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.
- 9:30 a.m. Sunday'sCool for ages 3 to 103!
- 10:45 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 315-462-1399
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.
Does your daily life reflect these core beliefs?
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!