CEDAR RAPIDS – Just like thousands of Sundays before, members of Salem United Methodist Church, 225 First Avenue SW, gathered outside to greet each other. But, on this Sunday, they came to say farewell to the place where people came for baptisms, marriages, funerals and prayer. The doors to the Salem United Methodist Church opened in 1904. The 2008 flood destroyed just about everything inside. Efforts to rebuild became just too challenging and overwhelming. Leadership is in the process of negotiating a buyout agreement with the city. "While there are a lot of memories of the building itself, the church continues and is vital and will continue to move forward,” Rev. John Louk said. Joanna King has been a member of the church for all 88 years of her life. Sunday was the first time she set foot inside since the disaster. "The building looks awfully small. When I walked down the aisle to be married, it seemed like it was miles,” King said. On April 29, 1949, the place looked much different. "I had a beautiful gown and my husband was prince charming,” King said. As the congregation sang a few songs and said a few final prayers, Joanna's son, Tim King, thought about how the church looked on the day he said, 'I do' on November 22, 1975. He said, "It was all candle-light and all glow and yellow and orange flowers and the girl of my dreams. Who could be any happier than that?" Tim King’s wife, Nancy Rawson, said, "It was just full of joy and love. It was perfect." Nearly three decades later, on June 12, 2004, their daughter, Anna, married Josh Brown at the same altar. "Have you ever seen the movie 'Father of the Bride?' That's what it was like,” Tim King said. Rawson added, "She was in love and happy. It was fun to celebrate and witness that." At the end of the service, members removed the congregation's sacred cross. "I have memories of every corner of this building, at any hour of the day,” Tim King said. September 12, 2010 is another date the King family and hundreds of others will always remember. It's the day they said farewell to a place that carried them through tough times and great joy. The congregation will place the cross at the site of the new sanctuary over at 3715 33rd Avenue. That location remains under construction and members are currently meeting at the Kenwood Park United Methodist Church at 175 34th St. NE. A demolition date for the First Avenue building has not been set. This is a copy of the pamphlet distributed at the Sunday Salem United Methodist ceremony: