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	The church building for St. Stephen’s, Columbus, was built in 1951. The parish is closing on June 28 because membership had dipped to only four people.

St. Stephen’s, Columbus, will close on June 28

By Melodie Woerman
Editor, The Harvest

A 60-year history of the Episcopal Church in the southeast Kansas town of Columbus will come to an end June 28 when St. Stephen’s conducts its last service.

The Rev. J.W. Stephenson, who has served the congregation since he was ordained 21 years ago, said the church’s membership had shrunk to a number that just couldn’t sustain operations. There have been about four people regularly attending services, he said, and they are aging.

“They could no longer keep the doors open,” he said.

The decision to close was made by the vestry, he said, which includes everyone who regularly attends church. It had been on people’s minds for a couple of years, Stephenson said, when they talked to Bishop Dean Wolfe about that prospect.

Stephenson said, “He told them, ‘You have been faithful for a lot of years, and you have the right to retire.’”

“They have tried hard for a long time,” Stephenson said.

St. Stephen’s was organized in 1949, following sporadic attempts to establish the Episcopal Church in Columbus that date back to the 1880s. Stephenson said since taking over leadership of St. Stephen’s in 1988, Sunday attendance had grown as high as 21, but death, moves and aging took their toll.

The church building, which was built in 1951, will revert to the ownership of the diocese.

Columbus, a town of about 3,400 people, is the county seat of Cherokee County, in far southeast Kansas. The nearest Episcopal churches are in Galena (about 13 miles), Pittsburg (20 miles) and Joplin, Mo. (25 miles).