About Us

As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and we believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. We strive to love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every person. St. Mary's is parish church in the Diocese of Nebraska in the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church is a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and traces its heritage to the beginnings of Christianity. Both men and women, including those who are married, are eligible for ordination as deacons, priests and bishops. We believe in amendment of life, the forgiveness of sin, and life everlasting. Lay people exercise a vital role in the governance and ministry of our church. Holy Communion may be received by all baptized Christians, not only members of the Episcopal Church.

We uphold the Bible and worship with the Book of Common Prayer. We affirm that committed relationships are lifelong and monogamous. Episcopalians also recognize that there is grace after divorce and do not deny the sacraments to those who have been divorced. We affirm that issues such as birth control are matters of personal informed conscience. We celebrate our unity in Christ while honoring our differences, always putting the work of love before uniformity of opinion. All are welcome to find a spiritual home in the Episcopal Church.

Occasional services of the church were held in the town of Blair since 1870 at very distant intervals. The first Sunday after Easter 1882, services were held in the Congregational Church. At a meeting held afterwards several persons expressed a desire to have the services continue and Mr A. Castetter offered the use of a hall over his bank - then used as a public Library - for that purpose. On the fourth Sunday after Easter the first baptisms of the church were celebrated, and the first confirmations were held on June 8th of the same year at the Methodist Church when Bishop Clarkson visited the mission.

On June 5th, at a meeting called in the hall over the Castetter Bank, a parish organization was effected under the title St. Mary's Church. At this meeting it was announced that the Rev. W. E. Jacob would be sent by the bishop to take immediate charge. It was also reported that a lot had been donated by the John I. Blair of S. C. & P. Railroad. On August 10th the cornerstone for the church building was laid in the presence of over 300 people. On the following Thanksgiving Day (Nov 30th the Feast of St. Andrew) the church was completed and was consecrated by Bishop Clarkson. The Parish Hall to the north was added in 1927, and the present church was built in 1967 on the site of the original church.

Perhaps the best explanation of who we are as a Church is found in the oblations offered at our Eucharist - the bread and wine which are symbols of our lives. God gives us wheat and grapes, gifts of his own making. We, His creatures, take that wheat and those grapes and with our own addition of human effort and creativity make them into bread and wine. We then take that bread and wine and offer them back to God at the offertory of the Eucharist. God blesses these elements - both gifts of nature and creations of humanity - and gives them back to us transformed with the presence of Christ.

The whole process is symbolic of our lives. God gives us life, a gift of His own making. We, His creation, take the life He gives and with our own human time and effort make our life into something we can then offer back to God. God in turn blesses the offering of our lives with His grace and forgiveness, transforming them with the presence of Christ. We are the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist.