St. John UCC

St. John United Church of Christ is located on East Market Street, right in the middle of the art gallery scene. Shows are booked for the Parish Hall, which is the large structure west of the main church building.

Boasting two separate show areas, St. John is woefully under used. Relatively cheap to rent out, the venue is free of charge to anyone putting on a benefit show for a good cause. If looking into booking, check out the hall upstairs with the large stage and slanted floors even though it's a pain to get equipment up there.

Bands to play there:

Touring bands:

Wrong Day To Quit
Get Rad
Nakatomi Plaza

History

St. John was originally St. John's Evangelische, founded by young German immigrants in 1843. Present sanctuary was built in 1867 on a lumberyard which formerly occupied the present site. One of the Hill sisters, who authored the song "Happy Birthday," was the headmistress of the German school that operated in the Parish Hall, ca. 1897. The last sermon in German was preached there in 1941. The church has been reaching out to the arts community since the late 1990s.

The German Evangelical denomination merged with the German Reformed Church in the 1930s, then later with the Independent Christian Churches/Congregationalists in the 1950s to form the United Church of Christ, now considered the most liberal of mainstream Christian denominations. The UCC denomination, and the St. John congregation, is GLBT-friendly, admitting openly gay clergy.