Friends say goodbyes at New Salem United Methodist Church

NEW BERLIN, Ill. (AP) - The Rev. Donn Stephens likened Sunday's final regularly-scheduled service at New Salem United Methodist Church to 'œa family reunion.'ť

A number of families at the service, Stephens said, were represented by descendants going back four or five generations.

The congregation was founded in 1823, making it likely Sangamon County's second-oldest church behind First United Methodist. Members voted Nov. 12 to close the church.

With the liturgical year still pointing to Christmas, Stephens remembered another family that was headed out for parts unknown.

'œThe same God you've known here,'ť Stephens said, his voice breaking, 'œis with you as you're leaving. We must trust God, like Mary and Joseph (the Holy Family, with Jesus) did.

'œWhen you leave, God's grace goes with you. It's the only constant in life.'ť

There were tears and hugs as members and visitors from 93-year-old Anna Maria Diefenback to 1-year-old Cayson Hamilton said their goodbyes.

Church membership had slipped to about seven or eight members leading to last month's vote on closing the church.

The church could facilitate a sale of the building and property to another church or like-minded ministry, like a day care or a food pantry, Stephens said. After March 31, all responsibility for those matters goes to the Illinois Great Rivers Conference Board of Trustees, he said.

For Peggy Diefenback Evans, Anna Maria's daughter, Sunday was a bittersweet moment. Diefenback Evans has played organ at the church on and off for 40 years. She and her husband, Norm, got married there and her son, Aaron, was baptized there.

'œIt's become part of my life,'ť she said at a reception before the service. 'œIt's like another extension of your family that you get to see once a week.'ť

Greg Reynolds told the congregation that news of the church's closing brought his daughter, Morgan Dunkle, a former staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and now a civilian worker at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, to tears.

'³(The church) has been an important thing in my family,'ť said Reynolds, a lay leader in the church.

New Salem UMC was the very first church Matthew Sisusa walked into when he moved to Springfield from Liberia.

The church, Sisusa said after the service, threw its arms around him and his family.

'œIt breaks my heart, seeing such a congregation being separated physically,'ť Sisusa admitted. 'œWe'll still be part of the body of Christ. That is the great thing about being a Christian.'ť

Ann Tapscott, the great-great-great granddaughter of the Rev. Peter Cartwright, the evangelist and Methodist circuit rider, lamented the loss of small congregations, like New Salem.

'œI think it's sad,'ť said Tapscott, who belongs to Peter Cartwright UMC in Pleasant Plains, where she lives. 'œBut people are more mobile these days. They can get farther places. They go to the bigger churches where their children can worship with others.

'œA lot of kids don't care about the history of things like they used to. They leave the area, so it's hard to keep that spirit going.'ť

The church moved to its current location at Old Jacksonville Road and New Salem Road in 1868 before a tornado leveled the building in 1942. The church was rebuilt and dedicated a year later.

Alice Martin compiled a history of the church marking the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the new structure.

'œThe only thing left standing, they tell me, was the pulpit,'ť said Martin, who lives on Star West Farm, about a quarter mile from the church 'œIt was (in the middle of World War II) so lumber and nails were being rationed at that time, but all the neighbors donated materials, so that was fantastic.'ť

Rev. Mary Louise Haxton served as pastor at New Salem from 1992 to 1995 when she was a student at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

'œI have fond memories of this church because it was the very first church I served,'ť said Haxton, who is now retired but returned Sunday with her husband, Rev. Stanley Haxton. 'ť(The congregation was) very patient with this novice, which I very much appreciated.

'œI was a new seminary student and I thought I knew a lot and I learned how much I didn't know and these people helped teach me. They were very warm and forgiving and that's certainly what I needed at that time.'ť

Stephens, who is also the pastor of Jerome UMC in Springfield, said he will continue visiting parishioners in hospitals and homes for the time being. A church council meeting slated for Jan. 8 will take up the more serious work of how it wants to move forward with the building between now and the end of March.

'œThere's a lot to do,'ť he said.