Church from Akron will reopen former Sacred Heart site in Medina for services
Photos by Tom Rivers: Leaders from One Church – Leader Pastor Rick Rouse, left, and Worship Leader Dan Swain (Medina campus pastor) – are pictured inside the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Medina on Thursday evening. The pews have been removed and replaced by 175 chairs. New carpet, paint and other renovations have been ongoing the past two months. The church will make its debut with two Christmas Eve services at 7 and 8:30 p.m.
MEDINA – A church in Akron has had Medina in its prayers and on its heart the past two years.
One Church NY has put that faith into action, working on opening a new campus in Medina at the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Ann Street by Medina Memorial Hospital.
One Church includes the Akron Free Methodist Church and the campus in Medina. Akron renamed its church to reflect the new mission in Medina and how the two congregations will be united as one, with the same staff, a joint budget and a shared ministry.
The Akron church has grown to about 450-500 for Sunday services. Many of the attendees are from Medina.
One Church NY, the former Scared Heart Catholic Church in Medina, is shown on Thursday evening.
Rick Rouse is the lead pastor at One Church. He has been in the ministry since 1982 and helped with church plants in Webster, Fairport and Amherst.
Dan Swain, the worship leader at Akron, will be the campus pastor in Medina.
“I do love people,” Swain said. “I feel like my job here is to connect with people.”
The Medina sanctuary has a much different look from the Sacred Heart era. The pews have been removed and are being replaced with 175 chairs. There is new paint and carpeting. The pulpit area also will have a large screen for multimedia presentations. Twice a month the sermon will be streamed in from Akron and shown in Medina. The other weeks in the month, a pastor will deliver the sermon in Medina.
Swain said the services will include an up-tempo band. The church will still sing traditional hymns, but most of the music will be more contemporary.
The fellowship hall in the basement also is being reconfigured into four classrooms.
One Church created this float in last Saturday’s Parade of Lights. The church also has been participating in the backpack and Boxes of Love ministries in Medina.
Rouse, who has a background in construction, has been joined by many dedicated volunteers the past two months on the building’s transformation. He also said Mazacom, a company based in Medina, has been key in helping to get the site ready.
The church is leasing the building from Skip Draper, the Shelby town supervisor who recently purchased the Sacred Heart site, including the rectory and former school.
The church is eyeing Jan. 7 for its first Sunday morning service at 9:30 and 11 a.m.
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