St. Stephen Catholic Church

St. Stephen Catholic Church. . St. Stephen Church stands as a reminder of the power and potential of community spirit, a spirit that has now extended into a second century. The church's origin ties directly to a group of German immigrants that settled in this area in the late 1800's., Built on property made available by the Emberger family, these German Catholic families, in need of a local place of worship, constructed St. Stephen Church in 1900. Their final service was conducted here in 1945., Overlooked when Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area was formed in 1963, St. Stephen was the only church that remained standing within LBL. The building was deteriorating and in 2000, Between The Rivers, Inc. entered into an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to allow for restoration work., Volunteers approached the project with the spirit worthy of the original community. Old photographs and oral histories guided the volunteers in their efforts (over 3,800 hours of work!) to authentically restore the church to its original design and construction. Today, St. Stephen Church provides a reminder of the importance of church and the strength of community that once existed and is still cherished in this region., Captions: , Top left: Before and After: It took one year and over 3.800 hours of volunteer work to transform the structure in the photo above to the restored church in front of you. , Bottom left: Helping Hands. Volunteers tackled the daunting restoration task with a sense of community spirit. , Right: Pride and Respect. Please respect the church, its grounds, and the work proudly performed by the many volunteers involved in the restoration.