United Methodist Church
Though the Methodist Movement began in the early 1700's, The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 with the union of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church.
The Evangelical United Brethren Church, established in 1946, resulted from the union of two U.S.-born denominations: the Evangelical Church and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. These two churches originated among German-speaking people during the great spiritual awakening in the late 18th century.
The Methodist movement began in England in the early 1700s, under Anglican minister John Wesley and his followers. Wesley and his brother Charles brought the movement to the colony of Georgia, arriving in March 1736 as Church of England missionaries. The U.S. Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1784. The denomination grew rapidly and was known for its “circuit rider” ministers on the advancing frontiers. A split in 1828 formed the Methodist Protestant Church, and in 1844, over the issue of slavery, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The North and South factions reunited in 1939 (as The Methodist Church), but retained racial segregation. That separation ended in 1968 with the merger of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Churches.
In 1886, a small congregation met on a site where the present-day Boot Hill Saloon exists. The budding church had a different name then. The church celebrated its 120th anniversary as a Wesleyan Christian Presence on the beachside on Sept. 17, 2006.
For more information about the United Methodist Church, visit its Web site at www.umc.org.
