LAND RECOGNITION STATEMENT
In keeping with Indigenous protocol, we would like to acknowledge that Lancaster United Methodist Church is situated upon the traditional lands of the Chumash, Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, Serrano, Tataviam, Vanyume, and to many diverse Indigenous peoples who call this region home. We also pay respect to elders both past and present and the enduring presence of Indigenous Peoples on this land. We recognize that these Tribes are still here, and we are committed to lifting up their stories, culture, and community.
How it all started...
Sunday School children are often taught that the church is not a building -- it's the people who form a community of shared faith. This is clearly illustrated by the congregation of our Lancaster United Methodist Church, whose roots can be traced back 137 years... back to when the community of Lancaster was just being founded.
Standing in the sanctuary at our current Avenue J location, it's easy to imagine that Lancaster United Methodist Church has always been here. In truth, our church has much humbler beginnings -- back when this area was mostly desert filled with Joshua Trees, herds of antelope roamed freely, and Native Americans traveled trade routes back and forth between New Mexico and the Pacific coast.
Consider what the world was like back then:
California officially joined the United States on September 9, 1850, and the American Civil War was fought between April 1861 and May 1865. We were a young nation filled with strife, struggling with growing pains and developing our own social identity.
When the Southern Pacific Railroad laid out its track across the vast territory of the young state of California in the late 1860s - early 1870s, mines were scattered throughout the desert as people searched for gold, silver and (around here) borax. Historic records show the Lancaster stop along this track was completed in 1876, and the community would grow around it, including what we know of as the Western Hotel on what would become Lancaster Boulevard. The 1880s and early 1890s brought record rains to this High Desert valley, attracting farmers and ranchers to settle in the outlying areas, forming little colonies like Del Sur and Esperanza.
In 1884, as the town of Lancaster was being laid out, the Reverend H. R. Stevens helped gather a group of Methodists into what would become the Community Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1886, the various small groups of Methodists were brought together in Esperanza (near today's Antelope Acres) with plans made to offer worship and learning opportunities on a regular basis. A severe drought crippled what had been a vast, developing Antelope Valley and many chose to settle closer to Lancaster, which had been growing around a source of water at the new railway stop.
Standing in the sanctuary at our current Avenue J location, it's easy to imagine that Lancaster United Methodist Church has always been here. In truth, our church has much humbler beginnings -- back when this area was mostly desert filled with Joshua Trees, herds of antelope roamed freely, and Native Americans traveled trade routes back and forth between New Mexico and the Pacific coast.
Consider what the world was like back then:
California officially joined the United States on September 9, 1850, and the American Civil War was fought between April 1861 and May 1865. We were a young nation filled with strife, struggling with growing pains and developing our own social identity.
When the Southern Pacific Railroad laid out its track across the vast territory of the young state of California in the late 1860s - early 1870s, mines were scattered throughout the desert as people searched for gold, silver and (around here) borax. Historic records show the Lancaster stop along this track was completed in 1876, and the community would grow around it, including what we know of as the Western Hotel on what would become Lancaster Boulevard. The 1880s and early 1890s brought record rains to this High Desert valley, attracting farmers and ranchers to settle in the outlying areas, forming little colonies like Del Sur and Esperanza.
In 1884, as the town of Lancaster was being laid out, the Reverend H. R. Stevens helped gather a group of Methodists into what would become the Community Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1886, the various small groups of Methodists were brought together in Esperanza (near today's Antelope Acres) with plans made to offer worship and learning opportunities on a regular basis. A severe drought crippled what had been a vast, developing Antelope Valley and many chose to settle closer to Lancaster, which had been growing around a source of water at the new railway stop.
A Peek Into the Past...
These photos, donated to the church by Grace Pickus, depict the first Methodist church building in Lancaster (the building with the steeple at the far left of the photo). Her notes on the back read:
The Methodist Church in the far background was never completed. According to "The Hart of Antelope Valley" (page 30) in 1890, the Centinary Methodists of San Francisco planned a home here "for aged and infirm clergymen. The first step was the building of a church, but when this had been partially completed, the plan failed. For several years the church remained unfinished and was at last blown down by a heavy wind." The medium background shows the first brick grammar school in Lancaster, CA, which held the "school bell" now in the tower of the United Methodist Church building (1962-1997) near the corner of Ave. J and 10th St. West. The bell went first to the new school on Cedar Ave but was removed for safety reasons and installed in the bell tower of the new Methodist church on the corner of Date and Lancaster Blvd when that new church was built in 1924. When that property was sold in 1954, the bell was stored until the new sanctuary was built in 1964.
