Butler Global Church celebrates new location, pastor
Many members of Butler Global Church’s congregation might feel like they came back home to 200 E. North St., but their new pastor, the Rev. Laura Saffell, said she believes the church is about to start a new chapter.
Butler Global Church held a special service and lunch Sunday, Sept. 21, in recognition and celebration of the move. Saffell was joined by the Rev. Chuck Hildbold and the Rev. John Phipps, two former pastors; the Rev. Chris Kindle, the presiding elder for the area; and Bishop Jeff Greenway in delivering sermons and prayers.
“One of the things I felt when the church got back to here ... was almost like a, whew,” Hildbold said.
Butler Global Church, a part of the Global Methodist Church, was started after members of First United Methodist Church, previously located at 200 E. North St., became discontent with the United Methodist Church’s stance on LGBTQ+ preachers. The group began to worship at the end of 2024 and became fully chartered in February.
With the split, each congregation went its own way. Butler Global Church operated out of American Legion Post 778 in Butler Township, and First United Methodist Church moved from its former church to the “Crossfire” building on Route 8 in Center Township.
While the church had a few interim pastors, Saffell became the official pastor on June 1.
However, the church was still looking for its permanent home.
That would change June 27, when Butler Global Church closed on the sale of First United Methodist Church’s former North Street location. One month later, on July 27, the church held its first Mass there.
On Sunday, the pews of the church were nearly full as Greenway, a former member of First United Methodist Church, took the pulpit. Before beginning his sermon, he briefly took a moment to reflect on former churchgoers and speak to those who joined the Global Methodist Church like he did.
“I want you to know, they would be proud of you. Those I’ve named, and those I haven’t ... they would be very proud of you. So as you live into the next 200 years of our goodly heritage, I want you to remember that it took courage and faith in every generation to get here,” he said.
During his sermon, Greenway discussed how to be bold in one’s faith.
“Friends, our world, Butler, needs people who will live with spiritual boldness,” he said. “So the question is, how can we develop spiritual boldness? The answer is by being firm and secure in what we believe.”
After the service, Saffell said, while she’s enjoyed her first months as pastor of Butler Global Church, they have been nothing short of “crazy.”
“I started June 1, but then, on June 27, we closed on the building,” Saffell said. “Then it was like, ‘Oh my gosh. We got the building. It’s our responsibility now.’”
Saffell said a team of more than 50 people volunteered to clean and prepare the building for the first service.
While its been a bittersweet experience for some of the congregation to return to the site of the split, their pastor views the move as a positive inflection point for the church and especially its mission.
“One of the things people were really excited about is getting a building that is downtown,” Saffell said. “There’s so much need in downtown Butler, and we get to be in the thick of it. We’re thinking, ‘Who can we reach?’”
She said at the most recent community dinner the church served 375 free meals — more than it ever had before.
