Our History

Our History

From its beginning in the fall of 1848 with 14 in attendance, the church membership has grown to almost 1400. In the 150 plus years since Reverend William H. Sampson preached the first sermon in Johnston’s Shanty (a combination private home and small rooming house), there have been two other church buildings. One building, in 1854, was built on College Avenue and another in 1879 was built on Lawrence Street. The Tudor Gothic style edifice which we currently meet in was dedicated in the fall of 1925.

 

Elder Sampson, principal of Lawrence Institute (currently Lawrence University) until 1853 and later professor of mathematics until his retirement in 1857, symbolizes just one of the ties that existed between Lawrence and the Methodists for many years.

 

PASTORS OF FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (1848-Present)

1848-1849 Asa Randall

1849-1850 Cornelius Smith

1850-1851 William Thompson

1851-1852 C. G. Lathrop

1852-1853 S. W. Ford

1853-1855 Elmore Yokum

1855-1857 William McDonald

1857I. Redfield

1857-1858 I. C. Aspinwall

1858-1859 P. B. Pease

1859-1860 Matthias Heimbaugh

1860-1861 Philo Bennett

1861-1863 Joseph Anderson

1863-1865 Samuel Fellows

1865-1866 O. I. Cowles

1866-1867 George Steele

1867-1869 Wesley Lattin

1869-1871 George Haddock

1871-1872 O. B. Thayer

1872-1875 H. C. Tilton

1875-1877 George Haddock

1877-1878 A. P. Mead

1878-1880 G. S. Hubbs

1880-1882 G. W. Griffith

1882-1883 J. R. Creighton

1883-1886 F. S. Stein

1886-1889 John Jackson

1889-1893 R. H. Pooley

1893-1894 H. P. Haylett

1893-1894 J. L. Hewitt

1894-1895 John Lusher

1895-1898 J. Scott Davis

1989-1903 Ray Harker

1903 Salon Bronson

1903-1907 S. H. Anderson

1907-1911 H. T. Wiltsee

1911-1918 William Marsh

1918-1921 I. B. Wood

1921-1935 J. Archibald Holmes

1935-1937 Gilbert Cox

1937-1943 Harry Culver

1943-1950 J. Raymond Chadwick

1946-1947 Mortimer Dean

1947 Douglas Cook

1947-1948 Donald Smith

1950-1960 Ralph Taylor Alton

1952-1956 Carl Wiese

1956-1958 John Hubner

1960-1966 Marvin Schilling

1958-1962 Kenneth Engelman

1962-1967 Gordon Sorensen

1966-1971 Kenneth Engelman

1967-1971 Charles Logsdon

1969-1972 Sharon Brown

1971-1872 Dale Hanaman

1971-1978 Herman Thomas

1972-1976 Thomas Rannells

1978-1981 Gordon Bender

1976-1989 David Brice

1982-1989 Charles King

1985-1988 Bernard Kassilke

1989-2000 David Kruse

1989 Susan Martin

1990-1996 Diane Rew-Gottfried

1990-1995 Sarah Hart Johnsen

1995-1996 Mike Campbell

1996-1998 Wendy Bair Christenson

1996-1999 Paul Reinhold

2000-2001 Paul Reinhold

1996- 2001 Theodore J. Weeden, Sr.

1998- 2002 Joyce Rich

1989-2007 David Brice

2000-2006 Kent Ingram

2002-2006 Jane Voights

2006-2009 Grace Cajiuat

2006-2007 Bruce Bartel

2007-2014 Doyle Blanton

2011-   Dave Farina

2014-  Markus Wegenast

2014-2017 Jayneann McIntosh Gagner

2017-     Elizabeth Whitford