For Whittier Presbyterian Church, a Job Well Done

by Courtney Ellis

Music has always been a very important part of WPC.

Music has always been a very important part of WPC

Whittier Presbyterian Church held its first service of worship on March 17, 1946. It will hold its last service this Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, marking just over 80 years of worship. Two of the most challenging times in a church’s life are often its founding and its closing. We have much to learn from Whittier Presbyterian about both.

Whittier Presbyterian was formally organized on May 5, 1946 with 223 charter members. Its founding pastor was Dr. S.J. Russell Ensign, who would go on to serve at Whittier for nearly twenty years.

“Like most other churches, we grew quickly in the 50s and 60s,” noted Clerk of Session Donna Hanson. The congregation soon needed to build new buildings to fit its now 1350 members. A member named Martha Ensign felt it was important to build a preschool so “we built an education building specifically to accommodate a preschool and house our overflowing Sunday School classes.”

Preschool in 50’s and 80’s, our preschool was an important part of our ministry to the community.

These buildings were a great blessing to Whittier and the surrounding community until the 1990s when, like many churches in Los Angeles County and neighboring Orange County, Whittier saw its attendance begin to shrink. They tried various strategies—inviting Nueva Vida, a Presbyterian New Church Development, to nest with them, renting out the building to outside organizations, and encouraging church growth—but eventually the upkeep and maintenance of the buildings began to become a burden.

Rev. Geoff Nelson led Whittier Presbyterian from 1985 to 2012. Noted Hanson, “When Rev Geoff Nelson announced his retirement in 2012, our congregation worked thru New Beginnings.” This was a PC(USA) curriculum designed to help congregations with revitalization. “The meetings were very fruitful and we felt God wanted us to continue as a congregation, even though our numbers were small,” said Hanson.

When Rev. Elizabeth Steele came on as Whittier’s Interim/Transition pastor in June of 2013, the congregation came to a decision.

“We came to the conclusion that our buildings were hurting us,” said Hanson. “They were too big for our congregation, which meant we had to spend all of our time, effort, and money on maintenance and not ministry. This was when we decided we should sell our buildings and move.” With this process underway, the church began looking for buildings to rent.

Youth choir in our Sanctuary in the 80’s

During this transitional time, they received a letter from Salem Lutheran inviting them to join the small, nearby congregation for Sunday worship.

“At first we thought it was a crazy idea,” said Hanson. “But that week each Session member came to the conclusion that perhaps this was God calling us to try something new.” The two congregations had shared Bible and Lenten studies as well as youth, choir, and women’s events decades earlier, but hadn’t done anything together since.

The congregation tested the waters with a season of shared worship services and gatherings, and soon decided that this was the direction they should take.

Blessing of the animals worship service in our courtyard

“We were not going to Salem to merge with them or to die there,” said Hanson. “We were going because we felt God opening that door and we would follow his lead.” The move provided Whittier with the opportunity to give away many of their belongings and see those items continue to serve God in other locations. Their preschool’s equipment benefited other Presbyterian and Christian preschools as far away as Los Angeles.

“We passed the keys to our buildings to another church to continue God’s work,” said Hanson. “And we moved on to discover what God had planned for us in a new place.”

In 2016, Whittier Presbyterian celebrated Easter alongside the worshipers of Salem Lutheran. Rev. Elizabeth stood beside Pastor Patrice, from Salem, and they each poured water into the baptismal font to represent the unity of the two congregations.

Easter 2016, joint worship of Whittier Presbyterian and Salem Lutheran

A few years later, Rev. Maggie Goodwin was called to serve Whittier full-time. When COVID hit, Rev. Maggie helped the congregation transition to online services, where several new people found and followed them. Maggie also connected them with Mission Collaborative, an organization of small, nearby churches that banded together for greater mission opportunities and giving. Today, Mission Collaborative includes seven churches of different denominations, from Episcopalian to Mennonite to Presbyterian.

“We recently had fifty people putting together health kits for the homeless program,” said Hanson. “How wonderful to have members from different denominations working together in the community, learning new ways to serve, and expanding on the service each congregation is engaged in!”

In recent years, it became clear that the ministry of Whittier Presbyterian could no longer be self-sustaining. It was time to make a very difficult decision: the decision to close the church. After much prayer and discernment, the Session chose April 5—Easter Sunday—to be its final service of worship.

Our bell choir at a Mission Collaborative event. Shirley, Shirley, Ursula, Marilyn, Marilyn, Kerry

“We are sad that WPC is coming to a close,” said Hanson. “But we are so grateful for the life we had and the service we have given to our community. And for the new adventure we had without having our own building.” Hanson noted that churches struggling with low attendance should not fear letting go of their property, for this can provide great flexibility and freedom.

“We encourage other churches to try some new ideas,” she said. “Band together with other like-minded congregations to do more in your community than you can do on your own.” The members of WPC plan to find other local churches to attend. Many of them are grateful for the ways their work with Mission Collaborative already connected them to nearby congregations.

When asked how the Presbytery and its members can help support WPC in its final weeks, Hanson spoke warmly.

“We are good,” she said. “We just want to spend time together because then, after that, we won’t be seeing each other every Sunday. We don’t need to be disrupted with a bunch of outside visitors. But please do pray for us. Offer prayers of thanksgiving for the life that the church had and prayers that the members find their new homes in the community.”

Courtney Ellis, Associate Pastor at Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo, is an author and storyteller. She is an eNews special correspondent.

Courtney’s latest book Weathering Change is available directly from the publisher, InterVarsity Press, or at your favorite bookseller.