Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright to close after 112 years

Oct. 17—WRIGHT — After over a century of operation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright is closing due to declining membership and an aging congregation.

"All churches come to a point when they start to realize that a reality, kind of like people, is that we're born, we live and we die," said Tim Ehling, the church's pastor. "It's kind of the natural life cycle of people, but it's also the natural life cycle of churches."

On Sunday, Bethlehem Lutheran Church held two congregation-wide votes on whether to disband the congregation and sell the church building to the city of Wright. The congregation voted in favor of both with over a two-thirds majority, the threshold required for a vote to pass.

"This is a sad moment, but there's a life cycle in a church, and sometimes it means being courageous and stepping out and saying it's time. It's time to close," said Sarah Levinski, president of the church council.

Founded in 1912, the church has contended with an aging congregation and declining membership for years, according to Levinski. The congregation currently has fewer than 30 members and maybe a dozen who attend worship each Sunday, she said.

"Our membership has been dwindling, and our attendance has been very small for several years," Levinski said.

The shrinking membership has put a strain on resources. The church currently shares a pastor with five other area churches and can't afford to hire a custodian or a groundskeeper.

"We don't pay anyone to clean our church. We can't hire a custodian. My husband mows the lawn when it needs to be mowed," Levinksi said.

Maintaining the church was increasingly difficult for the aging congregation.

"Fewer members mean everybody has to pitch in, and people are just getting tired and burned out," Levinski said.

The church will continue to operate through Jan. 31 as it navigates closure and prepares to sell the property to the city. When it closes, Levinski expects many members will transition to Bethlehem's sister church, Bethany Lutheran Church. Bethany is 6 miles away in Cromwell, where Ehling also serves as the pastor.

Levinski is hopeful that by selling the Bethlehem building to the city, it will continue to serve the community.

Though an agreement is still being drawn up, the city is tentatively planning to use the church as its new city hall — something it currently does not have. There is discussion about its use for the occasional Sunday service, according to Levinski and Wright Mayor Donovan Ranta.

Though a sale price has yet to be set, it will be nominal, according to Levisnki.

"In some ways, that's great that Bethlehem, although not by name, could still have events or services that will take place in the future," Levinski said.

Ranta sees endless possibilities for the city. He noted that in addition to being a historical landmark, the church has a full kitchen, a large parking lot and space for community functions. He would like it to operate as a community hall that could host things such as blood drives and community classes.

"We have big ideas for a small city," Ranta said.

Still, Levinski said it has been difficult for the congregation to come to terms with the church closing. She said people have fond memories of the church when it was at its height and a pillar for the tight-knit town of 168.

"There's a lot of sadness and grief that involves, and a lot of memories," Levinski said.

Closure has been a looming reality for the church for some time now, she said. The congregation previously voted on closure, but it failed by a single vote.

"It's not that they failed or did anything wrong. It just was it was time for them to die, and that's been really sad, and it's been hard, but they've been very courageous and brave," Ehling said.

As Americans increasingly claim to have no religious affiliation, regular church attendance

has fallen nationally by 12% over the past two decades,

according to research by Gallup.

"Across the nation, we're not alone in dealing with this issue of declining attendance and membership in churches," Levinski said. "So we know we're not alone."

Ehling doesn't like referring to it as a closure because the spirit of a church can't be closed. Instead, he prefers to call it a "disbursement" that allows members new opportunities to follow their faith.

"It's not about failure. It's about end of life," he said.