By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
There’s not much left in St. Peter, Kansas.
At the intersection of two unpaved roads about 12 miles north of Interstate 70 in Graham County, the unincorporated town is home to only one business – a drilling company.
Even the Post Office closed almost 100 years ago.
But a few residents have hung on and still call the town home, many are descendants of the original Volga German settlers who first came to the area in the late 1800s.
Now the townspeople will gather Monday to discuss the fate of one of the last reminders of times gone by — a Catholic church that was the heart of the area, a place where townsfolk would gather in celebration, worship and mourning.
Outside of a few special occasions, St. Anthony’s Church has been quiet since 1999, when the last regular mass was held. Since then, the townspeople have chipped in to help take care of the property, but time has not been kind to the 70-year-old building.
It is in desperate need of a new roof. Water has seeped into the walls, ceiling tiles have fallen to the ground and gaps have formed around the stained glass windows.
Meeting to discuss the future of St. Anthony will be 7 p.m. Monday at the church.
It was in 1895 the congregation formed that would build the original church, with names now common to the area such as Brungardt, Billinger, Wasinger and Knoll.
Construction started in 1909 on the first permanent church building after one of the original town settlers, Peter Rome, donated the land on which the church still stands. It was dedicated a little over a year later. A school and rectory stood nearby, home to the local priest and nuns who served as teachers.
In 1949 a new church would be built in the same location with many of the original adornments moved into the new sanctuary from the old.
The school still stands, although heavily damaged. The original rectory remains as well and is now home to Winnie Kingsbury after being auctioned off by the Diocese in 2010.
“It was a vibrant center to this whole area, and it centered around this church,” she said. “It was a faith-based community and the church was everything to them. … They poured their hearts and souls into making sure that they had beautiful spiritual places.”
The church, she said, stands as a testament to those early settlers and what they valued.
“This community was built on the faith of the Catholic Church and the Catholic religion,” Kingsbury said.
Even now, the streets retain the names of Catholic saints.
She said the hope of the community seems to be that at some point a priest would once again regularly return for mass and the Salina Diocese will work to preserve the building.
And an outpouring of support on social media shows interest in saving the building from families who combine their own personal histories into the story of St. Anthony’s and the town of St. Peter.
But many no longer live in the area, and the population of St. Peter is – like many in western Kansas – an aging one.
While she said everyone kicks in as much as they can, the building needs substantial work that will take significant time and money.
“I know everybody has the same feeling out here. They love that church, and they don’t want to see it go,” Kingsbury said.
But she is also a realist.
“At this point, I have to look at it as a beautiful historic building,” she said. “Everyone would love to have the church stay, but the last few years have been hard on it. It’s deteriorated greatly in the last two years.”
Despite the remoteness and the deteriorating building, Kingsbury said a steady flow of people still come to see the church.
She frequently hears their stories about the town and the church, but with fewer people living in the area, the burden of saving the building comes down to the handful who remain.
And while the outpouring on social media has been overwhelming, Kingsbury said the challenge is finding someone locally to take the charge of maintaining the building and grounds, including sourcing funds for the significant cost for repairs.
“It served a great purpose for many years, but there are not many people left,” said the Rev. Charles Steier, pastor at Christ the King church in WaKeeney and St. Michael in Collyer. “That’s a lot to ask a few people.”
The responsibility of maintenance of a church is solely on the parishioners. The Diocese does not allocate funding to buildings — either active or non-active, he said.
Steier has seen the outcome of many similar situations over the years, but generally, as distressing as it is, the best option is often to raze the building.
The concern is that, once a church building is sold, they often fall into further disrepair and become even more burdensome to area residents as they watch a beloved building crumble with no recourse.
He equated the situation to a loved one that becomes ill. The people around the person directly see the effects, but those from a distance might be in denial of how bad the situation has become.
“There is no easy solution,” Steier said.
Despite the outcome of Monday’s meeting, Kingsbury said she is glad the church is looking for definitive action and is grateful the bishop has taken steps to come to a resolution.
She met with Bishop Gerald Lee Vincke, who was appointed last year, when he personally visited the church.
“That has never happened to us before,” Kingsbury said. “That is a wonderful thing.”
Much like the faith the people that founded the St. Peter had in the church and the future of their little town, Kingsbury said she feels the diocese will make the right decision for the building.
“You have to trust that,” she said.
Meanwhile, she said, she hopes the meeting brings a large crowd so they can share their thoughts with the church leaders and all options can be heard.
The Rev. Peter O’Donnell, diocesan tribunal judge, will lead the meeting, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday in the church.
