About Sts. Peter and Paul · Morrison Bluff, Arkansas
Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church is a small mission parish in Morrison Bluff, a tiny river town in northern Logan County, Arkansas, situated along the Arkansas River bluffs. It is one of several historic churches founded in the region by the Benedictine monks of nearby Subiaco Abbey after their arrival in 1877 to serve German Catholic immigrants. Classified as a mission in the Diocese of Little Rock, it is currently administered by Fr. Nathan Ashburn and is 'attended from' (pastorally linked to) St. Ignatius Church in nearby Scranton. Weekend Masses are offered Saturday evening and Sunday morning, with confessions heard before Mass.
- Established
- 1881
- Patron
- Saints Peter and Paul
- Rector
- Fr. Nathan Ashburn (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (River Valley Deanery)
Why belong here
Sts. Peter and Paul is a small but active country mission where Mass is offered every weekend by priests linked to St. Ignatius Church in Scranton. The parish retains the warmth of an older, tight-knit rural Catholic community: a lay-staffed office, a choir and organist, a Coordinator of Religious Education, and Catholic Youth Ministry leaders serve a congregation that gathers twice each weekend. For Catholics in the Morrison Bluff area — or those traveling the Arkansas River corridor — it offers traditional liturgy in English, with confession before Mass, in a setting that links present-day worshippers directly to the German Catholic pioneers who built the parish under the Benedictines of Subiaco Abbey in 1881.
Mass times at Sts. Peter and Paul
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Mass
Parish Overview
Sts. Peter and Paul Church is a mission parish of the Diocese of Little Rock, located in Morrison Bluff, a small town in northern Logan County, Arkansas, on the south bank of the Arkansas River. The parish belongs to the River Valley Deanery and is pastorally served 'from' St. Ignatius Church in Scranton. All sacramental and administrative matters are coordinated through the Scranton parish office.
- Type: Mission
- Deanery: River Valley
- Diocese: Little Rock
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 87, Scranton, AR 72863
History & Heritage
The parish traces its roots to the German Catholic immigration that followed the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad into Logan County in the 1870s. After Subiaco Abbey was founded by Fr. Wolfgang Schlumpf and two monk missionaries from St. Meinrad Abbey in 1878, the Benedictines planted mission churches throughout the area; the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Morrison Bluff was completed in 1881. A new brick church replaced the original in 1918 as commerce shifted to nearby Scranton.
- 1881: Original church completed; private Catholic school operated on site.
- 1918: Present brick church building opened, with spires and a Latin datestone.
- Part of the network of Benedictine mission churches radiating from Subiaco Abbey.
Clergy & Staff
The parish is administered by Fr. Nathan Ashburn and is pastorally linked to St. Ignatius Church, Scranton. The parish office is staffed by lay volunteers, with religious education and youth ministry coordinated by designated parish leaders.
- Administrator: Fr. Nathan Ashburn
- Parish office: Francis Raible and Paula Frederick ([email protected])
- Choir Director / Organist: Carol Geels — (479) 938-2335
- Coordinator of Religious Education (C.D.R.E.): Ruth Beshoner
- Catholic Youth Ministry (CYM) Leaders: Ashley Fritsche and Julie Sory
Faith Formation & Youth
Religious education and youth ministry are run by lay coordinators working with the Scranton-area cluster of parishes. The Coordinator of Religious Education (C.D.R.E.) and the Catholic Youth Ministry (CYM) leaders handle formation for children and young people across the linked parishes.
- Coordinator of Religious Education: Ruth Beshoner
- Catholic Youth Ministry Leaders: Ashley Fritsche and Julie Sory
Music & Liturgy
Music at Sts. Peter and Paul is provided by an adult choir accompanied by organ, both directed from the choir loft. The same volunteer serves as Choir Director and Organist, sustaining the parish's traditional small-church liturgy.
- Choir Director / Organist: Carol Geels — (479) 938-2335
Contact & Visiting
Because the mission is pastorally tied to St. Ignatius Church in Scranton, all calls and mail go through that parish office. The physical church is located on State Highway 109 in Morrison Bluff and is most easily reached via the Highway 109 bridge from Johnson County.
- Parish phone: (479) 473-2010 (Scranton office)
- Email: [email protected]
- Mailing: P.O. Box 87, Scranton, AR 72863
- Street address: 2216 N. State Hwy. 109, Morrison Bluff, AR 72863
Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
Immediately adjacent to the church sits the Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery, a quiet continuation of the parish's ministry. The cemetery is repeatedly cited by historians as one of the principal landmarks of Morrison Bluff and a tangible link between the present congregation and the German Catholic pioneers buried there.