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by Keegan Sweeney

After 135 years, St. John United Church of Christ, located at 12376 Waters Rd in Freedom Township, is closing after a difficult decision made this past spring by the church board. While St. John will cease meeting there, the church building will soon house another area church. 

After looking for a buyer, Foundation Building Church in Chelsea — which currently meets at 512 Washington St near Chelsea High School — came forward. The St. John Church Board agreed to donate it, as it was important to them that the building is handed off to another church. 

Over the years, the church has seen fewer people in attendance. “Sadly, what has happened is people have just left the church. You know, we haven’t had a Sunday school for years,” Jeanne Spencer, the church board president, said. “It was hard to draw new people because we weren’t able to offer all of the amenities that many churches can.” Eventually, the church building critical-repair costs outweighed the funds coming in. 

“You could see it coming. Our funds were dwindling, and we talked about it for many meetings. What do we want our beloved church to go to? It was decided that if we could give it to another church or sell it to another church, that was the first priority,” Spencer said. When the opportunity came to donate it to Foundation Building Church, the church board embraced the handover. “We were very happy about it,” Spencer said. 

As a denomination, St. John Church is a part of the United Church of Christ. On a continuum, Spencer said that the church falls on the opposite end of the most conservative churches. The St. John Facebook page describes the church as “The quaint country church, nestled in farm country, steeped in tradition, yet progressive to today times.” Foundation Building Church website states that they are a community that “welcomes people of all genders, racial, and social backgrounds as we passionately pursue the presence of God,” echoing sentiments of St. John Church. 

Being organized and built in 1891, the church has enjoyed a long history locally. Early founders consisted of those belonging to the German Hinderer, Trinkle, and Buss families. Spencer was baptized, confirmed, and married in the church. She has also served as the church organist. Her father, the president preceding her, married someone from the Trinkle family and then joined the church. He then passed the torch to her. 

Spencer said that if one looks through the church membership book, there is a swath of members from the three German families. Over her time at the church, they have organized many community events such as fundraising dinners, ice cream socials, and euchre parties. They also organized an annual Christmas drive for local families in need — and the Manchester Community Resource Center helped identify those families.

She noted one story that sticks out to her. One summer, a granddaughter of a church member approached the church and asked for help. She was a teacher on a Native American reservation in South Dakota and explained that the previous winter was difficult on the reservation — so the church then organized a drive for them.

Now, although the church building is closed, Spencer wants to continue the tradition. “The church is really the people,” she said. She mentioned plans to eventually regroup and meet in someone home or a local building: “Even though the church [building] had to be parted with through the donation, the church, St. John, with the people, are going to continue.”

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.