People in the pews at Trinity United Methodist in northwest Eugene this week heard an unexpected announcement: church officials were closing down the congregation immediately.
Trinity’s pastor never arrived to lead the Sunday service. Instead, John Tucker, a superintendent for the Crater Lake District of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of United Methodists, announced the church was closing, for good.
“As of today, the property–both real and personal–purchased by the Trinity Church are under the authority, possession, and responsibility of the annual conference of trustees,” Tucker told the congregation, “There will be no worship services going forward.”
The video was posted to the church’s YouTube channel. Church members can be seen standing, with a few trying to interject, as Tucker announced the closure.
"I was shocked," said Laura Thurston, who says she's attended Trinity since 2008. "There were many tears, because a majority of us are over 70. For some, this might be their last church and then it closes under them. None of know what to do, if we want to go to another church or just forget the whole thing."
The conference declined an interview request, but provided a statement, saying that the decision reflected challenges finding people willing to take leadership positions as well as “anonymous agents seeking to undermine the pastoral team.”
One anonymous critic has used a website, “Save Trinity,” to accuse the conference and church leaders of trying to force the congregation to sell the building, located at 440 Maxwell Road in Eugene. The website’s author also argues that the conference has forced other congregations to give up their building in the region.
“Our church is under attack,” they wrote, “We are one of the more progressive congregations in Eugene and [have] hosted the Egan Warming Center, Fish Food Pantry, Trinity Free Store, and [countless] others. They are trying to sell our building out from under us.”
In a FAQ shared on Trinity’s website, Tucker said those churches voted to close, and were in different situations.
Groups that use the space to provide services to the community, including the FISH food pantry and the Egan Warming Center, will be allowed to continue operating at least until spring. Conference leaders say they will honor those organizations' leases and are working to determine the property’s future.
Before the closure, the pastor and congregation did hold a town-hall style meeting to discuss selling the church to Eugene School District 4J, according to their newsletter. The building and the two acre property’s market value is nearly $4.8 million dollars, according to the Lane County Assessor’s office.
According to the "Save Trinity" website, community members are planning to protest the closure on Sunday, Nov. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the church’s front lawn.
Thurston, the long-time attendee, said Trinity's numbers dwindled following the pandemic, and she estimated average attendance to be around 40. Still, she said the majority of people there wanted the church to stay open.
"We’re all aware of churches closing," she said. "We thought we could at least drag it out for another year or so. But it was a downhill fight."
KLCC's Chris Lehman contributed to this report.
