HISTORY OF THE MINNEAPOLIS
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

The following information is from the 130^th Anniversary on September 8, 2002.

As the Minneapolis United Methodist Church celebrates 130 years of Christian fellowship, let us pause and give tribute to those dedicated pioneers who started our church.

As we gather for worship and fellowship on September 8, 2002, let us reflect upon the vision of those hardy forefathers. Let us give thanks for the Christian heritage that is preserved in our congregation today as we re-examine our history and accomplishments of the past.

May we dedicate our lives to continuing the work of the Lord and improving the quality of our Christian witness in each home here represented. May our hearts be "strangely warmed" as John Wesley's was on May 24, 173, at Aldersgate in London.

Special thanks goes to Mrs. Forest E. Good who helped compile our church's history in 1965 and Dorothy Muller who compiled our more recent history.

"I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'" Psalm 122:1

Religious meetings were held in individual homes in Ottawa County as early as 1865: and in that same year a Sunday School was organized at Fort Solomon near Lindsey by B. W. Hollen. The first sermon in the county was preached by a Methodist minister, Rev. J. W. Hawley, who came from Junction City for the occasion.

The Methodists and Presbyterians shared a church building from 1872 until 1878. Later the Methodists built a small frame structure across the street from the present church building. A larger stone building was erected in 1877-1878 on the site of the present church structure. It was severely damaged by a storm seven years later and was considered unsafe.

The ladies of the church met in December of 1880 and organized a Women's Foreign Missionary Society.

The present church structure was erected in 1886-88 and was valued at $10,500. The certification of the Minneapolis Methodist Church is dated November 16, 1890. The present parsonage was built on the comer of 5th and Elm Streets in 1917 at a cost of $6,000. Rev. L. E. Cooke was the pastor.

The W.N. Class (Who Next?) was chartered on August 4, 1910. In 1940 the Women's Society of Christian Service was organized. Youth work in the Conference was organized as "The Methodist Youth Fellowship" and installed on December 31,1941.

In October of 1943, Ada and Minneapolis became one charge with Rev. A. B. Madison as pastor. This arrangement of sharing the pastor continues today.

In 1953 the governing Board voted to purchase an organ and also discussed the need for additional education space. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new educational building in November of 1959. Built in two phases, construction was completed in 1967.

Also in 1953, the charter for the organization of "Methodist Men" was signed in September. Mr. Clarence Bartsch was its first president.

On May 7, 1972, the First United Methodist Church held its Centennial Celebration. Rev. L. Fred Houston was the pastor at this time.

It was in the year 1977 that a bold new idea was first mentioned - to construct a new church edifice or perhaps remodel the old one. Rev. Kingsford David, pastor at the time eagerly embraced the idea.

In February of 1978, the newly elected building committee met and elected officers. Mark McHenry was elected as chairman. Elected to serve with him were Joe Jagger as vice-chairman and Mrs. Carrie Cooper as secretary.

After several meetings, an architect was given the assignment of preparing two designs, one for a new church, and the other to remodel the present structure. In May of 1978, a contract was entered into with Charles Hall of Landmark Company of Manhattan, Kansas. Architect Kent Foster of this company was instrumental in the designs. Many, many meetings were held by the building committee, and trips were also made to view different churches which had been built or remodeled in area towns by various companies.

In July of 1978, the committee met with District Superintendent Dr. Richards and it was decided to have the congregation vote on the proposition.

On March 24, 1979, at an all-church conference, the vote was held by the congregation. There was some opposition to the proposal; primarily the large amount of indebtedness, and the proposal was voted down by a close margin. There were 68 "no" votes and 63 "yes" votes.

Undaunted, the building committee went back to work. Again there were many meetings, many changes in specifications and design, and again the congregation was set to vote on the proposal to remodel the present structure. With some funds on hand, the indebtedness on the proposed $300,000 remodeling project would not exceed $200,000. At another Church Charge Conference on May 20, 1979, the proposal passed by a vote of 112 to 25.

In August of 1979, the Landmark Company was awarded the contract for construction to begin. Earlier that month the Salina District Board had reviewed the building and financial plans and approved the project. Then final plans were submitted for the Administrative Board's approval.

While work was under construction, the congregation met temporarily in the Minneapolis High School auditorium. Also during this time, Rev. King David resigned, and Rev. Robert McKeown of Salina served as interim pastor. In 1980 Rev. Roger Shanks arrived to be our pastor.

As construction continued, there were many more meetings of committees to decide on myriads of details. Construction continued ahead of schedule and in April of 1981, the project was considered complete. The building committee met on April 27, 1981 to turn the completed project over to the Trustees of the church. The Landmark Company was paid in full.

On Sunday morning, September 7, 1981, the newly remodeled church was reconsecrated. Over 300 persons attended the dinner following worship led by District Superintendent George Richards and our pastor, Rev. Shanks.

