Disbanding church donates $328K to Lutherlyn
The ties between Grace@Calvary Lutheran Church and Lutherlyn go back to the 1940s, when Lutherlyn’s first director, Russell Steininger, was a member at the church.
As part of its legacy plan to disseminate the last of its funds before dissolving as an organization, Grace@Cavalry church, which was located at 123 E. Diamond St., donated $328,000 to Lutherlyn on Thursday — the last major financial contribution the church plans to make.
Deb Roberts, executive director of Lutherlyn, said the donation will help bring the connection between the two entities full-circle.
“The timing is incredible because we just started a capital campaign,” she said. “One of the projects is renovating the Russell Steininger Memorial Amphitheater; every Friday night our campers have our closing worship in that amphitheater, so years and years and years-worth of campers have memories in that space.”
Grace@Calvary closed its doors in February after nearly 132 years due to dwindling membership. Jim Thompson, the church’s council president, said its leaders have been donating its remaining funds to organizations that help the community people, particularly those that help, children.
The church gave $30,000 to the City of Butler to benefit its parks and recreation, $30,000 to Evangelical Lutheran Church and $30,000 to St. Vincent de Paul Butler County.
Thompson said the remaining money and largest donation went to Lutherlyn not only because of its ties to Grace church, but because thousands of children attend Camp Lutherlyn each year.
“There are so many struggling families out there,” Thompson said. “If we can keep affecting children and doing good things, our legacy lives on and our 132 years isn't taken for granted.”
Roberts said she knew Grace was making a donation to Lutherlyn, but the large amount shocked her. The capital campaign is raising money for a $2 million planned renovation that will revamp several facilities used by Camp Lutherlyn, Roberts said, and the $328,000 donation makes a sizable dent to that cost.
“The church requested that it go toward the campaign” she said. “It'll be a good year or two before we get started.”
Lutherlyn operates camps year-round for children, and Roberts said no child is ever turned away from attending for financial reasons.
The summer camp season beings June 19, and Roberts said Lutherlyn’s leaders are expecting about 800 children to attend this year.
The Grace@Calvary church has been sold to an organization called Grace Community Wellness Center, according to Thompson, so the church will officially dissolve soon.
Thompson said that while the closing of the church is bittersweet, he and its final remaining members are happy that its legacy will live on through the financial contributions to local organizations.
“This is opening a lot of doors and we are continuing to touch lives for years to come,” Thompson said. “It just worked out the way it was supposed to be.”
