First Church soldiering on after split, celebrating 200 years of UMC in Butler
CENTER TWP — First Church will celebrate 200 years as a continuous congregation this weekend, but its events only kick off a year’s worth of activities planned to commemorate the milestone.
The church, at 1802 N. Main St. Extension, has seen a lot of changes over its two centuries, from moves from location to location to the changing of its name.
Ann Gatty, executive director of First Church, said the departure of some of the church’s members, who in December formed a Global United Methodist Church in downtown Butler, is one of the most recent changes, but First Church sees it as just another chapter.
“Nothing really gets it down,” Gatty said about the church on Tuesday, Sept. 9. “It just continues to grow and take in the world around us and is able to shape the people who are here and help them contribute and be part of God’s community here in Butler.”
The church is having a barbecue Saturday evening, followed by a concert featuring Isaac Cole and the God’s Country Band. Sunday morning at 10 a.m., there will be a brunch service followed by family activities at noon.
Janz said the church also has plans to bring back preachers from over the years to share more about the church’s history at a “preaching festival” and it is planning a historical presentation about the church’s history for May.
“We’re just trying to celebrate that, remember where we’ve been as a place to launch where God is taking us into the future,” said David Janz, senior pastor at First Church. “We want to look back and give thanks and look ahead with hope and with excitement for what the future is going to be.”
According to Janz, the first recorded “class” of Methodists in Butler took place in the fall of 1825. The church congregation purchased a lot on the corner of Wayne and Jackson streets in Butler in 1827 for $125 and a church was erected shortly after. There were 62 members by 1851.
Janz said the current congregation is healthy, and the church regularly hosts events and groups that support people in “finding healing and hope in Jesus.” The church also supports people in recovery, which Janz said has become another trademark of First Church.
“We have a significant relationship with some of the recovery groups in town, Silvermist and (Ellen O’Brien) Gaiser Center, in particular,” Janz said. “So we see the guys and girls sometimes that are in the 30-day recovery program. They come here for worship. There is a little bit of a niche there in working with the recovery community.”
Tom Holman, retired pastor of First Church, said that even though the church has had several identities over the years and several locations, the consistency of people who share a goal of supporting one another in their faith journey has remained consistent.
“The building is not United Methodist, it’s a group of people,” Holman said. “We have been called different things … but it’s not the building, it’s the people.”
For more information on First Church’s anniversary events, visit its website at butlerfumc.com.
