Stearns, of Gilmore City, started attending mass at the Gilmore City catholic church in 1952.

“It’s the only one I know,” Stearns said. “My whole family was baptized in this church.”

On Sunday, Stearns and about 130 other people attended the final daily mass at the church.

The church will no longer be able to offer weekday or weekend mass due to the Diocesan clustering rule.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Members of St. John's catholic church gather outside after a farewell mass at the church Sunday.

According to the Rev. Brian Danner, the declining number of people attending mass and shifts in population led to the change.

On July 1, the church will enter oratory status, which means only weddings and funeral masses can be held at the church.

The St. John’s parish is to merge with St. Mary’s catholic church in Humboldt, Danner said.

Danner said change is not easy.

“It’s a challenging day,” he said. “It’s a sad day.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Jim La Velle, of the St. John's catholic church coordinators, looks over some documents containing the church's history in Gilmore City Sunday. Priests who served the parish within the past 75 years are shown on the wall behind him.

Those who attended St. John’s for mass will now have to travel to Humboldt, Pocahontas, West Bend, or Fort Dodge.

Stearns said she will likely go to Humboldt for her worship.

“It’s not my choice,” Stearns said. “This church is so darn special to me. It breaks my heart.”

In 2009, Stearns wrote a poem about the history of the church.

According to her, the church got its start in part because of the railroads.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson The Rev. Brian Danner and the Rev. Jim Tigges, stand at the front of St. John's catholic church during a farewell mass Sunday in Gilmore City.

She wrote:

“With the railroad, came the farmers

In eighteen eighty two

Among them, Irish Catholics

Were more than just a few”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Adam Laubenthal, of Bradgate, holds his son, Austin, 2, outside of St. John's catholic church in Gilmore City Sunday.

Stearns listed 1884 for the year the church was established.

Stearns said one of her concerns with the church closing its daily mass is travel.

“I don’t drive very far too often anymore, so hopefully I can get a ride from time to time,” she said.

Steve Stein, who belongs to St. Mary’s in Humboldt, said he had also been attending the Gilmore City church since 1952.

“It was a good foundation for faith,” Stein said.

Stein said he’ll never forget when Bonanza Days, an event sponsored by the church, were held in the 1960s.

“It was great,” he said. “It was like a three day carnival with rodeos and tractor pulls.”

Adam Laubenthal, of Bradgate, grew up just a few miles from the church.

“I was baptised and everything here,” he said. “We know everybody here.”

“You don’t like change, but I guess that’s just the way it is,” he added. “It’s just different now.”

Mary Lanning, of Rutland, married her late husband Jim Lanning in the church in 1960.

He passed away in 2015.

“It was just a nice parish with nice people,” she said. “My parents and grandparents were also married in this church.”

The Rev. Jim Tigges said the community will remain one of faith.

“You and I do have fears,” Tigges said to the congregation. “Losing a parish we grew up in, in which we were baptised, confirmed, or married. It’s like a death. It’s the end of something we always thought would be there, and that frightens us. As I stand here I fear with you because I put seven years of my priesthood into this parish family.”

“You may have to go somewhere else, but we still have a community of faith,” Tigges added. “We are holding on tightly to a God who loves us.”