About St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community · Greenbrier, Arkansas
St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community is a mission of the Diocese of Little Rock serving the faithful of Greenbrier in Faulkner County, Arkansas. Established in 2019 as one of the first Catholic communities in the United States placed under the patronage of the Salvadoran martyr St. Oscar Romero, it is currently administered from St. Boniface Church in nearby Bigelow (New Dixie) and shares clergy with that parish and St. Joseph Church in Conway. The community celebrates Mass in both English and Spanish, with a strong bilingual identity that reflects Greenbrier's growing Hispanic Catholic population.
- Established
- 2019
- Patron
- St. Oscar Romero
- Rector
- Fr. Taryn Whittington (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (Central Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community is a small but warm bilingual mission that gives Greenbrier-area Catholics the chance to worship close to home in both English and Spanish, with weekday and Sunday Masses plus Sunday confession and adoration. It is one of the first U.S. communities formally placed under the patronage of St. Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran martyr, and is tended by experienced clergy shared with St. Boniface Church in Bigelow and St. Joseph Church in Conway. For Hispanic families who once commuted 20 minutes or more to attend Mass, it is now a place where faith, language, and community come together.
Mass times at St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 9:45 a.m.
- Sunday 11:45 a.m.
Adoration times
- Sunday, before Masses
History & Founding
St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community was founded in 2019 as an outreach of St. Joseph Church in Conway to serve Catholics living in and around Greenbrier, the second-largest city in Faulkner County. After Father Tony Robbins was assigned to Conway three years earlier, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor expressed interest in offering Mass in Greenbrier, twelve miles north of St. Joseph. The first Mass was celebrated on January 12, 2019, drawing more than 80 people to a rented space, the House of Hope and Special Events Center. Bishop Taylor formally established the community at a bilingual Mass on March 16, 2019 — eight days before the feast of St. Oscar Romero on March 24. According to the bishop, it became one of the first Catholic communities in the United States formally placed under the patronage of St. Romero.
- First Mass in Greenbrier: January 12, 2019 (80+ attendees)
- Official establishment: March 16, 2019, by Bishop Anthony B. Taylor
- Original worship site: House of Hope and Special Events Center, Greenbrier
- Initial bilingual Saturday evening Masses at 7 p.m.
- Founding pastor: Fr. Tony Robbins of St. Joseph Church, Conway
Identity Under St. Oscar Romero
The community takes its name and spiritual identity from St. Oscar Romero (1917–1980), the Salvadoran archbishop martyred while celebrating Mass and canonized in 2018. At the founding Mass, Bishop Taylor told more than 50 congregants that he prayed Romero's example would inspire 'a special concern for the poor and those who suffer injustice, such that you too become a voice for those who have no voice,' and that the new community would find in him 'a powerful intercessor in time of need.' During the rite the bishop wore the red chasuble worn at Romero's beatification, a gift from Father Salvador Vega, a native of El Salvador. The naming of the community was suggested by Father Robbins at an Ash Wednesday Mass on March 6, 2019 and unanimously approved by the people present.
- Patron: St. Oscar Romero (canonized 2018)
- Feast day: March 24
- Founding Mass concelebrated with Fr. Tony Robbins and Fr. Chandra Kodavatikanti
- Chasuble worn at the Mass had been worn at St. Romero's beatification
Clergy & Staff
The community is currently administered by Fr. Taryn Whittington, who also serves as Pastor of St. Boniface Church in Bigelow (New Dixie) and as an instructor at the House of Formation in Little Rock. Fr. Whittington holds a doctorate in philosophy from Baylor University and previously taught philosophy at Malone University in Canton, Ohio before entering seminary for the Diocese of Little Rock; he was ordained May 28, 2016. The diocese's directory also lists parish secretary Ilene Gunther, music directors Carol McDeermont and Tara Rainey, and sacristan Denson Brumley. Bishop Anthony B. Taylor oversees the community as ordinary of the Diocese of Little Rock.
