A Short History of

Memorial United Methodist Church

Methodism was a late-comer to America, especially to New England. John Wesley, of England, father of Methodism, a contemporary of George Washington, could not realize how Americans felt about taxes and their lack of independence. His sympathies were entirely with the English. He did believe in sending missionaries to America, and fortunately, he had sent Francis Asbury here in 1771, four years before the Revolutionary War. Asbury established the Circuit System with classes and "Traveling Elders".

A "traveling elder" rode from town to town, preaching in a school house, dwelling, barn, or even, as the old record states, "in the shade of a large oak tree." The official beginning of Methodism in America was at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, 1784. The first traveling elders came to circuits in this area from Litchfield about 1800.

In 1809 Burlington Methodists bought a house near the Bristol town line, took out partitions, and fitted it for services. In 1816, the first building was built and remained 19 years before being moved, piece by piece, to another location in Burlington where it served as a house of worship for an additional 52 years.

As Unionville grew, the center of the Methodist population shifted, and in 1866, as a result of a class meeting held in the Unionville area, various members of the Burlington Church withdrew and formed a Methodist Episcopal Ecclesiastical Society. By February, 1867, work was completed on a church which stood at the location of the "Friendly" store on Farmington Ave. The agreed sum paid to the contractor for all the carpenter and joiner work was $950.00. Five years later a furnace was installed and other improvements made.

There was a significant struggle to keep the congregation going for the next several decades; however, by 1913, an Epworth League had been formed and was flourishing. Church membership was about 95. 1923 was a big year for the Sunday School with members studying "The Meaning of Service" by Harry Emerson Fosdick, presenting a Christmas pageant and raising an offering of $40 for Japanese relief. The Every Member Canvass was first instituted in 1921, the budget for that year being $1601. The church bell was donated by Fred Broadbent. It is now in its third location.

In 1959, ground was broken for a new parish hall behind the church. Various groups in the church organized to furnish, paint and equip the new building. In 1961, the interior of the church was remodeled, entirely by members of the congregation. Weekly observance of Holy Communion was begun at an 8 a.m. service each Sunday. Other services were held at 9:30 and 11:00. The membership in 1966 stood at 294.

In 1965, the church Trustees became aware of the possibility that the Tunxis Redevelopment Agency was contemplating the purchase of land in the vicinity of the church for redevelopment purposes, and at a special congregational meeting in July, 1965, it was voted by an overwhelming majority to relocate. In 1966 the Trustees were empowered to sell the church land and parish hall to the Farmington Village Green and Library Association with the proviso that the Tunxis Redevelopment Agency purchase the church and parsonage for a total of not less than $181,000. The Trustees then purchased five acres of land on West Avon Road. They wrote, "The Planning Council considers it to be one of the loveliest in the area, and, because of its general accessibility and visibility, should prove to be a blessing to the congregation. "One hundred years after its founding, the church was again on the move."

There are many among us who remember the building of the present sanctuary and fellowship hall. The congregation of the church approached the architect with a strong and well-defined program, a minimal budget, and a magnificent site ... in a pasture with views of rolling wooded hills. The fundamental principle of the building program was that the life of the church begins in worship, and a second tenet -- almost as important -- was that for the uses of tomorrow as well as today, a flexibility had to be built into the design for worship. There is seating for 240, plus the choir in the balcony. In the next 20 years the congregation grew in numbers and spirit.

In October, 1990 it was agreed that the large and growing Sunday School of children and adults required more space. The building committee received the total support of the congregation and in October, 1992 the present educational unit of eight class rooms, with complete handicap accessibility, was dedicated.