The History of Fayette Methodist Church
"That the early Christians of the Methodist faith builded (sic) better than they knew, that their church was indeed founded upon a rock and not upon shifting sands, is shown by the splendid progress made, not only in the church buildings, the outward evidence of the prosperity of the church, but in membership, in Christian brotherhood and in great good accomplished." - Fayette Record, Friday, December 14, 1906.
1838 The early settlers of the area used the first schoolhouse erected in Gorham Township, located one mile east of Fayette, for their religious services. During the same year, a group of worshipers were organized into the Gorham Methodist Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Rev. Lilliebridge, a circuit rider of the day.
1848-49 The first log church building was built on the northwest corner of what is known as Ford's Corners, 1 mile east of town, at a cost of $600. Although this 30 x 40 foot building was constructed cheaply and much of the material donated, the building taxed the resources of the struggling community, and the raising of the money entailed much real hardship.
1869 The second church building was built in Fayette, then known as Gorham, on the present site. The two lots cost $150 and the solid brick edifice cost about $3500.
1880 This second church burned in the great fire of May 9, 1880, when more than 30 buildings, constituting a good portion of the village, were destroyed. The Methodist congregation built a new brick church that same year at an approximate cost of $5500.
1905-06 Feeling the need of more comfortable and commodious quarters and having the strength to undertake the work, the society razed the old building after only 25 years and built the present structure with a brick veneer at a cost of around $11,500.
1955 The church purchased the Bachman property and removed the buildings to make a more spacious parking lot.
1986 The church purchased the Crowell property (Mobile gas station).
1987-88 Several changes were made in the church sanctuary during this period – the front of the sanctuary was remodeled, a beautiful 8' hand-made cross was placed in the new arch, a lighted stained glass window was placed in the dome, the walls and ceiling of the sanctuary were redecorated, the carpet was replaced and the pews were refinished. Much of the labor that went into this was donated. The gas station was razed and the lot made into needed parking space.
2010 Renovations that have been completed in the past couple of years are worth adding to our history. For many years, planning and discussion centered around installing an elevator or a lift which would make our sanctuary and fellowship room in the basement accessible to all. That dream was realized in the summer of 2010, when we dedicated our new lift and basement renovations, which included new restroom facilities.
2011 We installed new furnaces and central air! Also, the basement windows were replaced, which we believe were the original windows.
2013 The church had a vision for many years to have a gathering place for social events, one that was larger and served many needs that the church basement couldn't fulfill. The congregation pooled together many resources to begin the process of building the Family Life Center. Groundbreaking was on May of 2013 and the building was completed in December.
2023 As of July 1 our church officially joined the Global Methodist Church, changing our church name to Fayette Methodist Church.
1838 The early settlers of the area used the first schoolhouse erected in Gorham Township, located one mile east of Fayette, for their religious services. During the same year, a group of worshipers were organized into the Gorham Methodist Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Rev. Lilliebridge, a circuit rider of the day.
1848-49 The first log church building was built on the northwest corner of what is known as Ford's Corners, 1 mile east of town, at a cost of $600. Although this 30 x 40 foot building was constructed cheaply and much of the material donated, the building taxed the resources of the struggling community, and the raising of the money entailed much real hardship.
1869 The second church building was built in Fayette, then known as Gorham, on the present site. The two lots cost $150 and the solid brick edifice cost about $3500.
1880 This second church burned in the great fire of May 9, 1880, when more than 30 buildings, constituting a good portion of the village, were destroyed. The Methodist congregation built a new brick church that same year at an approximate cost of $5500.
1905-06 Feeling the need of more comfortable and commodious quarters and having the strength to undertake the work, the society razed the old building after only 25 years and built the present structure with a brick veneer at a cost of around $11,500.
1955 The church purchased the Bachman property and removed the buildings to make a more spacious parking lot.
1986 The church purchased the Crowell property (Mobile gas station).
1987-88 Several changes were made in the church sanctuary during this period – the front of the sanctuary was remodeled, a beautiful 8' hand-made cross was placed in the new arch, a lighted stained glass window was placed in the dome, the walls and ceiling of the sanctuary were redecorated, the carpet was replaced and the pews were refinished. Much of the labor that went into this was donated. The gas station was razed and the lot made into needed parking space.
2010 Renovations that have been completed in the past couple of years are worth adding to our history. For many years, planning and discussion centered around installing an elevator or a lift which would make our sanctuary and fellowship room in the basement accessible to all. That dream was realized in the summer of 2010, when we dedicated our new lift and basement renovations, which included new restroom facilities.
2011 We installed new furnaces and central air! Also, the basement windows were replaced, which we believe were the original windows.
2013 The church had a vision for many years to have a gathering place for social events, one that was larger and served many needs that the church basement couldn't fulfill. The congregation pooled together many resources to begin the process of building the Family Life Center. Groundbreaking was on May of 2013 and the building was completed in December.
2023 As of July 1 our church officially joined the Global Methodist Church, changing our church name to Fayette Methodist Church.