Parishioners at St. John Mission, Dividing Ridge, welcomed Bishop John Iffert, Oct. 9. Bishop Iffert
arrived at the mission to celebrate its early morning Mass and to bless the steeple and cemetery. Parishioners at St. John Mission, Dividing Ridge, welcomed Bishop John Iffert, Oct. 9. Bishop Iffert arrived at the mission to celebrate its early morning Mass and to bless the steeple and cemetery. The church with its original steeple was erected in 1881; likewise, the adjoining 1-acre cemetery was acquired at that time. In the 1970s, due to rot the original steeple fell, leaving the church without its defining feature until 2020.
In 2019, the Parish Council approved a project to replace the steeple. Five of the eight original founding families and about 25 other donors from three generations of families and friends, pulled their resources to recreate the steeple
based on pictures, measurements and diagrams of the original structure. The steeple was installed in 2020.
Following the steeple blessing, Bishop Iffert also blessed the cemetery.