First United Methodist to become Hope City Church Elyria

ELYRIA — One of downtown Elyria's oldest institutions will undergo a complete reinvention, as church leaders announced Monday that First United Methodist Church will become Hope City Church Elyria. About two dozen church members and representatives from the wider United Methodist Church were in attendance for the reveal at The Foundry Kitchen and Bar. Many of those in attendance said they were caught off-guard by the fact a new identity had already been decided, saying they felt they had not been given any say. First United Methodist Church of Elyria has operated out of its church on Third Avenue since 1925, and its roots in the community go back as far as the early 1800s. Lead pastor Marcus Atha said that First United would continue services under its current structure until the end of June, at which point the church would close. The church will reopen as Hope City sometime in the fall, with associate pastor Karson Collins taking over the congregation. It will remain a part of the United Methodist Church denomination. This kind of reorganization is called a "new faith community," by the United Methodist Church, and it is a practice the denomination has intentionally embraced in the face of declining rates of church attendance across the U.S. Both Atha and Collins have taken part in the creation of new faith communities in the past, and they said that friction with longtime members was normal, but that in their experience the change resulted in better attendance, more participation and a greater impact on the wider community. Though the name was a surprise to some, the change itself was not, as a committee of church members voted last year to overhaul the church and its identity in the face of falling attendance. Last August, the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church appointed Atha as pastor to help guide the future of the shrinking congregation. Church attendance is falling across the country, and Methodist congregations specifically have been impacted by an extended schism over ordination of female pastors and inclusion of LGBTQ people and same-sex marriages. The UMC has officially decided to allow both female pastors and same-sex marriage, but the debates led to more than 7,000 congregations leaving the denomination and many members to seek other churches. Atha said that about 35 people regularly attend the church's Sunday services. After Atha held a series of meetings with church members, the conference presented them with three options: close immediately, close in a year or adopt a new identity as a new faith community. The vote to change the church and keep it open was unanimous. Atha and Collins, along with others from the UMC conference and consultants, met with current members of the church and nonmembers in the community to help them decide on the direction for the church. They announced on Monday that these conversations had led them to land on the name Hope City Church Elyria. Most of the roughly 20 church members who were present at the meeting said that they had believed the meeting on Monday would be to start a discussion about the church's new identity, not announce the new identity to them. Two members walked out of the meeting and many more vocalized their disappointment, but the remained and engaged in a conversation with their new leaders and fellow members. "We have all been here for a long time, so we are very passionate and the name of the church is important to us," longtime member Barb Schneider said. "We were hoping that it would be more of a back-and-forth process, so I guess we were a little bit blindsided by the new name already being decided… We knew that there had to be change, but I think we are going to need more time to process it." Collins said that based on his past experience, resistance to a new identity was common. He promised to listen to the concerns of members and work with them to build the new church. "You will always have some people who don't want change," Collins said. "Change means loss, and loss hurts. I have tried to say that and be clear since I have got here, I appreciate everything they have done and what they are going through. … If you hang on, we are going to try and really change this community and build something amazing." Members were asked to look at pictures of potential new logos for the church and provide comments. It took some coaxing for some to write down their responses, but Collins said everyone did respond. In addition to being associate pastor at First United Elyria, Collins is also currently the pastor at Lakewood United Methodist Church, where he has been since 2019. Collins said he had been praying for an opportunity to start a new church in Lorain County, where he got his start as a preacher nearly 20 years ago, for three years when the East Ohio UMC conference asked him about taking over in Elyria. In addition to the new name, Collins shared a series of core values which he said would guide the direction of the new church. He said that Hope City would offer a church experience that was safe, relatable, inclusive, generous and courageous. One of the most major planned changes will be a greatly intensified focus on public service to the wider community, Collins said. "We believe that blessings aren't given to be hoarded, but to be passed around," he said. "If we are not actively seeking ways to love our neighbors, we are just a bad country club. We don't have a pool or a golf course." Atha said that this new focus would be made possible through a sizable donation that the church had received from the late Dorothy Zahars, who owned The Paradise restaurant in Elyria with her husband Harry, after her death in 2023. Zahars stipulated that the money be used to improve the lives of Elyrians. That money will now be used to form a nonprofit organization, which Atha said would work with public and private organizations across Elyria to provide services to the homeless, the hungry and others in need. For the church, Collins said, inclusivity would mean a willingness to work with or support anyone in the community, but also meant that people of all sexual orientations, identities and creeds would be welcome. "It is a place where we love first above all," he said. "It will be a place filled with compassion for all people from all walks of life. A place where you can be comfortable while you wrestle with questions around faith. It will be a warm place like home. It will be a place where our LGBTQ siblings in Christ are affirmed in their faith and not seen as outsiders." Collins said that the new church will seek to be more "multicultural" and would also use more music in its services, specifically with the addition of a band. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.