The Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church building on March 1. Demolition has begun.
Demolition started sooner than expected on Fort Scott’s Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, following a wind storm early on March 1, 2023.
A portion of the facade of the fire-damaged church was blown down by the storm around 2 a.m.
“The front facade came off the building and blocked Eddy Street,” Mark McCoy, who is on the parish committee that is working on the rebuild project, said.
“Eddy Street, in front of the church, will be blocked off until further notice,” he said. “I estimate the demo will take approximately three weeks.”
The church parish committee is in the beginning stages of the design and architecture phase of the church rebuild, he said.
“It will be approximately six months until construction can begin,” McCoy said.
They are anticipating a 12 month construction period, he said.
“The cost to rebuild will be in excess of $5 million,” McCoy said. “The building standards have changed since the building of the church in 1872, at a cost of $20,000.
Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, 705 S. Holbrook, Fort Scott suffered extensive damage in a fire that started in late evening on August 29, 2022.
When the the Fort Scott Fire Department and FS Police Department units arrived the church was on fire with heavy smoke and flames emitting from the southeast corner of the structure.
The fire was later determined to be from a lightning strike.
Simpson Construction Services, Wichita, is doing the demolition of the church building, and also the construction.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church fire on August 29, 2022. Courtesy of Stephen Toal.
Kennedy Gym, a wing of the Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, is located at 7th and Holbrook.
This evening is the first of six Lenten Fish Dinners that the Knights of Columbus prepare for the community as a fund raiser.
From Feb. 24 until March 31 the community is invited to join the people of Mary Queen of Angels Church for a fish dinner each Friday evening. The event is located in the Kennedy Gym at 7th and Eddy Street.
“Everyone is welcome, there is a free will offering,” Joe (Calvin) Barr, a Knight, said. “We do ask for a minimum of $8 for a to-go dinner. We generally do 75 to-go dinners each week.”
“We’ve had as high as 514 at one time in attendance,” Barr said. “400 is the average. During the COVID Pandemic there was a drive-through meal.”
The Menu
“It’s the same great fish: Southern-fried catfish, baked white fish, baked potato or french fries, coleslaw, drinks and all the wonderful desserts from the women of the church,” Mark McCoy one of the Knights, said. “For those who don’t like fish, we have spaghetti.”
This is the fish fry in Feb. 2020.
The event starts at 5 p.m. and goes to 7 p.m. and is each Friday until March 31. Good Friday is April 7 in 2023.
This year all funds go to rebuilding of the church, which was destroyed by fire in August 2022.
Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, November 4, 2022
First United Methodist Church at Third Street and National Avenue,
Shepherd’s Center of Fort Scott Adventures in Learning Returns on
Friday, March 10th 11:30 am to 3 pm the First United Methodist Church on National Avenue.
Our 2nd event will again offer a lunch at no charge for those who pre-register. Last day to pre-register will be Monday, March 6th. This time we will have potato soup, garlic bread, and cookies catered by Suzanne Griffin.
Our afternoon sessons will feature Austin Bolinger, who is the Horticultural Therapist at Tri-Valley Gardening, who will bring plants, share about growing our gardens and their work at Tri-Valley.
The other track is being organized by Wilma Hibdon, a retired Health Facility surveyor, and will be full of insight and tips to get the most out of home health care, make good decisions about assisted living, and end of life planning. Speakers from No Limit Rehabilitation, Presbyterian Village, Integrity Home Health, Fort Scott Medicalodge and Cheney Witt Funeral Home will lend their expertise and answer questions.
As always, fellowship and building community will be at the forefront. Shepherd’s Center is focused on lifelong learning for retired adults but everyone interested is welcome.
A local congregation is celebrating 50 years in the community.
Community Christian Church met for the first time on January 21, 1973.
“It was at the (Scottview Apartments) high rise,” Jerry Witt, who is serving on the planning committee for the anniversary celebration, said. “We were going to meet in homes but the phone rang off the hook that week and we knew we’d have too many for something like that.”
“Sixty-three people attended that first meeting,” he said. “It has never been below that number since. On charter Sunday, 111 people were in attendance and 70 of those placed their membership.”
In the earliest days, finding a place to meet was a challenge.
