Harper Scholarship Fund

This scholarship fund was established by FOCCUS to honor the vision of the Revd Dr John C Harper, our founding chairman.

John Carsten Harper was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts and attended Harvard College, graduating in 1946 after a stint in the Navy. He taught at Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut for four years before deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps and enter the ministry. He graduated from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1953, married Barbara Quarles, and became a curate at Grace Church, Providence, Rhode Island. He then served as the rector of churches in Foxboro, Massachusetts and Bedford, New York, before he was called to be the thirteenth Rector of St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square in Washington, DC, often called “The Church of the Presidents.” This was where he would spend the bulk of his career, preaching, teaching and guiding his diverse flock for 30 years until his retirement in 1993. Dr. Harper received honorary degrees from George Washington University and Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary in Wisconsin.

Following his retirement, Dr Harper devoted his energy to raising funds in the United States for building the International Study Centre at Canterbury Cathedral. He was responsible for organizing the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral in the United States, FOCCUS, and was its first chairman. He died in 2002.

The JCH Scholarship Fund supports the participation of the seminarians and clergy in the scholars’ program, particularly those coming from developing countries. A full scholarship can be funded for a cost of $4,000.