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Federated Church of Sutton
Sutton
NE
68979
- United Methodist Churches in Sutton, NE
- United Methodist Churches in Nebraska
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Who we are
Our Mission
Sutton Federated Church continues to focus on Mission in 2019. We seek to collaborate with our community and with our assigned Network. We offer small group opportunities for study, community involvement and mission. These relationships work towards connecting our community with Christ.
Sutton Federated Church continues to focus on Mission in 2019. We seek to collaborate with our community and with our assigned Network. We offer small group opportunities for study, community involvement and mission. These relationships work towards connecting our community with Christ.
Location of worship / Church Address
Church Pastor
Mary Scott
Pastor
407 N Saunders Ave
Sutton,
NE
68979
United States
Phone: (402) 773-5336
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Quote of the Day
Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God...
Be still, and know that I am God...
Denomination
United Methodist Church
United Methodist Churches in Sutton, Nebraska, United States
United Methodist Churches in Nebraska, United States
United Methodist Churches in United States
All churches in Sutton, NE
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Leadership
Leader Name:
Mary Scott
Leader Position:
Pastor
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Federated Church of Sutton Leadership Photos
Administration
Admin Name:
Mary Ann Serr
Admin Position:
Secretary
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Mailing Address
PO Box 306
Sutton, NE
68979-0306
Sutton, NE
68979-0306
Driving Directions to Federated Church of Sutton
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Federated Church of Sutton Sutton Service Times
Sunday Worship 10:00 a.m.
Worship Live on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011598077854&sk=videos
Service Times last updated on the 12th of July, 2020
Worship Live on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011598077854&sk=videos
Service Times last updated on the 12th of July, 2020
Worship Languages
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Children and Youth Activities
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Under 18s:
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Federated Church of Sutton Photo Gallery
Federated Church of Sutton History
The history of the Federated Church is almost as old as that of Sutton. The first religious services were held in what is now the park in July of 1871. They were conducted by a Reverend Jones, a Congregational minister from Iowa, who preached to the few scatted settlers and railroad workers.
In February of 1872, the Congregationalists and Methodists organized a Union Sunday School. It was quite an active group, presenting concerts, dramatizations, and assembling a library. At this time, the population of Sutton was about forty. The Union Sunday School lasted three years.
On May 26, 1870, the Reverend O. W. Merrill, Superintendent of Home Missions for Nebraska, organized the Congregational Church.
There were eight members, and Dr. David B. Perry, who was later to become the first president of Doane College, was the first minister.
There were three unsuccessful attempts to form a Methodist class, but finally, in October of 1874, the Reverend A.J. Swartz organized a permanent class composed of fifteen members. It is from this time that the founding of the Methodist Church in Sutton is dated.
The first church building erected in Clay County was the Sutton Congregational Church, built in 1875 at a cost of $1500.00. The Methodists started work on their church in 1876, and, having decided to build with brick, they made their own. It became known as the Centennial Brick Church because the centennial of the United States was the same year. Both of these little churches, which were about twenty by forty feet overall, were built during years of grasshopper plagues, poverty, and pioneer hardships.
In 1893, the Methodists built a new church. The old one had stood on a hill with the parsonage on the south side of it. This hill was cut down to the present level, and the parsonage was placed on the north side of the new church. It was quite a large building for that time, with a Sunday School room on each side of the sanctuary, one at the back and a full basement underneath.
By 1904, the Congregationalists also decided that a new church was a necessity, but they were able to make use of their original structure. The old church was moved to the west on the lot, turned so that it stood in a north-south direction, and the new building was added on the east. The old part was used for Sunday School classes. Among the improvements were the stained glass windows.
Both churches were growing in size, but they often had difficulty in meeting expenses. It was decided that it would be to the advantage of all to unite, and on September 15, 1919, after much work and planning, the Federated Church came into being. Although the people may not have realized it, in forty-seven years they had come the full circle from the Union Sunday School to a united church. The church grew steadily from that time on, adding new departments, expanding its work, and increasing the membership. The congregation met alternately in both churches, first for three and later four months at a time in each church, until the Congregational Church was sold in 1950. From then until 1964 the Methodist Church building was used.
The last important step in the federation process was taken on May 16, 1949, when the New Articles of Federation were adopted, making the union of the two churches complete. Up to this time there had been Methodist and Congregational church councils and membership rolls. Now there was a single Federated board and membership roll. This is the third oldest federated church in the state of Nebraska, but the oldest with the single roll.
The Sunday School department was the first to feel the crowding caused by growing membership. Every square inch of the basement was filled with Sunday School classes, and for a time, a small building which formerly housed a gas station, was used for extra classroom space.
In 1954, the congregation voted to build an educational unit. This was completed at a cost of $50,000 and dedicated in 1955.
The old church was becoming more crowded, and it was increasingly difficult to keep the building in good repair. On Sunday, May 21, 1961 a special meeting was held at the close of services, and the great majority of those present voted to build a new church. Later that year, on November 21, another meeting was held at which plans for the proposed church were accepted.
Everyone went to work to raise money for this new church. Through fund-raising drives, projects undertaken by the Women’s Fellowship and the youth groups, Sunday School contributions, and private gifts, a total of $90,000 was raised in three years. At last, in the spring of 1964, it was decided that there was enough money on hand to let the contracts.
The last services were held in the old church Sunday morning, May 3, 1964. The annual meeting of the church was held in the afternoon, and after it was over, nearly everyone who had attended stayed to help carry the small items out of the church, to be stored during the raising of the old and the construction of the new.
