St. Paul's in Watertown may close

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 212 Clay St., could close soon due to lack of money.

Senior Warden Thomas H. Peterson said it is getting difficult for the church to operate because its congregation is shrinking and the cost of utilities and maintenance is skyrocketing.

"Maintenance itself is eating up a good part of our budget," he said. "We're looking for ways to still provide a spiritual community for our parish without spending all of our cash on repairs."

The church was founded by War of 1812 Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown. It is part of the Shared Episcopal Ministry of Northern New York, which includes St. John the Evangelist, Black River, and two other St. Paul's Episcopal churches, in Brownville and Sackets Harbor.

Mr. Peterson said he has talked to officials at the other churches to see if they could share space.

"We're consulting with our sister parishes about ways we can keep our spiritual community intact by saving on some of the expenses," he said. "We have also had conversations with Trinity Episcopal about sharing some of their space."

Mr. Peterson said his main concern was keeping the identity of his congregation intact while sharing space with another parish.

Another concern is the location of the church's columbarium, which holds the cremated remains of about 20 parish members.

"It's a very unique aspect of our church," he said. "And if we closed, we would have to have a church location for that columbarium. That's the promise we made to those people."

Mr. Peterson said he will meet with diocese officials Nov. 22 about various money-saving options.

"After that, we will meet with the entire congregation to look over our options and decide what to do," he said. "It is certainly a conundrum. One of the main functions of a church is helping people. And right now we're not able to spend any money on helping people who need help."

He said he hopes the parish will make a decision by the end of the year.