Two in one: Faiths share space in 'spirit of fellowship'

Interfaith involvement now has a deeper meaning for Salt Lake's First Congregational Church and Christ United Methodist Church.

The two Christian faiths have been sharing a building since July 1, and that's led to considerable give and take for both churches.

"There seems to be a nice friendship developing," said the Rev. Steve Goodier of Christ United Methodist Church.

Christ United Methodist Church is currently having its building, 2375 E. 3300 South, remodeled and expanded. The project is so extensive that the building is unusable until the work is completed next summer.

At the same time, First Congregational Church, 2150 S. Foothill, found itself recently in a much larger building than it needed. Not wanting to move, the church sent letters to other congregations in the valley looking for a possible partner.

"We have a building too large for our own needs," said the Rev. Art Ritter of First Congregational. "United Methodist came to us and expressed a need."

The two churches have a contract for shared use of the building, with United Methodist paying rent and a portion of the utilities. That income is helping the smaller First Congregational Church's budget.

"Both churches anticipate an interesting year as they share space in the true spirit of Christian fellowship," the Rev. Ritter said.

The two churches use the same chapel and gymnasium but have separate offices. United Methodist has taken over a former preschool area as its own. Both churches also had to shift their Sunday worship service times.

There is also talk of a combined Christmas Eve service and perhaps later, more joint activities.

"It has worked out well for both of us so far," the Rev. Ritter said.

While there's not as much contact between the two churches as you might expect, the Rev. Ritter said there were a few members of his congregation last month who went through a "doubleheader" one Sunday to hear the sermons of both churches.

And the Rev. Goodier said that he's been leaving copies of his Sunday sermon on the back table, just as Ritter does, and sermons are being shared by some members.

The Rev. Ritter said the two church's secretaries have been vital in keeping the building busy but not overbooked. Also, a joint committee composed of the three members from each church also look at building schedules and avoiding potential problems.

"We've had a few parking issues so far. That's been about it," the Rev. Ritter said.