They met in the band room at the middle school, at Fort Scott Community College, at the high rise apartment complex, and at the old 4-H Building.
As the congregation grew, a more permanent and larger location was necessary.
The ground breaking of Community Christian Church in 1973. Submitted photo.
Once they were able to start building the church facility, it was able to be purchased because all seven leaders: Max Hayden, Ron Billiard, Bill Douglas, Richard Hixon, Jerry Witt, Tom Armstrong, and Bill Underkofler put their homes up as collateral for the build.
The original church building for Community Christian Church. Submitted photo.
Leon Weece was the only paid staff for at least a year, and volunteers cleaned the church.
The original sanctuary of Community Christian Church, 1973. Submitted photo
Currently they have six ministry staff, two administration staff, and two janitorial staff members, with one intern.
The Mission
The mission of the first congregation was to start a fundamental, Bible-based Christian church, and there have been three mission statements in the church history.
The current one is “We are a community who loves Jesus, who want to see Jesus loved by our community.”
“We have changed the wording to become more modern over time but we have always stuck to those three basic missions of God, his plan, and his people.” said Karen Billiard, also on the anniversary committee.
The Anniversary Committee
The 50 year planning committee has nine people, and five were present that first service: Sharon Campbell, Karen Billiard, Judy and Jerry Witt, and Robin Billiard-Hartman.
Added to the 2023 anniversary committee are Rita Emmerson, and Billie Jo and Alan Drake, who all came to the newly formed church early in its history, along with Delynn Abati, who has attended Community since 1997.
An aerial view of Community Christian Church in 2023. Submitted photo.
The Current Congregation
Currently there are nearly 500 people attending Community Christian.
Members of the anniversary committee stated their reasons they attend the church:
“The love our church family has for each other,” said Robin Hartman.
“Knowing that we are a Bible-based church,” said Billie Jo Drake.
“The fellowship and care each person has for every other,” Billiard said.
CCC is a mission-giving church, increasing outreach of the congregants.
From the inception of the church, they pledged 10% of all income to missions, according to information from the committee. That number has grown to the 18% currently given to missions every month.
Plans for the 50th Anniversary
There will be one extended service on Sunday, February 12, which is Community Christian Church’s Charter Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. that will highlight and recreate parts of the last 50 years.
Leon Weece, the church’s first minister, will preach. Additionally, there will be testimonies from some of the charter members and Timothys; people the church has sent out to serve in ministries throughout the world.
There will be a reception directly following the service, which will have a microphone set up for anyone wanting to share memories of their days at CCC.
On the Horizon
The church is currently remodeling the north wing of the facility to be a more inviting and accommodating space for the youth group. They are about 50% done with the remodel.
Services
The service times of the church: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. every Sunday, with a study hour in between.
They also have programming for students pre-K to 12th grade from 6 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday evening, during the school year.
The church is located at 1919 S. Horton, Fort Scott.
For more information, phone 620.223.1500 or view their Facebook page.
Nathan Bryant is the new pastor of Parkway Church Of God (Holiness) at 1111 State St.
He received a Bachelor of Theology degree from Union Bible College and in 2009 he also became a LPN (nurse).
He has pastored in May, OK; Olathe, KS, and started a church in Delta, CO.
In 2019 he pastored a church on the Navajo Reservation for two years.
“I filled in once or twice a month for Parkway Church Of God Holiness (Fort Scott) from October 2021 until I became full time pastor in April of 2022,” Bryant said.
He and wife Amy and were married in December 1989 and have four children- one daughter and three sons, all married.
“All our children love God,” he said. “Our daughter lives in Ft. Scott and works at a doctors office . Our two middle sons live in Colorado and are both plumbers and our oldest son is a pastor in Missouri. We have eight amazing grandchildren.”
“I grew up in a pastors home and have always loved people and felt it was a calling from God,” Bryant said.
Some of the challenges for Bryant in pastoring: “Trying to navigate through the consistent changing issues of our country. Trying to meet the needs of people that are struggling from their circumstances of life.”
The best part of being a pastor for him: “Seeing lives changed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Being able to help people in their time of need. Loving people.”
