Belding

Where does he pastor? What church?

Encounter Community Church in Belding, up there in Michigan, too.

Okay.

Yep, it's a whole family belief.

Yes, this is a correct score.

Belding, 92.

Dowajak, 56.

Yikes.

came in.

I

was going to say, they finished just before the, what was it, the Belding game.

Yeah.

One summer morning, the Reverend Melissa Wagner stepped into the pulpit of her church and delivered a sermon that no pastor wants to give.

Wagner fought back tears as she spoke in her stately United Methodist Church that had stood in Belding, Michigan for 120 years.

To celebrate their faith and prosperity, the town's leaders had built a grand edifice with a soaring dome ceiling, massive stained glass windows, and an eight-foot painting of Jesus overlooking the altar.

On that Sunday in 2024, Wagner spoke to a nearly empty church about 12 elderly members sitting far apart from one another in a sanctuary built for a thousand people.

If a guest wants to talk and things are looking great, who knows? But one of the cool plans that's still going forward is a number of youth things.

The Belding Trap Team, which I'm excited about, is going to do a pheasant hunt this year for the fall season finale.

That's going to be later in November.

Things by then should be fine where I'm back working and able to do stuff outside of seeing what's happening with, with people.

42-6 last week for these boys.

They haven't lost since Belding.

They only have two losses on the year.

You look over across the way at Comstock Park.

They were, they had a three-buggy garage there at Grand Rapids Forest Hills, boy.

My, my bro and I spent many years walking to school in Belding, Michigan, from when we were, when we were little, uphill both ways.

[laughs]

Oh, man.

And then it begins with the story of the Reverend Melissa Wagner.

She is the pastor of a, quote, stately United Methodist Church that had stood in Belding, Michigan for 120 years.

And it talks about the building.

It was magnificent.