History of Our Church

The presence of the Episcopal Church in Webster City is first noted in the early 1920's when Dr. Francis Drake, the priest for St. Mark's Church in Fort Dodge, would come to Webster City and conduct services in the homes of the faithful, and later in the club rooms in the basement of the Library.

In 1951 a serious effort was undertaken to discover if enough people could be found who would be interested in forming a mission of the Episcopal Church in Webster City. By 1953 this missionary effort was confirmed by the Diocesan Convention when the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd was admitted as a mission to the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. Groundbreaking ceremonies for a new building were conducted in 1955 on land donated to the Church by John W. and Marjorie H. Evans. On October 26, 1956 the new building was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Gordon V. Smith, then Bishop of Iowa.

Since that time the members of Good Shepherd have sought to maintain their part of the Christian witness to the citizens of Webster City by faithful participation in the community and the region, providing financial support for several community charitable projects, including the Ecumenical Human Needs Committee and contributions to families in need. Good Shepherd has an ongoing collection for the Upper Des Moines Opportunity Food Pantry.  

 

Other charitable projects have included Hospice, Public Health, Kids Against Hunger, CROP, Bethel Mission, Hope ministries, Heifer project, local domestic abuse shelters, Fort Dodge prison ministry Church of the Damascas Road, diocesan clean water project, seminary student support, Episcopal Relief and Development Fund, School Back Pack Program, summer lunch program,  missionaries in Bolivia, Swaziland, Haiti...

Good Shepherd celebrated 50 years in our building in October 2006 with an "Oktoberfest" style evening.  The chancel area has been modernized, new flooring in the church laid and the social hall has been redecorated. Two beautiful stained glass windows, created by church member Barbara Flowerday (in memory of Jan Marvel, Lynn Flowerday and Mark Whaley), sparkle in our sanctuary.  Many groups use our church because of its warm atmosphere and handicapped accessibility.  

 

The outside of Good Shepherd had a major facelift in 2015-16 with new steel siding, stone facing, lighting and windows.  We are very proud of our little church and its new look!  Barbara Flowerday Golberg is currently working on leaded stained glass windows for each of the new sanctuary windows.

 

We love our church and style of worship and are always glad to have visitors join us.