F
irst United
Methodist Church has been an important part of the Stamford community
for over 200 years. Our history dates back to 1788 when circuit-riding
preachers formed the society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Stamford
and class meetings were held in private homes. In 1813, our first church
home was built, a small frame house in what is now downtown Stamford.
In 1858, a new church was built at the corner
of Main and Washington Avenues, which boasted the largest auditorium
in Connecticut. Our congregation worshipped there for the next hundred
years, when it moved to its current location in 1961.
The bell at the entrance to our church is a visible
link to our past: for 101 years, it rang out at the old church location, for
weddings, special occasions, to alert the city to the burning of Town Hall,
and to mark the end of the Civil War. Today, it stands as a reminder of our
long history in this community.
Part of that long history has been serving the community's
needs as they have changed and grown. Food drives, working for social
justice, mentoring children, organizing interfaith initiatives to serve
people with AIDS/HIV, donating land for affordable housing for the elderly
-- in these ways and many more, First United Methodist Church continues
to carry on 200 years of tradition in the Stamford community.
