As the village begins to wake up to the rebirth that comes with every spring, Yellow Springs United Methodist Church is looking toward a rebirth of its own. The 178-year-old church aims to open its doors with renewed vitality on Easter Sunday, April 5, as both a place of worship and as a place the congregation hopes the wider community will once again feel called to enter.

On recent Sundays in mid- to late February, that hoped-for rebirth looked like a series of small, faithful acts: boxes of books stacked for sorting, bulletin boards getting fresh paper, pizza and cookies spread across tables at the rear of the sanctuary.

“It is resurrection Sunday,” the Rev. Latoya Warren said. “The Lord has resurrected, but the church has resurrected. We’re all resurrected on the same day.”

She added: “So that’s the stuff of action, of newness of life — not just a church service, but a resurrection of community.”

Established in 1848, Yellow Springs United Methodist has seen generations pass through its sanctuary. In more recent decades, it has been shepherded by a series of pastors: Charles Hill, from 2002 to 2010; Sherri Blackwell, from 2010 to 2015; Rick Jones, from 2015 to 2022; and Rev. Warren, who has led the church since 2022, and since last year, has also served as pastor of Old Town United Methodist Church.

During Hill’s tenure, the church underwent both a growth of its congregation and a $500,000 renovation funded by members. But like many small churches — and particularly those in aging buildings — Yellow Springs UMC has continued to face the ongoing demands of upkeep alongside the harder-to-measure work of sustaining congregational life. After COVID-19, members said, attendance declined in ways that have not fully reversed.

“I feel like no church has recovered since COVID,” said Alex King, who lives in Fairborn with his wife, artist Cydnie Deed-King, and their two children.

King, who runs the church’s technical side each Sunday, said the church’s response has been both practical and forward-looking. Some of that work has involved improving the church’s online presence — building a website, redoing its Facebook page and strengthening livestreaming for those who cannot attend in person. The church has also worked with a consultant, Pastor Joe Graves, on strategic planning. In recent months, some of the work has been literal hands-on labor.

“We’ve been doing work days to get work done around the church, and it’s usually on a Sunday after church,” Rev. Warren said.

Recent work days have included sorting books from the church library, updating signage and bulletin boards, replacing lighting and trying to make the church feel brighter and more welcoming when people walk in.

The congregation’s efforts at renewal have extended beyond the building itself. On fifth Sundays, the church holds “Serving Beyond Our Walls Sunday,” when members gather in the community to volunteer with local organizations. Those service days have included work with nursing homes, food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens. This month, members are set to serve at Friends Care Community. The church also hosts monthly Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and partners with the local nonprofit StoryChain, which records incarcerated parents reading stories to their children.

The efforts continue against the backdrop of the larger challenges that come with maintaining a historic building. At present, the congregation is discussing replacing an aging boiler, but with a small membership, raising funds for pressing infrastructure needs can be difficult. As Easter approaches, the congregation is thinking about how to invite people in.

“We need to get the word out,” Rev. Warren told members during one Sunday planning session, as the congregation discussed the possibility of advertising on an area Christian radio station. “We need to get it out quick and fast and on a routine.”

But even as they work to preserve the building, members acknowledged that the church is more than its physical structure.

“For a lot of people, church is the building — it’s hard to make that disconnect,” King said. “If it’s a gathering of believers of God and worshiping Him, you’re having church — you can have church in the park, you know? But you also don’t want to lose your home, so it’s hard.”

For those with long ties to Yellow Springs United Methodist, the building has been the site of decades of community memory. Kenneth Britton, who grew up in Yellow Springs, said his own history is embedded in the church. His mother, the late Evelyn Britton, was a life-long attender, and a pew was dedicated to her memory. In the church office, he said, old photographs still catch him by surprise.

“My mother is in those pictures,” he said.

For Linda Hutson, who began attending the church in fall 2016, the congregation quickly became a source of deep support. She recalled that when her grandson faced a severe illness not long after her family arrived, the church rallied around her family.

“The church was so supportive,” she said. “The pastor contacted me every single day.”

The church has also been working toward renewal within its existing congregation, which has taken shape in services convened around shared food and in the work of people showing up for one another — bringing activity bags for children, watching toddlers during lunch and, one recent Sunday, a chili cook-off. Warren, Britton and King each brought chili to feed their fellow members, and all three were sent home winners of the competition.

By Easter, Rev. Warren hopes the congregation’s renewal will be visible to anyone who walks through the doors.

“Come and join us,” she said. “It is resurrection Sunday.”

YS United Methodist Church meets Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. for fellowship, with service beginning at 10:45 a.m. For more information, go to http://www.yellowspringschurch.org