Lynn parish worshippers ‘go their separate ways’

LYNN – Eighty-four years of worship on Waitt Avenue at Eastern Avenue ended Sunday when St. Alban’s Church communicants held their last service.”It’s kind of like a death in the family,” said church treasurer Martha Granese as she contemplated the end of a religious era in Lynn.Sunday’s services focused on remembering church members who sustained St. Alban’s throughout its history dating back to the church’s construction in 1925 when members of the mission of St. Stephens on Alden Street moved to their new home on Waitt Avenue and named the new church All Saints.All Saints and Church of the Incarnation on Broad Street merged in 1975 bringing 300 congregation members under one roof. Eileen Stinson is a life-long St. Alban’s member who is not sure where she will worship in the wake of last Sunday’s service presided over by Rev. Evan Mwangi.”We’ll all go our separate ways,” she said.Granese plans to worship, for the time being, at Holy Family Church where her husband, Nick, attends services. Holy Family survived a threat of closure from the Archdiocese of Boston in 2004. It was the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts’ decision to negotiate St. Alban’s sale with Lynn Economic Opportunity that led to the church’s closing.LEO proposed converting the church building to a child care center, citing long waiting lists for centers it runs across Lynn. St. Alban’s congregants protested the purchase negotiations, issuing a “clarion call” to its members and calling on community support.LEO set its sights on other property in Lynn but congregation members continued to urge the Diocese to keep the church open, even inviting the bishop of Boston to a spring meeting. Senior Church Warden Barbara Clayton and Junior Warden Clayton Curtis likened the fight to past church efforts to sustain St. Alban’s in the face of rising maintenance costs and shrinking congregations.Ultimately, the fight over the church’s future was not one the Diocese was going to lose: Unlike autonomous Episcopal parish churches, St. Alban’s is a mission church operating under the Diocese’s authority.”We’re biting our tongues and letting ourselves get over it,” said Curtis.Diocesan spokeswoman Tracy Sukraw did not have specific information last Friday on why St. Alban’s is being sold and when the Diocese hopes to complete the sale.”Plans for the property are under discernment so its eventual sale is likely,” she said.If the building is sold, Granese hopes an assisted living organization can occupy it.Clayton said short term plans call for maintenance workers hired by the congregation to continue handling maintenance for the Diocese.