Episcopal Parish of Alton Celebrates 190 Years with Events and Renewed Focus on Mission

Our Daily Show! NAGBC Spotlight: Refuge & Episcopal Parish of Alton!

ALTON - The Episcopal Parish of Alton is celebrating its 190th anniversary this year, and Father Garron Daniels invites the entire community to join them.

“For 190 years old, we look pretty good. We’re very happy. We're all so, so excited for this anniversary,” Fr. Daniels said.

Most of the parish’s celebrations are scheduled for July 3–5, 2026. But Fr. Daniels noted that there are plenty of other opportunities to get in on the fun until then.

The parish has launched a major capital campaign to help with building maintenance. They are hoping to raise $250,000, and they’re about 75% of their way to that goal.

Fr. Daniels commended the church and its community for their support, and he noted that the money will go a long way toward helping the church continue its work in the Riverbend.

“It’s more than brick-and-mortar stuff,” he said. “It’s about making sure this parish continues for another 190 years to be a beacon of hope in the community that it has been.”

As part of this, the parish is working with Chestnut Health Systems to become a recovery-friendly congregation. They want to learn how they can better support unhoused community members or folks managing substance use disorders. They also offer an Alcoholics Anonymous group and an Adult Children of Alcoholics group every week.

The parish is expanding their collaboration with Crisis Food Center and the Overnight Warming Locations, as well as other local churches. It’s important to the parish to help people, and they enjoy working with other organizations to make these efforts more effective.

“We’re all trying to do similar things, whether you’re someone with faith or you don’t have faith at all. Whatever it is, we’re all trying to help and care for this community because we love this community and we’re much better off when we work together,” Fr. Daniels said. “I’ve found, time and time again, when we reach out to one another and talk to one another, there are a lot of connections that can be made and support that can be given. I might only be able to do so much with the people I have and the money I have, but when I partner with someone else with their people and their money, we can do a whole lot more.”

Fr. Daniels encourages community members to visit the official Episcopal Parish of Alton website or their official Facebook page for more information about their 190th celebration, their mission and more events, including a free Lenten concert on March 14, 2026.

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