About Worthington United Methodist Church

And I Remember.Personal Church Histories

Don and Debbie Moon

Asked whether he recalls when our old church building was so crowded that Sunday School classes were held in cloakrooms and in kitchens, Steve Potter replied, "Sure, and I remember when we weren't crowded." Here we have that rara avis, a member of Worthington Methodist for essentially his entire life. Steve grew up during the 1940s listening to his mother, Peg, sing in the choir. "She had a wonderful soprano voice," he recalls, "and her range included the highest notes." She sang in the choir for 30 years until she and her husband, Joe, moved to Delaware County and joined William Street Methodist Church.

Steve remembers that the Methodist church was host to Worthington's annual choral festival each spring in the 1950s. Choirs from many churches and from the high school presented individual selections, and their combined forces filled the chancel for the finale. "They had to take out the altar, lectern and pulpit in order to make room for all of the singers," Steve says. Given the modest dimensions of the chancel area of the "old" sanctuary, which we now call the Potter Chapel, it's illustrative of the times that all of the town's choirs could assemble there simultaneously.

During Steve's high-school years our church's youth group was known as the Epworth League. Most of the weekly meetings were held jointly with youth from other churches, and Steve recalls that one of their most popular advisors was a teacher at the high school who wasn't active in any of the participating denominations. That ecumenical spirit extended to summer camp at Lakeside, where Worthington's Methodist youth were joined by their friends from other denominations. The high-school Sunday School class met in a room that occupied roughly the same space now devoted to the small kitchen adjacent to the Commons. At the time this was the southeast corner of the church building, so there were windows on two walls, and Steve remembers that the room accommodated three rows of chairs and perhaps 30 students: a bit tight by today's standards.

Soon, though, the church's facilities were truly jammed to overflowing with new members. By 1963 Steve had married Barbara Sauvary, and they were becoming active as adult members of Worthington Methodist Church. In those days the congregation faced a crisis of decision: to expand, or to ask the Conference to establish another congregation to handle the rapidly increasing numbers of Methodists in Worthington. Believing that the existing Worthington church should grow to accommodate the influx of new residents, Steve participated with most church members in a drive to raise funds for the expansion of our facilities. A three-year building-fund campaign netted many thousands of dollars, which were put into a savings account, but by 1966 there was still no clear consensus as to how to proceed. Steve describes a vocal minority within the congregation who questioned why the church should spend so much money to purchase the land that lay just to the south of the existing building. While the church dithered a supermarket chain expressed interest in acquiring those same properties.

At last, in 1967, the congregation decided to move forward with plans to build a new sanctuary, and architectural drawings were approved by both the City of Worthington and the West Ohio Conference. Barb and Steve remember that many changes and deletions accompanied this approval process. "It was far from perfect," Barb notes, but they and many others believed that the new facility would enhance the congregation's ability to minister to the community. Once the plans became final, Steve recalls, members pledged all that would be needed to meet the ultimate cost. "This always seems to happen here," Barb says; and Steve agrees, adding that "When this congregation agrees on a plan, people come forward with their support." Steve and Barb believe that the decision to expand our facilities was a watershed experience for Worthington United Methodist Church. Although our membership had for many decades been both well educated and economically stable, the congregation's self-image was modest, conservative and insular. In choosing to continue to be Worthington's Methodist church, the members accepted leadership responsibilities both within the denomination and in the community. This represented a major attitude shift, and the new building confirmed that WUMC was no longer a small-town church but a large suburban congregation.

During the 1970's and 80's Barb and Steve reared their two children, Joe and Susan, and established their business as building contractors. At church Barb served as chair of the Education Work Area, and hers was a "hands-on" administration; for example, each August she and a few helpers spent many hours reorganizing supplies and classrooms. Soft-spoken and modest, Barb nonetheless achieved that most excellent of goals: committee meetings that were a pleasure to attend. Laughter abounded and therefore much was accomplished. Under her watch the church-school program expanded, Choir Plus (now Music & Discovery) began, and the very first Children's Moment occurred. Also in those years the Potters were members of an adult Sunday-School class, the Searchers, and they especially remember the group's pancake breakfasts! Their children participated in dinner-theater productions that were mounted annually by the youth. "This was a wonderful program," Barb remembers. "Our children certainly enjoyed it, and I think there were good lessons for everyone who participated."

By the early 1990's there was no doubt that the older sections of our church's building were in dire need of major rehabilitation. Just for starters, consider the lack of air conditioning; this affected church-school classes, the attendees of many meetings, the Interfaith Hospitality Network, and the entire Creative Play Center operation. Furthermore, the "old" sanctuary leaked like a sieve despite numerous well-meaning attempts at patching and sealing the roof, windows, grouting, etc.; just when the most recent repair seemed to have "done the trick" one of the walls would start to exfoliate -- yet again. What to do? Barb and Steve agreed to chair a Building Committee that would analyze and address not only the crying needs for climate control, water-proofing, and handicapped access in the older portions of our facility but also traffic-flow issues in the 1968 building. Barb remembers good ideas that were beyond the reach of available funding, such as a family-life center and dedicated rehearsal space for the choir. "We had a wonderful adventure with the architect, and I was grieved over things we couldn't do," Barb recollects. Still, the accomplishments were hugely significant: a leak-free Chapel, several new classrooms, improved traffic flow through the Dixon Lounge, handicapped access to the older portions of the facility, and consolidation of the office complex. And, at one-third of the entire cost for the project, FINALLY four-season climate control for the older sections of our building.

Is there a "Potter legacy" at Worthington United Methodist Church? Well, sure: we have the Potter Fund that was endowed by Steve's grandparents, Howard and Minnie. Not to mention the "old" sanctuary, i.e. Potter Chapel, which brings to mind stories of how Howard guaranteed the otherwise shaky financing of that building during the Depression. Then there's Aunt Ruth, who conducted business at Potter Lumber as though everyone were as straightforward as she (the customers obliged her) and who ran financial campaigns at the church in that same honest-to-goodness way. Barb and Steve have added their own voices to this story.
-Jean Parks Lynn, historian