FAIRMONT — Meadowdale H&H Chapel United Methodist Church in Fairmont had its official first Sunday as a part of Central UMC Pastor Brad Bennett’s charge of churches, adding now a third church under his leadership.
The church realignments come from recent changes in the greater United Methodist Church on theological bases, but also in the face of financial and membership hardships. These partnerships provide support for each church’s independent stability while also creating opportunities for a larger ministry to the community.
“We can do a lot more together than we can individually. So right now, we are coming together to try and figure out and pray our way forward,” Bennett said. “We are asking how we are being led to grow the church, grow disciples, and make an impact for the Kingdom.”
Bennett currently pastors Central UMC and Trinity UMC, both in Fairmont, and the two churches have been aligned under one pastor for the last 15 years. This is currently Bennett’s seventh year as lead pastor.
Trinity, which traditionally served an African-American congregation, has faced financial challenges in recent years, particularly in the wake of the pandemic and a 2020 break-in, which caused significant damage to the building and parishioners’ spirits.
“Our cross was ripped down, pipe organs dismantled, mangled and pulled down, light fixtures pulled off the wall and papers thrown everywhere. They had emptied nearly every filing cabinet in the church, lit candles and left some burning,” Bennett wrote in a 2020 “Faith Journeys” column.
“An anonymous tip notified the police of some suspicious behavior at the church. The quick action of the Fairmont City Police Department caught the suspects as they were leaving the building and kept our building from catching fire and burning to the ground,” he continued.
The addition of Meadowdale will provide financial stability for the entire charge while Meadowdale and Central work together to support Trinity.
This restructuring is just one way UMCs in the Fairmont area have been moving forward to support the community. They are partnered with several ministries and aid organizations locally, such as the Soup Opera, Communities of Shalom, and Connecting Link, while also hosting recovery groups, Central’s food pantry, and other outreach projects.
“Central Methodist Church is at the heart of Fairmont, and from the heart we are serving Fairmont. That’s our mission, to serve God in our community,” Bennett said.
Traditionally, the United Methodist Church has also run a campus ministry within the Wesley Foundation at Fairmont State. Lead pastor of LIFE UMC, Mike Estep, is beginning to take over the ministry to create a safe space for college students to not only receive spiritual guidance, but also to spend time with friends and get away from busy college life.
Throughout college is often when young adults come to question their spirituality. Estep wants to be there when they do.
“College students are spiritual people, and they are going to have questions regarding the things they experience in life. They need someone who will listen to them, offer good questions, experience, and guidance, and then help them grow and mature into their purpose,” Estep said.
The UMC is also facing adversity in its changes on the basis of social issues such as acceptance of members of the LGBTQ+ community. The changes are bigger than this issue, however, and lie more in giving churches the autonomy to individually decide where they fall on various theological issues.
The sentiment shared by many within the UMC is that anyone, of any walk of life, would feel welcomed within the walls of the church. More often than not, the church is now bringing itself to the people, a shift that has spurred the creation of a ministry called “New Places, New People” within the UMC.
“It is important for the church to not be isolated but rather to seek and welcome people from all walks of life and bring the church to them, directly where they are,” West Virginia Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball said.
For Bennett, it is the responsibility of the church to be this welcoming space and source of stability in the midst of life’s hardships and the changing world. That is the mission at the heart of these church restructurings.
“Our world is facing such change and at such a rapid pace. What people need is to find something solid, something worth holding onto,” Bennett said. “I think a relationship with God, and even more just the love and support of a community is where you find that. And that’s where the church is a wonderful thing.”
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