Grace United Methodist Church marks anniversary with acts of service
By Ben Cox
Photos/Submitted and Ben Cox
Grace United Methodist Church in Jacksonville began in an odd way 175 years ago. The present-day church at 400 W. Morgan St. is a fixture of the West State Street community, having been completed in 1910.
The location of the church may soon be changing, as noted by the current ‘for sale’ sign in the yard, but the membership remains active in the community.
Grace has its origins as the West Charge Church, which was founded in 1850. According to the church’s history books, women of the East Charge Church, located east of the present-day square in Jacksonville, rebelled against having to wade in the mud of the town square as it soaked the lower portions of their petticoats and dresses.
The 110 members that lived west of the square and who split from East Charge Church purchased a lot for $700 on Church Street and had a two-story building constructed. In 1854, a pump organ was introduced into the worship service.
By 1872, the name of the church changed to Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. A newer, larger building was erected the following year to accommodate for growing membership. The new church had two stories and faced State Street. By the end of the 19th century, the building again had become too small, so the congregation purchased the lot west of the church, and the present-day building was soon built. It was erected in 1910 for $65,000 and the pump organ was rebuilt.
By the early 1950s, Grace began its long partnership with radio station WLDS, broadcasting its services over the airwaves in Jacksonville. In the 1980s during the existence of a local Jacksonville TV station, they also broadcast their ministry weekly via television. In 1968, the church purchased the former Jacksonville YMCA building, using it as an annex for several years before eventually demolishing it.
In 1968, after a pair of unifications within national Methodist church bodies, the congregation in Jacksonville became Grace United Methodist Church.
Grace’s longtime involvement in the Jacksonville community through mission outreach has included the Boy Scouts of America Troop 107 since 1921; New Directions Warming & Cooling Center since 2010; a summer lunch program for children for the last five years, with the last two years as part of the “Takin’ It To the Streets” ministry; and the Walk to Bethlehem program during Christmastime for the past decade.
Recently, Grace joined with Jacksonville’s Centenary United Methodist Church and Waverly Methodist Church to form State Street Ministries. The Rev. Kevin Hinkle says the new partnership has benefited financially and spiritually by sharing two pastors. He and the Rev. Erik Slingerland split their time and efforts between the three churches.
Hinkle says it puts the two of them equally in front of each congregation, “We’ve created a worship schedule now that Eric’s on board with us that we’re rotating. Each of us are in each of the churches twice a month. We’re rotating, so people are being able to see us. We have our cell phones, we have internet that they can contact us anytime they want, but we’re in the service twice a month. On top of that, we’re brainstorming on how we can work smarter together.”
Hinkle says it doesn’t just end with the sharing of the ministry, as the three churches share members in a choir that will sing at each of the churches. Both pastors say that it has allowed the churches to create a mission and vision together on how to serve each of their respective church communities together.
The current members at Grace are celebrating their 175th anniversary by presenting weekly moments of history during church services. Hinkle says that the moments have been put together by Pat Pennell and a different member will read one during the service each week leading up to their anniversary celebration on October 19.
Recently, Grace participated in the Jacksonville Bicentennial Finale Celebration and Illinois College homecoming parade. However, the biggest mission with its 175th anniversary is asking the congregation to perform 175 random acts of kindness (RAK). The RAK initiative started on September 1 and will conclude on October 19. “The missions committee put this together,” Slingerland says, “and I think this was a way for the members of Grace to celebrate with the community what the church has done over the last 175 years.”
On October 19, the church has scheduled a special Sunday service, inviting past ministers, members and friends of the church to celebrate with a potluck dinner to be held in the church’s fellowship hall. Hinkle says that the members of Waverly are moving their service to Grace on Sunday to help celebrate the anniversary and several members of Centenary are also expected to attend. The public is invited.
Currently, Grace is facing a new destination. Due to declining membership and costly building maintenance, the members of the church are considering a move to a smaller church facility that would be easier to maintain. Hinkle says that with the unification under State Street Ministries, it doesn’t change the church’s central mission of bringing transformation to the world by leading people to Jesus Christ.
Wherever Grace United Methodist Church finds a new home, the plan is to continue its missions in the community and help the next generation foster a relationship with Jesus Christ for many years to come.
As for the current for sale signs on the building, Hinkle says it doesn’t change the mission, “There are things, there are structural things, but God has called us to serve the community. That’s what we’re going to continue and to keep God as our main focus, even though there’s other things that are happening and those can pull us off to the side. To understand the history, the legacy, and where that has led us to where we are today and where we’re going in the future is the exciting thing.”