- Administrator: Fr. Taryn Whittington
- Secretary: Ilene Gunther
- Music Directors: Carol McDeermont, Tara Rainey
- Sacristan: Denson Brumley
- Ordinary: Bishop Anthony B. Taylor
Mass & Sacrament Schedule
The parish's current published schedule on the Diocese of Little Rock website lists Sunday Mass in both English and Spanish, weekday Masses in English on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Sunday confession and adoration before each Mass. Holy Day Masses are celebrated 'As Announced.' Confession is offered in two windows on Sunday mornings to serve worshippers arriving for both the English and Spanish Masses.
- Sunday 10:30 a.m. — English Mass
- Sunday 12:30 p.m. — Spanish Mass
- Tuesday 6 p.m. — English Mass
- Thursday 6 p.m. — English Mass
- Holy Days — As Announced
- Sunday 9:45 a.m. — Confession (before English Mass)
- Sunday 11:45 a.m. — Confession (before Spanish Mass)
- Sunday — Adoration before Masses
Bilingual & Hispanic Ministry
Bilingual liturgy has been central to the community's identity from its first months. The original Saturday evening Masses were celebrated bilingually in the House of Hope and Special Events Center, and today's schedule continues that practice with a Spanish-language Mass each Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The community shares a connection with the Hispanic Commission at St. Joseph Church in Conway, led by Olga Rios of Greenbrier, and Sister Ana Brígida Riveros has ministered to the community since its founding, as she does at St. Joseph. Rosa Gomez, a longtime Greenbrier resident who had been driving 20 minutes or more to Mass with her husband Jose and three children, said the new community felt like 'new family members … a new community.'
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) Mass each Sunday
- Sister Ana Brígida Riveros serves the community
- Ties to the Hispanic Commission at St. Joseph Church, Conway
Music & Liturgy
Music at St. Oscar Romero is led by a team of two directors, Carol McDeermont and Tara Rainey, with Denson Brumley serving as sacristan. At the founding Mass in March 2019, a choir led the congregation in song, including Sister Ana Brígida Riveros, and Father Robbins distributed St. Oscar Romero magnets to parishioners after the liturgy. Choir member Bob Salas, a Greenbrier resident, was among those who chose to make the new community his parish home.
- Music Directors: Carol McDeermont, Tara Rainey
- Sacristan: Denson Brumley
- Choir members participate in bilingual liturgy
Path Toward Parish Status
St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community is currently a mission under the Diocese of Little Rock, served from St. Boniface Church in Bigelow (New Dixie). At the founding Mass, Bishop Taylor explained the canonical path forward: from a community gathering for Mass in shared space, to a chapel in a building dedicated to worship, to a quasi-parish or mission with religious education and standard programs, and finally to a full parish once it can support itself financially and staff priests of its own. Parishioners are already contributing each week to begin building that budget.
- Status: Mission (Diocese of Little Rock, Central Deanery)
- Attended from St. Boniface Church, Bigelow (New Dixie)
- Central Deanery, Faulkner County
- Future steps: chapel → quasi-parish/mission → parish
Visit & Contact
Parishioners and visitors can find St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community at 57 S. Broadview St., Suite 104, Greenbrier, AR 72058, in the Diocese of Little Rock's parish directory, with a 'Full Map and Directions' link on the official parish page. The mailing address is 20 St. Boniface Dr., Bigelow, AR 72016, and phone calls go through St. Boniface Church in New Dixie at (501) 759-2371. Email inquiries for the administrator can be directed to Fr. Taryn Whittington at [email protected].
- Location: 57 S. Broadview St., Suite 104, Greenbrier, AR 72058
- Mailing: 20 St. Boniface Dr., Bigelow, AR 72016
- Phone: (501) 759-2371 (New Dixie)
- Email: [email protected]
- Official website: dolr.org/parishes/st-oscar-romero-catholic-community-greenbrier
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Anthony (Tony) Robbins2019 (founding)
Pastor of St. Joseph Church in Conway; began and shepherded the Greenbrier Masses that became St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community; concelebrated the March 16, 2019 bilingual founding Mass with Bishop Taylor and Fr. Chandra Kodavatikanti.
- Fr. Taryn Whittingtonpresent
Administrator of St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community; also Pastor of St. Boniface Church, Bigelow (New Dixie) and Instructor at the House of Formation, Little Rock. Ordained May 28, 2016; holds a doctorate in philosophy from Baylor University and formerly taught at Malone University.