Grace@Calvary sold
Nearly 132 years of history will come to an end Feb. 27, when Grace@Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, 123 E. Diamond St., will have its last worship service. But its site as a center of services to the community will continue under new ownership.
The church, organized on Aug. 31, 1890, is the victim of the dwindling number of Lutherans in Butler and an excess of Lutheran churches in the city limits, said Jim Thompson, the church council president.
“We have a congregation of 140 to 150 people and average 45 people in attendance on Sunday, either in-person or by Zoom,” he said. Grace@Calvary hasn’t had a pastor since the Rev. Tara Lynn left in August 2020, said Thompson.
Acting Bishop Abraham Allende of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America said the synod worked with the church to find another pastor, but “the church decided it couldn’t afford one and made the decision to close.”
Thompson said the handwriting was on the wall. “There are four Lutheran churches in town (St. Mark’s, First English, Grace@Calvary and Trinity Lutheran) and not enough people to go around,” said Thompson. “We are in the process of dissolving the congregation and closing the church.”
The congregation voted to dissolve the church in November.
Allende said his synod of 156 congregations and 58,542 members have lost several congregations to the aging process.
“It’s happening really across the board, not just to Lutherans, but to all mainline denominations,” said Allende. “Churches don’t hold a place of prominence they once did.”
Members of the Grace@Calvary congregation will find other churches to join on their own.
“It’s been a good ride. We wanted to stay in town in this amazing location on the Diamond,” Thompson said.
The church and its educational building are in the process of being sold to Glade Run Lutheran Services of Zelienople. Thompson declined to give a price, but said as part of the church’s legacy plan much of the sale price will be donated to Camp Lutherlynn since the church has always had close ties with Lutherlyn. The Rev. Russell F. Steininger served as director of Camp Lutherlyn from 1946 to 1949, and he became pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in 1949.
Money from the sale price will also be donated to the city of Butler, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Glade Run Lutheran Services, a nonprofit provider of mental health services, plans to expand the drug and alcohol monitoring services it already runs out of the church, said its CEO, Steven Green.
“We’re looking for that sale to go through very soon. We expect the sale to go through in the next 30 to 60 days,” said Green. He said Glade Run plans to rename the building the Grace Community Wellness Center.
“I had heard the church was getting ready to dissolve. I reached out to Jim. Jim and I are Rotarians,” he said. “He was looking at options to come to some sort of resolution. His biggest concern was how the building was going to be used.”
“We pitched to Jim and the council on how we would use the building. We will be carrying their legacy going forward,” said Green.
Thompson said the church wanted the sale to stipulate that an Alcoholics Anonymous group, considered one of the largest and longest-running AA groups in the county, and C.A.R.E.S. of Western Pennsylvania, a community-based day program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, be allowed to continue to operate in the building. Glade Run Lutheran Services agreed.
In preparation for the sale, the church has begun clearing out the buildings. The kitchen equipment was sold off and the clothing gathered by the Grace’s Closet clothing bank was donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Thompson said the use of the sanctuary, which will be desanctified at the end of the Feb. 27 worship service, has yet to be determined. The altar, pulpit and baptismal font were all brought to the Diamond Street location on Jan. 1, 2005, when the then-Grace Lutheran Church moved into the former Calvary Presbyterian Church. Because Calvary Presbyterian sold the building for only $1, the Lutherans renamed the church Grace @ Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church to honor the generosity of the Presbyterians.
Thompson said if the sanctuary won’t be used as a place of worship, the altar and other objects will be removed.
According to church history, Grace Lutheran Church was organized Aug. 31, 1890, by the Rev. H. B. Winton, missionary superintendent of the Pittsburgh Synod of the General Synod. By 1972, the church rolls numbered 698 adults.
The church moved to New Castle Street in 1893 and moved to Diamond Street in 2005.
