It started with a casual invitation to play basketball at a local church gym.
“I just came with a friend to play basketball. When I got here, they just opened up to me. It was warm and homey,” said Na’Juan Lusane, 16. “Now, they’re like family. I know I can depend on them, if I ever need something — help with homework or just somebody to talk to when I’m feeling down.”
The family Na’Juan is talking about is the congregation at First Grace United Church of Christ at West Exchange Street and South Portage Path in Akron.
The church, known for its commitment to serving its neighbors via food and clothing ministries, a preschool, after-school programs and other outreach ministries, is transitioning into a church without a building.
On Sunday, the congregation unanimously voted to leave the church building it has called home and enter into a contract with Akron Public Schools to rent space at Crouse Community Learning Center for Sunday worship services. On Tuesday, church leaders signed a six-month contract to begin worshipping at the school at 1000 Diagonal Road on Nov. 30.
“We have known since 2008, when our foundation took a big hit during the recession, that we would reach a point where we would have to leave this building because the costs are just too enormous,” said the Rev. Robert Dreese, senior pastor. “The congregation is committed to staying together and continuing our mission in the community. We’re still not sure how all of that is going to look, but we’re moving forward.”
Moving forward, at this point, means identifying ministry partners to continue meeting the needs of people in the neighborhood.
Using Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank statistics, the congregation has provided more than 2 million meals since 1993. It provides breakfast to neighbors every Sunday morning before the 10:45 a.m. worship service.
“Sometimes they stay for service. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they eat and go to another church,” said Steve Arrington, director of community outreach. “We welcome everybody. I’m a perfect example — an openly gay African-American man, living with HIV. I can tell you, I haven’t been embraced by too many churches, but they welcomed me here with open arms.”
Open and affirming
First Grace is among the first in the Akron area to become an open and affirming congregation. Its population reflects a wide range of diversity in terms of sexual orientation, gender identification, age and race.
Along with its welcoming spirit, the congregation also has tried to be a good neighbor by offering its space to community organizations, including a King School A.A. group that traces its roots to “Dr. Bob” (Robert Holbrook Smith), who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous. The building also has been home to BeatRoot, Akron Free Yoga and Zoomba programs.
The Akron AIDS Collaborative, which offers free testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections three days a week, is housed at First Grace.
The church is also home to AMOS Child Care ministry, which provides day care for children ages 6 months to 12 years old. Its after-school program includes a meal and homework assistance. The half-court gym is open to middle- and high school students during the week and on weekends.
The Market Path — a Fair Trade store in Highland Square — is an off-site ministry of the church. The store has helped the congregation educate the community about Fair Trade, which supports the cottage industry work of artisans around the world.
The congregation plans to continue the Market Path ministry at its current location and AMOS at a new location.
“It’s really important to us that we meet the needs of our neighbors because our goal is to be God in action,” said Chuck Bell, who chairs the executive board. “We don’t want to just talk about who we are, we want our actions to show who we are. We’ve tried to do that at this building, and we plan to continue doing that.”
History of church
First Grace was established in 1993 when First UCC and Grace UCC reunited. The two congregations started as one and trace their roots to a group of German immigrants in 1837. A disagreement over whether to continue as a German-speaking congregation or become an English-speaking congregation resulted in a split in 1853.
First UCC opted to continue as a German-speaking church; Grace UCC became English-speaking.
In its heyday during the 1950s, the church attracted about 1,200 people. Today, about 60 people make up its faithful core.
The congregation established a $6 million foundation in 1999 with money from the sale of Chestnut Hill and Mount Peace cemeteries. Costs of operating and maintaining the building were paid using funds from the foundation, and all money collected from the congregation went directly into ministry.
“We have been faithful stewards of what was given to us. Our priority has always been ministry. Everything in the plate always went to missions, and we took good care of the building,” Dreese said. “What turned out to be the Great Recession eroded our base. We made adjustments, but it wasn’t enough. We have always viewed the building as our base of operation, but we fully understand that the church is the people.
“That won’t change. We’ll just operate from a different place,” he said.
The congregation will hold its last worship service in the building Nov. 23, but Na’Juan is confident that wherever the congregation ends up long term, it will continue to be mission-driven.
“I know they will figure out a way to keep helping people in this community because it’s who they are,” said Na’Juan, a junior at Buchtel High School. “They genuinely care about people, and I know they want to keep reaching out to give people a safe haven.”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.