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OUR HISTORY
Methodism in the Bethlehem area started
in the spring of 1849 as an appointment of the Philadelphia
Conference and part of the circuit known as Allentown and Bethlehem
Mission. Services were first held monthly in the Odd Fellows
Hall on New Street. By the spring of 1854, the first Sunday
School opened with an enrollment of 23.
Church property (a lot 64½' by 180') was
purchased on Center Street for $250 from a Church of the Brethren
congregation. The men of the church dug the cellar and laid
the foundation stoned brought from the South Side by boat across the
Lehigh River. The cornerstone was laid in July 1854; the
church was incorporated that November and the first building was
dedicated on January 8, 1855.
By 1865, the need for larger facilities
was apparent. On January 20 a decision was made to build a
larger place to hold worship services so that no one would need to
be turned away. For two years this decision was delayed in
order to clear a debt of $700 and to raise additional funds for the
anticipated new structure. During construction the
congregation met in the YMCA building at the northeast corner of
Main and Broad Streets.
The cornerstone for this new church was
laid September 11, 1869 and dedicated on January 30, 1870. The
District Superintendent in 1876 described this new church as the
most beautiful and attractive church in the district with a monetary
worth of over $25,000.
The foreparents of Wesley Church at
Center and Wall Streets can be credited with many missionary efforts
including: work in Friiedensville resulting in the building of a
small church; conducting open air services in the woods near Lehigh
University as well as Five Points; starting a Sunday School in a
South Side home with 25 children; and helping to start a church in
Fountain Hill as well as Fritz Memorial Church on the South Side.
Through this period and into the 1900s
both church and Sunday School grew with a Home Roll, Cradle Roll,
Young Peoples Society, Weekly Prayer Meetings, Oxford League Reading
Circle and Epworth League. The facilities were generally
adequate through this period with the exception of the Sunday School
area. Plans were made for an addition to the main structure
and on April 17, 1932 the educational wing of the church was
dedicated. The original mortgage of $63,000 for the addition
was cleared by 1946.
During the mid 1950s, extensive
reconstruction took place on the 1870 church building. The
sanctuary was given major renovations. In 1971 the Wesley
Church congregation embarked upon an even greater growth challenge
when the Laros Estate property, known as Sunset Acres, became
available for purchase.
Just a few miles north on Center Street
lay some 12.8 acres of lovely country property. The property
was purchased in 1969 for $120,000. After a series of study
processes and votes, the congregation determined it was not prepared
to undertake the tumultuous task of relocating the church's ministry
to a new place.
Then, in late 1990, a Church Conference
voted affirmatively to consider the matter of constructing a new
facility on the property at 2540 Center Street. On May 13,
1991 a Charge Conference also voted affirmatively to empower the
Board of Trustees to appoint a Building Committee to do the
necessary planning to construct a new church facility on the
church-owned property.
On Palm Sunday, April 4, 1993, a Church
Conference voted affirmatively to approve the architectural plans as
presented by the Building Committee and the financial plan to begin
the construction of the new facility. The "Beyond Bricks and
Mortar" Capital Campaign was begun and realized $570,000 in
commitments.
Construction of the $2.9 million facility
began on April 25, 1994. By October the Cross and Steeple was
raised and set in place. The Wesley Church Mission Statement
reflects the aim of locating its ministry in new facilities.
The mission of
Wesley Church is
to be a center of Christian spiritual
growth,
where hearts and lives are changed,
where faith is taught and lived,
where the broken are healed and the hurting are helped,
where the visitor is welcomed and new friends are made,
where people find peace and seekers find answers,
where God's love is celebrated and God's forgiveness is known.
The last service of
United Methodist worship at Wesley Church was held on May 28, 1995.
The doors of 424 Center Street were formally locked
and we looked ahead to our new spiritual
home. Then just as our foreparents brought stones from the
South Side for our first Wesley Church foundation, today's
membership carried on the tradition by bringing Bibles and our
Hymnals out of the old sanctuary into our new place for celebration
and service on June 4, 1995.
A Celebration Service of
Consecration and Dedication was held on Sunday, June 25, 1995.
Resident Bishop Susan M. Morrision presided and preached a stirring
sermon on "Living on the Promise of Hope." That is what we are
doing here at Wesley Church.
Come, share, and rejoice in
what God is doing in the lives of committed disciples at Wesley
United Methodist Church.
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