The Union United Methodist Church has been put up for sale by the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church.  

The outlook for the 114-year-old Union United Methodist Church buildings is taking a turn for the worse.

The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, which oversees all Methodist churches in Oregon and Southern Idaho, has put the Union United Methodist Church building complex up for sale. 

“It is truly the end of an era,” said LaVon Hall of Union, a member of a committee that has been overseeing the operation of the Methodist Church complex.

The Union United Methodist Church disbanded in June due to declining membership. Until then, the buildings were owned by the church congregation. Ownership, however, automatically reverted to the Conference after the church closed. The decision to sell the complex — the church building and its fellowship hall and parsonage — was made earlier this month.

The Conference had considered renting the complex to the Cove-Union-Powder Health Association. CUP had a verbal agreement with the Oregon-Idaho Conference for renting the fellowship hall and the church, according to CUP Treasurer Marty McKeon. This agreement, though, could not be finalized for financial reasons. McKeon said CUP could not afford the rent the Conference requested or the insurance it would have to pay.

Now that the buildings are for sale, the process of dispersing the church’s furnishings, books, paintings, old photographs, worship items and much more is beginning. Items volunteers are working with include a painting of Jesus donated to the church decades ago by the parents of a son who died during World War II and a framed list of the names of all the pastors who have served the Union United Methodist Church.

About 10 church volunteers were at the church Wednesday organizing items for a public sale set for Nov. 22. It is a painful process for many because their family roots are tied to the church.

“There are lots of broken hearts around here,” said Carolyn Young, whose parents celebrated their 50th anniversary in the church.

Julie Bodfish of La Grande, who picked up a bookcase her family had donated to the church many years ago, shares Young’s sentiment. 

“My family started going here long ago. It is so sad to see it evaporate,” she said. 

Sean Crews, who serves as the coordinator of Northeast Oregon’s Methodist Churches, observed the same thing Wednesday.

“It’s not easy,” he said. “Many have invested their lives in this church.”

Crews said those working at the Union church are experiencing grief but they are also showing resilience by coming there and working. 

“They do not have to be here,” he said on Wednesday.

On a brighter note, Hall said the Conference will be providing funds for a permanent Union United Methodist Church memorial. The memorial could be in a number of forms including a wall.

A sale of the old church’s items will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 22 inside its fellowship hall. The sale will take place in conjunction with a shredding fundraiser being conducted by the members of the former church’s congregation. A shredding service will be offered at the church from 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 22, and the public may bring documents to be shredded for a donation. 

Funds raised by the shredding donations and the sale will go to the senior and community meals program in Union. For years, senior meals were served in the church’s fellowship hall each Tuesday. After the Conference assumed ownership of the buildings, the meals continued to be served there, thanks to a verbal agreement between the CUP Health Association and the Conference.

The meals are now being provided at the VFW Hall by CUP, which began serving the meals there when the church buildings were put up for sale. 

Kristen Caldwell, a spokesperson for the Oregon-Idaho Methodist Annual Conference, said it supports in spirit the senior meals program.  

“We consider (serving) seniors to be a ministry,” Caldwell said.

She said the Conference wants everything to work out for the best for Union and the historic church buildings.

“Hopefully we will be able to find a good buyer who will be faithful to the Union community,” Caldwell said.