"It's the place where I find joy, where I find I'm at home," says Carol Loftin, the church's part-time pastor for three years. "We're like a big, extended family."

The 1 1/2 -story structure was first erected in 1942 on a Kearns Army base, where it served as a multidenominational chapel for soldiers of all stripes from across the nation. After World War II ended and the base closed, Methodists from the Salt Lake Valley's western mining communities bought the building and moved it to Copperton.

That was 60 years ago. Earlier this year, Loftin learned the church had won a coveted spot on the National Historic Register. These two milestones will afford church members a reason to celebrate June 2.

"Being on the National Register gives us status," Loftin says, "and doesn't allow the history to go by the wayside."

The church's demise loomed as a possibility in early 2006. St. Paul's dozen or so faithful members, some who had worshipped at the Copperton chapel for half a century, feared their beloved building would have to close due to a lack of cash and congregants.

But after news stories revealed the church's plight, membership jumped and fundraising started to pay off. About two dozen people now regularly attend this west-bench church each Sunday.

"We're growing slowly," says Loftin, a Holladay resident who spends her workweeks crunching numbers as a rate manager for the U.S. Department of Energy and her weekends shepherding churchgoers. "Our niche is to try to become the place to have small country-style weddings. This year we'll have three."

Glen and Anne Ivie, along with their son, Benjamin, drive in from West Jordan to enjoy the church's nurturing atmosphere.

"We'd read articles in the paper about the church so we started coming last year before Easter," Anne Ivie says. "Carol drew us in, and her message kept us coming back. You can walk in stressed and walk out uplifted."

In March, Murray residents Brandy and Nick Peck recited their wedding vows at St. Paul's.

"It's just like opening a story book and reading this wonderful fairy tale," Brandy Peck says.

Even the drive to the church is scenic, she adds.

"There are little unique homes along the way, then you go around a bend in the road and there's this little white chapel out in the country."

The church provides an antiqued-pink bride's room in the basement, along with a more manly groom's room that has access to the outside.

"It was very cute, very inviting," Peck says.

The chapel's sanctuary offered an intimate setting for the Pecks' big day.

"You really felt like you were in a church," she says, "not just a place where people meet and say they go to church."

The bride's favorite part: the ringing of the chapel's bell as the couple walked down the aisle, newly married, to exit the church. Loftin did the honors, pulling the rope up and down to echo the musical peals across the valley.

"She's a small lady. It took all her body weight to do it," Peck recalls. "It was loud and really cool. The whole town of Copperton knew that something had occurred."

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

Historic church

* What: St. Paul United Methodist Church is celebrating its 60th anniversary and recent listing on the National Historic Register. Sotto Voce, a Utah quartet, will perform.

* When: June 2 at 7:45 p.m.

* Where: 410 E. Hillcrest, Copperton.

* How to get there: Exit Interstate 15 at 9000 South. Head west to the Old Bingham Highway at about 4200 West. Turn onto that highway and head west to Copperton. Turn left on 400 or 500 East and drive to Hillcrest Street.