History Of The Brecksville United Methodist Church
The Methodist Church has a very colorful beginning with the first meetings being held in the log cabin of Lemuel Bourne in the year 1814 with sixteen members. In 1823 the first meeting of the Methodist Society was organized in Brecksville as part of the Brunswick Circuit. Ezra Wyatt, who owned the Grist Mill across Chippewa Creek, deeded the land the church is built on to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1832 a one-room frame building was erected but the interior was not completed until several years later. The members held their meetings there in the summer and met in the Town Hall in the winter. Some years later the church was plastered and painted and used the entire year. The church was lighted by tallow candles in small tin reflectors hung on the walls. The heating system consisted of a large heating stove in the front of the church.
In 1853 a revival meeting was held and membership was substantially increased.
By 1910 extensive improvements were made on the church building and a bell, which harmonized with the bell in the Congregational Church (now the Church of Christ), was placed in the bell tower.
In 1938 an upper room was added above the dining room. The boys from the 3C Camp on Brecksville Road helped put the big steel beams in place. At this time, new pews and lights were added as well as an electric Hammond organ. These additions were completed and consecrated by Bishop H. Lester Smith in a visit to the church in 1940.
Difficult times were experienced in the 1930’s but in 1933 the first full time pastor, the Reverend Arthur Maly, was appointed and growth began. As the population of Brecksville grew during the 1940’s and 50’s, our congregation expanded rapidly, to the point where it was difficult to find a seat on Sunday mornings. The Reverend Charles A. Amendt, a former missionary to Korea, served as pastor from 1949 to 62. It was during this time that the congregation experienced its most rapid growth and embarked on the construction program for our present building.
In 1960, the original, 128 year old church building was razed, along with the old parsonage, to begin construction of our present Fellowship Hall. For about a year, worship services were held next door in the Town Hall. In 1961, Fellowship Hall was completed and began temporary service as our Sanctuary, as well as auditorium, dining hall and recreation center. The rest of the building, including the sanctuary, was completed in 1964 and consecrated on November 1 of that year.
Brecksville Methodist Circuit Riders, Ministers and (*) Associate Ministers
| 1823 | Charles Trescot & James Rower |
| 1824 | Solomon Minwaer & John Pardo |
| 1853 | Rev. Thomas and Rev. Plumber |
| 1854 | Layfayette Ward & John Brice |
| 1855 | Lafayette Ward |
| 1856 | James R. Wilcox and Alber C. Hard |
| 1857 | James R. Wilcox |
| 1858 | Matthew L. Starr & Franklin N. Robertson |
| 1860 | Abraham K. Owen & George M. Hutchings |
| 1861 | Abraham K. Owen & Simon P. Jacobs |
| 1862-65 | John W. Thompson |
| 1865-66 | James Evans |
| 1867 | W. Ben Taggart |
| 1868-71 | Andrew Pollock & E. Thompson |
| 1872-74 | W.E. Smith |
| 1874-76 | Will S. Fitch |
| 1876 | S. T. Dunbar |
| 1877-79 | Mr. West & Moses B. Mead |
| 1880 | I.W. Dwyer |
| 1881-84 | A.R. Palmer |
| 1885 | B.D. Jones |
| 1886 | E.H. Bush |
| 1887 | C.F. Irish |
| 1888 | M. Reese |
| 1889 | C.F.E. Helman |
| 1890 | J. Hastings |
| 1891-92 | P.D. Brush |
| 1893-94 | A.C. Whitmore |
| 1895-96 | G.W. Pepper |
| 1897-98 | W.H. Bryanton |
| 1899-1900 | Jonathan Look |
| 1901-1902 | JW Houk |
| 1903-1904 | Mr. Chase |
| 1905-1906 | Wesley Feldwish |
| 1907-1908 | C.T. Goodwin |
| 1909-1910 | J. R. Carpenter |
| 1910-1912 | Arthur Horrocks |
| 1912-1927 | Mr. Walters |
| 1927-1931 | Mr. Nichols |
| 1931-1936 | Arthur Malay |
| 1936-1937 | Robert S. Clemmons |
| 1937-1939 | Robert Dietrich |
| 1939-1941 | John Bartrug |
| 1942-1945 | William H. Phillips |
| 1945-1949 | Paul Giffin |
| 1948-1962 | Charles C. Amendt |
| 1963-1972 | William K. Hogg |
| 1965-1966 | William Hodder* |
| 1966-1972 | Donald Shank* |
| 1971-1974 | Ralph E. Dessem* |
| 1972-1984 | David H. Patton |
| 1974-1975 | Jim Henery* |
| 1975-1979 | F. William Ross* |
| 1980-1983 | Thomas Barson* |
| 1983-1986 | Vernon L. Shepherd* |
| 1984-1996 | Thomas S. Taylor |
| 1986-1988 | James K. Powell* |
| 1988-1995 | James F. Winkler* |
| 1995-1996 | Michaela A. Brown* |
| 1996-1998 | Adriel B. Thrash |
| 1996-1998 | Sharon Carson* |
| 1998-2005 | Russ Martin |
| 2005-2011 | Karen Oehl |
| 2006-2013 | Elizabeth Kuntz* |
| 2011-2019 | Clark Stein |
| 2019- | Heidi Welch |