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Butler Memorial Presbyterian Church closing
By LINDA M. LINONIS
YOUNGSTOWN
When a church closes, the building may be shuttered but memories of worship, fellowship and family remain in the minds, hearts and souls of members.
Such is the situation at Butler Memorial Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Rayen Ave., which will conduct its last service at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Recently, Joyce Paul and Cleo Taylor Blakely, who serve on Session, the governing body of the church, met with the Rev. Katy Yates Brungraber, member-at-large of Eastminister Presbytery and moderator of the administrative commission, and the Rev. Dr. Donna Sloan, who serves on the Presbytery’s administrative committee. They reflected on memories. For Blakely and Paul, the church has been tied to their families for decades. Blakely’s father, Sandy Taylor, and Paul’s father, J.W. Tucker, were founding elders in 1923.
The two women, who have been members all their lives, said the end is “sad.” “The closer it comes, the sadder I get about it,” Paul said. “In some way, it’s unbelieveable it’s closing.
“I’m sad but proud to have been a part of it,” she continued. “But I know it’s part of the greater Church. Our hearts can’t help but hurt.”
Blakely added, “It’s hard to think about the end.”
But the two admitted that the loyal few knew the end was near. The Session voted to dissolve. Blakely summarized the situation, in part: “We’re been ready to close for years. There was no growth. No babies or families. Money was always tight. ... The time for the decision to close was past due.”
It was noted that the Rev. Kenneth Grissett Jr. served Butler Memorial for 14 years as a supply pastor and lent stability, but then he became ill. Blakely said that the church had relied on supply pastors but has had no full-time pastor for decades.
Because those who attend are senior citizens, Blakely said, they did not have the energy or resources to carry on missions and traditions.
“It was once a prestigous congregation,” Dr. Sloan said, noting members included black professional people. Butler Memorial is in Presbyterian Church USA and Eastminster Presbytery. It was the only black Presbyterian church between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. “It leaves a legacy of what this church was and how it was part of the Valley community.”
The Rev. Mrs. Brungraber said the final service “will recognize that the church had a presence in the community.”
“The congregation was like a family,” Paul said. “Everyone got along very well.”
Blakely agreed. “It was more like family.” She said the church has never really had a large congregation; in the 1940s, it numbered in the 80s. Now, about six people attend; not enough to sustain the church financially.
Paul said she recalled better days when the Five-Star Club, a group of women church members, sponsored various programs, activities and mission efforts. The Presbyterian Women always hosted a Women’s Day program. The group donated clothing and school supplies to students at Harding Elementary School.
Blakely said in the early years, family night was on Fridays and popular among young people. The “family-oriented” event, she said, reflected feeling of the members. Youth meetings took place Sunday evenings.
Blakely originated the Rainbow Tea, held for some 20 years, that featured a speaker and was a fundraiser for church projects at Harding. An annual fall dinner featured a speaker, program and meal.
Paul added the church also had a popular picnic in the park that began in the 1970s and ended about five years ago. The event included outdoor worship service then a picnic with fellowship; they were at Mill Creek MetroParks and Roosevelt Park in Campbell. She added the church also sponsored African American history programs.
The church also was used in a film, “Turn of Faith,” in 2000 with Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini as a police officer and two childhood friends, a priest and Mafia member.