Trinity United Methodist Church is a historically inclusive church in Eugene. A website, Save Trinity Eugene, said that the church is “under attack,” and that a pair of ministers may be trying to sell the building without the approval of the congregation. 

Trinity is host to one of the primary Egan Warming Centers –– a program that offers a place to sleep and a meal for houseless individuals during extremely cold weather –– as well as the FISH food pantry, which provides food boxes for those in need and a “free store” where people can come to get clothes, toiletries and toys all for no cost.

An announcement made during the Nov. 19 church service said that the Trinity United Methodist Church is closing “effective immediately.”

The announcement of closure posted on its Facebook page states that the services offered, including the food pantry and the warming center, would be able to continue using the space until the spring while the trustees of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of Methodist Churches “discuss the future” of the property.

The announcement made by John Tucker, superintendent of the Crater Lake District of Methodist Churches, said the sudden closure was due to “behaviors of both known and anonymous parties [creating] an atmosphere too toxic for pastoral leadership.”

The announcement also had a list of anticipated questions, including one raised about the recent closure of the Coburg United Methodist Church.

The Coburg United Methodist Church, according to the announcement, was voted to be closed by the congregation. The Save Trinity Website refutes this, saying that the church was forcibly closed.

The Coburg Church is now named “Coburg Commons,” has no Sunday church services listed on its website and acts as a bookstore and event space. 

Rebecca Wetmore, a churchgoer and frequent volunteer at the warming center at Trinity, said that last year she volunteered at the warming center for 31 nights — every day they were open.

“Egan is a no-barrier shelter,” Wetmore said. “It’s freezing out and people can’t go here because ‘they’re drunk,’ or can’t go here because they’re ‘kicked out.’ But we’re like ‘no, you can come here.’”

Wetmore said that Trinity is one of the only locations still able to offer this service in Eugene, and that she is unsure where houseless people would turn to if this church, and the warming center with it, were to close. Wetmore also said that the FISH food pantry director has told her they have not been able to find an alternate location if Trinity were to close.

“It would be devastating.” Wetmore said. “For the houseless community, and for this neighborhood.”

Wetmore said that the fear the church will close comes from church attendance being in decline, but she said that Trinity has already adapted to this.

“We rent out a preschool, and we have four women-owned businesses that we rent out to generate income,” she said. “We’re self-sustaining. Why are they liquidating?”

She said that the church, being an expensive building to maintain, is likely seen as a liability because there isn’t enough money being returned to the district.

“A church shouldn’t be a for-profit model. That’s ridiculous. We’re a nonprofit, we’re not here to make money for the districts.”

Wetmore said that if the church was sold, the money will go to ministries outside of Lane County.

Sue Mulvihill, a lay minister who often preached at Monroe United Methodist, another church that has been closed, said that she cannot see why the congregation would stay with Methodist churches at all “if the district and the conference are corrupt.”

“The people that belong to that church, that baptize their babies, had their children’s weddings and probably planned to have their funerals there. Those people – I cannot see one reason for them to stay with that church or with Methodist churches in general,” Mulvihill said.

Wetmore said that she is not involved in the website, but that the Save Trinity group is just trying to expose what is corrupted in the church system.