Our History

Founding of St. Anne's

St. Anne’s Episcopal Church traces its roots back to 1939, when the first Episcopal service in Onslow County was held at the old Onslow Theater. Services later moved to the Pine Lodge and, by 1942, were held at a Methodist church. In 1943, St. Anne’s built its first dedicated church building and parish hall on Ward Darst Plaza, near downtown Jacksonville.

The church moved to its current location on Henderson Drive in 1959, with the buildings dedicated later that year. St. Anne’s has a long-standing reputation for community service, including the founding of the Parish Day School in 1958 (still in operation today) and past efforts such as a school for deaf children.

Under leadership like the Rev. Jim Cooke, the church played a pivotal role in launching Onslow Community Ministries, now Onslow Community Outreach, which includes a soup kitchen, shelter, and clinic. Today, St. Anne’s continues its mission of spiritual growth and service through partnerships like its Unseen Guest food pantry and support of the Episcopal Farmworkers’ Ministry and programs such as Angel Tree, Women’s Ministry, Spiritual Formation classes, and working with the St. Anne’s Day School. We are also active in the Diocese of East Carolina and the Trinity Deanery as we work with other Episcopal Churches to share God’s love.

St. Anne’s is an inclusive and welcoming worshipping community, deeply committed to outreach and Christian service. We are always striving to look forward to the future, discerning where God is leading us as we build on our legacy of faith, continue to grow spiritually, and seek to be of service to the Onslow County community.

Who was St. Anne?

St. Anne has an honored place in Christian history as the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus. St. Anne has come to symbolize a parent's dedication to his or her child's education and spiritual development. Anne was instrumental in building a foundation of faith and learning in her child Mary. In art, Anne is often depicted reading to Mary.

History tells us that when Mary was three years old, her parents, Anne and Joachim, presented her in the Temple in Jerusalem as a gift to her Lord. They wanted Mary to be close to God and at the center of learning.

Like St. Anne, the community of St. Anne’s Jacksonville is seeking to build a foundation of faith and learning in a grace-filled community.

Perhaps, it is not a coincidence that our founders chose Saint Anne as our namesake and that the parish day school has evolved into one of our most successful ministries. As an Episcopal school, St. Anne's Day School promotes learning that values both faith and reason. It seeks to nurture children through moral, spiritual, intellectual, creative, physical, and social development. Like Saint Anne, we realize that a child's education and spiritual development begin at an early age and build a foundation that will last a lifetime.

In Hebrew, Anne’s name is Hannah meaning grace, the gracious one, or the loving one. As a church, we invite you to join our community of faith here at St. Anne’s and to experience God’s grace in this place.