church facts

church facts

West Austintown First United Methodist Church, 6749 Mahoning Ave., Austintown, will mark its 175th anniversary. The Rev. Dr. George L. Lee, pastor, is celebrating 50 years in ministry.

Event: A celebration will take place at 3 p.m. April 24 followed by a dinner in fellowship hall. The Rev. Gary George, administrative assistant to the bishop in the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church, will speak. He and Pastor Lee were ordained together. The event is free; but reservations are requested by calling the church at 330-792-1221.

Early years: In 1841, Jacob Haroff, an early settler of Austintown Township, and six others had the “first meeting” in his barn near Mahoning Avenue and Turner Road, where the church now stands. United Brethren Church was organized in 1859, and West Austintown Grace Evangelical United Brethren Church was built in 1899, west of the current church.

Mergers: Two congregations in west Austintown represented the Evangelical Church United Brethren and Methodist Episcopal. The backgrounds were similar, being fundamental and based on the word of God. In 1946, the denominations of the Evangelical Church and United Brethren in Christ merged as Evangelical United Brethren Church. Nationally, the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist Church in the mid-1960s to be the United Methodist Church.

Distinction: West Austintown First United Methodist Church is the merger of West Austintown Methodist Church on Russell Avenue in Austintown, and West Austintown Grace Evangelical United Brethren Church on Mahoning Avenue. This merger was the first in the East Ohio Conference, and it is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States — thus the “first” in the name of the church. The churches agreed to merge in December of 1967 and worshipped together on the first Sunday of 1968.

Church-bell dedication: The church dedicated the bell from the steeple of the former Methodist Church on Russell Avenue.

New building: A new church was built on the Mahoning Avenue property and occupied Sept. 24, 2003. It houses a sanctuary, fellowship hall, Sunday school classrooms and office.

Source: Church history