By HOLLY GASKILL
Tracy Goetz has driven past St. Paul Lutheran Church nearly every day since moving just down the road in 2008.
The rural Bluffton church caught her eye for its character — the classic masonry, stained glass windows and traditional steeple.
When she noticed a for sale sign on the lawn earlier this year, Goetz told her husband, Jon, that she wanted to take a look. “And he goes, ‘Well, I know you’re already going to buy it,’” she laughed, sitting in the pews of the church building she now owns.
“I just love this church,” she added. “And it was just going to go into horrible disrepair. I wanted to do something special with it.”
The Victorian Era building was first bought from the congregation in 2018 and had been used for storage for six years before Goetz bought it.
While Goetz embarked on some newer larger projects with the space, like adding a first-floor bathroom, her motivation was to bring the space back to its former glory. In doing so, she found things were almost frozen in time — glasses sitting on top of the last sermon at the pulpit, spare change in the offering plate, and a declaration from former Bluffton Mayor Ellis marking Sept. 20, 2009, as a day in the church’s honor.
Friends and family chipped in with efforts, with roughly 30 people volunteering their time and another donating to get the vents cleaned. “It was a real labor of love,” Goetz shared.
One part of the renovation, however, is distinctly from Goetz — a bar in the balcony. Since Tracy and Jon Goetz formerly owned The Pickle in Markle, they felt it was entirely appropriate.
“We’ve owned a bar, we’ve owned a church — who buys a church?” she laughed. “I did. And it’s probably the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”
The newly renovated space will be available to rent for weddings, family gatherings, concerts, book clubs and everything in between. Her one stipulation — you have to be happy when you walk in the door.
Thus far, that’s been an easy rule to follow. Goetz hosted open houses on Dec. 14 and 15 for roughly 600 visitors. Some reminisced about the building’s history, some were curious about the new project, and many came to support Goetz in her work. Goetz said people talked and laughed for hours, and she even found a few more dollars added to the offering plate.
Ultimately, Goetz hopes the space gives others the same peace and joy it’s brought her.
“When I walk in here, everything is right in my life,” Goetz shared. “I mean, I have terminal cancer … I will come here almost every day, and there’s just always such happiness. It’s a happy place.”
A picture frame at the door reads, “I believe churches are meant for praising God. But so are 2 a.m. car rides, showers, coffee shops, the gym, conversations with friends, strangers, etc. Don’t let a building confine your faith because we will never change the world by just going to church, we need to be the church.”
“So many people were commenting that when they walk in, they just feel this overwhelming sense of peace, and that’s what I wanted,” Goetz said. “It’s the Holy Spirit coming in.”
Perfect Harmony, formerly St. Paul’s Church, is located at 1621 W 300 N in rural Bluffton.
holly@news-banner.com
