Old church receives new name

The advisory board tasked with steering the future of the First Presbyterian Church building in Greenfield has landed on a name for the facility that they hope will serve the community in many ways well into the future.

“The process started with receiving community input from our Facebook contest, and over 50 names were submitted,” said group spokesperson Jennifer Garside. “They were voted on to narrow down the names by community members, which resulted in a tie. The advisory committee then voted, which resulted in another tie.”

In the end, the eight-person foundation board were the ones to break the tie in a meeting Sept. 26.

Finalists were The Legacy Center, The Gathering Place, The Sanctuary and Old Pres.

“The board felt like they wanted to really focus on a name that was easy to remember, easy to say, and we really wanted to encompass what the building was being used for,” Garside said. “We felt like The Gathering Place met all that criteria.”

Garside explained that in the time that has elapsed since the church closed its doors, the community hasn’t stopped using the building.

“The building is seeing great growth. There is an event or group using now almost every day of the week,” Garside said. “The group is now focusing on utilizing the sanctuary more, whether that be for a religious event or other. A community choir is being looked at along with promoting it as a free venue for wedding ceremonies and funerals.”

The Greater Greenfield Community Foundation recently launched a website, which can be found at greenfieldiafoundation.org. They also have a Facebook page.

“The focus is not just on the former church building but all the community betterment projects the Foundation has available to residents and groups in Greenfield,” Garside said. “Keep checking [our website at Facebook page] as items are being added weekly.”