Gulfport Presbyterian Church has room for hundreds of attendees, but currently sees less than two dozen members each Sunday.
Bob Ponder
Gulfport Presbyterian Church has a mere 19 members, and will host its last service with those 19 members on Sunday, April 24.
At one time, the church’s red pews sat more than 350 attendees.
It’s not uncommon for longstanding churches to dissipate, says the church’s Clerk of Sessions, Yvonne Johnson. In Gulfport Presbyterian’s case, the church suffered losses as the congregation aged, and no young members replaced them.
Eventually, money ran out.
“It’s devastating, we’re all very saddened that this has to happen, but you also have to be practical,” Johnson said. “It takes money and it takes people.”
Johnson, former Gulfport Mayor (1985-87) and the church’s longest-standing member has been involved with the church for nearly 30 years. She remembers a brighter time, when there were multiple families with young children, and even recalls helping raise money for the building’s expansion.
“We’ve done everything we can possibly do to keep the church going as long as we have,” Johnson said.
Yvonne Johnson, the church’s Clerk of Sessions, says the church is closing due to low funds and attendance.
Bob Ponder
The Church That Was
Upon opening its doors in 1917, Gulfport Presbyterian was a non-denominational place of worship. In 1947, it became a Presbyterian Church called First Presbyterian Church of Gulfport, and in 1966, was renamed Gulfport Presbyterian Church.
Johnson recalls when the original church was just a long, narrow building that now sits on the property between the two added buildings. Today, that’s the fellowship hall, but at one point, it housed a bustling congregation.
The congregation outgrew that, but now it sits mostly empty on Sundays.
Another longstanding member, Lavon Ellerman, is sad to say goodbye after 20 years of involvement. Ellerman brings her four great grandchildren to Sunday services each week, and she says they are the only young people the church has regularly seen in 10 years.
“I don’t think they know that other children go to church,” Ellerman said. “They’ve never seen it.”
She’s devastated, but with a dwindling crowd, it’s not a surprise to the Gulfport resident.
“We all know we have to die, but we don’t plan on it,” Ellerman said. “We all knew the church wouldn’t stay open, but I guess we were hoping for a miracle.”
The church has taken in four new members in the last year, and lost one to death.
One of the new members, Bob Ponder, joined Gulfport Presbyterian Church despite recognizing that time was running out for the historical congregation.
“They were warm; warm and inviting,” Ponder said. “I’m a person of color, and the only one there, but still they were warm. They needed my help, and it’s great to feel needed.”
So Ponder watered the plants and attended services on Sundays, and on Sunday, April 24, he’ll do so for the last time.
“I knew before I joined that they could be closing, but I felt that that was a good place to be at the moment,” Ponder said. “I really feel for the other members; you can feel the pain there.”
“There’s no hope to make a difference,” Johnson said.
Bob Ponder
A Likely Buyer
While the church has only opened once a week for quite some time, Sunflower Private School rents out the church and hosts K-5 classes five days a week there.
Sunflower School directors Nicole Riveiros and Bevin O’Brein say the school has operated out of the church for 42 years. They’d like to buy the property, continue holding classes, and eventually expand past their current 38 students.
“We’re very serious about buying. We have a fundraising committee working very hard to secure the location because of the history here,” Riveiros told The Gabber. “This ground has soaked up so many tears, soaked up so much history.”
Oftentimes, Sunflower School students walk to the Tuesday Fresh Market, the Gulfport Public Library, and Gulfport Beach for wildlife watching.
Leaving this area would be a loss for the school, Riveiros says.
The current property is owned by the church members, and on May 11, they will meet in the hopes of selling and dissolving the church.
“I know the private school may buy,” Johnson said. “But I do not know if they can or will officially.”
The church will hold its final three services at 10:30 a.m. on April 10, 17, and 24.
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