The First Presbyterian Church of Des Moines in Iowa, which has been in operation since 1848, will gather for its final collective service on Sunday, unable to rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Already, the nearly 170-year-old church is offering up things for sale such as “hymnals, Bibles, communion sets, sanctuary furniture, choir music, tables, chairs, dishes, kitchen supplies” that will be available at the end of Sunday’s service, Per Second News gathered. The church property is also expected to be sold shortly.
“We were declining and the pandemic killed us,” Kathy Smith, who has been a member of the church since 1984, said.
“It’s really, really hard. As you can see, this is a beautiful place,” the church’s pastor, the Rev. Doug Basler, told KCCI.
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He explained that the church only has 40 members. And the last service they had amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, only 15 people showed up.
“It was just hard for us to rebound and gain any momentum after the COVID year,” Basler told the press.
Mary Lou Aspengren, 94, who is believed to be the church’s longest-serving member, told KCCI she attended her first Sunday school session at the church in 1938. In 1950, a fire destroyed the interior of the church and it was rebuilt, Per Second News gathered.
Last December, the 221-year-old First Presbyterian Church in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, permanently closed its doors on Christmas Eve due to declining membership and attendance.
The Potter’s House of Denver also announced plans in December to sell its $12.2 million megachurch in Arapahoe County, Colorado, and go completely virtual amid declining donations amid the pandemic.
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