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METHODISM
In the 1700's, John Wesley
started a movement within the Anglican Church of England. His "plain message to
plain people" resulted in the formation of the Methodist Church. The Methodist
Church was officially formed in the United States in 1784. Circuit riders
(preachers who traveled from place to place) spread the Gospel across the new
country. By the mid 1800's, Methodism was the largest Protestant denomination in
the United States.
While the 1800's saw the church divide into several
separate organizations, the 20th century has seen them come together again. In
1939, the Methodist Church was formed from the combination of the Methodist
Episcopal Church (South), the Methodist Episcopal Church (North), and the
Methodist Protestant Church. In 1968, the United Methodist Church was formed
when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined.
CUMC History
The Original Building
The history of the Cheshire United Methodist Church began in
1800, the year Thomas Jefferson was elected to his first term as President of
the United States. On October 28 to that year a parcel of land was sold by James Bunnell to Eli Persons and others "to erect and build or cause to be erected and
built thereon a house of place of worship for the use of the members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church." More than thirty years passed before Persons and
the original trustees were able to begin work on their church. During most of
these years, Cheshire Methodists depended upon itinerant preachers to lead them
in worship. Not until 1829 were regular Methodist services held in Cheshire,
these at the Center Schoolhouse. In 1832 there were thirty-six members of the
Methodist Church in Cheshire, but the group was still without its own place of
worship.
Finally in April 1834, a church building committee began
meeting. Once formed the committee acted quickly. Before the year was out the
church, which is, now located on the corner of Spring and Main Streets was
standing. The cost of the brick structure was $3,000. Many years later, in 1886,
the following letter was found inside the old pulpit. Written by the builder, it
attested to the spirit with which he undertook his task. "I, Ebenezer Dudley, do
this day copy a few lines to be had in remembrance, and to be enclosed in this
desk. The two employed to erect this Church were Eldad Keeler, Master Workman;
Ebenezer Dudley, Journeyman. It seems God in his providence has blessed the
people in attempting to build a house of worship, and may He continue to bless
and convert until all shall be brought to know him, from the least even to the
greatest."
The history of the Church during its first hundred years was
the record of the devoted service of three laymen of unusual ability and
consecration. Because most of the pastors who served the Church were only
part-time ministers, to these laymen fell responsibility for the welfare of the
Church. Amasa Preston was lay leader from 1834 until 1866. He was the individual
responsible for the building of the church building. James Lanyon was leader
until 1885, during which time large numbers of Cornishmen came to the barytis
mines of Cheshire and to the Cheshire Methodist Church. "They formed a
picturesque element," wrote the Reverend J. O. Munson in 1895, "easily
accessible to the gospel and ready under the right leadership to do a large work
in practical evangelism." Alfred S. Bennett, leader from 1885 until his death in
1937, served as both chairman of the Board of Trustees and Superintendent of the
Sunday School.
This tradition of strong leadership remained a part of the
Church's history in recent years. The rapid increase in Cheshire's population
since World War II and the corresponding increase in the Church's membership
forced the Church's leaders to recognize that the original church building was
no longer adequate to meet new demands. Expanding church school classes flowed
over into neighboring Humiston School and into the church basement, where
inadequate heat made it uncomfortable in winter. Parking was a growing problem.
So, in September 1959, the church purchased 13 acres on Academy Road as a site
for future expansion. A church building committee began plans for a new
structure. This was not an easy decision for the Church. The old building and
site had served Cheshire Methodists well for many years. Many members were
baptized there, married there, and buried loved ones from its doors. To move
was, in a real sense, to sacrifice part of the Church's history and the homey
comfort of a long tradition. After much debate, it was decided that the future
of the Cheshire Methodist lay in looking forward. Reluctantly for some, a new
building was initiated on the present Academy Road site, and by February 1970,
the new building stood completed. A few months later a new parsonage joined the
church building on the same site.
In 1968 the growing Jewish population of Cheshire purchased
our Main Street church building and renamed it Temple Beth David. Some of us who
had memories and important happenings in our lives felt relieved that our Wesley
Chapel, which the original church was often referred to, would continue to serve
the community as a place of worship. The building is one of the last remaining
examples in the United States of a Chapel by the founder of the Methodist Faith,
John Wesley.
More About Our Present Building
The original facility built in 1970 did not have a formal
sanctuary. Ground breading took place and a new addition was completed and the
sanctuary was dedicated December 15, 1987.
As the existing flat roof was no longer keeping out the
weather, a new pitched roof was erected in 2002.
What more fitting words are there as this church continues its life on this
location than those spoken more that 160 years ago by the building of the
original building: "It seems God in his providence has blessed the people in
attempting to build a house of worship, and may he continue to bless."
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