Welcome to The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, Milton, Delaware
Sunday School: God's Kids, 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Worship: 10:00 a.m.
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 441, Milton, Delaware 19968-0441
Street Address:
307 Federal Street, Milton, Delaware. This is in southern Delaware, in Sussex County, not far from Milford and Rehoboth Beach.
Office Phone:
(302) 684-8431
Senior Warden's Phone (Gary Lawrik):
(302) 684-1974
Directions: From Route 1, take Route 5 south and follow it down through the town of Milton and the church is located on the left side of the road at the top of the hill. Google map.
The mission of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ by thought, word and deed, and to demonstrate Christian life not only through the liturgy, but in our homes and in the community. Our members, especially our children, take an active role in leading worship.
Our Sunday School (God's Kids) follows the lectionary so the children are learning the same message that they will hear in church when they come in at the time of the Gospel.
St. John's is big on community outreach serving those in our community. We rejoice in fellowship while the fruits of our efforts go to serving the poor, the hungry, and others in need.
History: With expansion of settlement away from coastal areas in the early 18th century, there was a growing need for houses of worship to be located nearer to the homes of the settlers. In the spring of 1728, a frame chapel was constructed approximately two and one half miles west of the present church location. The effort was led by Rev. William Becket, a Church of England missionary, who reported that the building was located "in the forest of Sussex" and was named for St. John the Baptist. Despite attempts to sustain it, the declining condition of the structure, an insufficient number of clergy, and the economic and political turmoil of the times, resulted in the abandonment of the old church around 1800. After sporadic efforts to revive the congregation, the church was formally reestablished in 1867. The present building was completed in 1877, and consecrated by Bishop Alfred Lee in June of that year. It was extensively remodeled in 1936, when a veneer of brick was added to the exterior. The adjoining Parish Hall was completed in 1941. The church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.