Caprock Chronicles: St. John's United Methodist Church celebrates its heritage
Editor’s note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is Librarian Emeritus, TTU Libraries. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s article is by Cindy Martin a member of the Lubbock County Historical Commission, which would like to invite you to the dedication of a historical Marker for St. John’s United Methodist Church today at 11:30 a.m. The church is located across from Texas Tech at 1501 University Ave.
In the fall of 1939, the growing city of Lubbock had a population of 31,853. Texas Technological College, then 14 years old, boasted a record enrollment of 3,896. Lubbock was the home of two Methodist churches; First Methodist at Broadway and Avenue M and Asbury at 20th and Avenue T. Both churches were in the Northwest Conference of the Methodist Church.
Though the two churches were each only about a mile from the Texas Technological College campus, Methodist faculty and church conference leaders believed there was a need for a church closer to the school. The new church was chartered in 1939 and though initially called Highland Park, its name was quickly changed to St. John’s.
Preston Smith, who would become a charter member of the new church and much later Governor of Texas, was approached about lending the Tech Theater at College Avenue and 13th Street for services until a building could be built. The Rev. R. Luther Kirk was appointed to “the church that was not,” and the first service was held at the theater on Dec. 10, 1939, with about 65 people attending.
St. John’s continued to meet in the Tech Theater or occasionally in the Episcopal student center until a church at 14th and Avenue X was completed in September 1940. W.L. Bradshaw, who had also designed Lubbock High School, designed the new church and supervised its construction. The Spanish style stucco building with red tiled roof seated 250 in the main auditorium, which included Sunday School rooms that could be opened into the sanctuary for additional seating.
Over the next 10 years, St. John’s experienced tremendous growth. When church membership surpassed 1,000, in a building designed for 250, a visitor asked an usher how early he would have to arrive to sit where he could see the preacher.
The first services in a new 18,000-square-foot building at 15th Street and College Avenue on Sept. 21, 1951, were on folding chairs in the Fellowship Hall since the Sanctuary was not included in the initial building phase. Later building phases enlarged the church with the last major renovation of the sanctuary in 1991.
The music program has always been an important component of St. John’s. Dr. and Mrs. Sam Dunn donated an organ that had been in the original Lindsey Theater, which was refurbished and dedicated in 1946. Generous members established scholarships for Texas Tech music students to be part of the St. John’s Choir. Partnerships with Tech music students and professors continue, as many recitals and small concerts are held in the St. John’s sanctuary, which has excellent acoustics. An amazing Holtkamp tracker organ with 2,357 pipes was installed in 1991 and refurbished after a major fundraising activity in 2017.
From the beginning, St. John’s has been a congregation with a tremendous sense of civic responsibility and deep concern for those in need. In its 83 years, the church, through organized outreach efforts and the dedication of individual members with passion for a cause, has helped countless individuals and groups.
During World War II, church members were active in supporting the Red Cross and home front efforts. In 1946, member Daisy Godeke led a community coalition to build the city’s library. St. John’s assisted migrant workers in the 1950s and 1960s, and hosted health screening clinics in the 1960s and 1970s. The church accepted responsibility for a Vietnamese refugee family and extended family members. For many years St. John’s partnered with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in providing food vouchers and hygiene products weekly to families in need.
St. John’s members and groups have also promoted an interest and involvement in the arts. The church has always been used for musical concerts and recitals and through its Arts and Lectures Series has offered the Lubbock community the opportunity to hear renowned theologians, musicians, and lecturers. St. John’s slogan of “Open Hearts, Open Arms and Open Minds” has always extended to other community organizations. The church has sponsored Boy Scout Troop 406 for many years and allows many local groups the use of its facilities.
Through the years, St. John’s has faced many challenges, some internal and others in society and the denomination. Those challenges are ongoing and there will be more needs to be met and new avenues of suffering and happiness. One early church member noted that St. John’s was a “maverick” church whose members have a “loving energy.” Current church members are looking to meet the new challenges with a spiritual and social conscience as they open their hearts ever wider.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles: St. John's United Methodist Church celebrates its heritage
