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The Methodist Church

    The Methodist Church was organized in 1862 after Rev. J. W. Kynett was appointed as the first minister. The church building was completed and dedicated on October 10, 1869. The parsonage was erected in 1877. An overheated furnace caused a fire on Jan. 2, 1919 that burned the church to the ground. The present brick building was built and moved into by Dec. 21, 1919.

    The ministers who served in the Clarence United Methodist church since the centennial celebration are as follows:

1956 –Cyril Ashton

1961 – F. G. Steinman

1964 – Richard Keim

1967 – James Lusher

1973 – Donald Kehrli

1976 – Wayne Clark

1978 – John Cornish

1981 – Michael Wintz

1984 – Stephanie Raphael

    Our church celebrated 100 years in 1962. Many memorial gifts were given to the church including the cry room in memory of Ella Morehead and the organ given by Harry Decker in memory of his wife, Irma and her mother, Jane Bixler.

    The church was completely redecorated and a new educational unit added in 1966.

    In 1977 the old parsonage was demolished and a new home was built. It was occupied by Wayne Clark and his family in the spring of 1978.

Florence Bachman