The church, located at 208 Market St. across from the Warren Library and neighbors with the First United Methodist Church at the corner of Second and Market streets, has been a site of prayers, celebrations and support for generations of families in Warren.

The building is also showing its age. There is a need for a serious upgrade to the furnace. Pastor Dorothy Hilliard, along with Cody Fetzeck, have taken up the task of spreading the word on Facebook and setting up a Gofundme account. While they have reached the first step toward raising the money, they are asking the community for help towards the next goal. The lack of heat, especially during this winter’s cold snap, has created difficulty for members of the congregation to gather for services and other events as well as provide outreach to the community. The cost of repairing or replacing the furnace is more than the church can manage on its own.

Church members are asking the community to help preserve the historic church and ensure it remains a warm, welcoming place for years to come. All money raised will go directly toward the repairs or replacement of the heating system as well as the current heating bill, and future labor and installation costs.

In addition to services and Bible studies, the church is used by sports teams who play in the church gym.

A framed photo of the Swedish Bethlehem Covenant Church is proudly displayed in the halls of the Faith Fellowship Church of God. The building previously sat next door to the Faith Fellowship Church of God, but was torn down after disrepair 20 years ago when it merged with First Baptist Church of Warren to form Pleasant Community Church. This merger was made to address financial difficulties and low congregation numbers.

The building in which Faith Fellowship Church of God is housed used to be a Baptist church. Speaking of other church fellowships that have been housed in the building, Hilliard commented that she thinks it is amazing how many different pastors in the Baptist church have preached there over the years and that it must have been a very busy church.

“Even though we are Church of God, I really honor the Baptist temple and the effect they’ve had on this community over the years,” said Hilliard.

A Swedish congregation, Bethlehem Covenant, was once housed next door to the Faith Fellowship building but had been torn down in 2005. Congregations come and go based on several things, but the buildings remain, as long as they are maintained. More history about the church merging is available at the Pleasant Community Church’s website: www.pleasantcc.org

Hilliard moved to Warren from Erie in 2009 and taught a Bible study once a week. After three pastors had come and gone, Hilliard eventually filled the pulpit while attaining her licensure. She has been the pastor at Faith Fellowship for 17 years. There has been a small group of members that have remained loyal and currently they have been meeting in the fellowship room of the church, a smaller room than the sanctuary, for every Sunday service.

Hilliard is not only a pastor, she is also the senior chaplain at Hospice as well as a grief counselor. Hiliard quoted the saying, “If you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” She quickly added, “I’ve got three!”

Times Observer photo by Jessica N. Rex Pictured are Pastor Dorothy Hilliard with handyman Cody Fetz in the front part of the sanctuary which is not currently being used due to a broken furnace.

Times Observer photo by Jessica N. Rex The small congregation has been meeting in the fellowship room of the church, a smaller room than the sanctuary, in order to stay warm.