The History of St. Margaret's
If St. Margaret's were a wine, we would be a blend. St. Margaret's was begun as a joint effort by the diocese and all the Episcopal churches in the Little Rock area. They were the fruit, and with time, we have become a fabulous blend of all those church varietals, giving us our own signature flavor. And, like any fine wine, we are getting better as we age! Check out our fermentation process ...
1990
Rev. Canon Christoph Keller, III was appointed to start a new church in west Little Rock. His offices were set up at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, another mission, thus establishing a strong bond between the two congregations. Twenty-seven missionary members, recruited from and commissioned by the congregations of all the Episcopal churches in the Little Rock area, studied and prayed together before putting together a telephone campaign to find people who did not have a church home and invite them to St. Margaret's. 15,000 calls were made, with a hope that 200 would attend the first service —that's a lot of smilin' and dialin'!
March 1, 1991
The 119th Convention of the Diocese of Arkansas selected "St. Margaret's" as our name. As with our founding, virtually the entire Diocese of Arkansas participated in our naming. Canon Keller solicited nominations with three criteria: the name should be "beautiful, meaningful, and make the church more, rather than less, accessible to non-Episcopalians. St. Margaret's was chosen on the first ballot.
November 3, 1991
The Market Street Bargain Cinema was the site of St. Margaret's first service, with 258 people attending.
February 27, 1992
With 145 founding members, St. Margaret's was formally admitted as a mission congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas.
Easter Sunday, 1993
The growing congregation moved to Cinema City Breckenridge Village. All equipment for worship and church school was hauled in, set up, taken down, and hauled away each Sunday for three years!
June 1, 1995
The Rev. Rachelle Birnbaum was named associate priest.
April 14, 1996
St. Margaret's current building on Chenal Parkway was dedicated.
May 31, 1998
Canon Keller returned to seminary for advanced theological studies.
July 4, 1999
The Rev. Bill Martin was installed as vicar.
June 3, 2001
The Rev. Canon Dr. Peggy Bosmyer became St. Margaret's vicar.
December 13, 2008
Our beloved Peggy died after an extended battle with pancreatic cancer.
February 21, 2009
St. Margaret's was granted parish status. This event was bittersweet: in the midst of our grief and loss, we celebrated.
June 2011
The Rev. Mary Vano was called as our rector and moved with her family to Little Rock from Austin, Texas.
September 2011
The first "Love Thy Neighbor" interfaith service was held on our campus outside the Arkansas House of Prayer. The service was so well attended, it moved indoors to St. Margaret's in 2012 and 2013, before ultimately moving to St. Mark's Episcopal Church to make room for all who attend annually.
2017We launched the "Building the Good News" capital campaign, raising a million dollars to expand our building and ministries.
2019
The Peggy Bosmyer Christian Formation Center was opened, housing classrooms for adults and teenagers, as well as staff offices and a large parish hall. The original downstairs wing became dedicated to children's ministries, and the Parents' Day Out program became St. Margaret's Early Childhood Center.
2020-2021
The Covid-19 pandemic required us to close to in-person worship and ministries for many months. As hard as it was, it also was a time of creative connections as we moved to "worship-at-home" kits, on-line classes, and eventually outdoor worship. The Little Free Food Pantry was installed to allow us to serve the food-insecure households in our midst.
2022
The Rev. Michaelene Miller was called to serve as Associate Rector - our first full-time second clergy-person.