The final bond payment was made on October 1, 1994. At special services on October 16, 1994, the burning of the mortgage took place. Representing the adult members of the congregation, Louis Cooper did the mortgage burning. Assisting him was Kacia McHenry, representing the younger generations. Kacia is the granddaughter of the chairman of the building committee, Mark McHenry and his wife Nancy.

It is a pleasure to worship in our beautiful church building. The remodeled facility is air-conditioned and is accessible to the handicapped. The old stained glass windows were retained, as was the beautiful wooden buttressed ceiling in the sanctuary. We kept the best; redid the rest. Inside and out, the church has a new look. The architects stated that the renovated structure is as sound as a new one would have been.

In 1984, a new name was chosen for the west room, and it is now called the Wesley Room. Also in that year the former council on Ministries and the Administrative Board merged into the new Administrative Council. Also in 1984 a new organ was purchased. Members of the congregation totaled 308.

In the year of 1985 Rev. Shanks moved, and Rev. Nick Woods arrived. In 1987 the church increased the use of cassette tapes for shut-ins.

Rev. Frank Morgan arrived in 1988, as Rev. Woods was leaving. In 1989 we received the new United Methodist hynmals. The wheel chair lifts were adapted to take care of 7-foot caskets.

A new prayer chain was started; the "Who Next" class disbanded. In March of 1990 a new high in Sunday school attendance was announced at 74.

Various funding projects have been undertaken by groups and classes. These have included rummage sales, cookbook sales, Christmas wrappings and others. These are in addition to the 'annual chicken dinner, the food stand at the county fair, the Men's soup supper and ice cream social.

Fellowship dinners, swimming parties, family fun nights, etc., all contribute to the feeling that "We Are Family."

Women's and men's groups are active in the church. In addition to Sunday school classes for children and adults, youth groups meet regularly. At the present time, Melanie Barefield is the adult coordinator. A Bible School for youngsters is held annually each summer. "Marvelous Mondays" for children kindergarten through 4th grade takes place after school is dismissed on that day with Laurene Pridey in charge.

During past years the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) for high school youths was led by adult sponsors George and Betty Davis, Larry and Javine Bertrand, Bruce and Gretchen Cleveland and others. At present, Megan McHenry as summer intern, is doing a great job leading the youth.

Music has always been an important part of the church services in our church. Many, many people have taken part in the choirs. For several years Kathleen Wedel directed the children's choir, and later Darda Wedel served as director of the children's choir.

For their leadership in music, Florence Meiller and Carrie Cooper need to be mentioned. Florence first played the piano in the 1930's and became our first church organist when an electric organ was purchased in 1938. With only a few short breaks, she continued playing the organ for church services for decades. For many years Carrie Cooper directed the church choir, and several religious cantatas were given during her tenure. Both before and after her time of directing, she has served faithfully as our church organist.

A women's hand bell choir was started in 1996, after the first bells were given to our church by an anonymous donor. Kathy McHenry directs the adult bell choir as well as chime choirs for youth and children.

In 1998 another remodeling project was started by our church. Included was a raised choir loft, space for the bell choirs, new double doors at the southwest doorway of the sanctuary to allow better movement of the grand piano and also new carpeting. The dedication of this project was held on Sunday, January 24, 1999. Members of the choir loft committee were Mike Wedel (Chrp.), Linda Miles Reinbold, Sara Plunkett, Ken Wedel, Kathy McHenry, John Resnik, and Rick Eckert. Rev. Gene Langhofer was our pastor at the time of the remodeling project.

In 130 years of Methodist history in Ottawa County, only one person from our church has gone into full-time Christian service. James Joyce, son of Mr. And Mrs. Omar Joyce, was commissioned as a missionary of the Methodist Church in 1953. After serving in Japan for many years, he has retired and returned to the states.

As this is written, our full church membership as of January 1st. was 246, with 45 preparatory members. Marion Hart of rural Minneapolis joined our church in 1928, thus he has been a member the longest of any member of our church at the present time. Our oldest church member is Edna Windhorst at age 103.

Our church secretary, Eleanora Leech, retired in 2001 after 48 ½ dedicated years, serving with 12 pastors. Marlene Harder is now our church secretary.

At the present time, Brent Johnson is Chairman of the Administrative Council. The president of United Methodist Women is Gail Eckart (also church organist), and Steve Baccus is the leader of United Methodist Men. Paula Chapman is our custodian, and Linda Carson serves as song leader during our Sunday services. For many years Dean Johnson has served as financial secretary of our church.

It is impossible to list all of the church members who have served our church in so many ways, giving unselfishly of their time and talents. I would like to extend my deepest apologies for any omissions in this document.

As this is written, Pastor Tim Harlan has moved on to another Methodist church, and we welcome our new pastor, Rev. Sarah Hickson de Salazar.

As our church looks forward to the next 130 years, we accept the challenge to continue to share the message of Jesus and God's love. Let us work together to serve the Lord.

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