COVINGTON — Every Sunday at precisely 10:45 a.m., the Rev. Frank Horton delivers his sermon at First United Methodist Church. Fifteen minutes later, he dashes in his robes four blocks across town to the pulpit at Ninth Street Methodist Church to deliver the same sermon.

        This is the way it's been in the more than two years since Rev. Horton took on the daunting task of trying to breathe new life into two dwindling downtown congregations — one predominantly white, the other predominantly black.

        “I think it was different for the congregation at first,” Rev. Horton, who is black, said of his reception at mostly white First United Methodist. “But it's worked out well.”

        Rev. Horton, a 64-year-old minister who spent 20 years as a missionary in Africa, is being honored by both churches as he preaches his final sermons leading up to his retirement in June.

        “He was well-accepted from the beginning,” said Edna Donsback, a longtime member of First United Methodist. “My husband calls Frank's services “Horton's hug-in” because he hugs everyone in that chapel before he leaves.”

        Rev. Horton may be the first black minister at First United Methodist but he's not the first to share his role with Ninth Street Methodist. The two churches shared a white minister in the '70s when there was a shortage of black ministers.

        Rev. Horton was brought to the two churches in 1999 for a very specific mission — to recruit members. They are the oldest Methodist churches in the Ohio River city — President Ulysses Grant and his parents were members of First United.

        “I've seen these seats full and I've seen them empty,” Mrs. Donsback said. “But we're getting back on track. Rev. Horton is helping us build new leadership which will help with recruiting members.”

        “Downtown church populations are dwindling everywhere,” Rev. Horton said. “People are going out to suburban churches that have youth groups and many activities. Most inner-city churches, like both of mine, have a small, older population.”

        He always delivers the same message at each service, though he admits the music and his style of language change.

        Rev. Horton said there had been discussions of combining the churches, but he doesn't think it will happen. “They're just two different congregations that are proud of each of their churches and their history,” he said.

        After retiring, Rev. Horton plans to split his time between Africa and the United States.

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