On Oct. 12, the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, will consecrate St. John’s Chapel. Built on Hanover Street on the East Side in 1839 for $4,000, St. John’s was Charleston’s second “free church” after St. Stephen’s on Anson Street. Worshippers, a mix of black and white, did not have to pay rent to sit in the pews.
The resurrection of the chapel, which has been dormant for much of the past half-century, was made possible by the determination and financial support of the diocese, which contributed about $900,000, and four thriving Episcopal parishes: St. Michael’s downtown, St. Andrew’s in Mount Pleasant, the Church of the Holy Cross on Sullivan’s Island and the Church of the Cross in Bluffton, which provided about $300,000. (The total cost of the project is about $2 million, according to church officials.)
The theme of St. John’s is “to bring uncomplicated worship to the East Side community,” and the focus is ministerial, the Rev. Dallas H. Wilson Jr. said.