Welcome to Penzance and to the Church of St. John the Baptist

The church has a broad tradition, Sunday Eucharist-centred. Vestments are worn.  Average Sunday attendance is 60 adults and up to 6 children in Junior Church.

Worship is relaxed in style combining modern and more traditional elements and includes lay led worship and Evensong once a month. Lay led worship is a significant feature. The Prayer Team offer personal ministry after the Sunday Eucharist and co-ordinate the ministry of healing across the Team Ministry including the quarterly Team Healing Service There is some ministry to tourists during the summer .

There is a fine well maintained pipe organ, a Yamaha Clavinova, and several musicians and singers who form a Music Group which makes a regular contribution to worship. A new Director of Music has just been appointed.

The congregation is a very mixed age group, with some families, mostly aged 30 and above. The social group is varied. Pastoral care is taken very seriously and a team of licensed Lay Pastoral Ministers assist in providing practical and personal support to those in particular need. Opportunities for learning together are a regular feature of the development of the life of the church.

The History of St. John's

On Tuesday 4th October 1881, the first lord Bishop of the newly created diocese of Truro, the Rt. Rev'd. Edward White Benson and Archdeacon Phillpotts consecrated St. John's they were joined by some 40 clergy and a large congregation.

The bell that calls parishioners to worship, is inscribed, "Peace and good neighbourhood 17131P". It was purchased for St. Mary's in 1665, then unused it was removed and taken to the Shambles Market where it was used as a fire bell until it was bought by Prebendry Hedgeland, he made a gift of it to St. John's.

St. John's did not escape the Second World War unscathed. In the early hours of 20th June 1941, an enemy plane dropped a stick of bombs across the parish. One landed in the garden in the east end of the church garden. The east window was badly damaged and two of the crosses were dislodged.

To celebrate the centenary of the church a booklet was published with a detailed history of these first 100 years. Copies of this booklet are still available from the church for anyone who is interested in a more in-depth historical record.

The Church was redecorated completely for the first time in 1975 and after thick coatings of dust were removed from the roof timbers it was found that they were as sound as the day they were put there. However there was a lack of pews in the main body of the church and a surplus of pews in both the north and south transepts, so in August 2001 a working party of parishioners and the present Vicar Larry Wright spent a week re-ordering the pews.

This left us with two new areas that have been transformed providing us with a new office and Vestry and a new Chapel dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi on the north side and an informal worship area on the south side. Which is used to house bands at civic festivals and less formal services held on the first Sunday evening of the month

The present Bishop of Truro the Rt. Rev'd Bill Ind, visited to bless the latest re-ordering of St. John's in February 2002, and dedicated the Franciscan chapel where we now hold our weekday Eucharist's.