|
|
History of United Church of Woodhull The merger of the Woodhull Methodist and Woodhull Presbyterian congregations in 1969 was the culmination of over a century of parallel and often times shared witness to the Christian faith. The histories of both congregations record the organization of a Union Sunday School in the 1850s, composed of Methodist, Presbyterians and United Brethren. This group met in a home and later a school house. By this time in 1865 both churches were quite well organized and each felt a need for a building of their own. Thus it was that two new church buildings were erected in 1865-1866. Larger buildings were again required in the 1880s. The Woodhull Methodist Church dedicated its new building on November 5, 1882. This building is today the United Church of Woodhull. The Woodhull Presbyterian congregation dedicated its new building on November 8, 1885. The two congregations joined together in 1921-1922 to form a federated church holding services in the Presbyterian Church with a Methodist minister. Although this federation was dissolved, the mid- 1960s brought renewed talks of a union between the Woodhull Methodist and Woodhull Presbyterian congregations. Members of the two congregations on June 1, 1969 voted the union into reality. The Illinois Council of Churches made a determination as to the denominations of the newly formed church with an announcement on September 21, 1969, that the church would be affiliated with the United Presbyterian Church in the USA. A vote by the congregation on October 19, 1969, named the church the United Church of Woodhull. |
|