The Methodist Church in the far background was never completed. According to "The Hart of Antelope Valley" (page 30) in 1890, the Centinary Methodists of San Francisco planned a home here "for aged and infirm clergymen. The first step was the building of a church, but when this had been partially completed, the plan failed. For several years the church remained unfinished and was at last blown down by a heavy wind." The medium background shows the first brick grammar school in Lancaster, CA, which held the "school bell" now in the tower of the United Methodist Church building (1962-1997) near the corner of Ave. J and 10th St. West. The bell went first to the new school on Cedar Ave but was removed for safety reasons and installed in the bell tower of the new Methodist church on the corner of Date and Lancaster Blvd when that new church was built in 1924. When that property was sold in 1954, the bell was stored until the new sanctuary was built in 1964.
The small community of Methodists went from meeting in homes to gathering in the grammar school across from the old Western Hotel (known at the time as "The Gillwyn Hotel"), grew to hold services and meetings inside the hotel itself, and became a major social center of the Antelope Valley. As the congregation grew, so did the needs of the Methodist Community, leading to the first official Methodist church being built on Date Avenue, one block north of what we now know of as Lancaster Boulevard. By the 1920s, continuous growth of this family of Community Methodists resulted in the need for a larger location, and another church was built at Lancaster Boulevard and Date Avenue (the previous church went on to become the first Jewish Synagogue in Lancaster).
The Community Methodist Episcopal Church continued to persevere through the Great Depression starting in the 1930s and through World War II, which eventually lead to the aerospace boom that would bring even more people to the Antelope Valley. This resulted in further growth that pushed the Community Methodists to start building a newer, larger facility on Avenue J (near 10th Street West) in 1954, with the Sanctuary officially completed in 1964.
In 1968, the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) and the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) merged and became the United Methodist Church (UMC). The Methodists of Lancaster reflected that change when their community church became Lancaster United Methodist Church (LUMC).
In the decades that followed, LUMC has continued to be a community church: It is the home of Footprints Christian Children's Center (a preschool and child care center that is both a ministry and service for the Lancaster community); its Soup Kitchen has continuously fed the hungry and homeless two times a week for more than 30 years, staffed by volunteers from all branches of faith and walks of life; the arts of the Antelope Valley have been enriched by worship and community performances from LUMC's Moller Pipe Organ, Chancel Choir, Praise Band, and Handbell Choir. Congregants continue to offer classes and study groups throughout each year to all interested in building a closer relationship with God, their fellow Christians, and the world around us.
Ever since 1884, when the community of Lancaster grew from a stop along the newly installed railway, the Methodists of Lancaster have been working hard to put their faith and love into action, helping build a better world around them. It is a fundamental core belief that has united this community of people throughout the decades, involving several generations. We have come from different walks of life from around the world and across different industries, overcoming our differing political and social views of this modern world, united behind a shared purpose, always focused on the calling for all Methodists to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Community Methodist Episcopal Church continued to persevere through the Great Depression starting in the 1930s and through World War II, which eventually lead to the aerospace boom that would bring even more people to the Antelope Valley. This resulted in further growth that pushed the Community Methodists to start building a newer, larger facility on Avenue J (near 10th Street West) in 1954, with the Sanctuary officially completed in 1964.
In 1968, the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) and the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) merged and became the United Methodist Church (UMC). The Methodists of Lancaster reflected that change when their community church became Lancaster United Methodist Church (LUMC).
In the decades that followed, LUMC has continued to be a community church: It is the home of Footprints Christian Children's Center (a preschool and child care center that is both a ministry and service for the Lancaster community); its Soup Kitchen has continuously fed the hungry and homeless two times a week for more than 30 years, staffed by volunteers from all branches of faith and walks of life; the arts of the Antelope Valley have been enriched by worship and community performances from LUMC's Moller Pipe Organ, Chancel Choir, Praise Band, and Handbell Choir. Congregants continue to offer classes and study groups throughout each year to all interested in building a closer relationship with God, their fellow Christians, and the world around us.
Ever since 1884, when the community of Lancaster grew from a stop along the newly installed railway, the Methodists of Lancaster have been working hard to put their faith and love into action, helping build a better world around them. It is a fundamental core belief that has united this community of people throughout the decades, involving several generations. We have come from different walks of life from around the world and across different industries, overcoming our differing political and social views of this modern world, united behind a shared purpose, always focused on the calling for all Methodists to make disciples of Jesus Christ.