established in 1825

History of St. John’s Episcopal Church

St. John’s Episcopal Church has a colorful history.   It is said to have started because there were no more pews to rent at St. Paul’s or Trinity (currently a large downtown Episcopal cathedral and church, respectively).   St. John’s first building was at a Swan Street site in downtown Buffalo.   That site was later to become the location of the Hotel Buffalo.   Most recently it is the site of Sahlen Field, Buffalo’s professional baseball stadium.   

On the Fourth of July 1868 a rocket from fireworks set the church building on fire.   The fire destroyed all but the walls of the church.  Should the congregation rebuild the church or should they move to a more uptown location?   Trinity and St. Paul’s were within an easy walk of St. John’s.   The congregation split.   The downtown faction rebuilt the Swan Street building.   The uptown faction took the insurance money and formed a new parish, Christ Church, at Delaware and Tupper.    The uptown movement caught on.   In 1883 Trinity Church moved uptown and merged with Christ Church.   The current chapel at Trinity is the former Christ Church building.

In 1893 St. John’s decided to move further uptown.   The Colonial Circle location was chosen after dismissing an alternative site, once owned by St. John’s, at Symphony Circle, the current location of First Presbyterian Church.

The new church soon proved too small and an addition, increasing the size of the sanctuary, was built in 1909; another addition was constructed in 1920 to enlarge the parish hall facilities.   Finally, in 1925 the building of the current sanctuary commenced and it was completed and put to use in 1927.

History of Grace Episcopal Church

Grace Church began in 1825 in the Village of Black Rock.   At this early point the congregation worshiped in a building shared with the Presbyterians on Breckenridge Street (that building is still standing).   In about 1859 the people of Grace built their own church (now demolished) on Penfield and Niagara, and then constructed a church (1917) and parish hall (1911) on Lafayette and Congress.   Over this period Buffalo grew to absorb the Village of Black Rock, This was partly the result of the decision to make Buffalo, rather than Black Rock, the western terminus of the Erie Canal.   The Presbyterian congregation mentioned above is now organized as West Avenue Presbyterian Church in a building (1899) on West Avenue and West Ferry.

The Reverend John C. Ward, the rector at Grace Church from 1902 to 1921 was elected Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1921 and was consecrated at Grace Church on September 22, 1921.   Bishop Ward, a few days later (9/25/21), presided at the installation of the Reverend John Ner Borton as rector of Grace Church.   The chapel off the parish hall at St. John’s-Grace is furnished with items from Grace Church on Penfield Street, and it is called the Bishop Ward Chapel in memory of him.   When Richard Anderson became rector at Grace Church in 1968 there was a commitment made to the Bishop to experiment with using new liturgy and folk music.   The worship space was reconfigured to accommodate a freestanding altar at the crossing.   After more than two years the experience suggested that a more contemporary rendering of the Eucharist had failed to increase the membership at Grace Church. 

St. John’s-Grace

During the period of suburban expansion Grace and St. John’s suffered diminishing membership due to folks’ moving out of the city and into the suburbs.   The new residents were less likely to identify with these Episcopal churches in the neighborhood.    In 1971 St. John’s and Grace agreed to merge.   The marriage included people and financial assets which strengthened the merged congregation and, with the leadership of the Rev. Peter W. Bridgford, began to grow and develop into the open and welcoming congregation it is today.    The merger was not easy at first, but the diversity of membership has become a strength as people from all walks of life can find welcome here.