Bellefonte church with 221-year history will hold its last service on Christmas Eve

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, WBBM in Chicago, of all sources

Bellefonte church with 221-year history will hold its last service on Christmas Eve

BY BRET PALLOTTO UPDATED DECEMBER 24, 2021 10:04 AM

A Bellefonte church that’s nearly as old as the borough is set to close at the end of the year, leaving behind a house of worship that’s welcomed generations of families over the course of more than two centuries.

The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, 203 N. Spring St., is expected to close after 221 years because of dwindling membership and attendance. The church’s last service is scheduled for about 7 p.m. Christmas Eve. All are invited to attend.

“There’s just such a love among this congregation. We’ve all known each other so long and we know each other’s foibles,” church elder Candace Dannaker said. “I’ll miss our personality, our laughter and our joy in just being together. And, of course, the faith aspect of sharing that with other like-minded people.”

The church that was organized at a time when there were only 16 states had no shortage of movers and shakers throughout the years. It was established by the same men who founded Bellefonte, while other members included two former Pennsylvania governors.

But the church was not immune from the issues that have plagued houses of worship throughout the United States. Churches of all sizes have taken hits in attendance.

Dannaker estimated the church had about 40 members before the pandemic, a number that is down to about 25. Only about a dozen attend services in person. The church did not have in-person worship from March 2020 until Easter Sunday.



The sanctuary of Bellefonte’s First Presbyterian Church on Spring Street will host its last service on Christmas Eve. Abby Drey [e-mail]

Attendance is down even more sharply from when Dannaker joined 34 years ago. She estimated there were about 200 people in attendance then.

{snip}

[3Hotdogs]

1. Article says 15 members were lost during pandemic.

This part of Pa. is yahoo country.

How many were lost because the virus is a lib'tard fraud?

[twodogsbarking]

4. Age too is a factor.

[Freddie]

2. I was on Council when we decided to close our church

An older congregation, far more funerals than baptisms, a building that needed repair. One of 7 Lutheran (ELCA) churches in a onetime German Lutheran community; all but 1 of the remaining 6 are struggling. Closed in Jan. 2019, before Covid. The church I was baptized in, married, saw my children and grandchildren baptized and my daughter married there. I still miss the place and the people terribly, especially at Christmas.
We were hoping that the building would be sold to another church, but it was sold to an engineering firm that specializes in “other uses” for closed churches. It’s in a nice location near downtown. Was originally going to be turned into offices but with the trend in WFH, they’re reconsidering.

[FakeNoose]

3. Some older church buildings in the Pittsburgh area have been rehabbed

They are now in their 2nd life as office buildings, apartments/condos, and one old Catholic church became a trendy brewery restaurant. It's a sad fact that old buildings require funds and expertise that aren't available to the parish communicants. But it's no problem for private developers to figure out what to do and how to make money from the beautiful buildings. How many private developers are willing to donate their services to keep the old parishes going? Probably none of them.