Why are churches closing doors within the community? Read this unique story about First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Why are there so many people who do not relate to attending church services or become a part of a community?
By PETER SMITH Updated 3:23 PM CDT, July 21, 2024
They gathered one last time on Sunday — the handful of mostly elderly members of First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
The members, joined by well-wishers, said the Lord’s Prayer, recited the Apostle’s Creed and heard a biblical passage typically used at funerals, “To everything there is a season … a time to be born, and a time to die.” They sang classic hymns — “Amazing Grace,” “It Is Well With My Soul” and, poignantly, “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.”
Afterward, members voted unanimously to close the church, a century and a half after it was created by hardscrabble farmers in this southern Illinois community of about 14,000 people.
Many U.S. churches close their doors each year, typically with little attention. But this closure has a poignant twist.
Nobody should be alone in this world. It is bewildering to this writer, how there are so many people that are not able to have faith in their lives.
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