Millerton Methodist Church prays for increased membership, donations

MILLERTON— The Millerton Methodist Church has a prime location in the village’s very popular business district, right on the edge of Veterans’ Park (which it donated to the village years ago). From there, one can peer down Main Street, with Terni’s in view and the former Saperstein’s across the street. Looking in the other direction, one can see the Main Street dissolve into the town’s boulevard district along Route 44. Neatly lined homes, harkening back to a bygone era, dot the village streets.

Now, though, the church that dates back to 1851 is in danger of closing its doors. That’s due, largely, to the fact that its membership has dwindled to roughly a dozen and its expenses have risen steadily over time. 

In September, 2014, structural issues with the building were discovered. The roof was compromised and the rafters displaced — all costly repairs. The work took nearly one-and-a-half years to complete and during repairs services were held twice a month at the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home up the road.

Renovations to the church cost roughly $300,000, and were paid for largely through a GuideOne Insurance policy. 

Now repaired, congregants Will Brown and Jim Campbell, cousins, are working with others at the church to see that it remain open.

“The church has been there and the whole corner has  been a quadrant of community gathering for over 150 years — a long, long time,” said Brown, who wants to spread word that the church is wrapping up a $5,000 matching grant fund drive in August.

“In the end, the plight really comes down to money,” said Brown, who lives in Maine but visits Millerton almost monthly. “The Methodist Church has a set of guidelines that it’s been functioning under for a long time. It says if the church cannot survive, with no money to pay the minister or to keep the building sustained, they will ask to close it. Then, they’ll put it up basically for sale to another church that might be interested. If that fails, they’ll parcel out the contents of the church to other churches anywhere — pews, organs, etc., and then they’ll put the church on the open market for sale.”

Brown wants to make sure that doesn’t happen, as his worst-case scenario is  seeing a big box store buy the property.

“Being there right in the center of town, on a sizable lot, it’s big enough to put a Walgreens or something like that,” he said. “There’s a good probability it would be sold to the highest bidder… If that moves into town, it would really change the character.”

Smack in the middle of the commercial district, Brown said the church is trying to diversify to stay vital. It’s home to the Millerton Farmers Market, which meets inside during  the winter and outside during the summer. It also plays hosts to concerts, in part to help fundraise for the church. He said if it could build a commercial-grade kitchen downstairs, that would make it a valuable spot for community gatherings. Upstairs, where the concerts are held, could be used for other functions, including art shows and more. He said other organizations, like the American Legion and fire company, have already gone that route.

“The church certainly could function for community events… the location is ideal,” said Brown, who added that with so few members, such alternatives are sorely needed. “One of the things, is that the church is way behind the times and has had a dying congregation for the last few generations.”

Campbell is among those who strayed from the church when he was busy building his business and growing his family, but he eventually returned and reconnected. He said, like his cousin who grew up going to the Methodist Church, he likes the community and the traditions associated with it.

“The church, when I was  growing up, my parents as well as Will’s and everyone’s around here, it was really a social thing. It was religious, but it was also a social place to meet and be,” he  said, adding it wasn’t just the Methodist Church that was so convivial. “After church, everybody congregated at Terni’s. And we went to Sunday school. 

“But I’m as guilty as anyone because once I got older I vacated and didn’t come back for 50 years. But who’s counting?” he asked. “It wasn’t until we realized it could close that a small group of us got together and said, ‘No, we’re not going to let that happen.’ We would like to see the church continue.”

Campbell acknowledged it’s tough for people to fit church into their lives today. That holds true for all churches, not just his.

“It’s no different than for any other church,” he said, “people are going in 1,000 different directions, and people put a different value on that type of thing than they did before. Really it was much more of a social thing at that time, where everybody got together. It was a big deal.”

But, like Brown, Campbell said the bottom line is that the church is a business.

“How do they keep these churches going?” he asked. “God knows. Without more people in the congregation, you’ve only got, like any other club or organization, so many people that are there and are involved. That’s what it takes.”

Now, he said, he hopes the remaining $1,000 left on the matching grant fund will be raised before the Aug. 18 deadline. The man behind the grant is New Jersey businessman and resident Ken Schwarz, who spent his childhood summers in Millerton. 

“He always felt this was a part of this childhood and he wanted to give back,” said Campbell. “He gave us a year, so let’s do it. One way or another, we’re going to make the thousand.”

To make a donation, send checks to the Millerton Methodist Church, P.O. Box 812, Millerton, NY 12546. Write matching fund donation in the memo line.

For more information, call Campbell at 518-789-3138 or Brown at 207-789-5276.