A church is much more than a physical building, Father Daryl Stanford notes.
A vibrant, healthy church is one that connects with and serves the community, he said.
That’s part of Stanford’s draw to St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Iola.
“The group we have at St. Tim’s is a very dedicated group, dedicated to the calling of serving the community,” he said. “I’ve often said, I need to take what’s happening here and duplicate it at other places.”
Stanford, 54, was appointed in May as the new minster priest for St. Timothy’s in Iola, Grace Episcopal Church in Chanute and Calvary Episcopal Church in Yates Center.
A minster is a small group of churches designed for mutual support.
The three parishes comprise the Agape Minster within the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
“There are great things happening at all three parishes,” Stanford said. “That’s part of the minster concept, where we share resources and ideas.”
St. Timothy’s, for example, has a strong outreach through its food distribution and and meals programs.
Likewise, Grace and Calvary both have members with a strong desire for study.
“We want to emulate that at all three parishes,” he said. “The goal is to get outside the walls of the church and into the community.”
Rebuilding connections has been a primary focus of churches across the country, where attendance plummeted across the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID really set everyone back,” he said. “Congregations are starting to do things they did pre-COVID.”
Bridging gaps is of the utmost importance.
“There’s no doubt the culture we live in is becoming more divided,” he said. “But when we talk to people and sit with them, have a meal, we realize we’re not that different. We just may have different ideas about how to come up with solutions.”
In fact, one of Stanford’s happy surprises in his time at the three churches is the number of times he’s been asked to give permission for new projects.
“It had been a matter of having a lack of opportunity, or a lack of leadership and nobody to say ‘Yes, let’s do this,’” Stanford said. “Now those opportunities are starting to pop up. They just need someone to say ‘go ahead.’”
STANFORD grew up in DeSoto, Texas, just south of Dallas. After his military service, he returned to Texas and then lived briefly in Connecticut before winding up in Kansas.
By then, Stanford, who had worked as a regional training and service technician for an industrial equipment company, felt compelled to serve the Lord.
“It’s been a lifelong calling, but the opportunity and doors didn’t seem to open until I moved here,” he said. “I saw the great need for priests in smaller parishes.”
Sure, there was a risk at leaving his previous career, he admitted.
“But on other levels, it was the easiest decision to make,” Stanford added. “It was more difficult not to make it.”
In 2015, Stanford enrolled in the Bishop Kemper School For Ministry in Topeka. He was ordained as a deacon last June and then as a priest in January.
While he was in his curacy — where Stanford served as an assistant to a parish priest — he began researching parishes in the state, and found himself drawn to the Iola, Chanute and Yates Center minster.
“I love it here,” said Stanford, who lives in Chanute. “It seems to be a little bit slower-paced than other communities. People are a lot more open and caring.”
EVEN STANFORD’S hobbies help him connect with others, albeit in a unique way.
See, he’s an avid participant in role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons.
“I’d played it a little bit growing up,” he recalled. “And a fellow priest had a group in his church. We joined in and really enjoyed it. We had just gotten really involved before we moved.”
Stanford is eager to set up a group locally.
“One of the ideas my son and I both have is to do what they’d done in Lawrence, and start a game night for people in the community.”
Stanford and wife Freedom have two children. Eddie works as a nutritionist and dietary specialist for Advance Health.
Son Byron, 16, still lives at home and frequently joins his father on D&D adventures.
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