Case Study
St. James’ Episcopal Church is a historic mission church in the rolling mountains of the Ozarks surrounded by lakes, forests, animal life, and God’s holy presence. We started serving Eureka Springs in northwest Arkansas in 1883. On Sundays, we average about 36 people worshiping live, and another 75 to 125 folks check in on Facebook during the week. Our mission is to love as Jesus loved, especially God, our neighbor, and ourselves. We take the sign on our corner seriously: “Love your neighbor who doesn’t look like you, think like you, love like you, speak like you, pray like you, vote like you. Love your neighbor. No exceptions.” Around 1965, as part of our ministry, a member of St. James’ and Episcopal Church Women (ECW) gave St. James’ a silver tea service. The women of the church decided to use the tea service to host a Victorian Silver Tea for donations at the door as Christmas approached. The donations were given to a local charity selected and voted on by church members. This year, we will host the 57th Annual St. James’ Silver Tea. Many community members have now added to our silver collection over time. The tea allows us to share these beautiful items and give people a means to support non-profit agencies.
Many small churches are struggling with the same issues: Attendance is shrinking, congregations are aging, and, in spite of this, we still gather to make a difference in our communities. We know God loves all of us equally and without partiality (Acts 10:34), and yet we know that people just like us sometimes struggle to avoid feelings of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. We want to erase the difficulty of inviting new people into our church by going out to be among our neighbors. We lead by our love, our service to others, and our willingness to make space for people who are different from us. We make friends first and then share our love for Jesus and all people to fight isolation, loneliness, and despair. Then, when the stranger, now friend, sees the cheerful red doors of the church, they know they are welcome here and can belong here too.
When St. Augustine was asked how to enter the kingdom, he reminded us to share what we have: a cup of tea and some cheer.
- Start where you are at and use what you have. Although the Crescent Hotel now offers us a grand ballroom for our event, our origins were humble. We started with one silver tea set, a number of borrowed items from other members, and a decorated space in our undercroft. Over 57+ years, the event has gotten bigger, but the idea remains simple: an afternoon tea with cookies and sandwiches for a good cause.
- Invite neighbors and non-members to help as they are able. Willing hands are needed to polish silver, bake goodies, carry serving trays, and even put up posters around town. Almost everyone likes helping with a project, knowing that all the proceeds at the door will be given to a charity.
- Connect meaningfully with outside agencies both before and after an event. We poll our members in July to see what agencies might need our fundraising efforts. We then purposefully engage these agencies, asking them to visit the church and talk to us about their mission, needs, and volunteer opportunities. We stay connected with them by becoming volunteers, and we form relationships that help us know the needs of our neighbors. This keeps all of us learning about new needs and ongoing opportunities to be of help.
The Silver Tea and St. James’ engagement with our neighbors has expanded our friendships both within our doors and outside of them, which makes us stronger. For instance, we had a devastating fire in June 2023 that deeply impacted our worship space. Who would have guessed that so many groups would invite us in while we rebuild? We currently worship at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church’s Parish Center, and both communities are closer from sharing facilities through this devastation. We know we are not alone and that the larger community values what we have achieved over the last 141 years.
The Rev. David Angus is a cradle Episcopalian who learned about the church by bouncing around with his father, a retired Colonel in the Air Force. He completed master-level programs at the Iliff School of Theology, Denver, and the School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. He is a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker in Kansas with an interest in reducing suicide to zero through effective services to all who need them. Before entering the ministry, he served 18 years at the county mental health facility, PACES, in Kansas City, Kansas. He now serves St. James’ Episcopal Church in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. His joy is bringing the gospel to small churches. As we know in our hearts, God loves us all equally.