Here's the church, but where are the people?

Tiny Protestant parishes cling to life
By Michael Paulson
Globe Staff / June 15, 2008

SOUTHBRIDGE - There was a time when the First United Methodist Church here was a hub of activity, with a booming school, regular church suppers, and worshipers who packed the pews of the white steepled building.

No more. The congregation has been dwindling for years and now is barely hanging on.

On a recent Sunday, just five worshipers gathered in the 300-seat church to pray at the 11 a.m. service. The Rev. Peggy Kieras sat alone by the grand wooden pulpit, cradling a remote control for the compact disc player that provides music for hymns, just underneath the towering pipes of the unused organ. the rest