Our History

A History of the Greenwich United Methodist Church

     “On September 21, 1884, a happy group of people along with their pastor, Rev. W. A. Van Gundy, met and dedicated the FirstMethodist Church of Greenwich, Kansas.  Among the names of this pioneer group was:  Phillips, Berthoffs, Solters, Haas, Cain, Devore, Kerrick, Helena, Thomas, and no doubt, many others whom we do not now recall.”  This quote was taken from the words spoken at a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the church in 1944.

     The town of Greenwich was in 1884 only a few days past a year old.  Henry Young, a Civil War veteran, bought the southwest quarter of Payne Township, Section 15 from the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad for a sum of $960.  In 1883 he granted to the public the site for the town of Greenwich--a 10-acre plot in Section. The little town grew rapidly.  There were 2 hotels, grocery stores, a cigar store, barbershops, a shop where P. F. Lygrisse custom made boots and shoes, a blacksmith shop, livery stables, a grain elevator, and last, but not least, the Methodist Church.  This church had high vaulted ceilings and hand carved wood pews.  James Wilson bought the sweet-toned bell--the only item which remains of the old church today.  The only wedding that was ever recorded in that old church occurred on August 22, 1935, when Effie Borg married Eldon Hagan.  In October of that year, the church caught fire in the night, burning to the ground and taking all records with it.

     Now came the task of re-building.  Fortunately, Greenwich was in the middle of an oil boom even as the rest of the country was suffering from the Depression.  The building committee, headed by Peter Borg, Harvey Dodd, Mary Maxiner, Alice Luening, Otto Hagen, Mrs. Vosburg and Mrs. Rainey, sought first to buy a ready-built church.  Nothing suitable was found so carpenters, Joe Giles and Bert Brockway were hired to oversee the labor, much of which was volunteer work.

     This building served the needs of the community for 25 years.  There were times when the attendance consisted of only a handful of children and one or two adults.  But when the church people decided to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the church in 1944, more than 100 old friends came back to pay their respects to the little country church, which still functioned in spite of the lean years spoken of by Chester Miles in his report to the Conference in 1924. 

          He wrote “The abandonment of the country church in this Conference is due to the automobile and the extensive production of wheat.  The automobile takes the family to larger centers in a few minutes, to larger crowds, better equipment and more attractive services.  The automobile is also responsible for weekend visits and takes folks entirely away from church.  The wheat farmer prepares his ground and sows his wheat, and moves to town and remains in town until the following summer and returns to harvest, then goes back to town.  The farmer who cannot move to town to attend church, finds himself without any church to attend.”

     One of the happiest periods in our church history came during the "50s and 60s. " The Men’s Brotherhood was active and the Women’s Society of Christian Service contributed both financially (through quilting for other people for 1/2-cent to 1-cent per yard)and spiritually.  Attendance was good and many young people added to the joy of the services.  One problem confronted the church--the basement leaked!    Several attempts were made to correct the problem, but at last all agreed that a new church building was needed. 

     The trustees signed a building contract on September 25, 1960 with Mr. Roe Messner.  The building committee, Paul McKeage, Lynn Mitchell, Ed Henry, Alva Feik, Mrs. Robert (Vivian) Kinkaid, Fred and Margaret Hladik, Mrs. Joe (Luetta) Tjaden and the pastor, Arlo Smith, got to work.  The Stollei-Mitchell family donated a plot of seven acres on the west side of Greenwich.  On October 2, 1960, a groundbreaking ceremony was held.  On February 26, 1961, the first worship service was observed in the new building. 

     During the early 60’s, the annual Fall Festival was started by United Methodist Women’s group.   Several hand stitched quilts have been made for these Fall Festivals.   There has been Church wide help in continuing the Fall Festivals up to the present.

      The evergreen trees surrounding the church on three sides were planted by the men of the church.  Alva Feik and Bob Kinkaid was instrumental in this project.  A bell tower housing the original bell was installed and dedicated on August 24, 1975. 

     On November 18, 1984, the Greenwich United Methodist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary.  Bob Gleason served as pastor at this celebration and for the following ten years.  During the mid-80’s, Bible studies, Vacation Bible School, and special meetings with guest speakers/musicians were held.  These continued throughout the 90’s and into the new century. 

Monterrey Dinners were begun in the spring of 1997 and have been held twice a year since then.  The Greenwich U. M. C. hosted two Hootenannies for West Conference ministers and their families for the annual conferences held in Wichita in 1999 and 2000.

Information respectfully offered by Grace (Borg) Young (prior to 1984) and Marsha Meyersick with help from church members in February of 2002.