New on the horizon for the pastor is trying to incorporate more community involvement with the church. His desire is to see the church grow.
Service time for Parkway Church of God:
Sunday School 10:00 am
Morning Worship 10:45 am
Sunday Evening: 6:00 pm
Wednesday Prayer Meeting: 7:00 pm
December18th AM – Children’s program
PM – Drama – Martin the Clobber
December 25th 5:00 pm Christmas candle light service
Waverly, TN – The community is invited to attend a concert by singer, songwriter, and storyteller Daryl Mosley on Wednesday, December 7 at First Southern Baptist Church, 1818 S. Main Street, Ft. Scott, KS.
The First Southern Baptist Church, 1818 S. Main.
From countless appearances on “The Grand Ole Opry” to classic shows at the famous Bluebird Cafe to a touring schedule of over 150 concerts per year, singer/songwriter Daryl Mosley has been sharing his songs and his stories with America for over 30 years. Daryl has written three Song of the Year award winners, eight of his songs have made it to number one, and he has twice been named Songwriter of the Year! His songs have been recorded by dozens of artists ranging from bluegrass legend Bobby Osborne to country star Lynn Anderson to Southern Gospel’s The Booth Brothers, and have been featured on television shows ranging from “American Idol” to “The View.” One of his best-known songs, “(Ask the Blind Man) He Saw ItAll,” was named one of the top Southern Gospel songs of all time!
Gospel music legend Bill Gaither calls Daryl “a poet-and we don’t have many poets left!” Daryl says, “I just write and sing songs about real life and real people; songs about faith and home and community are the foundation of my music because those are the things that are most precious to me.” Daryl’s concert is an intimate opportunity to hear his songs of life and faith as well as the entertaining stories of the people and events that inspired them.
The concert is free to the public but a love offering will be taken. For additional information, contact Patty Lindley at 502 262-0428.
The Knights of Columbus are continuing their fundraising efforts to help rebuild the Mary Queen of Angels Church.
The church suffered extensive damage on the evening of August 29, 2022 and will be rebuilt.
Mary Queen of Angels Church. November, 2022.
“No plans yet,” Mark McCoy, church member said. “We are in the conceptual phase. We are hoping to come to an accepted position on how to rebuild.”
Meanwhile the Knights of Columbus group at the church are having monthly meals in the Kennedy Gym, at 705 S. Holbrook as a fundraiser for the rebuilding of the church.
Founded on the principles of charity, unity and fraternity, the Knights of Columbus was established in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, in New Haven, Conn., and a group of parishioners, according to https://www.kofc.org/en/who-we-are/our-story/index.html Their intent is to bring financial aid and assistance to the sick, disabled and needy members and their families.
This month, it is Friday, November 18, and the meal is homemade chicken noodle soup and cream of potato soup, with the desserts prepared by the Catholic women of the church.
Tea, coffee or water goes along with the meal, with a suggested free will donation of $7 per meal.
The meal is from 5-7 p.m.
“The community has been so supportive,” McCoy said. “All proceeds will go to the rebuild of the church.”
The Knights of Columbus Fish Fry March 2022. The set up will be the same for all the meal fundraisers. Submitted by Calvin Barr.
How old is the Earth? What are the facts about Dinosaurs? Has science proven Evolution to be true? Does science confirm the Bible?
Creation Experience Museum is coming to your area soon with answers to these questions. Come and hear Curtis and Sherry Baker share the truth about creation. You’ll be amazed to see how the scientific evidence matches the Bible’s claims.
These are issues that affect everyone. Evolution teaches us there is no need for a God and that science is all there is.
The Bible gives a very different picture of the nature of these things. In these presentations, you will learn how the scientific evidence, when properly understood, confirms the details of the Biblical account.
To find out more:
Date: Sunday, November 13th, 2022
Time: 10:50 am – Digging up the truth about Dinosaurs
Community Christian Church Trunk and Treat in the southeast parking lot from 5-6:30 p.m. on October 31. The church will have candy, snacks, hot dogs, and bottled water passed out from trunks.
“This is open to everyone,” Delynn Abati, communications administrator for the church said. “We will have a contingency plan if it rains and will post that to social media early in the day.”
