In its heyday in the 1960s, the Penticton United Church was bursting at the seams, with 796 members of the congregation and over 800 Sunday school children.

Today, the large blue church fills no more than a few dozen seats for Sunday service.

Itsa国际传媒檚 because of this drop in numbers that the iconic church sa国际传媒� that has seen thousands of Sunday services, funerals and weddings sa国际传媒� is shutting the church for good. They will hold their last service on Thanksgiving Sunday, Oct. 8.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 nice to look back in thankfulness for what wesa国际传媒檝e accomplished as a church and the good things wesa国际传媒檝e done in the community,sa国际传媒� said longtime church member Fern Gibbard, who has been attending since the 1960s. sa国际传媒淚f you need help through the years, the United Churchsa国际传媒檚 doors were always open.sa国际传媒�

At a May congregational meeting, the Penticton United Church members voted to disband.

sa国际传媒淭his was a painful but necessary decision,sa国际传媒� said Marion Kozier, the churchsa国际传媒檚 council chair. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a sad ending of a community of faith that has served God to the best of its ability for 95 years.sa国际传媒�

The church could no longer cover the huge costs of insurance to keep the large building going.

In 1985, insurance for the church was about $2,500 a year. This year it was $19,000, said Kozier.

sa国际传媒淎lmost eight times as much,sa国际传媒� she said.

The property, real estate and chattel will revert back to the Pacific Mountain Region of the United Church of Canada.

The future of the building at Main and Eckhardt is still unknown.

For Kozier, shesa国际传媒檇 love to see it turn into an arts centre.

The church was built in November 1928 to fit a capacity of 600 people. It has many beautiful stained glass windows, a pipe organ and large pulpit built as a gift from a contractor.

The Christian education wing was added in 1952, funded by a brick campaign put on by the Sunday school children. The bells were installed in the sanctuary tower in 1957.

In 1948, the local school burned and the churchsa国际传媒檚 balcony was used as a grade 1 classroom until they could rebuild, said Gibbard.

Just last year they rehomed their pews and brought in chairs. Other items from the church are being brought to other churches as the United Church readies to close.

For the next while, the church building will still be open for users and concerts and will be managed by the Pacific Mountain Region of the United Church of Canada. The larger organization is working on various options for the building.

Many different organizations use the church, including Place Share Preschool, SOS Volunteer Centre, Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon, a stamp club and Scouts.

The Penticton Concert Band played in the church in June. The Tune Agers choir practices there.

sa国际传媒淭he church has great sound,sa国际传媒� said Kozier. A lot of good memories, concerts and gathering have taken place in the church, she added.

They are expecting their last service on Oct. 8 to be busy with former members and others from parts of the Okanagan to join. All are welcome to take in the end of an era.