|
Programs & Activities
Educational and
Growth Opportunities
Small group Bible studies and workshops
Sunday School
For
preschool children through high school, September through May
Confirmation
Program
for junior high students
Youth Activities
Youth
fellowship and outings
Family Events
with various activities
Music
Share
your talent during the service
Community choir for special services
United Methodist
Women
Meets
the third Thursday of each month, January through April at 10 a.m.; May
through December at 2:00 p.m.
Missions
Greater
Glory of God Mission Fund
Mile of
Pennies for area food shelves
Randolph Community Food Shelf
Supporter of Walker Methodist Home
Adopt a
Highway
Sister
church in Miskolc, Hungary
Annual Events
Garage
sale held the last Saturday in April
Fly in
Worship Service at Stanton Airfield
in June
Host the Stanton Community Picnic in the summer
Chicken
Dinner held the second Sunday in October
|
|
Church History
The first religious services in the town of Stanton were held during the winter of
1855-56. The services were officiated by the Rev. J. W. Hancock and
held in the area’s first home, William Stanton Sr.’s log house. On September 11,
1858, the Cannon Falls Circuit of the Minnesota Conference conducted a
quarterly conference in Lewiston.
Stanton was a
participant because meetings were being held in the area by Pastor A.V.
Hiscock. The pastor’s salary during this time was $150 a year and included a
supply of hay and firewood. During the Civil War, there was
little activity in the church because many ministers were serving as
chaplains in the War. By 1869, the Rev. Taintor led a congregation of
35 members.
In 1873, the church building was built at the southeast corner of what is now
the southern intersection of Highways 19 and 56. The land was donated
by Mose Fox, with the cost to build totaling $2,000. The lumber was
brought in from Hastings, with the window
casings being made of Cannon
River butternut.
Members and friends of the church bought red wool squares of carpet at $1.00
per square, and the women of the church sewed them together to cover the
entire floor. A partition down the center of the pews divided the women
on the right side from the men who sat on the left.
The first mention of a Sunday School was in 1871. Activities included Vacation Bible Schools,
picnics and Christmas programs. The first women’s
meeting was held on
September 22, 1888. When John Dack finished his new barn in July of
1893, the women used the barn to hold an "Old Tyme" supper.
This dinner was the forerunner of the annual Chicken Dinner. The
Stanton Ladies Aid was organized on March 17, 1899. In 1898, a
parsonage was built on the corner of Main
and Ackerman, next to the former Stanton Post Office. A new parsonage
in Randolph was purchased with the Randolph United Methodist
Church in 1978.
When the railroad came to Stanton,
most of the town moved west to be closer to the tracks. In 1911, the
church was moved to its present location. The land was again donated by
Mose Fox. A basement was built and when the church was to be moved it
was discovered that the new foundation was too narrow. Additional
foundation was then added around the first, creating the ledge that still
exists in the basement. Stained glass windows were added in 1925 and
the interior was remodeled in 1950. In 1961, the pews were replaced by
pews obtained from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Northfield. An addition to the south
in 1968 included Sunday School rooms, a pastor’s study and a new kitchen. In the summer of
2005, a narthex with a new entrance and an access lift was added.
|
