Message remains

Church services.

Bible school.

Weddings.

Baptisms.

Live nativity scenes.

All memories First American Baptist Church attendees shared from the church’s 154 years.

Now, new memories will be made elsewhere.

Past and current Dunkirk community members attended the church’s final service Jan. 19.

Pamela (Anderson) Frazee attended First American Baptist Church with her best friend, Patty (Million) Walker. She recalled being a part of the live nativity scene.

“(I remember) the cars that would drive by and stop and watch us, and we had the crowns that we would wear, and it was very cold but we really enjoyed that time,” she said.

Frazee’s parents, Betty June and John Anderson, regularly attended the church. Now a Knightstown resident, Frazee noted her daughter and nephew were baptized there. She was also married at First American Baptist Church in 1977. 

“I just know that First Baptist has always been a very special place,” she said, adding that they had hoped to do their 50th wedding vow renewal at the church.

Former Dunkirk clerk-treasurer Tina Elliott said she hasn’t been a regular attendee at the church but recalled when she moved to Dunkirk in 1963.

“My grandparents brought me here, to this church,” she said. “I spent many a many a (Vacation Bible Schools) in this church, my grandfather helped do some building on this church … I started out here, my roots were right here, and this church will be sadly missed. It’s a great church.”

Samantha Thomas’ cherished memories with the church rest within the music. 

“I’ve been singing here since I was a tiny tot,” said Thomas, 41.

She picked up multiple roles in recent years, serving as church secretary, deaconess, junior church teacher and worship leader at the same time.

“I’ve been that for a long time now,” she said, pointing out that she’s not alone in filling various positions for the church. “We’ve all had to wear a lot of hats because over the years, the church has gotten smaller and smaller and smaller.”

She attended First American Baptist Church since birth. Her grandmother, Janice O’Connor, migrated the family in the 1960s, moving from Richmond to Dunkirk. It’s the only church Thomas has ever known, she added, a trait many of the regular attendees shared. 

That includes Greg Wilmore, a Dunkirk native who attended First American Baptist Church for nearly 72 years.

Thomas attributed the shrinking congregation to deaths in the last 10 years, noting their members had been mostly an older crowd. Despite the larger-than-usual crowd at the church’s final service, First American Baptist Church had on average between 10 to 13 regular attendees each week for the last two years.

First American Baptist Church has operated out of three different buildings, with the original building used for 44 years and the second for 50. It had been operating out of its final location at the corner of Main and Jay streets since 1964.

    Pictured are members of the men’s Sunday School at First American Baptist Church from more than 100 years ago. (Photo provided)
 

“There’s just a lot of folks here today, from varied backgrounds of life, who have gathered together to say goodbye and farewell to the First Baptist Church of Dunkirk,” said interim pastor Doug Gregg during the final service.

He served in an interim role with the church since August. Although he’s not a longtime Dunkirk resident, Gregg’s connections to the area run deep — his uncle and aunt Don and Helen Hamilton built the original Crown City Lanes. 

“It has been a long and joyous occasion for me to set my foot in Dunkirk from time to time,” he said.

As a leading member of the church, Thomas said it wasn’t an easy choice to shut its doors.

“To have to close up shop and all that kind of stuff, it was a really hard decision, but we did it now instead of waiting until the money ran out so then that way, whatever money we had left, we could still do good with it,” she explained.

Plans were to donate money partially to Dunkirk non-profit organizations, with the bulk of dollars going toward a scholarship fund in the church’s name through The Portland Foundation. Thomas noted the scholarship likely won’t be ready to offer to seniors this year, but it should be available to Dunkirk students in the Class of 2026 and thereafter.

“So then that way, even after we close up shop, we’re still being able to give back to the community for years to come instead of just one lump sum altogether,” said Thomas. “And so then that way we can help out future generations of Dunkirk seniors go to college or further their education … then that way, the church’s memory is still kept alive, but we’re still doing good after we’re gone.”

She mentioned hopes to sell the building. She also talked about working with Dunkirk Historical Society and other historical entities to preserve memorabilia — Thomas displayed various photos and other items from the church’s past in the worship hall during the final service. She noted various work to be completed in the coming weeks.

    Various photos from First American Baptist Church’s past are displayed Jan. 19 for the final service. In the background, Samantha Thomas, First American Baptist Church’s secretary, deaconess, junior church teacher and worship leader, points out certain pictures of the church’s past to other attendees. (The Commercial Review/Bailey Cline)

Gregg asked the congregation during his sermon to continue sharing its values and beliefs with the community moving forward. 

“On this final day of the First Baptist Church in Dunkirk, Indiana, let us carry forth all that this body of believers has meant to this community and has declared for the past 154 years,” he said. “Even though the doors will be shut, the message of God’s redeeming love will remain open for all who believe.”