At the Showcase of Talent presentation held at the East Liverpool Area Community & Learning Center, a gentleman approached me and asked if the building was still a church. He said that he was a former member of the Trinity Church and wanted to know if I had anything to do with it now.

I responded that it is still a church, but only between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. each Sunday. All other times it is a community and learning center. He looked a bit puzzled, but the show was about to begin. I had no time to explain further to him and I didn’t see him afterwards. Perhaps he will read this article.

There is no way I could answer his question in a few words. How can something that is so big and diverse be explained in a few words. Let me tell you what happened this past weekend at your community center. Starting Friday night was a Paint & Sip Party held in the center’s Art Room by the East Liverpool Calcutta Garden Club.

Saturday morning the custodian was there at 8 a.m. to admit members of the N.A. class that assists those who have problems with addictions. A couple phone calls were taken about room rental for upcoming events. The rental process begins with a visit to the center to select which of the six rental spaces best suits their needs, signing a contract and making a down payment.

At 2 p.m. the Saturday Matinee Movie is held each week. This week it was The Life of Benny Goodman on the widescreen with surround sound. Refreshments are free and volunteer Teresa James is in charge. A schedule of movies for May is available at the center and it appears in the Community Calendar section of the newspapers as well as the center’s webpage.

The Everyday Church held its weekly service on Sunday morning and the parking lot with its 175 parking spaces was filled to overflowing. After the church members departed, several people showed up to watch a movie of their choice from our extensive video library. At 2 p.m. the Pegasus Track Club coaches used the Art Room to wind up their enrollment for its program with children which begins soon.

At 3 p.m. the Showcase of Talent got underway in the Auditorium at the center. Several hundred people were treated to an hour-and-a-half of wonderful musical performances presented by students from area schools who receive funds to help with music lessons by the John Fitzjohn Memorial Foundation that is associated with the center. There were a few other performances by Bill Crawford, Amy Cooper and the Oak Glen School Recorder Ensemble. The audience also enjoyed the individually cushioned chairs in the Auditorium compliments of the Everyday Church, a great improvement over the hard wooden pews of the former church. Upon exiting the Auditorium, some guests stopped in the Harker Pottery Exhibit room containing property of the center courtesy of Bill and Donna Grey.

Late in the afternoon the Guardians of the Children Motorcycle Club that works with children with troubled home lives held its regular monthly meeting at the center.

On Thursday, May 2 at 7 a.m., in the Banquet Hall the Annual Prayer Breakfast will be held. Tickets for the breakfast are still available for $10 each. You may purchase tickets at the door.

Over this seven-day period there certainly will have been over 1,000 people attending one or more of these activities at the community center. Some may have been there for their first time as we continue to touch the lives of new people.

Included among those utilizing the center are area service clubs, Sharon Palmer’s massages, Living Waters aerobics classes, a Bridge Club and periodically there are art classes held for children of all ages. The center is a voting site for two precincts and the city uses it for testing and other off-site purposes. The center has a very large Game Room and space for many outdoor activities on its 8 acres of land which adjoins the East Liverpool School property at the high school baseball field.

It certainly gives pause for thought as to how we ever got along without the center until eight years ago when it first opened its doors.