Central UMC looks to the future with the reboot of its Temple House, which celebrates 100 years of enriching the lives — body, mind, and soul — of the people of Lansing.
JAMES DEATON
Content Editor
Community. Friendship. Service. For one hundred years, these words carved in stone have blessed guests as they’ve come through Central United Methodist Church’s Temple House doors to enjoy the recreational and social activities hosted by this downtown Lansing facility.
Temple House celebrates its centennial year, and these three words continue to shape the vision of this unique ministry. Post-pandemic, Lansing: Central UMC is rebranding itself and reopening Temple House to those who work and live nearby as a key piece of that rebranding plan.
This stone building attached to the church is just steps from the State Capitol and has been a community hub of activity for decades. There are other sister churches in the neighborhood, but none have the unique spaces that Temple House has. Guests will find a gymnasium for playing basketball and other sports, dining rooms with a newly renovated commercial kitchen, a fellowship hall with a stage and balcony, and a 1920s-era Brunswick bowling alley.
The church has had a series of centennial celebrations, including an open house with guided tours. Pat Mort, who has been a member of Central all her life, for 70 years, loves to tell Temple House’s story and how it’s impacted her life and so many others.
Pat explains that visitors are always surprised when they tour the facility and see its unique features. “People come in and say, ‘You have a bowling alley?’ And I say to them, ‘Doesn’t everyone? I’ve always had a bowling alley in my church.’”
Even though the bowling alley is currently nonoperational, it serves as a reminder of the original vision of Temple House and its founders, Richard and Gertrude Scott, and the gift this building has been to the people of Lansing.
“One of the amazing things about Temple House is the foresight that the Scotts had for wanting to give back to the community,” Pat says. “They wanted to enhance everyone’s lives, not just the people in the church but the community as a whole.”
Richard Scott was an executive at the REO Motor Company in Lansing. He and Gertrude were members of Central Methodist Church and felt the church wasn’t adequately equipped to do the work it needed to do in the community. It was the Roaring Twenties, and downtown space was needed for a community center, and the Scotts believed the church could do more.
According to the church’s written history, the Scotts felt Central should be functioning to offer a seven-day weekly plan of activities and services that would “build up the physical and social life of the people as well as deal with the spirits and morals.”
Richard was a philanthropist at heart and eventually crafted architectural plans and cast a vision for a community house to be built on the lot just north of the church. Once set, he brought his idea before the church board in November 1921, along with a promise to help finance the construction. The church board accepted it, and work got underway.
Temple House’s cornerstone was laid in May of the following year, with the dedication occurring on May 6, 1923.
As a lifelong church member, Pat Mort has benefited from everything the Scotts dreamed of and Central put into place through Temple House. “We were always a hive of activity,” she remembers. “There was always something to do at church, and it seemed like the doors were always open. Plus, there was nothing quite like Temple House in Lansing, so other groups would use it for big events.”
Banquets, weddings, and receptions were held in the spacious dining areas in the basement. Musical and theater groups utilized the auditorium-style fellowship hall with its stage and gallery. Community groups and businesses held meetings and conferences.
Pat also recalls there being lots of activities for young people. Shuffleboard was popular in the basement. Youth could play basketball in the gymnasium or bowl. Because Central had the facilities many other churches didn’t, various youth groups would have lock-ins for a weekend.
Temple House’s gymnasium has been a popular place to play basketball, and it continues to be so. Pat says, “It’s always been very active. If you tell people that you’re from Central UMC, nine times out of 10, there’ll be somebody in the group that says, ‘I used to play basketball there,’ or ‘Somebody in the family used to play basketball there.’”
The gymnasium has been a big draw for people commuting downtown. Michigan state legislators and staff members working at the State Capitol across the street have played basketball at Temple House for many years, even though numbers have decreased since the pandemic. Currently, a basketball league is active on Wednesday mornings.
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the number of groups using Temple House, and that is why Central has taken the opportunity to reintroduce it to the community through a series of anniversary events and by engaging new groups and developing new relationships.
On September 7-10, 2023, Central hosted several events. In addition to building tours, there was a reopening ribbon-cutting ceremony with a proclamation given by Chris Swope, Lansing City Clerk, on behalf of the city and mayor. The centennial banquet on Friday was the first use of the newly updated commercial kitchen. The worship service on Sunday featured a baptism and included District Superintendent LuAnn Rourke’s first visit to Central following the new district realignment that occurred in July. Central is now part of the Heritage District.
Rev. Rich Burstall, senior pastor of Central UMC, says, “It’s been important to celebrate a hundred years of this crazy, magnificent building.” He adds that it’s also been an excellent opportunity to reopen Temple House to the community after the pandemic, giving it a fresh look and showing people who work downtown what this facility offers.
Temple House is a significant part of Central’s fiscal plan, and new partnerships with groups and individuals are being created to bring in rental space income. More advocacy groups are using Temple House as a landing spot to go across the street to the State Capitol and speak to legislators. The Michigan Conference did this during Advocacy Day back in March.
Central is in conversation with GLBTQI, Athletes, Allies, and You (GAAY) Sports to offer space for basketball, volleyball, pickleball, dodgeball, and other sports leagues in Temple House’s gymnasium. Pastor Rich says that these teams will begin sometime in early 2024. The gymnasium already hosts a variety of recreational and sports groups, such as Ten Pound Fiddle Contra Dances, the Lansing Longsword Guild, and Lansing Parks & Recreation.
Pastor Rich talks about another feature of Temple House — the updated commercial kitchen — that has the potential for cultivating new relationships and serving the community. “We have invested money to renovate our kitchen,” he says, “to offer it as a ghost kitchen for home bakers, food trucks, and caterers that don’t necessarily have a certified kitchen to work in.”
Central UMC hopes that these new partnerships are just the beginning of a renewal within the congregation for living out the ministry they’ve been called to. Pastor Rich explains further, “So the future is those three words — community, friendship, and service — and that’s what Temple House will be. We’re going to have people coming in and out of here all hours of the day, playing sports and meeting together and serving the community as best we can.”
Pat Mort hopes for the future of Temple House and Central UMC. “We want to see Central as a beacon, a place where people feel welcome and can find refuge if they need to. People can also help us grow in ways we don’t even realize we need to. We’re open to all sorts of possibilities, and Temple House allows us to do much more than we ever thought we could, thanks to the Scotts. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.”
Temple House is a big facility with growing needs, but Pat cannot imagine Central being Central without it. Recent partnerships and service ideas for Temple House keep them dreaming of new opportunities for ministry as they seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance and God’s call on their lives.
“At Central, there’s an impetus to keep going, striving to be our very best in the way Christ calls us to be,” Pat concludes.
As the centennial celebration for Temple House continues, Central UMC invites everyone to a special concert on Sunday, September 24. World-renowned organist Felix Hell will present a concert in the sanctuary at 3 p.m. Learn more and purchase tickets on this web page.
A series of candlelight concerts are also planned for the rest of the year: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics on Friday, October 20, A Tribute to Taylor Swift on Friday, November 3, and A Holiday Special Featuring The Nutcracker on Friday, December 15.
Last Updated on September 26, 2023