ABOUT OUR HISTORY

 

Who Are We?

 

     Prior to the Second World War, West Winfield had three major Protestant churches in town, represented by the Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational Churches. These churches shared a long history of ecumenical interest, dating back before the turn of the 20th century. As the nation entered the war, the country’s scarce resources were channeled into the war effort, and this had a profound impact upon ordinary citizens and organizations alike. Two of the items rationed were fuel and heating oil. The local churches of West Winfield were faced with a dilemma. Could they in good conscience continue to try to maintain and heat three separate buildings and support the efforts of the country? Their approach was to develop a novel plan. They would band together for the duration of the war, and they would rotate the services among the various churches. One week they would worship together in the Baptist church, the next in the Methodist church, and that was followed by worship in the Congregational church. This spirit of cooperation had a tremendous impact on the community, and particularly on the faith community. The people so enjoyed their time and sharing together that they committed themselves to remaining together, and forming ONE Federated Church. Under the Consolidation Agreement, this spirit of ecumenical cooperation was extended to others who were not a part of the original three denominations. A category of Interfaith membership was included to allow others to share as equal partners in the new corporate body.