Church History

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United Methodists are people on a journey.  Our forefathers understood that Christian faith is not stagnant – it is alive and growing as it encounters new realities in a changing world.  Christian faith is on the move.  John Wesley, our founder, spoke of going onto perfection.  By perfection, he meant growing as a Christian to become all that God intends us to be.
 
This means our journey is spiritual.  We keep moving into a deeper relationship with God and each other.  We grow in our understanding and experience of God’s love and power.  We are led by God’s Spirit as we travel through life.
 
People on a journey don’t always know where they will end.  In the Bible, Jesus’ disciples left all to follow Him.  At the time, they did not know where He would lead them.  The important thing was following Him.  This is still the most important part of being a Christian.  To be a follower of Jesus is the goal of being a Christian.

Cabot UMC Present Location – Main Sanctuary & East Wing

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As we reflect on the history of Cabot Church, it is clear that we were people who followed Christ’s lead spiritually and physically.  In 1823 a small band of pioneers felt led to form a Methodist Class to meet in our first church location, Cooper Cabin.  In 1864 these pioneers eventually felt led to build a church at Knox Chapel, our second Cabot UMC home.  From there, the Spirit of Jesus beckoned us to the village of Cabot and a wood frame building first built by some Methodist Protestants.  In 1921 we constructed a new church building in the village of Cabot. Eventually, an annex was added to this third home of Cabot UMC.   Later, the Gayle House, adjacent to the church, was purchased.
 
In October of 2002 we left our small home in the village of Cabot and moved into a renovated elementary school just a half-mile up the road.  The former Winfield Elementary School became Cabot UMC Community Life & Worship Center, our fourth and current home.  Our first services were held in November, 2002.  In our current location we have multiple classrooms for children, youth and adult education, a fellowship hall / gymnasium, a youth center, complete with both a large recreation room, a 4-square room, and a worship room, dedicated space for the community Food Bank, a library, and a prayer chapel.  The current fellowship hall served as our sanctuary and multipurpose room until the spring of 2014 when we had our first service in our new sanctuary.  We were blessed to bring a bit of our past physically into our new space as the bell, purchased in 1921, and the stained glass windows from our church in the village of Cabot eventually took residence in our new home.  During the building project, a newly constructed welcome center was also added to our space.  

We have been helped along the way by funds received from the Wood Grant, allowing us to improve our children's library and, most recently, providing us the opportunity to replace flooring in our East Wing and fellowship hall.  This significant upgrade has allowed us to continue to serve our community through many outreach ministries within our church.  
 
Nearly 200 years of history tells us that people who follow Christ at Cabot have a heritage of looking to the future.  We understand that Christ is always calling us to make decisions which will touch future generations.  Our rich heritage speaks of faithful and sound following of Jesus Christ.

Cabot UMC Present Location – Side Sanctuary & West Wing

Cooper Cabin 1823-1864

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Knox Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church 1864-1921

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Cabot Methodist Episcopal Church 1921-2002

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Cabot UMC 2002-2014