John Carsten Harper

Background

John Harper was born on July 17, 1924, in Winthrop, Massachusetts. He was the son of an Episcopal minister, Ralph Harper, who served as rector of his parish for 40 years.

Education

John Harper attended Winthrop High School in 1942. He graduated from Harvard University in 1946 and earned his degree in divinity in 1953 from Episcopal Theological School (now Episcopal Divinity School), the same year he was ordained.

Career

During World War II, John Harper served in the United States Navy. After the war, he became an English teacher at Taft School, a private boys' school in Watertown, Connecticut. He was a curate in Providence, Rhode Island, in the early 1950s and a rector in Foxboro, Massachusetts, from 1954 to 1957 and in Bedford, New York, from 1957 to 1963. John became a rector of Saint John's Church in 1963, where he remained until his retirement in 1993.

While at Saint John's, John Harper preached to United States presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. More importantly, however, he transformed his church from a "social church," where Washington's elite went to pray and paid fees for renting pews, into a church that was much more involved in the community. John opened Saint John's Church to the public and created programs to help the poor and provide counseling to alcoholics and those with other problems. During the protests of the 1960s, he allowed Saint John's to be a refuge for those seeking shelter from teargas bombs.

Also, John Harper was a writer. He was the author of two books: Sunday: A Minister's Story and Fifty-two Windows on Lafayette Square.

Achievements

• John Harper was a well-known minister and writer. He came into prominence as the minister to eight different United States presidents. He also brought about reforms to Saint John's Episcopal Church national historical church that took it from a "social church" to a church of the people. As a writer, his works included Sunday: A Minister's Story and Fifty-two Windows on Lafayette Square.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Sunday: a minister's story 1974
  • Fifty-Two Windows On Lafayette Square 1978

Religion

John Harper considered that "the church does not exist merely for its members but those outside its walls."

Views

John Harper's goal was to draw the downtown church into the mainstream of city life.

Connections

John Harper was married to Barbara Quarles Harper. They had three children: Deborah Harper Hailey, Jeffrey Rhodes Harper, and Elizabeth Harper Danello.

Father:

Ralph M. Harper

Wife:

Barbara Quarles Harper

Daughter:

Deborah Harper Hailey

Son:

Jeffrey Rhodes Harper

Daughter:

Elizabeth Harper Danello