St. Stephen Parish
Southern Nebraska Register
Members of St. Stephen Parish, south of Lawrence, celebrated the parish’s 150th anniversary Sept. 28.
Bishop James Conley celebrated Mass, concelebrated by Father Denton Morris, pastor of St. Stephen, Father Thomas Schultes, Father Adam Sparling and Father Christopher Eckrich.
After Mass, a dinner was served in the parish hall. Special guests included Sister Eloise Hertel O.P., Sister Ann Metzen O.P. and Sister (Sabina) Martina O.P. from the Dominican Order of Great Bend, Kan., who served St. Stephen School during its tenure (1962-1982), and Sister Susan Biegert, SSND, of the Notre Dame sisters, who taught at the neighboring Sacred Heart School in Lawrence.
After dinner, the people mingled throughout the church, rectory and school grounds, reminiscing. The church and rectory contained memorabilia dating back to the first frame church built in 1885. A shuttle took people to a nearby site to see the dugout where the first Mass in Nuckolls County was celebrated. In a nearby barn, logs from the original 1876 log church were displayed. The logs were reassembled, showing how they had been cut to fit together and construct the church.
The afternoon concluded with a special performance by an internationally known musician, Tony Meléndez. Meléndez, who was born without arms and with a clubbed foot, plays the guitar with his feet and delivers a “message of hope” to his audiences through his life stories and inspirational music. The performance ended with Eucharistic adoration.
History of St. Stephen Parish
An area with a prominent hill, near a stream called Liberty Creek became the first community center in the northwest corner of Nuckolls County in 1870. The area was also named Liberty Creek. Later that year, the name was changed to Beachamville, after a pair of brothers who were the first to settle in the area.
Between 1873 and 1875, people traveled 25 miles to Fairfield to attend Masses celebrated by a circuit priest, Father Ferdinand Lechleitner of Crete. Father Lechleitner celebrated the area’s first Mass Oct. 28, 1875, at the dugout of Louis Schumm.
In 1876, a log church was constructed, measuring 28 by 25 feet. It was named St. Stephen Catholic Church. It was one of the best buildings in the area, as many people lived in sod houses or dugouts. St. Stephen had Mass only when a missionary priest visited, until the people received their first resident pastor in 1878, Father Kuppenbender. His first rectory was a small dugout measuring 12 by 14 feet, but within a year, a two-story log rectory was built. The priest would also serve mission parishes of Hebron, Alexandria, Fairbury and Wheatland. Later, the missions were replaced with Blue Hill, Superior, Guide Rock and Nelson.
In 1882, the town of Beachamville changed its name to St. Stephen. As the railroad moved westward, the parish increased to 75 families by 1885. The log church was too small, so a larger frame church was built. This impressive church measured 92 by 46 feet, with a steeple soaring 96 feet high.
Catholic education was also a must in the Catholic community. In 1893, a small log school was replaced with two-story school building with classrooms on the main floor and living quarters for the Ursuline sisters upstairs. This would have a peak enrollment of around 100 students by 1920.
The Depression and drought years left their mark on the area, and plans for a new church were delayed until Oct. 13, 1946, when Bishop Louis B. Kucera officiated at a ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone of the new church. The present-day church measures 128 by 46 feet with a rectory attached. The church was dedicated Oct. 19, 1947.
In October of 1960, the construction of a new parochial grade school began. The Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kan., came to teach at the school and a convent was built for them near the school. The school is now the present-day parish hall.
St. Stephen became a mission of Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence in 1983. Today the parish serves 29 families.
Nearly all of the original statues from the 1885 frame church have been restored and are present in the church today. The church holds memories for many.
Parishioner Kaci Empting said the church was erected out of faith, love, hours of donated sweat, and countless prayers.
“It has fed the flocks of people who gathered for the famous picnics, and warmed the working hearts and hands at the Thanksgiving meals, often after leaving the fields during harvest,” she said. “This has been refuge for souls needing peace, truth and tradition.
“Countless baptisms, weddings and prayers for our loved ones who have left this world have filled the walls of this dear church,” she continued. “It is a special place; no, not the most ornate or spectacular one to visit, but just like the simple, quiet lives of those who sacrificed to build it and those of us who still put those kneelers down yet today, St. Stephen’s is that steady constant, welcoming souls into the quiet peace of our Lord.”
Courtesy photos
