Some downtown churches face challenges

By Liz Barry

Published: March 7, 2008

Modern office buildings obscure the church spires that long dominated the downtown skyline, yet Lynchburg remains true to its nickname, "The City of Churches."

A stroll down Court Street attests to the architectural and historical legacy of Lynchburg's early congregations. Head into the newer city sections and suburbs, and you can't get far without passing a church.

But some of Lynchburg's oldest churches are struggling to survive in the face of dwindling membership and the high costs of maintaining their historic structures.

With more than 30 churches predating 1900, it is impossible to generalize about their situations. Some are struggling to make ends meet; others are growing. But for the former, the challenges can be daunting.

"These churches are all built of materials that are apparently durable, like slate and stone, but still need a high level of maintenance," says Tom Ledford, the retired director of the Lynchburg Museum system.

Even a simple paint job can be very costly, Ledford says.

Empty Pews
Church attendance at Court Street United Methodist, founded in 1850, has been declining for years, says the Rev. Richard Woodall, senior pastor. The church has close to 400 members, with about 100 attending Sunday services.

"We're an elderly congregation and, consequently, we lose a lot of folks to death, just to be quite frank," he says.

Compounding the problem, the younger generation is attending churches closer to where they live in the suburbs.

"People have to drive past a lot of churches to get downtown," he says.

To pay for the high cost of maintaining the current church building, designed by Edward Frye and opened in 1902, and heating during the winter, the church rents space for non-religious endeavors, including an adult care center, a pre-school program and the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra.

At Court Street Baptist, the oldest black church in the city, membership dropped when the previous pastor left the church several years ago, says the Rev. Rodney Forest. Before his departure, church attendance averaged between 200 and 250 people. Now it's between 85 and 105.

Forrest says attracting more youth has been the biggest challenge to building up the congregation.

"You find the younger generation not being as actively involved in the church as they used to be," he says.

Fanny Butler, a longtime member at Court Street Baptist, says the decrease in membership makes it difficult to tackle large renovation projects, like an elevator to accommodate elderly members and a new Christian education building. The building, circa 1880 and designed by Robert Burkholder, has a 167-foot steeple, which was the tallest structure in the city.

"We've been able to keep up the maintenance of the church, and we've been able to basically pay our bills," she says.

"We don't have enough people who are able to pay their tithes as would be necessary to keep the church going at its maximum level," she later adds.

First Baptist Church, founded in 1815, also faces declines in new membership and dwindling numbers as the congregation ages, says the Rev. Robert Brubaker. The sanctuary of the current church building, which opened in 1886 and was designed by John Rochester Thomas,once held 500 members at its Sunday peak and now averages about 50.

Part of the problem is the immediate neighborhoods that once supplied most of the congregation at First Baptist are no longer residential, Brubaker says.

"It was founded by people who lived in walking distance from the church," Brubaker says. "Most of the old homes around the church are now law offices or other kinds of offices."
Now, First Baptist has to compete with the plethora of Baptist churches in greater Lynchburg.

And with low numbers, even the most basic church upkeep can be difficult. Brubaker says the church's endowment is used entirely for keeping the building in "minimal repair."
"The heating and cooling of something that big is such a terrible expense," Brubaker says.

At Jackson Street Methodist Church, founded in 1866 and where Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass are said to have spoken, a new young pastor is trying to recruit younger families. The Rev. Quentin Lawson, pastor at Jackson Street for eight months, says that average Sunday attendance has increased from 40 to 65.

Grace Dean, lay leader and lifetime member at Jackson Street Methodist, says the age of the congregation is still a concern. In January alone, she says, the church lost three members to death.

Dean's four children left Lynchburg for better employment opportunities and have not moved back. She says other church members have similar situations.

"We have our children move away for economic reasons so, therefore, there is no influx of youth in church," Dean says.

Changes downtown
The decline of downtown started as early as the Depression, Ledford says, when several suburbs were built. But it was after World War II that commerce and residential life migrated outward.

"It really picked up speed after WWII in the 1950s when they opened what's now known as the Plaza and of course later on the mall, River Ridge Mall," he says. That essentially striped out all of the retail that had brought people downtown."

More residential development followed new shopping centers. New churches followed suit.

Ledford says it's important to keep the historic downtown churches from falling into disrepair, as they are part of the city's fabric.

"I would like to see them survive and prosper," Ledford says. "They are very much identified with what Lynchburg is. It's always been touted as a 'City of Churches.'"

Woodall shares Ledford's sentiment.

"What a crying shame it would be to lose these beautiful facilities."

Recent revitalization efforts may bring new members for some of these churches, Ledford says. But he also believes that churches must look beyond downtown to attract new members.

Renting out church space to outside groups is one place to start.

"Anything it takes to bring a person in, and make them feel comfortable and welcome," Ledford says. "It's a way to contact people who don't go to church anyway."

Butler agrees that churches must look outward and be creative in attracting new members.

"I think we can't just confine ourselves to the downtown," she says. "We need to bring people to the churches downtown because the rich history that the churches offer to the city is something we don't want to lose."

Signs of new life
One attempt to unite the downtown churches is an ecumenical Sunday school for adults, started and led by Clyde Shepard, a vestry member at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, with its current structure built in 1895.

The Sunday school, which began in the fall, draws members from seven churches: St. Paul's and Court Street Baptist, Court Street Methodist, Jericho Baptist Mission Chapel, Holy Cross Catholic Church, Jackson Street Methodist Church and Diamond Hill Baptist Church.

Each church hosts the class on a rotating basis. Attendance ranges from 12 to upwards of 30, with participants discussing Bible stories and sharing information about events at their respective churches.

One goal is to promote familiarity and trust among members of the various churches. Down the road, Shepard hopes the ecumenical Sunday school will lead to increased collaboration among the churches on youth programs and other ministry.

"It's a good start simply to meet each other and read the Bible together," he says, "to realize we have a shared religious vision that, God willing, may turn into something more."

Woodall supports the Sunday school as a way to bridge the divide between denominations and to bring together churches that are facing similar challenges downtown.

"It's been just reassuring for all of us to see how many beliefs we share in common," Woodall says. "We are more similar than dissimilar."