Bay City church to close after more than 100 years

BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan church is expected to close its doors after more than 100 years due to declining membership.

MLive.com reports that the final service is to start at 11 a.m. Sunday at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bay City.

The church opened in the late 1800s.

Pastor Jon Essex told the newspaper that the church had upward of 200 members in the 1940s and 1950s. The congregation now numbers about 32. Members voted in November to close.

Essex said members will be allowed to sing their favorite hymns during Sunday's service.

Saginaw-based Presbytery of Lake Huron is to take over the building. The group oversees about 50 churches.