For more than 165 years, St. Martin's United Church of Christ has stood on Dittmer Ridge Road in the unincorporated community of Dittmer, Missouri, in the rolling hills of Jefferson County. Founded on July 19, 1857, the congregation has rebuilt itself on the same plot of land four times - first in 1857, again in 1871, then in 1957, and most recently in 1987 - and has grown into a campus that today includes a sanctuary, fellowship hall, conference room, a licensed preschool and daycare, and a polling place used by the surrounding community. The church runs a learning center serving about 115 children a week, supports a regional food pantry, sponsors a scout troop that has met under its roof for more than 50 years, and helps provide Christmas gifts and a turkey dinner to roughly 100 local families each December.
A Long History on the Ridge
When the first members gathered in 1857, they built their church on a hilltop that the present sanctuary still occupies. A second building followed in 1871, and the congregation continued to grow into a regional parish. In 1957, the year of its centennial, the church was substantially rebuilt. Thirty years later, in 1987, the current sanctuary took shape. Until the denominational merger that formed the United Church of Christ in 1957, the parish was known as St. Martin's Evangelical and Reformed Church. The name St. Martin's has stayed, as has the congregation's habit of rebuilding rather than relocating - each generation has poured its faith into the same piece of Jefferson County ground.
A Faith of Welcome and Possibility
St. Martin's follows the United Church of Christ in affirming the triune God - Creator, resurrected Christ as the sole Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit at work in the world. The congregation teaches that each person is on a spiritual journey at a different stage, and that every baptized person "belongs body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The church's statement of belief explicitly names race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, class, and creed as things that do not bar anyone from belonging.
Open communion is practiced at St. Martin's, with the Lord's Supper celebrated on the first Sunday of every month. Baptism is normally performed during worship so that the congregation can make its promise of love, support, and care in person. Members live by the UCC motto "That they may all be one" from John 17:21, along with the saying "In essentials - unity, in nonessentials - diversity, in all things - charity." The congregation describes itself as one in which the conversation about faith is not closed, and the phrase "God is still speaking" serves as a continuing reminder of that openness.
Sunday Mornings at Ten
Worship is held in person on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m., with adult Sunday School beginning at 8:30 a.m. Communion is served on the first Sunday of the month. Nursery and children's church are provided throughout the 10:00 a.m. service every Sunday, so parents with young children can attend without interruption.
Music is woven into nearly every element of worship. The Chancel Choir leads congregational singing, while the Youth Choir, Men's Chorus, Women's Quartet, and Handbell Choir each contribute at different points in the church year. Current sermons are posted on the church's Facebook page and on Pastor Tanya Jeffcoat's YouTube channel so members who are traveling or homebound can keep up.
Pastor Tanya Jeffcoat
The Rev. Tanya Jeffcoat serves as settled pastor of St. Martin's. She was raised in a small farming community in Arkansas, the granddaughter of a great-grandfather whose life modeled "radical hospitality to all." Graduate work in philosophy led her to the United Church of Christ, where she became a member in discernment and was later sponsored as a pastor. Before coming to Dittmer, she served Ebenezer church in Augusta, and she describes her greatest strength as "walking alongside people, listening to people, and wondering with them." She was called as pastor of St. Martin's and brings an emphasis on rich community and on welcoming everyone to the table.
The Learning Center on the Property
Started in 1980, St. Martin's Learning Center is the church's preschool and daycare program, serving roughly 115 children each week. It operates Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and offers care for children ages 2 through 12, with a Pre-K classroom for 4- and 5-year-olds, a toddler program, a Play & Learn program for 3- and 4-year-olds, and a school-age program with before- and after-school care for Northwest R-1 and Grandview R-2 students. The center is open most snow days and includes a fenced play area, snacks, and homework help.
Tuition is published on the center's page: $215 per week for infants up to age 2, $185 per week for 2-year-olds, $180 per week for the Play & Learn program, $175 per week for Pre-K, and $175 per week for summer care for ages 5 to 12. There is a $60 annual registration fee per child. Director Terah Comia oversees the program, and the center can be reached at 636-274-4797 or stmartinslc@outlook.com.
