CLEVELAND (RNS) Eleven suburban Presbyterian churches have come together to rescue a century-old inner-city church that was once a sanctuary for high society but now is too poor to keep its doors open.
North Presbyterian Church, a grimy, weather-beaten, brick-and-stone edifice built in 1887, has only about 65 parishioners, nearly half of whom are homeless.
“Our folks are dirt poor,” said the Rev. Charlie Hurst, the church’s part-time pastor. “And we don’t have an endowment, so there’s no money here.”
But closing North’s doors on the few remaining souls is not an option for the Presbyterian community.
The suburban churches have taken over the cost, cooking and serving of North Presbyterian’s free hot-meals program, and have begun exploring ways to raise money to keep the congregation going.
“Partnering suburban churches with urban churches is an alternative to closing churches down,” said the Rev. Louise Westfall, senior pastor of the 1,200-member Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights.
“There is only one church, and we’re all in it together.”
One plan is to mothball the old North Presbyterian building, which is too expensive to operate, and build a new church in the neighborhood.
Hurst said he paid $15,000 in heating bills last year, digging into the church’s savings and relying on handouts from other parishes.
“These old buildings no longer work,” said Hurst, who recently had the main sanctuary walled off and its boiler shut down to cut costs. Services are now held in the basement.
“I have no idea what the building could be used for,” said the Rev. Martha Shiverick of Fairmount Presbyterian. “But I don’t want to kill a congregation, and the congregation is determined to stay in the neighborhood. I think that’s where Jesus wants the church to be.”
The old building is a city historic landmark, so it can’t be torn down without going through layers of red tape in City Hall. And selling such a castlelike behemoth — appraised last year at $160,000 — is a difficult task.
Still, Shiverick has a vision of a new “green” energy-efficient building with easy access for the elderly and disabled. She already has architectural drawings and a proposed site nearby.
“The church has such a great ministry to underprivileged and homeless people that we want to keep it in the neighborhood,” she said. “And we want it to grow.”
North’s roots go back to 1859 when a prominent downtown church, the Old Stone Church, established a Sunday school in the near East Side neighborhood. The Old Stone Church has joined the campaign to save North Presbyterian.
From that school, the church was established in 1870, named after North Church in Boston, where militant colonists two centuries ago lighted signal lanterns in the bell tower on the night of Paul Revere’s famous ride.
Philanthropist Flora Stone Mather, wife of iron ore tycoon Samuel Mather and sister-in-law of statesman John Hay, was the largest contributor to the building fund.
The first service in the new building was held Oct. 23, 1887, with 800 people in attendance. A choir, accompanied by a cornet, two violins and an organ, sang “Christ is Our Corner Stone,” according to news reports at the time.
The organ, donated by the Old Stone Church, is still there. So is the giant bell that still rings with the pulling of a rope in the bell tower. And despite what might happen to the old building, church leaders hope the old bell will be salvaged and continue to chime in the neighborhood for another 120 years.
“Urban churches have to be sustained,” said Hurst. “And if suburban churches go into their cocoons, it’s bad for both. If God is calling us to take care of each other, we need to know where each other is.”
(Michael O’Malley writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.)
