In 1984 a group of five Catholic women finished a six-year non-denominational scripture study called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). Through this study they came to know why Scripture is called the Living Word of God and how much it impacted their individual lives. From that awareness of the power of Scripture, along with their deep and abiding love of their Catholic faith, came the desire to pass that knowledge on to others.. They began to seek a comparable Catholic study.

After a fruitless search they consulted a priest who suggested that they gather regularly to pray and ask for the Lord’s guidance. They met together weekly for over a year and were joined by several others who were also committed to the power of prayer and the development of a Catholic bible study. They were constantly amazed by their oneness of purpose and the meshing of their ideas. Believing this to be confirmation that the Holy Spirit was guiding them, they formulated a plan to launch The Cornerstone Catholic Scripture Study. In 1986 a pilot study on the The Gospel According to Mark began at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Kirkwood, Missouri. By 1989 there were four branches established in St. Louis and by 2015 there were 18 branches in 7 states with over 1,000 members. (Click here for the location of The Cornerstone branches.)

From the beginning the founders adopted a process of praying and discerning all decisions related to The Cornerstone’s growth and operations. They learned to rely on their belief that if something is of God, it will flourish, and if it is not, it will fail (an idea taken from Acts 5:38-39). The Cornerstone exists today because of God’s power to act in the presence of a committed community who love the Lord and love each other. “The stone the builders rejected” has truly become The Cornerstone. It is the Lord’s work and it is marvelous in all of our eyes.