Evansville church to mark 175 years of service this weekend

EVANSVILLE − A young mother was looking for a sanctuary, according to one definition, when she was a newcomer to Evansville and seeking a church for her family that included four children.

Central United Methodist Church offered a “children’s church,” so mothers could sit with the congregation and focus on the minister’s message in peace and serenity, not on the needs of the youngsters.

But that basic sanctuary turned into much more as the years went by. It turned into a safe haven, a place to experience youth group and Sunday School classes, everlasting friendships and a long-lasting church home.

Now, several decades later, one of those young children who was shepherded off to “children’s church” is organizing the 175th Anniversary Celebration for the historic church located in downtown Evansville at Franklin and Mary streets.

“It was a perfect fit for our family,” said Gloria Millay, who is the chair for the celebration that will take place on Sunday, April 14. It includes a visit by and message from Indiana Conference Bishop Julius Trible.

It will be one of Trible’s last events before his retirement, she said, which will add yet another detail to the church congregation’s storied history.

The Rev. Dewey Miller will preside over the service, and well-known Evansville vocalist Gina Moore will provide special music. More than 400 invitations have been extended to former members and friends of the church.

“We are very excited,” Millay said. “We have a lot of people to honor … to take care of their legacy. (There are) 175 years of people who have sat in the pews of our church, from the first people that came together to make the church through now.”

It began in 1849 as a mission Sunday school of the Locust Street Methodist, according to a church history published on its website. Its original meeting place was on Main Street near the northern edge of town, probably in the vicinity of the present-day Lloyd Expressway.

Four years later this group of Christians had grown sufficiently to erect a permanent house of worship near the corner of Ingle and Seventh streets. Dedication of the Ingle Street Methodist Church, as it was called then, was held in October 1853, during the annual conference that was being held in Evansville.

The subsequent years showed periods of growth and decline for the church. Conflicts within the membership over the direction of the church led to several setbacks, the earliest being in 1860 when organ music was introduced.

The most serious setback came in 1874 when work was begun on a new church at the corner of Eighth and Sycamore streets. Soon after the foundation was laid, half of the membership left over the expense. As a result, construction was halted.

The process of rebuilding the church continued until 1905. In that year, property was obtained two blocks north in the residential neighborhood at Franklin and Mary streets.

When the congregation moved in on March 4, 1906, the church’s name changed to Central Methodist Church.

But due to rapid growth that followed, the gothic-style brick structure was short lived. Within 20 years the building was razed and the present enlarged church was built on the site.

While that construction was taking place that resulted in a new building dedication on April 12, 1925, services were held in the Coliseum. Later came the Finke Hall addition (opened on Jan. 5, 1958) for church administration and classrooms.

Millay said a lot of this church history and artifacts that show the progression over the decades are displayed in a room at the church dedicated to memorabilia and curated by church historian Stan Schmitt.

New items have been added in recognition of the milestone coming up this month, including snapshots sent by a former attendee whose father was once a pastor of the congregation.

Many from the permanent collection as well as those have been collected for the anniversary celebration will be displayed on April 14.

As one of the oldest congregations in Evansville, Schmitt said, the church members made their mark on many notable eras.

One was in the Civil War, when there were five military hospitals in Evansville that needed volunteer support.

He said that in addition to daily tasks for the troops that didn’t have the services of a yet-to-be-established American Red Cross, the church supplied food, including complete meals for holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

He said that in 1862 following the battle at Shiloh in Tennessee, the city was inundated with casualties.

“There were so many that people even housed the wounded in their homes,” Schmitt said.

There have been many such incidents of outreach and community service through the years, but one that Schmitt found in the annals of church of history falls more on the fun side.

When Evansville College first formed a men’s basketball team, the church basketball team was available for scrimmages. And they won.

Millay said that the congregation has seen generation after generation of the same family attend church and other activities at Central.

After her introduction to “children’s church” with her family’s arrival at Central, her experiences included Sunday School and Methodist Youth Fellowship on into adulthood.

“I was shy and inward and for me (the church) was my safe place,” she said. “You always knew there were people who cared about you. Our church members have been passionate about Central because of how if affected our lives.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville's Central United Methodist Church marks 175 years of service