ALBION — “It’s been a while since we’ve had the church filled. This is our biggest crowd in recent times,” longtime Minerva Wesley Chapel member Ron Goecke of Marshalltown remarked at the beginning of a special service held Sunday afternoon.

There was a reason for that: the United Methodist Church (UMC) congregation was gathering for the final time in its 145-year history inside the bucolic and historic sanctuary located about halfway between Albion and Clemons. Its numbers had dwindled to an average of about 10 attendees per service, but seats were hard to come by Sunday as extra chairs were brought out to accommodate the overflow crowd.

Goecke, a former Marshall County Supervisor and faithful member of the church for the vast majority of his nearly nine decades on Earth, provided introductory remarks and led the audience in singing several beloved traditional Methodist hymns from “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to “Amazing Grace” and “Here I Am Lord.” The proceeds from the final offering were donated to the Iowa Wesley Youth camping program.

For the last five years, Minerva has been served by Pastor Cheryl Ridenour, who also leads the State Center United Methodist Church, who offered remarks along with District Superintendent Rev. Lillian Seagren. Goecke recognized several of the church’s former pastors — none of whom were able to attend, but Harold Werley (1991-1996) and Karen Dearchs (1985-1990) shared written correspondence.

Goecke took time to acknowledge the host of piano accompanists, including his own sisters, who have contributed their talents over the years, and he also asked Garrett Nichols — who is part of the sixth generation of one of the chapel’s co-founding families — to ring the church bell one last time. When she took the podium, Seagren noted that she had visited Minerva four or five times during her tenure.

“I just want you to know that Christ has been praised here, and Christ has nurtured you here,” she said. “Jesus’s name was glorified here. Jesus’s love was lived out here, and Jesus’s calling and commissioning was launched here. Each one of you who have taken an active part in the church, this is where you were launched to go and be missionaries to the world.”

Hands went up as she asked how many attendees had been baptized, confirmed and married at the church, and Seagren recounted all of the great memories made within its walls.

“You worked really hard to maintain this building. The building where Christ lives is in your heart,” she said. “That’s the mystery and the powerful reality of Jesus Christ’s church. We carried it with us, and I hope that you will continue to nurture that place for Jesus Christ.”

Ridenour admitted that she struggled to find the words for the bittersweet occasion, recalling Christ’s journey on Palm Sunday and commending the congregation for its longevity and continuity with several members of the founding families still attending Minerva.

“What a blessing. What a joy. What a time for cheering, and oh the commitment that’s been here. This congregation is like no other,” she said. “I have not been a pastor all my life, probably just for 12 years. I have served several churches and all of them (were) wonderful, but God made a special blessing on this one.”

Jesus, she added, told his followers to love everyone, and Ridenour felt that everyone who has walked through the doors at Minerva “has been loved, is loved and will continue to be loved.”

“Minerva Wesley Chapel, you have given all the love that anybody could possibly, possibly give. It is honestly a privilege to have served here, and I thank you for all that you have given to all of us. Amen,” Ridenour said.

Ruth Hall McDonald, now 89, was the first to share her memories of growing up and getting married in the church — along with the farmers in the rural congregation frequently turning their discussions to corn — and several others eventually followed suit. One longtime member, Chuck Nichols, recounted how a former pastor sent him prayers during his service in the Korean War, and Jack Nichols highlighted the special connection he felt with the hymns.

“I still remember singing them here. That really revealed the love of God that he would send his only begotten son to die for us sinners, and that’s what I remember about this church as well as the friendships that we all developed when we were here,” Jack Nichols said.

Current pianist Jen Slaughter, who joked that she had “the shortest memory” with the church, nonetheless described the reception she received as “wonderful.”

“I dearly love it, and I’m going to dearly miss it,” she said.

Ridenour delivered the benediction and, instead of coming up with her own words, turned to the prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola: “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight but not heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not ask for any reward, except that of knowing that we do your will” before concluding with The Lord’s Prayer.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Go in love and peace always. Amen,” she said.

From there, Goecke did the honors of extinguishing the candles one last time, and the congregation — both young and old, members current and former and even their relatives who had made the trip back from other states — joined together for an emotional rendition of “God Be With You.”

After the service had concluded and the crowd began to disperse, Goecke’s wife Mary reflected on what made the church such a special place for her.

“I’ve met such wonderful people, and I think the hardest thing to go to another church is (that) we worship in quiet here. And new church services are noisy, and that’s gonna be a big adjustment to not hear the birds sing and the corn rustling outside, but we’ll go and we’ll find the right place,” she said. “It touches your heart.”

The Goeckes’ granddaughter, Gabrielle Krieger, described Minerva as a model for a Christianity based on serving others.

“It’s a lost art,” she said.

Carol McDonald Tripp remembered lines down the road for the chapel’s ice cream socials, and Les Nichols, another member of the well-known co-founding family who is now 87, said Minerva had always been a part of his life.

What will become of the building on Hopkins Avenue remains to be seen, but the illustrious history of the Minerva Wesley Chapel will live on for generations in the hearts and minds of all the individuals who were connected to it throughout the church’s 145 years of existence.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.