Anniversary Exercises
Published June 11, 1874
Our 50th anniversary was not a happy one, as the biggest controversy in our history was initiated on June 14, 1884, when trustees decided to sell the existing parsonage and property with the intent of moving it to the center of town. A large faction of the church disagreed with the decision, and ultimately, a split in the church occurred forming a second Methodist Church in town. The then-Pastor W.R. Keifer (in favor of the move, and eventually, minister of the new church) wrote a book from his perspective detailing all the occurrences, legal action and fallout.
The First M.E. Church Celebrating Its Sixty-second Anniversary
Published June 25, 1896
Church 75 Years Old
Published June 12, 1909
Stony Point M. E. Church Is Hundred Years Old June 14; Plan Week Of Celebration
Published June 7, 1933
First Methodist Church Marks 125th Anniversary
Published June 23, 1960
In 1960, Priscilla M. Gannon authored a short book (available on our "Historic Publications" page) documenting the first 125 years of our church's history. In 1984, she updated the book to include details of our 125th-150th years. The new book is entitled "One Hundred Fifty Years In God's Service" and is located here.
Methodist Church Marks Anniversary
Published June 9, 1994
On Sunday June 14th, 2009 - our 175th Anniversary to the day - a gala luncheon was held at the Elk's Club in Haverstraw. Families - many of which spanning generations back to FUMC's origins - sat together, reminisced together and broke bread together on a very special day.
To celebrate our 180th Anniversary in 2014, each month we honored a long-time member of our church 80-years young (or "younger"), with a special service and honorarium especially for them. We shared classic photos, stories, memories, honored talents at more for: Ella Bender, Joann Conklin, George Cummings, Louise Cummings, Stuart Gates, Ruth Herrington, Betty McElroy, Jean Munroe, Edith O’Dell, Jessie O’Dell, Shirley O’Dell, Bob Ryder, Shirley Ryder, Ken Schmoeger, Eleanor Waldron and Matthew Waldron.
Each honoree was gifted a special fleece blanket with a beautiful image of our church, as seen on the right.
To celebrate our 190th Anniversary, we asked the congregation to vote on which of the many fellowship events in our past we should bring back again. With a yearlong calendar chock full of events, we enjoyed a spaghetti supper, white elephant bingo, anniversary soiree, pot luck dinner, ice cream social, penny sale, the return of our world-famous roast beef dinner (of course), and more!