By Glenda Wyer
The first Methodist Church was located across the river in Defiance. It was built in 1879, and the first minister was Rev. Powers. In 1888, a new church was built where it stands today at Third and Noble Street.
In 1897, the first church bell was rang in Sheridan. The same year, an addition was built to the north side of the church. The Ladies Aid Society was organized in 1887. They contributed many items in the church, starting with the pulpit chairs on July 3rd, 1903. They are still in use today. In 1940, a basement was added, and by 1950, the church was remodeled with a Gothic style ceiling in the sanctuary. In 1970, a cloakroom and a bathroom were added. Through the years, many improvements were made. Most recently, in 2010, upholstery was added to the pews and new carpeting was added.
Sometime in the 1980’s, the ministry was joined, where one pastor served Denver, Grant City, and Sheridan. The parsonage was sold. The Pony Express District made changes to the ministry in 2009. One minister and two laity ministers served six churches in Denver, Grant City, Sheridan, Hopkins, Pickering, and Ravenwood.
Past ministers were W.H. LaVake (1898), G.F. Bieber (1896-1900), M.H. Wells (1903), O.C. Carden (1907-1912), Smith (1912), Alvah Huff (1921), Edgar O. Wells (1923), F.J. Smith (1924), C.V. Bittiker (1950), R.D. Ezzell (1957), R.F. Baummer (1961), Kenneth Norton (1962), Cleo Caimille (1963), Cleo Colville (1967), Jerry Daily (1971), Frankie Young (1974-1979), Bill Wasson (1980), Joyce Holley (1985), Brenda Abplanalp (1993), Michael Irving (199691998(, Darren Potter (1998-2003), Mike Agnew (2006-2009), Vallory Williams (2009), Susan Noakes (2010) and lay leaders Travis Dimmitt and Tim Wall, Janis Tobias (2012). Travis took a position at Wesley in July 2015. On January 1st, 2016, Martin Farnan, Certified Lay Minister, became sole leader as the Parish 5 split up.
For many years, worship hours were 8:30, but due to a commitment, Martin requested to change to 10:30. The church also has a Praise and Prayer and a Bible Study on Wednesday nights; the hours changed from 3:30 in the past to 5:30 now.
In April 2016, the first Praise Band was formed with new members, and May 2016 saw the beginning of Music Fest and Pot Luck on fifth Sundays. In July 2016, Farnan was also assigned to Hopkins.
A new time change switched the worship time to 9:30 am on Sundays; Farnan dropped from the Hopkins circuit while he remains the current Lay Pastor for Sheridan. Wednesday Praise and Prayer changed locations to a couple’s home in Hopkins where the band was centrally located. The death of their Bass player hit hard. COVID-19 canceled Worship and Wednesday night gatherings altogether in March 2020. Martin continued with more training and is the longest running Lay Leader to date at the church.
No comments:
Post a Comment