In late October, the vestry of St. Paul’s, Monongahela, made the difficult decision to close at the end of this year. The parish’s last service will be Sunday, December 26, at 11 a.m.
Vestry members cited St. Paul’s financial status, dwindling membership, and a number of large property maintenance issues as primary reasons for the decision to close. Certainly, the pandemic has also contributed to the parish’s recent difficulties. The Bishop’s Office had been in close contact with the vestry of St. Paul’s in the months leading up to its decision, and alternative outcomes were hoped for and explored. Now, the vestry and Bishop are following the process for the closing of a parish, as outlined in our diocesan canons (Canon XXV, Section 6).
St. Paul’s became a parish of the Diocese in 1860, and we are grateful for its ministry to the city of Monongahela and its surrounding communities over the decades. We are also grateful to the current leadership of St. Paul’s, who have been faithful to the parish throughout its recent challenges. We know that their decision to close the parish was a difficult one – one that was not made lightly, nor without a great deal of prayer.
At the end of the year, the property of St. Paul’s will come under the stewardship of the Diocese, and its future will be assessed.
Please keep the people of St. Paul’s in your prayers, and pray, too, for the continued and renewed witness of Christ’s Church in Monongahela and throughout our communities.