| Shelton
United Methodist Church: Building God's Grace-Filled Community For Love Of The World Grace is
what happens when a
person discovers that he or she is a sinner, and is loved
and accepted
anyway. The grace-filled community is a place where God's
grace is
extended to everyone.
We believe that God loves and accepts us for who we are now. We also believe that God has a vision for who we can be, and the grace-filled community supports us on our journey there. We believe that the whole world, was given to us by God to care for and manage responsibly. Our lease on this world is temporary and we have a responsibility to return it someday in better condition than we received it. |
Our church was started in 1885 with four members. The first pastor, the Reverend Gordon Henry, traveled from Olympia by boat to serve our church. In 1887, our first resident pastor arrived and the first church building was built at 2nd and Cota Street on a site donated by David Shelton. In 1909, a new parsonage was purchased at 4th and Pine Street. In 1923 our little white church on Cota Street burned, but within six months a new church was dedicated at a new location next to the parsonage. In 1926 a beautiful stained glass window was dedicated at the new church. After years of growing, remodeling and expansion, we built our present church on King Street in 1966. On our second anniversary (1968), a cornerstone was laid to be opened in 2068. The property at 4th and Pine was sold to St. Edward's Catholic Church in 1966 and is now a parking lot. However, the stained glass window was saved and is now on view in the Narthex of the present church. During our more than 119 years of history, we have been served by many pastors and hundreds of lay leaders and workers. Our history involves three church buildings, three different church conferences (soon to be four), and three different denominational names (Methodist Episcopal Church, The Methodist Church, and The United Methodist Church). |