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Bethlehem Lutheran Church sells off contents of building
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Ruth Zembower’s voice was heavy when she described her long association with Bethlehem Lutheran Church — and the surprise she felt upon learning about its sudden fate.
“I was overwhelmed regarding its closing and the short notice,” the 35-year member and church secretary recalled.
As a result, Bethlehem Lutheran, which had its final service Dec. 28, was the site of a rummage sale Saturday at the church, 388 E. Midlothian Blvd., on the South Side.
Many members and nonmembers braved the subzero cold to attend the eight-hour sale of the church’s contents. Funds raised will be used to maintain the 50-year-old building until it’s sold, noted Zembower, who also made many blankets for sale.
She attributed a steady decline in membership and the transfer of the church’s most-recent pastor as the main reasons for the closing.
Items on several display tables included stained-glass window frames, a silver tea set, children’s coloring books, games and 33-rpm records, candle sets, Bibles, several boxes of books, Communion trays and plates, trophies for $3 to $10 and quilts. Other merchandise included a punchbowl set, a comb set for 50 cents, assorted coffee cups, boxes of artificial flowers, Christmas ornaments and decorations, a calculator, a bottle of lamp oil for $1 and a few old church signs.
The sentimental aspect of the gathering certainly was not lost on Kathy Schuetz of Canfield, a descendent of Michael Simon, who founded the church in 1812 and for whom Simon Road in Boardman is named.
“The original building was a small, white, frame church that was built in what is now Lake Park Cemetery and where the men sat on one side and the women on the other,” she explained.
Among items Schuetz took home was a black-and-white photograph showing her grandmother, Effie C. Barger, standing next to two other people during a ground-breaking ceremony for the current church, which opened in 1964. In addition, Schuetz had a picture of the parsonage that her grandfather, William Barger, likely constructed in 1921.
She also had bought for $3 part of a Communion set, though she was unsure if it was an antique.
Most attendees left with a variety of large and small artifacts. One woman spent $5 on an angel-shaped Christmas decoration made from branches and adorned with small lights.
For many longtime members such as Jeannette Weidner, selling many of Bethlehem Lutheran’s contents was bittersweet.
“This church has always been a friendly church,” the 30-year member and council president said. “It’s always felt like a home church.”
She also recalled that many clubs and activities took place before the membership began decreasing about 10 years ago.