East Midlothian Church To Close

[AllanY2525]

I grew up going to church at St. Paul's on fifth ave next to Park Vista...I was sad when they tore down the
Strouss mansion attached to it, sadder still when I heard that St. Paul's closed the church...glad to see
Park Vista using the building, though.

[Towntalk]

Jay,  sort of like the way that the Brier Hill church was repurposed for what you suggested, but unfortunately time is against the idea since the congregation has already put the building on the market.

[Towntalk]

 Back in the day, the local newspaper had a whole page devoted  to a complete directory of all the local churches and was divided up into denominations, listed the church, the time for services, the name of the pastor and the title of the sermon.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZXw_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=EFUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3630%2C2725118


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oH0_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=T1UMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3962%2C2634255

[AllanY2525]

Population loss is probably the biggest contributor to the decline in the number of churches
in the city.  When Youngstown was at its peak, there were well over one hundred churches
operating within the city limits.

It would be interesting to know how many are left now.

[Towntalk]

Great idea Jay. The Lansingville area has produced many famous people in business, sports and music.

[jay]

Maybe the empty building could be turned into a south side museum.  It could house photo collections of the great neighborhoods that existed back in the day.  It could also hold photos of all the great businesses that were once there.  It could give a younger generation something to strive for again.

[Towntalk]

 Bethlehem Lutheran Church To Sell Church Contents

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 388 E. Midlothian Blvd., which conducted its last service Dec. 28, will sponsor a sale of contents of the church from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

[jay]

Most of these mega-churches drain much needed funds away from local churches, but have absolutely no local outreach.

This is just another reason why we should worship local (and shop local).  If we fail to support our city's businesses, churches and institutions, they will close.

[Towntalk]

http://wytv.com/2014/12/28/bethlehem-lutheran-church-holds-final-service/

http://www.wfmj.com/story/27718005/final-service-and-farewell-at-bethlehem-lutheran

[Towntalk]

http://www.wfmj.com/story/27718005/final-service-and-farewell-at-bethlehem-lutheran
It's a crying shame that we are seeing more and more churches closing their doors such as this one and Mahoning United Methodist Church. Much of the blame rests with the secularization of our youth by Athiests, and Agnostics in our educational systems, especially on the college level. Another falt rests with the money hungry psudo-Christian mega churches that pull members away from other churches, then drain them of all the money they can get out of them so that the so-called "preachers" can live like millionares. Most of these mega-churches drain much needed funds away from local churches, but have absolutely no local outreach. The same holds true with the television preachers such as the Swiggerts and Pat Robertson's outfit and their ilk.

[jay]

WFMJ-TV did a nice story about the church on the news today.

The last service will be on Sunday, December 28.

Former church members will be coming from all over the country to attend this last service.

[jay]

Perhaps we should move the tent city people into the abandoned churches.

[Towntalk]

 There are 3 other Churches of the same denomination near Bethlehem Lutheran, with the closest being Martin Luther Lutheran Church at 420 Clearmount Dr. Like Bethlehem it too has very small Sunday attendance, for a large building. Membership 173, Average attendance 68.

[Towntalk]

Did anyone try to strip Mahoning United Methodist after it closed?  Given the condition of Bethlehem Lutheran, which is in excellent condition. No doubt congregation will have a reputable real estate agent handle the sale of the building. It didn't take long for the real estate agent to find a buyer for Mahoning United Methodist.
By the way Jay it is not up to the "south side community" to "quickly find another use for the church property", it is up to the Bishop of that Synod to facilitate the sale of the building, just as it is the responsability of the Bishop of the Catholic Church to dispose of closed Catholic Churches. No doubt that their Bishop is already making provisions for it's sale. As for the "south side community" 99% of whom never sat foot in that church, or put one penny in that church's collection plate, what is done with it is none of their business.

[jay]

The south side community has to quickly find another use for the church property or this property will be stripped, become another eyesore, and eventually have to be demolished.