Houses of Worship:

What Happens when one closes

By Maria G O’Donnell 

Staff Writer

Closure. Displacement. Uncertainty.

And competition: For time, talent and treasure. Kids’ sports. Family expenses. Spiritual needs…or a lack thereof. Varied houses of worship have seen a consistent decline in membership, monetary support, decreased clergy, or just plain personal need to attend. “Nones” are on the rise, namely, those who do not ascribe to a specific faith, be they atheist, agnostic or religiously unaffiliated.

Thus, the closures.  LIFE has spoken with a few people of different faiths who have closed their doors.

St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church: Historic Building of Connecticut

The church home to generations of families started as a Catholic chapel in the Tariffville section of Simsbury in 1856. When it was destroyed by fire in 1856, a new church was built in 1879, dedicated to St. Bernard, and became a parish in 1881. This, too, was destroyed by fire in 1892. The current Gothic-style St. Bernard’s RC Church on Maple St. was dedicated in 1895 and eventually designated as a Historic Building of CT. (Information from the Historic Buildings of CT website)

On June 29, 2017, St. Bernard’s closed. 

As its last Parish Council President, Tracey Roderick tried all she could to keep the church open. Her husband, Mark’s, family had four generations attend the church, including themselves and their children. The last five or so years of the church’s existence were tumultuous, with multiple pastor installments since the death of Rev. Thomas Flower in 2010. He served as St. Bernard’s pastor for 21 years. 

In fact, the entire Archdiocese of Hartford was experiencing crisis, specifically with a shortage of priests. This resulted in Pastoral Planning that began in 2015 as an effort to “lead Connecticut Catholics into a vibrant future,” under the leadership of Archbishop Leonard Blair. Under this effort, priests and lay Church members met to discuss the needs and challenges facing the Archdiocese, specifically the dwindling number of priests to lead its parishes. This monumental endeavor resulted in the merging and/or closing of many of its 212 parishes on June 29, 2017.  (Information from the St. Therese Parish of Granby website.)

As Parish Council President, Tracey Roderick and other Council members attended some of these informational meetings that “gave an overview of what was happening at the Archdiocese. They gave broad, vague statements,” according to Roderick. She wrote a letter to the Archdiocese on May 7, 2015, but still received only a “generalized response” on May 21, 2015.

At the end of one last informational meeting with another Council member, the two approached one of the speakers whose name Roderick doesn’t recall. The two felt it was important to find out the direction of St. Bernard’s. “We sent letters, and we need to know,” she recalled. “He said, as far as he knew, it would stay open in some capacity. We had a sense of confidence it would stay open.”

With the consent of St. Bernard’s interim administrator, Rev. Collins Anaeche, the Parish Council were advised not to share this information with parishioners unless they received official communication from the Archdiocese, according to Roderick. 

Then she detailed a day in early May, 2017 when she and three other Council members were called into Fr. Collins’s office. “He pushes over a letter,” she remembered. “We couldn’t believe it – it was a letter about closing the church. It was very upsetting and shocking. That same morning, he announced it to the church.”

The parish had already put feelers out to local Catholic churches to see if they could handle an influx of St. Bernard’s parishioners. St. Therese of Granby had the capacity, and “I helped Fr. Tom [Ptaszynski, former pastor] with a lot of stuff,” said Roderick. “We didn’t want St. Bernard’s history lost; we wanted it to be spoken for.” Certain stained-glass windows went to St. Mary’s in Simsbury, while other items went to St. Therese. 

Roderick and her husband watched over the St. Bernard’s vacant property for about a year before turning over the monitoring to St. Therese. The Granby church managed the property and worked with the Archdiocese and a real estate agent to get it sold. 

Different issues prior to closing disappointed Roderick. First, “We weren’t getting younger families,” she said, noting the elderly population at St. Bernard’s. “You lose them, then there are no new families.” Also, the proximity of St. Mary’s and St. Catherine’s in West Simsbury pulled from St. Bernard’s. 

Regarding the Archdiocese, “The way they do their business models gives negative feelings. They never tried to drive in younger people. The Archdiocese didn’t get involved enough to help the neighborhood parish and help get new parishioners attracted to the church. They should’ve given us more tools.”

Roderick admitted, “I was very comfortable at St. Bernard’s. I haven’t felt that comfortable in another church.”

According to the Simsbury Assessor’s Office, St. Bernard’s Church was sold on Jan. 10, 2023 for $450,000 to the Manases International Movement Church. According to Archdiocese of Hartford’s Head of Communications David Elliott, the proceeds go to “whichever parish follows the church – the funds follow the parish, not the Archdiocese. Every church is associated with a parish, and that parish receives the money from the sale.” Therefore, proceeds went to St. Therese Parish.

