The View From Plano Trabuco:

A Brief History of St. John Chrysostom Episcopal Church & School

Imagine St. John’s without an off-ramp. . .without the 241 Toll Road. . .even without a church building.

That’s precisely what a handful of visionary Episcopalians did 20 years ago when they began planning St. John’s Church and School. Just 30 were present in May 1986 when the Rev. Dr. Samuel D’Amico celebrated our church’s first Holy Eucharist in the community hall of Western Federal Savings and Loan in Mission Viejo. The congregation soon moved to de Portola Elementary School, where about 55 attended services each Sunday and spent countless hours planning a new institution that would one day be one of the most vibrant faith communities in Orange County.

Soon the founding individuals and families, supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, had raised enough funds to purchase six prime acres amid the 5,000 acres of Plano Trabuco, nestled in the lap of the Santa Ana mountains. From the beginning they had envisioned St. John’s both as a faith community and an educational institution serving students through the 8th grade. In the fall of 1988, 270 students were at work – and the people of St. John’s Church were worshipping – in a modular building on the newly-acquired site.

If you come to St. John’s, perhaps someone will tell you they’ve been a member “since the trailer.” They mean that the congregation used to worship in one of ten temporary units overlooking what would one day be the Foothill Transportation Corridor.

The Rev. Richard Harms was the first vicar, assisted by Dr. D’Amico and the Rev. Canon Ernest Sillers, celebrated for founding a number of Episcopal schools in southern California, including St. John’s, St. Mark’s in Downey, and St. Margaret’s in San Juan Capistrano.

The first phase of permanent construction soon followed. By early 1990 the School had 400 students and was expecting 820 by the middle of the decade. Eventually, the church began worshipping in the gymnasium of St. John’s School – hence the still-substantial cohort among us who’ve been here “since the gym.”

Upon Fr. Richard’s retirement in 1995, the Rev. Timothy L. Fountain was named vicar. James S. Lusby was appointed headmaster of the School in 1996. Under their leadership, church and school grew steadily. In 1998, staff and volunteers launched a capital campaign, culminating in the consecration of St. John’s Church and the School’s high-tech Enrichment Center in August 2003. The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno named the Rev. Canon John H. Taylor vicar in October 2004.

Today St. John’s – a mission church of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles -- continues its commitment to its nationally-noted, 775-student School as its largest outreach ministry. Our church is a welcoming, growing, Spirit-filled community committed to worship, prayer, and service in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, joyfully obeying his commandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.