Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Jack Fashbaugh, pastor at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Ironwood, stands in the nave to the church Thursday morning. The congregation is folding due to a decline in membership and the building has been sold to the Faith Lighthouse.
By CHARITY SMITH
IRONWOOD - Dwindling membership has resulted in the closure of First Presbyterian Church in Ironwood. The church has been in operation on East Aurora for 115 years this month.
A once thriving church with more than 300 members, in the end, the congregation counted just seven members. Of the remaining seven, two are in nursing homes and two are seasonal - retreating to Florida in the winter, said Pastor Jack Fashbaugh.
"Membership steadily declined. It had to do with the closing of the mines," Fashbaugh said. "When my wife and I first joined the church...