 According to Manases Pastor Gregory Mendoza, “International Movement Manases Inc. is a predominantly Hispanic Latino Pentecostal Church that took over the former St. Bernard’s property in December 2021.” He said that upon acquiring the building, renovations were required after it was vacant for so long, however, the church’s character is still preserved, especially with the stained glass windows still intact.

 Mendoza noted, “The inauguration service took place on Mother’s Day 2022, drawing active church members, neighbors, friends, and former St. Bernard’s parishioners, marking a joyful beginning in a welcoming community.”

 Since then, Mendoza said that the church has been quite active with regular Sunday services at 11 a.m., Tuesday prayer nights at 7 p.m., monthly women’s book clubs, and children’s Bible classes. Manases Church has also hosted various community events, including vendor fairs in the parking lot and the newly renovated event hall, family game days, outdoor movie nights, and weddings.

 Mendoza noted, “Former parishioners of St. Bernard’s have also been invited for tours of the place they once worshipped, further enriching the church’s connection to the community. It has truly been a blessing to extend our ministry in the village of Tariffville.”

Elmwood Community Church: The Little Church with a Big Heart

Just over a year ago, Elmwood Community Church in West Hartford closed its doors after 150 years. The process was slow and painful, but signs revealed it was finally, yet unfortunately, time. 

According to Ginger Croxall, a life-long member of 60-plus years, “It was devastating. I was there my whole life. It was like a small family there, and we grew up together.” But she saw the signs. “There was dwindling membership. We were down to 20 active members; people were burnt out; we had a big building to maintain. And our financial situation – there were not enough funds.” With no new members, the financial situation became unsustainable. 

Also, fewer and fewer children attended Sunday school. Recalling her childhood, Croxall said, “With the culture I grew up in, it was very important to attend Sunday school. Sports are competing with this generation now. It’s hard for families to find the time. Sports win out.”

Elmwood’s last service was June 9, 2024, and the church building was sold in September 2024 after being on the market since that previous January. Now Maranatha Christian Church owns the building. Regarding the Brazilian group, Croxall said, “We were happy to sell to another church; that was our goal. I’m so impressed with what they did inside and I know they’ll maintain it. Our church is a landmark; it has new life now.”

Croxall credited the Southern New England Chapter of United Church of Christ (UCC) and especially its Conference Minister Rev. Darrell Goodwin for “sending the right people as resources. They helped us with closing and how to close a church with dignity. We couldn’t have done it without their help.”  

She admitted, “The decision to close was not easy. We took a vote and became a legacy church – to close with dignity and not just put a lock on the door. Everyone agreed on closing, as painful as it was. Everyone loved the church – that’s the underlying theme.” Croxall noted the church had $920,000 that was disbursed to various organizations, such as West Hartford Social Services, West Hartford public school scholarships, Westmoor Park, and South Park Inn – “a shelter we were very involved with, sending meals there every other month. They’ll build a new kitchen,” said Croxall.

Other funds went to Church of Christ Congregational in Newington where many Elmwood members transferred to, including Croxall. Also benefiting from Elmwood’s generosity were UCC Silver Lake Camp and UCC Legacy Fund, the latter of which Elmwood was the first donor. “It was just being established to help other churches like us,” she said.

The UCC National Congregation Library also received funds, and Croxall said this Boston-based archive was instrumental in what to save and send to them, including their bookkeeping, community meeting notes, pastors’ names, obits, marriages, and baptisms. “We worked on this for several months and sent 30 file boxes to hold the records,” she said. 

Elmwood’s final pastor, Rev. Janet Stoddard, was interim pastor for four years, according to Croxall, and “was a great help; we couldn’t have done it without her. It took a toll on her. She realized we were declining, but stayed with us right to the end.”

Susan Wiley was a member of Elmwood Community Church from the year 2000 until its closing. She was also Controller at the church since about 2014. Since she wasn’t a life-long member, as many were, she feels she has a “different perspective than a number of the others.” As a Berkshire Hathaway real estate agent and a project planner for Aetna (both for 30 years), Wiley had a business perspective of the church, while still grieving its closing. In fact, Elmwood held such a personal connection with her, “I’m not attending anywhere at the moment.”

Wiley said it took her a while “to appreciate the sociological aspects and demographics of the church.” Between the membership and annual pledge period declines, balancing the budget and keeping the church going as it had was not possible. She noted that older members considered Elmwood “a very large part of their lives and gave very generously,” but “later, they couldn’t afford it or passed away. It left a big hole in the budget.” She saw that the church wasn’t even getting new middle-aged members. “They have so many other expenses – big homes, kids’ activities – life is expensive these days. There’s less room in family budgets for church giving.”

