About St. John the Baptist · Montague, Michigan
St. John the Baptist is a small Roman Catholic mission chapel in Claybanks Township, Oceana County, Michigan, whose mailing address falls within the Montague, MI 49437 ZIP code. Established in 1886 and perched on a hilltop surrounded by farmland, it is one of the oldest rural Catholic churches in the northwest corner of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Because it is a seasonal mission — clustered with St. James Parish in Montague and Our Lady of the Assumption in Rothbury — Mass is celebrated only on Sunday mornings during the summer months (late April through September 30), and the chapel is closed in winter. Despite its modest size, the chapel is treasured for its 1917 stained-glass windows, rare complete Victorian Stations of the Cross, and the historic parish cemetery that climbs up the hill beside it.
- Established
- 1886
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Rev. Peter Omogo
- Diocese
- Diocese of Grand Rapids (Northwest Lakeshore Deanery)
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist is a peaceful country chapel with deep roots — Mass has been said on that hilltop in Claybanks Township since 1886, and the stained glass, altars, and Stations of the Cross were all donated by the farming families who built the parish. Worshippers come for the 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass in summer (late April through September 30), the quiet setting, and the chance to belong to a tight-knit mission that is part of a three-parish cluster with St. James in Montague and Our Lady of the Assumption in Rothbury, sharing one pastor and one faith family across northwest Oceana County.
Mass times at St. John the Baptist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. (at St. James, Montague)
St. John the Baptist Mission, Claybanks
St. John the Baptist is a small Catholic mission chapel in rural Claybanks Township, Oceana County, Michigan — its physical address on South 50th Avenue uses the Montague, MI 49437 ZIP code. Established in 1886 according to the Diocese of Grand Rapids, it is one of the oldest Catholic worship sites in the northwest corner of the diocese and now operates as a seasonal mission: Sunday Mass is celebrated here only from late April through September 30, and the chapel is closed in winter. The mission is clustered with St. James Parish in Montague and Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Rothbury, sharing one pastor and sharing administration through St. James.
- Established: 1886
- Type: Mission (seasonal chapel)
- Diocese: Grand Rapids (Northwest Lakeshore Deanery)
- Clustered with St. James, Montague, and Our Lady of the Assumption, Rothbury
History of the Chapel
The hilltop on which the white clapboard chapel stands was donated to the parish by the Mills family, early settlers of Claybanks Township. They also gave the adjoining cemetery, where the same farming families — Millers, Kelleys, Ragers, Schillers, Deymans, Eilers, and others — have been buried for over 150 years. Civil War veterans, WWII nurses and a young man who died training for the front in World War I rest there. In 1917, the parish families funded eight stained-glass windows and two side altars; the windows carry the names of their sponsors, and the altars were given by Christopher and Margaret Rager and by Frank and Agnes Sowinski.
- 1886 — Chapel formally established (Diocese of Grand Rapids)
- 1917 — Eight stained-glass windows and two side altars installed, sponsored by parish families
- 1964 — Front addition to the church; entrance stained-glass window (Altar Society, 1917) removed
- Early 2000s — Entrance stained-glass window reinstalled during the last major renovation
- 2012 — Reorganized as a seasonal chapel of St. James, Montague under Bishop Walter Hurley's clustering plan
Architecture & Treasures
The building is a quintessential old-fashioned American country church — stark white, with a cupola-style steeple and belfry, sitting on a hill above rolling fields. Inside, eight 1917 stained-glass windows in geometric panels of spring green with diamond lattice and blue-violet borders line the nave; the bottom panels of each window carry a parish family name and can be propped open for ventilation. The chapel also holds a complete set of antique Victorian paintings of the 14 Stations of the Cross, encased in wood-carved frames — a cycle the Detroit Institute of Arts judged extraordinarily rare to find in its entirety with all original paintings. A re-installed stained-glass window now shines above the front entrance again, having returned home in the early 2000s after almost 40 years in storage.
- Cupola-style steeple and belfry
- Eight 1917 stained-glass windows (geometric green-and-violet)
- Two side altars sponsored by the Rager and Sowinski families
- Complete set of antique Victorian Stations of the Cross
- Re-installed 1917 entrance stained-glass window (Altar Society)
The Parish Cemetery
Climbing up the same hill as the church is St. John the Baptist Cemetery, the same age as the chapel and a gift of the Mills family. The oldest burials sit at the bottom of the hill; the congregation later terraced the slope to make room for a 'new' section higher up. Many large farm families are interred together, and the grounds include Civil War veterans, WWII nurses, and a WWI soldier who died in training. The Kessler family — descendants of the Mills — continue to care for the property, mowing, planting flowers and keeping the keys to the chapel.
- Land donated by the Mills family
- Same age as the chapel (c. 1870s–1886)
- Civil War, WWII and WWI-era graves
- Terraced 'new' section added up the hill from the original plots
Cluster & Leadership
St. John the Baptist Mission is officially clustered with St. James Parish in Montague (5149 Dowling St.) and Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Rothbury, sharing one pastor across the three communities. The Diocese of Grand Rapids lists Rev. Peter Omogo as pastor for St. John the Baptist. Day-to-day parish business — phone calls, mail, confessions — is handled through the St. James parish office.
- Pastor: Rev. Peter Omogo (per Diocese of Grand Rapids)
- Parish office / business address: 5149 Dowling St., Montague, MI 49437
- Phone: (231) 893-3085
- Fax: (231) 894-9929