Fairfield United Methodist Church Montoursville PA

Our Mission

To bear witness to our Christian faith and invite individuals into a relationship with Jesus Christ, assimilate them into the "Fellowship of Believers" and equip them for mission and ministry within our church, our community, and the world.

 

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Fairfield Exit from Interstate 180 to Brushy Ridge Road 1/4 mile to Fairfield Church Road 1/2 mile to church from Montoursville.  

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In 1846, in the Stryker School House, the Fairfield Mission Class began to meet. By 1882, church services were being held at the school and talk of building a new church structure was beginning to become serious.

Land was donated for the new church building the following year, on March 31, 1883, by George B. Harris and his wife, Clara. One year later, in 1884, the new church building was erected for a grand total of $1,500. At this time, the church was called "Fairfield Methodist Episcopal Church."

The church was heated by two pot-bellied stoves in the sanctuary that used wood and coal. One of the church's first items of business was to elect a janitor. The janitor was to "keep the church swept and build fires and light the lamps and keep them clean." The bid went to Annie S Bower, who was paid $5 on the "the first of July, the first of November, and the first of March."

Time went on and the membership of the Church kept increasing, which led to an increase in the number of horses and wagons. Accordingly, a special meeting was called by the trustees in the fall of 1886, to appoint a committee to look into getting lumber and shingles to build a shed to house the horses and wagons during the service. The horse shelter, with hitch racks, was subsequently erected.

At this point in history, there are no church records available until October 28, 1913. It was around this time that bids were let for a galvanized roof. The roof ended up costing $121 and was installed by O.W. Mendenhall. The money for the roof was borrowed from Henry Harris. The original 1913 roof was still in use as of the 1980s! The first festival of record was held in April 1914, clearing $37.23. Insurance assessment that year was $3.30.

The years from 1917 to 1928 seem to be prosperous years. The note to Henry Harris for the roof was paid in full, leaving the Church debt free. The platform in the Church was extended and railing installed. The Church was painted and papered by J.H. Tule at a cost of $75, and the flues repaired. By July 1925, the insurance had jumped to $6.36. $5 had been handed in by the trustees to help pay this insurance, and by October enough had been raised to pay this in full. The first record of a Chicken & Waffle Supper was October 17, 1925. With only two weeks for preparation, $90.68 was cleared. In 1928, the two pot-bellied stoves were traded in for a single modern heatrola at a cost of $157.

During the Depression years, the Church improvements were kept at a minimum. The windows were badly in need of repair and were finally replaced in 1931, after months of discussion. By 1934 and 1935, opening of the basement area under the Church was under construction. The budget in 1935 consisted of the following:

Minister's salary..........$240.00 Janitor......................25.00 Fuel & Light.................15.00 Insurance....................10.00 Repairs......................25.00 TOTAL $315.00

In 1938, electricity was introduced to the area and the Church was wired for the use of electric lighting, which would now replace the pull-down kerosene lamps. The horse shelter was also taken down to make way for the increasing number of automobiles.

In 1948, the men of the Church had completed the excavation of the entire basement area by hand, with the use of picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows, and a central heating system was installed. Later the area was furred out and plastered for use as Sunday School classrooms.

During the next two decades, the Church membership was continuously growing. In 1954, the church was painted at the cost of $1.75/hour and the galvanized roof was given a new coat of paint by Jake Fry, Charles Harris, and Wilbur Merrill, at no cost to the Church. A committee, chaired by Bob Karschner, was also working on improving the Church basement. "The spiritual vigor of the Church was evident in the initiation of a Men's Bible Class in January, 1958."

Four years later, in the early summer of 1958, The Official Board began discussion on possibly expanding the Church building by constructing a Sunday School wing. A "Building Fund" was begun at once. It was also decided at this time to restructure the sanctuary. In preparation for this, a Lowrey organ was purchased in October for $1,125.

A formal presentation of the building program was made to the congregation at a fellowship dinner held at the West Branch Grange Hall. The building fund at that time was $14,500 with a goal of $41,000 more. By March 1962, A Capital Fund Drive called "Finding Funds for Fairfield's Future" was launched, for which we received cash and pledges for a three year period totalling $20,990.60. During this time, the building committee had been busy studying building plans, cost estimates, and securing approval from various departments of the Methodist Church.

With a $5,000 contribution from the United Methodist Conference and a $150 contribution from the Bethel Church, the building fund had now reached $18,250. By October 1962, George Paulhamus was hired to build the expansion for $42,041.56. A mortgage was taken out for a total of $26,000 at 5.5% interest over ten years. The groundbreaking ceremony was held after the worship service on November 11, 1962, with the Rev. Dr. Gilbert L. Bennett, District Superintendent, presiding. The construction was completed one year later and the first "Church School" classes were held in it in November 1963. The Christmas Party for the entire Church was the first official gathering to be held in the basement area of the new building.

It wasn't until the new addition went up that the Church received water or plumbing. As such, the Women's Society now began to eye up the possibility of a nice kitchen in the new basement. The space was there, but they needed to plan what they wanted and how to set it up. The kitchen was finally installed and furnished. The ladies kept it hopping with festivals in the spring, Chicken & Waffle suppers in the fall, and many other projects that helped pay for the kitchen improvement. At this time, pews were bought from Faxon Church and new carpeting from Dale Harris. "The Church ended the period with the feeling that God was at work among us to help the Church fulfill its mission in Fairfield."

In 1977, after months of planning and discussion, the sanctuary was renovated, giving us what we have today. The renovation cost $13,000 and was done by M&G; Builders and Christian Builders. 1978 saw basement improvements and in 1979, aluminum siding was installed on the exterior of the sanctuary, lowering the amount of outside maintenance needed. Cushions on the pews were also re-upholstered, and in 1983, the Church's centennial, the basement dining room walls were paneled and a new bulletin board was installed in front of the church.

Former & Current Pastors

J.H. Furey................1882 E.M. Stephens.............1883 Nathan B. Smite........1884-85 Samuel D. Wilson.......1886-89 Orlando G. Heck........1890-91 Henry F. Cares............1892 James F. Glass.........1893-97 Robert H. Stine......1898-1900 Seth A. Crevling.......1901-02 Jonathan Guldin........1903-04 F.G. Sleep.............1905-08 J.W. Forrest...........1909-10 Charles W. Richel......1911-13 R.F. Ruch..............1914-15 H.S. Jarrett..............1916 G.M. Remley...............1916 Franklin Lawson........1917-18 Robert Whiteley........1919-21 H.C. Moyer................1922 Frank T. Kinner........1923-25 N.J. Simmons...........1926-28 Edward Hayes...........1929-34 M.V. Mussina...........1935-36 W.E. North.............1937-41 L.W. Lykens............1942-45 Ferdinand Dirk............1946 Robert Breth..............1947 W.H. Rissmiller...........1948 L. Phyler..............1950-54 C.F. Himes.............1954-56 Thomas M. LaForce......1957-61 John B. Greenland......1961-62 Levi L. Hess...........1962-64 Amandus R. Hunsinger...1965-75 David Reed.............1975-82 Bradford Spangenberg...1982-86 Keith Beasley-Topliffe..1986-87 Donald Nelson...........1987-90 Donald Yorks..........1990-2008 David Trostle......2008-Current