A Brief History of
the Woodland United Methodist Church
During the Gold Rush, Methodists
reached out to California. In 1851 the Cache Creek Circuit was organized
and the next year the Rev. Henry Sheldon was assigned to travel the
upper portion of the Sacramento Valley west of the Sacramento River. He
was followed by the
Rev. John Bennam who lost his life trying to ford a swollen Cache Creek.
By 1862 Woodland had become the headquarters for the circuit and the
local congregation began to flourish.
In 1864 the congregation purchased a building on First Street as a place
of worship. Soon that was sold and a lot acquired on Elm Street for
construction of a brick church building. In the 1880s land was acquired
at the corner of Second and North and a two story wooden high steeple
church was constructed along with a parsonage.
This church was in use
until 1924 when the current church building was constructed on the same
site.
In 1939 there was a merger of two Methodist Congregations.
The United
Methodist Church, South and the Methodist Episcopal Church were joined
to form the Methodist Church which met in the building of the
Methodist
Episcopal Church at Second and North.
Over the many years of this congregation's existence it has been served
by more than fifty pastors. In the early years pastoral assignments were
for only a year or two.
Recently, pastorates have been much longer in
duration.
The congregation began with a sense of mission as the church reached out
to those brought west by the Gold Rush and settled in this area.
It
continues in mission as it tries to live out
its call
"to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation
of the world."