New York Eastern Finger Lakes | Sorry to hear about your problem. It is unfortunately a problem all churches in rural America face or will face. Ours is a Catholic church in a small town in upstate New York. It is almost 150 years old and never had a church bell. We were joined to two others fifteen years ago in what is called a cluster. The three share a priest. We exist solely at the pleasure of the diocese and they can close us if they wish. We work really hard to keep attendance up since declining attendance raises a big red flag.
A Methodist church nearby closed and they donated their bell to us. It was greatly appreciated and we built an exterior tower for it since church steeple was not robust enough. It was a great gift and maybe you might have the opportunity to do something similar.
Another Catholic church near us closed a few years ago and was sold. I would seriously consider the advice above to raze it so you don't have to look at its desecration. Install a permanent marker and have it put in the deed.
The other option is a different Methodist church closed and they have preserved it as a museum. They open it one weekend in the summer and have services. People returning to visit tend to come that weekend and they have a very well attended picnic. Now that it's been declared a historic site they get a few dollars from grants to maintain the exterior and roof etc.
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Church closing
