Nichols United Methodist Church
Nichols United Methodist Church was founded in 1848 by a group of local residents who sought spiritual renewal not available in other local churches. Nichols United Methodist is named for the community, but also for Grandison Nichols, a local Christian who was instrumental in founding the church. The Ladies Aid Society raised much of the money (through dinners, fairs, and other events) needed to construct the original building. The current sanctuary was completed in 1962 and the education building was built in 1980. Our unique organ was renovated in 1998 and utilizes a state-of-the-art computerized three-manual console to control pipes, electronic voices, and synthesized voices. The church's history is the subject of the book "A Church of Their Own," written by Steven Otfinoski in 1998 in honor of the church's 150th anniversary (available in the church library).
United Methodists
The Methodist movement began in the eighteenth century when an Anglican pastor, John Wesley, defined a "method" of linking the Christian faith to practical rules for living. Early Methodists encouraged one another to grow in faith through preaching services and earnest sharing in weekly small group gatherings, called "Class Meetings," which included self-examination, Bible study and prayer.
Methodism spread throughout England and into the American Colonies. After the Revolutionary War, many Anglican pastors returned to England, so Wesley ordained Americans as Methodist pastors. The fIrst Methodist churches were actually formed here in the Northeast over 200 years ago.
The United Methodist Church represents the confluence of three streams of tradition: Methodism, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and the Evangelical Association. Three Methodist bodies were reunited in 1939 to create the Methodist Church. In 1968, the United Methodist Church was created froni the union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, which had, in turn, been formed from the 1946 uniting of the Evangelical Church and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. When the United Methodist Church was created in 1968, it had approximately 11 million members, making it one of the largest Protestant churches in the world.
Cross and Flame Emblem
The history and signifIcance of the Cross and Flame Emblem are as rich and diverse as the United Methodist Church. Following more than two-dozen conceptualizations, a traditional symbol-the cross-was linked with a single flame with dual tongues of fIre. The resulting insignia is rich in meaning and has been in use since 1968.
It relates the United Methodist Church to God through Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flame is a reminder of Pentecost when witnesses were unified by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw "tongues, as of fIre" (Acts 2:3). The elements of the emblem also remind us of a transforming moment in the life of Methodism's founder, John Wesley, when he sensed God's presence and felt his heart "strangely warmed." The two tongues of a single flame may also be understood to represent the union of two denominations to create the United Methodist Church.
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