BY STANLEY MATTHEWS
BERRIEN SPRINGS—Though one year has passed since he visited, members of the Berrien Springs Seventh-day Adventist church are still angry at evangelist Ray Closet, whose presence resulted in the loss of 25 potential seating spaces in the sanctuary on each Sabbath morning, as well as the loss of eight potential parking spaces in the lot.
"Before that guy came, parking and seating in our church was wide open," said Bernie Nebbers, a longtime member, "But now, thanks to him, our options are vastly reduced."
Nebbers added that he misses the vast, isolated feeling that the middle of the sanctuary once had on Sabbath mornings. Maxine Clarke, who for years has parked in the second row of slots and sat in the last four pews on the right side of the sanctuary, echoed Nebbers' sentiments.
"There's nothing more annoying than driving into church and finding someone else in my parking row, then going inside and seeing just how few potential seating spaces there are. If we had known that we'd lose so much, we'd never have hosted the seminars."
The church, whose primary method of evangelism involves quarterly prayers for revival, agreed to host a public evangelism seminar only after the North American Division applied pressure. However, most members assumed that, aside from the dent in the budget, public evangelism would have no effect on their house of worship.
"We figured that no loss of seating space would occur, or that if any did, the losses would be reversed within a year," said Clarke. "But now, a year has passed, and we still have not recovered the lost seating and parking spaces."
Church members are also quick to point out a change in the atmosphere.
"My church used to be such a comfortable place," said founding member Walter Marlin. "Now there's all this talk about growth, and the pastor doesn't pay as much attention to me as he used to. I feel like I've lost my special place of nurturing."
The only small comfort to offset the losses, added Marlin, is that tithe and offerings have more than doubled since the end of the prophecy seminars.
