The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock
BRINKLEY -- A friendly face is never far away for those attending St. John the Baptist Church in Brinkley.
"It's very homey," Amanda Albersan of Brinkley said. "They are all friendly."
Albersan -- alongside her sister Mary Lange, and their families -- has attended Mass at the church for around a year. The sisters moved to the town after Lange's husband received a teaching position at a local school district.
The sisters said they have settled in well with the small community as Lange's 2-year-old daughter, Melina, flits around the church's yard charming parishioners and guests alike.
The 134-year-old church is located at 203 West Ash St. and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 2, 1992.
Originally a wood-frame church built in 1875 on the corner of New Orleans Avenue and West Ash Street, it was built after Father D.A. Quinn discovered around a dozen Catholic families living around the area. Bishop Edward Fitzgerald assigned Father Quinn to celebrate Mass in a four-county area, which included Brinkley in 1869; however, it took six years before the building was constructed.
It was restyled to a "brick-veneer Neoclassical appearance around 1928," according to the register. The church was registered for its local significance as the best example of a Neoclassical-styled church.
The sisters, as well as other church members, said St. John the Baptist was the only church standing after a tornado passed through in March 1909. The church was said to be standing directly in the storm's path and was one of the few buildings unharmed in the entire town.
The tornado was the most destructive in Arkansas history with the town placed under martial law shortly afterwards.
According to a March 9, 1909, New York Times article, "practically all of the town's 3,000 inhabitants (were) homeless." The church was converted into a hospital and temporary home to the city's resident, and it continues to serve as a second home to many parishioners today.
Carl Frein said, "It's a neat little church. It serves 40 to 50 people each week."
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"Everyone knows everyone," parishioner Felicia Sands said.
A lifelong member, Sands said, "I was baptized here. My family was Catholic, and I was raised Catholic."
She still remembers attending class at the church's school. It closed in 1968.
"It was a good school," Sands said. "The school took care of all of the disabled kids then even when other local schools were not."
The school was established at the start of the 1900s and an early report in 1904 had 27 students enrolled that year, according to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. Class was suspended during the tornado's aftermath.
Alongside Sands is Tony Frein, who has attended Mass at the church for 66 years.
A farmer, Frein moved to Brinkley in 1943 after attending the University of Missouri and serving in the U.S. military.
Tony Frein, 83, said the majority of his family still attends St. John the Baptist Church on a regular basis with one son serving as the church's organist. However, Tony Frein said his family continues well beyond the biological sense.
"This parish is one big family," Frein said. "Everybody loves each other and they help you whenever you need them. They have been that way since I've moved here."
Presently Father Athanasius Okeiyi of Brinkley leads the parish.
Father Okeiyi said the parish is wonderful. The three churches he oversees are intertwined with members saying they attend Mass and are involved in activities at the other two parishes.
"They are active and always willing to help," Father Okeiyi said.
Parishioners said they are stay busy with several activities, including a local Knights of Columbus. While there are 14 to 15 active members, there are 25 members total that attend meetings.
"We've got pretty much 100 percent in our meetings," one Knights of Columbus member said.
The parish also continues to serve each other and the community with a parish pantry, which accepts donations at any time.
Parishioners say guests should never feel shy attending or asking for help.
"Everyone helps each other here," Tony Frien said. "All you have to do is ask."
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