Dispatches: The Changing American Dream
Where One Church Fades, Another Branches Out
University Bible Fellowship expands into Whitefish Bay, taking over the 75-year-old building formerly occupied by Roundy Memorial Baptist Church, which disbanded in November due to dwindling membership.
Seventy-four years of faith and fellowship at Roundy Memorial Baptist Church in Whitefish Bay dwindled to nothing on Nov. 27, 2011. For years the elderly congregants passed away, moved into nursing homes and became too frail to support either the volunteer functions of a church community or the pragmatic responsibilities of maintaining the building. Down to just 22 members, it finally became clear the church could not continue so the remaining worshipers conducted one last service in the building the Roundy family constructed in 1937. They reminisced and sang their favorite songs with piano and violin accompaniment. "It was just a beautiful service," said Jo Ellen Witt, the church’s last pastor. "I think the mood was people knew it had to …
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