Trinity United Methodist Church celebrating 200th anniversary on Sunday

Editor's note: Eilene Guy serves as the historian for Trinity United Methodist Church in Sandusky. She previewed an upcoming ceremony to commemorate the congregation's 200th anniversary.SANDUSKY – In February 1818, the Rev. Alfred Brunson delivered the first sermon in a little settlement called Portland, Ohio, soon to be platted as the village of Sandusky. A veteran of the War of 1812, Brunson was described as a "muscular Methodist" with a forceful preaching style.That first worship service, in Mr. Clemons' barrel shop, planted the seed that grew to become Trinity United Methodist Church.Trinity, now located at 214 E. Jefferson St. in Sandusky, will celebrate its bicentennial Sunday with services featuring a renowned 21st century preacher, Bishop Tracy S. Malone, at the pulpit."We're honored to have Bishop Malone with us to mark 200 years of Methodist presence in Sandusky," said Doug Winner, who is Trinity's pastor. "Just as they did for that first worship service in town, we open our doors to the entire community to join us for worship and fellowship."Trinity's bicentennial activities begin with a "homecoming" fellowship hour from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Sunday, featuring historical displays, presentations of the church's history and refreshments. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. and will be highlighted by special music and the serving of holy communion, which will be open to all.Brunson must have been quite a sturdy character. He set out on horseback in the cold of January in homespun woolen clothes through dense forests, often with no roads. He was expected to cover a circuit of 200 miles a month through the "Fire Lands," staying at people's houses along the way.Trinity United Methodist Church in Sandusky has made its home on East Jefferson Street since 1923. Pictured is an early sketch of the building. For more than a decade, Sandusky had no church building. Services took place in warehouses, private homes and the local schoolhouse.On Aug. 9, 1828, a town meeting was called to consider the importance and expediency of providing divine service. A committee raised enough pledges from the 200 or so households in town to support a full-time pastor, and the majority voted for the Methodist denomination.The following year, the Rev. William Runnels arrived to find, according to documents, "No church edifice, no public buildings open for religious services, but one small school house out in the commons in the goose pasture."Runnels spearheaded the building of the first church in Sandusky, a small frame, one-story building near the southwest corner of West Square (now courthouse square). Standing among "trees and hazel nut bushes," the "Little Brown Church," so-called because it was never painted, was welcomed with "great satisfaction … and, when dedicated, it was impossible for the building to hold those clamorous for admission."Sandusky's first Methodist congregation, like any other, had its ups and downs through the decades. In the 1830s, one faction broke away over the issue of abolition. In the 1850s, there was a brief split over the issue of congregational versus choir singing.Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church on West Washington Street was occupied from 1874 to 1917. As the community and the congregation grew, the church found a series of new homes. Its attempt at a new building, on East Square, next to the site of Adams Junior High School, 318 Columbus Ave., ended with a disastrous fire in 1848.Trinity's third church, a solid two-story stone structure, stood on the West Square facing West Washington Street from 1853 until 1874, when the Erie County commissioners paid the Methodists $10,000 to move so the entire square could be cleared for a courthouse.The congregation's fourth home was a handsome two-story brick church with a soaring steeple near the corner of Jackson and West Washington streets, opposite the Presbyterian Church. There they flourished, with membership of nearly 300 and more than 200 in Sunday school. From 1874 until 1917, the church changed with the times, adding pew cushions, an organ, indoor plumbing, electricity, central heating and a telephone.In 1916, the federal government coveted the corner of Jackson and Washington streets for the site of a new Sandusky post office, now the Merry-Go-Round Museum. For $20,000, the Methodists agreed to move the following year. Six years later, they broke ground on what was to be the rear wing of an impressive semi-gothic limestone church on East Jefferson Street, just east of Wayne Street.That project came in way over budget probably because the architects didn't take into account how much it would cost to dig a basement in the tough limestone that runs under that neighborhood. Before the church could raise the money for the front portion of the building, the sanctuary, along came the Great Depression and then World War II.Trinity worshipped in a "temporary" sanctuary on the second floor of the so-called Education Building until the mid-1950s, when the post-war Baby Boom swelled the congregation to more than 650.In September 1957, ground was broken for a modern A-frame-style sanctuary on the west front of the existing building.Over the years, Trinity has moved several times, but it's always stayed close to its downtown roots. We've kept our arms and doors open to other Methodists in need of a home: The German Methodists, when their church closed in 1913; the Perkins Methodist Episcopal Church, when it closed in 1930; and Salem United Methodist, when it closed just three years ago.Throughout the 200 years, our congregation has tried to uphold the Wesleyan values of evangelism and social consciousness through worship, fellowship, study and service, with open hearts, open minds and open doors.The first Methodist Church in Sandusky (the second-from-the-left building) was completed in 1853 on West Square, north of the present courthouse, in Sandusky.Want to go?What: A special bicenntennial service, hosted by Trinity United Methodist ChurchWhere: Trinity United Methodist Church, 214 E. Jefferson St., SanduskyWhen: A "homecoming" fellowship hour starts at 9:30 a.m Sunday, which features historical displays, presentations of the church's history and refreshments. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m.Who: Anyone can attend