance cycle at St. John’s has always been to grow and fall off, grow and fall off. It happened more than once during Larry Mikkelsen’s tenure as Rector, and we have seen it again with Steve Ellis as Rector. Although national as well as local research indicates that newcomers prefer to visit and join churches that are less than 75 percent full, our 9:00 a.m. service often exceeds 75 percent of capacity. Many congregants believe that despite dramatic local population growth over the past 40 years, our congregation has been unable to grow along with the community due to newcomer perceptions that our space is limited. Other factors contributed to the congregation's conclusion that a new, larger space was needed. (These factors are discused in the links below.)
We began to understand this problem in greater depth in the '80s, and finally admitted to ourselves that we could no longer be “The Little Church on Depot Hill.” We learned that most churches our size facing similar building limitations were unable to grow, and in fact usually died. In 1984 the Vestry’s Long Range Planning Committee reached the same conclusion reached in the '60s: The limitations of the Depot Hill site and facilities were too great for St. John’s to remain there and grow. At the 1985 Congregational Meeting, the congregation agreed it was time to act with the same courage and conviction as the original founders of St. John’s and authorized the Vestry to look for suitable property.
The Long Range Planning Committee was given the responsibility to find a future site for St. John's. The Committee visited many properties that held promise for us but were purchased before we could raise the money to make an offer. While we were looking at the Aptos Village project, a vacant property came on the market and we were able to partner with the Housing Authority to purchase the property we now call the Canterbury Site.
The links below allow you to explore in more depth various aspects of the Canterbury Site project:
Canterbury Site Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
Why We Are Moving (PDF)
What Will the New Church Look Like? (PDF)
Investing in Our Future (PDF)
Recognition Opportunities (PDF)
The Canterbury Blog (Under Construction)