The decline for Elmwood was slow, maybe from 10-15 years, according to Wiley. As the town of West Hartford grew, it took away from the social importance the church had 50 years ago, with men’s and women’s groups. People are “socializing in other ways. West Hartford has a lot going on – youth sports leagues, lots of churches – those places want their time and family dollars.”

With less and less kids going to church and Sunday school, “I saw parents less frequently,” Wiley said. Even if kids weren’t in sports, it’s more and more difficult to get teens to do what you want them to.” 

What Wiley has noticed is that “flourishing churches in town are different [from Elmwood]. We were very traditional. They’re doing more forward-looking things – different music and activities, less sermons, completely different services – this seems to be more popular to people today. Many parents can persuade their ‘tweens and teens to go.”

Although Wiley is a real estate agent, “I didn’t want to be the listing agent; it was too difficult for me.” She is friends with the listing agent Lyle Rotondo, and credits him and his business partner Paul Sciarra with the handling of the church’s sale process. “Paul understood this church was our home and that the process was very emotional. They were very respectful,” Wiley said.

She also credited West Hartford Economic Development Coordinator Kristen Gorski for agreeing not to put condos up on the church property, or “God forbid, torn down. The town agreed with us regarding the future of the building.”

Elmwood’s church council did try to avert closure, but “they realized, ‘We can’t go on like this.’ We did discuss other options: Find a church partner to merge with or sell the building and stay on as renters, or sell the building and keep our group together and rent a space. We all discussed this very briefly. It was clear to me that it was the whole package the members loved: the building, pastor, group of people, activities, music. You couldn’t take away any of those pieces and have it be as meaningful for people.”

The church took their time to talk and work through the process. “It may seem harsh to stop the options and just disband, but everyone had the chance to discuss it. This was the path that everybody decided to take.” Wiley noted that financial discussions were going on for a while. “It took a while for it to become obvious. There was nothing that could bring in enough money,” she said. “We dipped into the endowment more and more.”

There are a couple of things that come as a welcome and relief for Wiley. “At least you see another church group using and enjoying the building. It gives a little bit of comfort,” she said, adding, “being able to give money to scholarships in West Hartford, that for me is just perfect. We can end with a smile.”

B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom: A Young Synagogue with Roots in Two Venerable Congregations

As of press time, LIFE learned that another house of worship closed just this past June: B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom (BTS) Synagogue on Still Rd. in Bloomfield. Their website tells of their impactful history: 

“Congregation Tikvoh Chadoshoh was started by families who fled persecution in Nazi Germany. On November 8, 1942, a group of 18 men met in the vestry of the Bedford Street Synagogue in Hartford to found the new shul. A Board of Directors (vorstand) was elected to guide and manage the organization. The purposes of the congregation were originally declared to be to conduct services as often as possible, especially Friday evening; to take care of the dead; and to teach the children.

Rabbi Hans Bodenheimer, himself a survivor, became the founding spiritual leader of Tikvoh Chadoshoh. The growing congregation continued to meet in the vestry of the Bedford Street Synagogue for both Sabbath and holiday services until 1957, when they moved into a permanent synagogue building on Cornwall Street. In 1969, the congregation relocated to a beautiful new building in Bloomfield on the West Hartford line.

Congregation B’nai Sholom was founded in 1955 by a handful of families who’d recently moved to Newington and West Hartford who wanted to observe the High Holidays in their new community. They began meeting in a rented hall with a student rabbi and, less than a year later, purchased a building on Francis Avenue in Newington. In 1971, the congregation dedicated their new building on Church Street, also in Newington.

B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom, known as BTS, is a young synagogue but it has its roots in two venerable congregations: Congregation B’nai Sholom of Newington and Congregation Tikvoh Chadoshoh of Bloomfield, each with its own proud history. In 2011, the merger of these two Conservative synagogues was celebrated with a public procession of Torah scrolls and a gala wedding, complete with chuppah and ketubah.”

In the final bulletin, synagogue and staff member Maria daCunha addressed her fellow members, “Together, we built something special; the spirit of collaboration and the respect that we’ve shared will stay with me forever. I’ve learned so much during my time here about your faith (and mine), resilience and kindness. I had a chance to work in an environment where people’s hearts are deeply invested in both their faith and their community…As we face the closure of BTS, it’s hard to put into words exactly how I feel, but I know the connections we’ve made, the memories that we created and the impact we had on one another’s lives are everlasting.”

The BTS website concludes: “In June of 2025 our journey comes to a close. Thank you for being part of something beautiful. May our paths continue to cross in meaningful ways.” VL