After 182 years, Birmingham church closes its doors with plenty of tears

For years, only about nine people have been attending Sunday services at Five Mile Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, which was founded in 1841, 30 years before the City of Birmingham.

On Sunday, more than 50 people showed up to say goodbye. The pioneer-era church in the Huffman neighborhood closed its doors after 182 years in the same location at 1137 Five Mile Road.

The crowd was such a surprise that there were not enough communion cups to serve grape juice to all those in attendance. The loaf of communion bread, broken into pieces and served on trays, was enough to suffice. The church also ran out of printed copies of its history.

But there were more than enough tears.

Lay Pastor Sharon Eich choked back tears as she gave her final words of benediction and dismissed the congregation. Music leader David Knox choked back tears as he handed out commendations to those who had served the church.

He played guitar to lead the final song ever sung by Five Mile Presbyterian Church: “I’ll Fly Away.”

Eich, pastor since 2002, said the congregation had dwindled from about 40 when she arrived to nine now, with most having either died or gone into nursing homes. They were no longer able to maintain the church. “It’s just time,” she said.

The 1880 building and the Civil War-era cemetery will be held and maintained in a trust.

The white clapboard church built in 1880 with a bell tower still stands next to a brick sanctuary that was dedicated on Oct. 19, 1958.

The final service was held in the brick church, and the reception in the fellowship hall, which will be both turned over to the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley and likely will be sold to another congregation, Eich said.

In her last sermon, Eich compared the church to a Middle Eastern excavation where one forgotten civilization built atop another, and another.

“Once you were no people, but now you are God’s people,” she said. “Once you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Once you had no story. Now you are part of God’s story.”

Sharon Eich, lay pastor of Five Mile Presbyterian Church since 2002, preached Sunday, May 7, 2023, at the final service of the church that was founded in 1841. (Photo by Greg Garrison/AL.com)