PHOENIX — "We knew it was coming," Don Campbell said, reaching to unlock a padlock at the front gate of Central United Methodist Church. "We've been trying to avoid it."
The large white campus on Central Avenue near McDowell Road has been a landmark in central Phoenix for decades. It was built in the 1950s as the newest home for a church that could trace its history in Arizona back to 1870.
It was the first Protestant church in Phoenix and grew from having a traveling pastor who stopped by every few weeks, Campbell said, to a central community of parishioners in an influential part of town.
"I first came here back in 1967," Campbell said, sitting in the church. "This was a thriving church, three to four services every Sunday."
"I walked in the door as a teenager and felt like, 'Hey, this is home'."
And it was home to Campbell and thousands of others. Campbell remembers a bustling choir of teenagers and coffee socials at a house in the back of the church.
"It was the premier Methodist church in Phoenix," former Arizona Republic columnist Jon Talton said. "On any given Sunday we might have 4,000 people attend."
Talton was baptized at Central UMC, he said. After leaving for a time, he returned in 2000 to find a dramatically different church.
"Huge difference," he said. "Far fewer people, but still a decent size,"
Decent, but not growing. Attendance at Central UMC was falling, as it has been with many churches.
But this was different. Instead of thousands, they were lucky to break 100 people during a service. Instead of three services, the church scaled back to one.
A lack of parishioners meant a lack of funding. There were financial issues and a failed remodel that cost over a million dollars. The church couldn't afford some repairs, like air conditioning. Soon, those repairs piled up and became bigger than the church could ever pay for. The Methodist Conference helped pay for their pastor. It was like seeing the train coming miles away and not being able to move, Campbell said.
"It just happened," Campbell said. "And we knew over the years that this was going to happen."
In the last year, Campbell said, church leaders knew they had to vote on whether Central United Methodist Church could continue to exist. The vote... was no.
The church will close sometime this year, though a final date has not been set. It's already been announced that the church's pastor will be reassigned in July. The Methodist Conference owns the land, Campbell said, but there are no plans for the building itself.
“As our siblings at Central UMC have discerned that they have come to the end of their life cycle as a congregation, we celebrate the ways that they have faithfully completed their mission and ministry through the years. We will actively discern what God is calling us to do next in that part of the city of Phoenix,” Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut said in a statement released by the Desert Southwest Methodist Conference.
Campbell said the parishioners will have to move on and choose a new congregation to be a part of. But it means leaving behind their home of 154 years, and a legacy that is more than just the brick walls of a church.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.