When the First Baptist Church of Morgantown welcomed its first worshippers in 1842, the city was already a bustling enclave in the northernmost climes of what was then the Commonwealth of Virginia.
First Baptist quickly went to work, adding its own weave to the fabric of the proceedings here, eventually finding a home at the top of High Street, Morgantown’s main thoroughfare.
There were the baptisms and the weddings. Funerals, too. Sure, they were sad, but they were also celebrations of life and the journey.
Add in the church picnics and anniversary dinners. All those ministries and all that outreach.
The place wasn’t quite as well-attended 175 years later when the last of the modern-day congregants filed out for a final time when First Baptist was shuttered in 2021.
Still, no one was prepared to go gentle — especially in terms of outreach.
That’s why Fern and Larry Luttrell, and other longtime church members, started talking with Your Community Foundation, the nonprofit group that does outreach across Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Harrison and Taylor counties in north-central West Virginia.
“We were having Zoom meetings during COVID in 2020,” said Patty Showers Ryan, the foundation’s executive director.
“The congregation was thoughtfully considering what to do with the church’s remaining assets,” she said. “It was unique and challenging, because we were looking at people’s cash and property.”
Herman Pierson, a local business executive who logged many Sundays at First Baptist, said the interaction with YCF was positive and productive.
“We didn’t quite have a clear path,” Pierson said. “We knew we wanted to do something to keep it going. And we did have a strong group of people from diverse walks in the community.”
The path that emerged was in the form of the First Baptist Church of Morgantown Charitable Endowment Fund.
During its debut last year, the fund was able to present a total of $9,750 to 11 local organizations in the business of empowering people, Ryan reported.
Pierson called it a measured start – but wait for the momentum, he said.
“The fund is just going to keep growing now,” he said. “And it’s going to be a lasting thing.”
A lasting thing and a blessed thing, Justin Myers seconded.
Like Ryan, Myers has a First Baptist connection, also.
Myers, himself a pastor, followed the calling of his faith to Morgantown.
He and his family launched The Foundry Church, which now occupies the former First Baptist structure on High Street.
The Foundry Church was able to acquire the property, which Myers likens to an act of amazing grace.
“Such good people,” he said. “So generous. We’re just grateful to be able to build on the legacy of the First Baptist family. And that’s exactly what it is when you cross our threshold: Family.”