Music in Many Voices
Music is one of the defining features of St. Martin's worship life. Dianne Lowerre directs the Chancel Choir, Ruth Ann Gillman directs the Handbell Choir, Mike Vandaveer directs the Men's Chorus, and Denise Kramme leads the Children's Chorus. The chancel choir, youth choir, men's chorus, women's quartet, and handbell choir each play a part in the church year, and youth light the candles and serve in other roles during the 10:00 a.m. service on Youth Sundays and throughout the year.
Youth Who Serve and Lead
St. Martin's youth group welcomes students who have completed sixth grade through high school graduation, and the youth describe themselves as "mission centered." Led by Terri Green, Kathy Hopper, and Donna Scanlon, they participate in almost every church function, from ushering and scripture reading on the fifth Sunday of the month (designated Youth Sunday) to helping prepare the church's Ash Wednesday soup and chili supper and the Easter Sunrise breakfast.
Each summer, the youth tackle a list of "work requests" submitted by congregation members: yard cleanup, leaf raking, gutter clearing, tree trimming. The bigger projects take them out of town every other year on a mission trip. Past destinations have included Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and Niagara Falls, with the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina as a planned stop. On these trips the youth do yard work, painting, and cleaning for partner communities and run a daily program for local young people - a practice the group calls "Respectful Service."
At Christmas, the youth adopt a large family from the local Peace Pantry list, shop for and wrap their gifts, and help distribute turkeys and presents to about 100 local families. They bake cookies for the choir to deliver to shut-ins and nursing home residents. They also host a community Trunk or Treat each fall that is free to attend and includes candy, games, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn, a meal, and prizes for the best decorated car. Every other year the youth sleep overnight on the church lawn in a "Box City" of cardboard homes, using the experience to assemble toiletry bags for the Homeless Youth Initiative. The church also helps host a Canoe Camp on the Current River at Shannondale each July, with morning vespers on the water and evening vespers around a campfire at Timber Lodge.
Women's and Men's Fellowship
Both fellowships are open to any member of the church, and friends of the church are welcome to join. The Women's Fellowship, anchored in faith, hope, and charity, gathers on the first Thursday at 11:30 a.m. for a business meeting with lunch; on the second Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to noon for crafts; and on the third Thursday for a luncheon at a local restaurant. The fellowship underwrites many of the church's fundraisers and is a steady presence in the life of the parish.
The Men's Fellowship meets on the third Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and gathers on the second Saturday from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. for "Cars & Coffee," with donuts and coffee served from the church's ice cream shed. The men support the congregation's chicken dinners (held three times a year), Fall Festival, Mega Sale, Willing Workers, skeet shoots, the Christmas Giving Program, and the Veterans Day observance.
A Church That Feeds Its Community
Outreach is a defining part of St. Martin's identity. The congregation supports the local Peace Pantry and at Christmas gathers names of families in need, providing gifts and a turkey for about 60 to 100 families. The men's and women's fellowships raise money through three annual chicken dinners that have become a local tradition. The church also offers emergency aid to those in crisis, has sponsored a local scout troop for more than 50 years, and serves as a polling place for the community on Election Day.
The Weekly Rhythm
Beyond Sunday worship, the building is open almost every day of the week. Mondays bring 7:00 p.m. yoga. Tuesdays include a 9:00 a.m. Bible study in the conference room and 10:30 a.m. chair yoga. Wednesdays start with a 9:00 a.m. coffee hour in the fellowship hall and continue with a 5:00 p.m. book study. Fridays offer 10:00 a.m. qigong in the fellowship hall. On the fourth Monday of the month, the church hosts game night from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., and on the fourth Saturday, members head out for skeet shooting from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
The council meets in the conference room on the second Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Once a month, members gather at 4:00 p.m. on the first Monday for "Dining at Finish Line" in nearby Lonedell.
St. Martin's United Church of Christ is a congregation that has stayed in one place for more than a century and a half, rebuilt its building four times, and continued to expand its reach - through a learning center, a music program with five choirs, a mission-centered youth group, two long-running fellowships, and a calendar of outreach that touches most families in Dittmer at some point during the year. The pastor, the staff, and the members describe themselves, in UCC language, as a people of possibility who believe that God is still speaking.