Our History
St. Francis is a church in The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.
We were founded in 1991 and will officially become a parish in November of 2025!
History of St. Francis’ Episcopal Church
St. Francis celebrated its first Eucharist on January 7, 1990, with 19 communicants. Monthly meetings were held until October 7, 1990, when weekly Sunday morning services began in the Lincoln Room at the Six Flags Ramada Inn.
During the Special Diocesan Convention on October 27, 1990, St. Francis was officially received as a mission church within the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.
In 1991, after outgrowing the space at the Ramada Inn, our congregation began worshiping at the Christian Brothers LaSalle Retreat Institute in Wildwood.
As we continued to grow, we built a new church building in the new Rockwood Arbors neighborhood of Eureka. The beautiful new church and grounds were dedicated and consecrated by the Rt. Rev. George Wayne Smith, 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, on December 3, 2017.
Photos from the 2017 dedication and consecration of the new church building.
From Mission to Parish
St. Francis has been loving, worshiping, and serving in Eureka as a mission in the Diocese since our beginnings in 1990.
In November of 2025, St. Francis is expected to officially become a parish during the 2025 Diocesan Convention.
The difference between a mission and a parish may sound like a matter of semantics, but it is truly an achievement to celebrate!
As a mission, St. Francis is governed by the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri (COEDMO), with the Bishop and the Bishop’s Standing Committee technically in charge. St. Francis’ Vicar and our Bishop’s Committee serve in place of the Bishop on a day-to-day basis, but the Bishop and the Standing Committee have legal rights over the congregation.
And, as a mission, we have received $30,000 each year (through 2023) from the diocesan budget to help sustain our church.
At our annual meeting on February 2, 2025, our congregation voted to seek parish and signed a petition to send to Bishop Deon Johnson. Members Jerry Smith, Bob Smith, and Linda Doolittle, who have been with St. Francis since its founding, were the first to sign that petition. The Rev. Lauri ANzilotti, our Vicar, and the Rev. David Luckes, our Deacon, delivered the petition to the bishop on February 5, 2025.
On March 12, 2025, we received a letter from the bishop:
“Upon receipt of your petition to become a parish within the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, and with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee of said Diocese, and in accordance with the Canons of this Diocese, I am pleased to advance your petition to the 186th Diocesan Convention for ratification and approval.”
– The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson,
11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
March 12, 2025
Read the full letter here.
Once we become a parish, our Vicar becomes our Rector, our Bishop’s Committee becomes our Vestry, and we all become fully responsible for the future of our church.
We are excited to be at Diocesan Convention November 14-15, 2025, when St. Francis moves from mission to parish!
Jerry Smith, Bob Smith, and Linda Doolittle were the first to sign the petition on Feb. 2, 2025.
Deacon David and Rev. Laurie present the signed petition to Bishop Deon on Feb. 5, 2025