As It Emptied, the Echoes Grew

It still looks good, that old limestone building, the Methodist Church in Sheldon. Sure, some of the paint on the trim is peeling and the shingles look a bit grim, but those rock walls that have faced the elements for many years look as good as the day they were set in place. Memories of my one-time church home took us back on Saturday, April 10, to attend their rummage sale where they sold everything. Everything meant pews, organs, pianos, light fixtures, dishes, pictures, whatever could be carried out the door was sold for a reasonable offer. 

   This church  has suffered the same fate as those small-town schools; declining enrollment was unable to support continued operation. Now, with so few members, it just couldn’t operate any longer.  Harold Krueger, an original member, said attendance had dwindled to only half a dozen or fewer worshipers most Sundays.

   The building’s cornerstone had been set in place seventy-three years ago in 1948 when it came into existence as the Evangelical United Brethren church. Although the lineage of this congregation traces back even further, it developed through various merging to its present identity as the Immanuel United Methodist Church.

   Krueger reminisced about the time it was built, and how his dad would volunteer his hand with building it and leaving teen-age Harold at home to take care of things on the farm. Others remembered that time. Dick Schroeder, now living in Washington, watched local men digging a spot for the furnace room. He added, “A lot of that church was built by the men in the congregation.” 

   Schroeder called to mind the popular youth groups he enjoyed participating in when the church was completed. And who could forget the appetizing aromas of food and coffee that came from the kitchen whenever people gathered. We can’t even guess at the number of funerals, weddings, and anniversaries blessed within those walls.

   Richard Bratland lives just across the street and commented how earlier that morning the street had been filled with cars and pickups. One couple came down from Casselton to buy items for a new church starting up there. Another party bought pews at $25 each. Asked if they were going to a church they said no, they were just taking them home. My wife bought a few pieces of nice glassware for a few dollars.

   Few people remain to mourn the loss of their church, and now the large building will  sit empty. What are the plans for it? The answer was always “It’s for sale.” The matter seems to be out of their hands, though, since it now belongs to the Church Conference.