We have a lot of, I guess it sounds kinda mushy, but just a good feeling of being with the church family. There's a strong faith that makes the building important and makes the people even more important. The creaking floors betray its age, but the First Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, North Dakota is obviously still lovingly cared for. It's one of three churches still operating in this town of 200. That's not the norm.
Many small towns have two or three vacant churches.
Mary Humstone is with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She's disturbed by the number of churches already beyond saving. Probably we should have been here 10 or 15 years ago. Humstone says not all churches can or should be saved, but those that are historically important need to be identified soon. She says the National Trust hopes to provide education, technical expertise, and funding to the effort to save rural churches.