On May 17, ground-breaking ceremonies were held following morning worship at the E. U. B. Church, whose members so generously shared their sanctuary with the Federated congregation while they had none. It was most appropriate that the ground-breaking date fell on Pentecost Sunday. A box contained in the cornerstone of the old church was opened and inside was found a Testament; several old newspapers; a “History of Clay County,” written in 1876; a brief history of the Methodist Church in Sutton, written by Mr. Charles Moon, an early settler; a list of donors to the building fund of the 1893 church; a list of members; and a M. E. quarterly conference bulletin.
It was decided not to have a cornerstone in the new church, but instead to place a box of historical items within the wall underneath the case in which the old Congregational communion service is displayed. This ceremony took place on October 12, 1964.
Finally, the new Federated Church was a reality. After months of work and sacrifice, 440 members and friends entered the sanctuary for the first time to worship on Thanksgiving Sunday, November 21, 1965.
---Mrs. Frederick Bender
In February of 1872, the Congregationalists and Methodists organized a Union Sunday School. It was quite an active group, presenting concerts, dramatizations, and assembling a library. At this time, the population of Sutton was about forty. The Union Sunday School lasted three years.
On May 26, 1870, the Reverend O. W. Merrill, Superintendent of Home Missions for Nebraska, organized the Congregational Church.
There were eight members, and Dr. David B. Perry, who was later to become the first president of Doane College, was the first minister.
There were three unsuccessful attempts to form a Methodist class, but finally, in October of 1874, the Reverend A.J. Swartz organized a permanent class composed of fifteen members. It is from this time that the founding of the Methodist Church in Sutton is dated.
The first church building erected in Clay County was the Sutton Congregational Church, built in 1875 at a cost of $1500.00. The Methodists started work on their church in 1876, and, having decided to build with brick, they made their own. It became known as the Centennial Brick Church because the centennial of the United States was the same year. Both of these little churches, which were about twenty by forty feet overall, were built during years of grasshopper plagues, poverty, and pioneer hardships.
In 1893, the Methodists built a new church. The old one had stood on a hill with the parsonage on the south side of it. This hill was cut down to the present level, and the parsonage was placed on the north side of the new church. It was quite a large building for that time, with a Sunday School room on each side of the sanctuary, one at the back and a full basement underneath.
By 1904, the Congregationalists also decided that a new church was a necessity, but they were able to make use of their original structure. The old church was moved to the west on the lot, turned so that it stood in a north-south direction, and the new building was added on the east. The old part was used for Sunday School classes. Among the improvements were the stained glass windows.
Both churches were growing in size, but they often had difficulty in meeting expenses. It was decided that it would be to the advantage of all to unite, and on September 15, 1919, after much work and planning, the Federated Church came into being. Although the people may not have realized it, in forty-seven years they had come the full circle from the Union Sunday School to a united church. The church grew steadily from that time on, adding new departments, expanding its work, and increasing the membership. The congregation met alternately in both churches, first for three and later four months at a time in each church, until the Congregational Church was sold in 1950. From then until 1964 the Methodist Church building was used.
The last important step in the federation process was taken on May 16, 1949, when the New Articles of Federation were adopted, making the union of the two churches complete. Up to this time there had been Methodist and Congregational church councils and membership rolls. Now there was a single Federated board and membership roll. This is the third oldest federated church in the state of Nebraska, but the oldest with the single roll.
The Sunday School department was the first to feel the crowding caused by growing membership. Every square inch of the basement was filled with Sunday School classes, and for a time, a small building which formerly housed a gas station, was used for extra classroom space.
In 1954, the congregation voted to build an educational unit. This was completed at a cost of $50,000 and dedicated in 1955.
The old church was becoming more crowded, and it was increasingly difficult to keep the building in good repair. On Sunday, May 21, 1961 a special meeting was held at the close of services, and the great majority of those present voted to build a new church. Later that year, on November 21, another meeting was held at which plans for the proposed church were accepted.
Everyone went to work to raise money for this new church. Through fund-raising drives, projects undertaken by the Women’s Fellowship and the youth groups, Sunday School contributions, and private gifts, a total of $90,000 was raised in three years. At last, in the spring of 1964, it was decided that there was enough money on hand to let the contracts.
The last services were held in the old church Sunday morning, May 3, 1964. The annual meeting of the church was held in the afternoon, and after it was over, nearly everyone who had attended stayed to help carry the small items out of the church, to be stored during the raising of the old and the construction of the new.
On May 17, ground-breaking ceremonies were held following morning worship at the E. U. B. Church, whose members so generously shared their sanctuary with the Federated congregation while they had none. It was most appropriate that the ground-breaking date fell on Pentecost Sunday. A box contained in the cornerstone of the old church was opened and inside was found a Testament; several old newspapers; a “History of Clay County,” written in 1876; a brief history of the Methodist Church in Sutton, written by Mr. Charles Moon, an early settler; a list of donors to the building fund of the 1893 church; a list of members; and a M. E. quarterly conference bulletin.
It was decided not to have a cornerstone in the new church, but instead to place a box of historical items within the wall underneath the case in which the old Congregational communion service is displayed. This ceremony took place on October 12, 1964.
Finally, the new Federated Church was a reality. After months of work and sacrifice, 440 members and friends entered the sanctuary for the first time to worship on Thanksgiving Sunday, November 21, 1965.
---Mrs. Frederick Bender
Federated Church of Sutton Historical Photos
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