A fresh panel graces the bottom section of the welcome sign leading into St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, replacing information detailing the now-defunct Wednesday congregation with the words “retreat and lodging.” Though the retreat house has been available to the public for decades, its services are being reiterated to boost awareness following financial instability and declining attendance at Inverness’s original church.
Earlier this year, the Episcopal Diocese of California shifted the church’s status as a parish to that of a mission due to diminishing funds generated from the retreat house, the main source of income for St. Columba’s.
“The fact is that the commercial makeup of the community didn’t lend itself to growth,” said George Rangitsch, chairman of the Bishop’s Committee, a mission’s version of a vestry. “Our numbers were down. The Bishop said we were not sustainable at our current income and that’s when we became a mission. That was the Bishop’s
prerogative.”
Now, the committee is working to inform the community about the retreat house, both to increase income and to open the doors to anyone seeking sanctuary in the hills of Inverness.
“A lot of people haven’t discovered the ways to use the property and I want to make the point that you’re welcome here,” said Tom Williams, one of the seven members of the Bishop’s Committee and a parishioner at St. Columba’s since the ’70s. “It’s a place where people can get away from all the pressures of the world.”
Although it’s existed for well over a century, St. Columba’s has never been a particularly large parish. In 2012, then-rector Robert Weldy counted 60 members in the congregation, though Mr. Rangitsch disputed that number. Currently, the number stands at 10 to 12.
Susan Rangitsch, another member of the Bishop’s Committee, attributes the small size to the culture at large. “Basically, I think it’s something seen throughout society,” she said. “We’re becoming more secular, and St. Columba’s reflects that.”
Mr. Weldy, who retired after his employment at St. Columba’s ended on Jan. 31 and is now living in Colorado, described something similar. “The move from parish to mission reflects the reality of the current community,” he said in an email to the Light. “Thirty to 40 years ago, the local community was composed of young families that lived there. Now, many of the homes are [second, third or fourth] homes and it is a weekend community at best.”
He went on, “When people are out there for the weekend, they are involved in other activities and attending church is not always the priority.”
Of the 83 congregations across the Bay Area, about 20 percent have mission status, said Rev. Eric Metoyer, associate for congregational ministries for the diocese. Congregations “move from mission to parish, and parish to mission, depending on their circumstances of leadership, finances and ability to be evangelists,” he said.
Mr. Metoyer praised St. Columba’s for its recent efforts to boost involvement, which have included hosting a concert for a Russian quartet last February and a recent five-night run of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the property’s amphitheater.
“St. Columba’s, through their support of the choristers from the monastery in Saint Petersburg, Russia to the recent Shakespearean plays in the amphitheater off the nearby highway, is a beautiful, faithful example of the beloved community in action,” Mr. Metoyer wrote in an email.
The church is also a designated disaster center equipped with Red Cross supplies, Mrs. Rangitsch said, adding that they are considering hosting a public potluck to increase awareness of that specific asset to the community.
“We need people to know it’s a more welcoming center,” she said. “Before, we were very under the radar, and now there are big changes.”
A tour of the 1930s summer house, which accommodates both the church and retreat house, reveals those changes. The 32 beds are in the process of replacing their “Laura Ashley grandma look,” as Mrs. Rangitsch put it, with more modern bedding. A copy of the Dalai Lama’s “A Policy of Kindness” sits near the altar, adjacent to a stack of Bibles.
Writers, Buddhists, artists, photographers and a garden club have all been recent patrons of the retreat, coming from as far as Australia or as close as Point Reyes Station.
The history of St. Columba’s dates back to the summer of 1903, when land on Cameron Street was donated to the second bishop of California, Rev. William Ford Nichols. St. Columba’s, named for the patron saint of Scotland, officially became a mission of the dioceses in 1931. By the end of the ’40s, St. Columba’s had outgrown its chapel and began searching for a larger church.
The present-day location, built in 1930, was originally known as Frick Mansion, named after the lawyer Robert N. Frick. Rumor has it that the building was designed to resemble a church—Mr. Frick wanted his daughters to be married at home. The old-growth redwood-infused mansion officially changed hands to the church in May 1951. It was admitted to the diocese as a parish in 1979.
St. Columba’s is also now searching for a vicar, a position appointed by the bishop that is in charge of missions. For now, it’s relying on the services of supply priests to deliver sermons each Sunday.
“To be a parish and then become a mission, it’s a shame,” Mrs. Rangitsch said. “But at the same time, it has brought a wonderful affiliation with the Bishop and has opened up the church. We’re awaiting our new vicar but we’re in no hurry; we’re having such wonderful supply priests.”