Church Information & Hours | Our Vision Statement | Our Core Beliefs | United Methodists Are... | A Brief History of CSUMC
Church Information
- We are located at 1 East Main Street, Clifton Springs, New York.
(we will add a map soon.) - Pastor Lynn Spence heads a staff of talented and dedicated people who help with the day-to-day operations of the church.
- Winter hours begin the Sunday after Labor Day weekend.
- 9:00 a.m. Come-as-U-R morning worship includes contemporary choruses and a lesson/short sermon on that week's theme.
- 9:45 a.m. Sunday'sCool for ages 3 to 103!
- 11:00 a.m. traditional worship
- Summer hours begin the first Sunday in July — 9:30 a.m.
- Phone numbers
- Church office 315-462-2274
- Pastor’s office 315-462-7192
- Spiritual Care office 315-462-7192
Our Vision Statement
With God’s leading...We, the people of the Clifton Springs United Methodist Church, are joining hands with the whole community
- to form a Network of Love and Understanding;
- a Network that catches the lost and forlorn, the needy and the hungry;
- a Network that not only supports others but nurtures and mends itself, encouraging growth through Christ-centered ministering, one to another!
Our Core Beliefs
- God accepts us as we are, but loves us too much to leave us there.
- God calls us to be culturally relevant while remaining Biblically true.
- Each person is a child of God, therefore we must reach others with the Good News of God’s love.
- God equips each person to serve in some way.
- Personal Prayer & Bible study are fundamental to life in Christ.
The God of the Bible is the only true God, infinite in power, wisdom and goodness. God reveals himself as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three equal, distinct but inseparable persons.
The Father is the creator, ruler and preserver of all things. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love. He has provided the means by which people may enjoy a relationship with Him and ultimately freedom, with all of creation, from evil.
Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, the perfect and inseparable union of the divine and human natures. Jesus is the Son of God made flesh, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Belief in His sinless life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension provide the only way of salvation. His sacrifice on the cross, once for all, provides the only way to the Father. Now he intercedes for us before the Father, awaiting the day when He will return to judge every person and establish His kingdom fully.
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Son as God. He is present in the world to make people aware of sin, righteousness and judgment. He leads people through faithful response to the gospel, and lives and works in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He empowers the Church to carry out Christ's mission in the world, enables believers to live a fruitful Christian life, and endows each believer with spiritual gifts according to His will. He guides the faithful into all truth, which is always in harmony with the truth given in the Scriptures.
The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the only written Word of God. Inspired by God and written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Bible reveals all that is necessary for knowing God's will, salvation and Christian growth. It is the guide and final authority for faith and conduct of individuals and the teaching and purpose of the Church.
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God's creation. Since the fall of Adam, all people are born with an attitude of rebellion toward God called sin, which separates people from God. This corruption is so pervasive that people are not capable on their own of a positive response to God. Only through the work of God can people be saved from the sin's corruption and restored to the relationships that God has intended for us.
God offers people forgiveness through Jesus Christ's death on the cross, the perfect sacrifice for the sins for the whole world. Forgiveness cannot be earned through good works, self-improvement, or religious ceremony. It is a gift for all people who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness, their sins are forgiven, they are declared right in God's sight, made a new person by the Holy Spirit, and adopted into the family of God. These benefits are known as salvation, and this salvation is complete and secure. The fullness of God's great salvation will come with the return of Christ.
For more information, visit the web site of the global United Methodist Church at www.umc.org. Click here to go to www.umc.org
United Methodists are...
...a covenant people, a diverse community, Biblical in faith, mission-oriented, socially conscious, ecumenical, involved, connectional, and evangelical.
A Brief
History of the
Clifton Springs United Methodist Church
(taken from the church brochure, research compiled and written by Jim Conners)
1800: First Methodist preaching was heard in the community.
1808: Organization of the first Methodist class, which met in a small log building one mile east of what was the town of Sulfur Springs, now Clifton Springs, at the corner of Wheat and Case Roads.
1815: After the Protestant Episcopals failed to complete their church, it was deeded to the Methodists to complete. This was located on the northwest corner of East Main and Dayton Streets.
1820: First formal incorporation of the congregation is recorded on August 5th.
1842: The church building burned to the ground and the congregation met in a stone school house located on the grounds of the present church.
1844: A new brick church was built on the location of the old stone school house. By the aid of Richard Shekell, the real estate firm of Phelps, Gorham & Granger deeded to the society, without cost, the land where the church now stands.
1846: The corporate name was changed form "The Third Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Phelps and Manchester" to "The Third Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Town of Manchester at Clifton Springs, State of New York."
1868: The present church was built to replace the one built in 1844. The church built in 1844 could not accommodate everyone including the many guests from the Sanitarium. Thus with Dr. Foster's help a new larger church was built. It was said Dr. Foster built and maintained over one half of the church. The new church cost $16,323. It was lighted by kerosene and heated by large wood stoves placed in pits under the floor. There was no cellar at that time. A straight gallery stretched across the north end in which a small reed organ was placed and from which the choir sang.
1882-1884: The kitchen was built on. The pipe organ was installed at a cost of $1,600.
1887-1889: The small high keyed bell in the belfry was sold to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Sodus Point. A new bell was installed with the inscription "Let him that heareth say come."
1904: The gallery was shortened and a new steel ceiling was put in.
1954: the second floor was added and divided into 8 Sunday school rooms. A new boiler was installed and the front wooden steps were replaced with a concrete entrance.
1972: The sanctuary was completely remodeled and the narthex remodeled to include the pastor's office.
1988: The pipe organ was refurbished at a cost of $41,000.
1996: A new entrance into the social room was added.
February 2003: Groundbreaking for new Fellowship Hall and Sunday School classrooms!
November 2003: Dedication of new building!