ABOUT US
WORSHIP SERVICES AT FIRST CHURCH
Sunday @8:30 AM Worship Service will be streamed on YouTube
Sunday @11:00 AM Worship Service will be streamed on YouTube
The Nursery is available for infants/toddlers up to age 4 from 9:45am until noon.
The Praise and Worship service offers an informal, acoustic alternative to our traditional worship services. The music is led by “The Messengers,” a group of vocalists and musicians from our own congregation who have felt a call to provide additional forms of worship for our faith community.
We were created to worship God. Whether we are praising God in an extravagant celebration of joy, a quiet expression of reverence and humility, or out of simple obedience to His voice, our worship is an outward expression of what’s going on in the inward heart.
The object of our worship is Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrated His love for us while we were still unbelievers by dying on the cross to provide us the gift of everlasting life (John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”). Because Jesus demonstrated His love for us, we are called to love Him (I John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us”).
All of our gifts and talents have been given to us by our Creator to glorify Him. If we have been born again (accepted the Lordship of Christ) we will desire to express our love and devotion to the One who created us. We have a lot to praise God about. Each one of us has been gifted in some way to bring glory to His name!
But this is not enough. Worship "in truth" connects the heart or spirit of worship with the truth about God and His work of redemption as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and the Scriptures. King David understood the importance of worshiping in truth and the necessary linkage between "truth" and the Word of God when he wrote, "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear [i.e., worship] Your name" (Psalm 86:11). The true worship of God is essentially internal, a matter of the heart and spirit rooted in the knowledge of and obedience to the revealed Word of God.
HISTORY
The history of Methodism in the Clarion area can be traced back to the early 1800’s when the itinerant pastor, Francis Asbury Montjar, proclaimed the gospel to the families who had settled in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania.
When Clarion County was formed in 1839, several Methodist families moved to the new county seat. A Clarion Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1841, and services were held in homes, the school and also the county jail. Just three years later, through generous sacrifice, the small congregation dedicated their first church building on October 16, 1844. (This building now serves as the home of Grace Lutheran Church).
After a series of revivals, the membership had grown to the point that a larger building was needed. Again, the people of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Clarion responded, and the construction of the current church edifice was begun. It was dedicated on August 25, 1889. A parsonage was added to the structure in 1906. In 1915, the borough of Clarion was the setting for a series of revival meetings, resulting in over 800 persons giving their lives to the Lord. Of these, 200 were admitted to membership in the Clarion Methodist congregation. The facility underwent renovations to meet the need for additional space.
Throughout the years, the people of the church have continued to enlarge the structure to meet the changing needs of the congregation. The Education Annex (including Sunday School rooms and a large kitchen) was opened in 1956, and the Connection (including the Gathering Area, new library, and elevator) was completed in 2013.
A more detailed story of the church may be found by clicking HERE.
The publications, Methodism in Clarion 1808-1984, by Hazel and Melvin Blish, and Methodism in Clarion 1984-1992, by Hazel Blish and Marian Peltcs are also available in our church library, for those who would like more information on the history of the church.
“When the hills about Clarion gave up their stones to be transformed into this magnificent temple, they were only answering the call of the Master to service, and these stones will remain here for generations saying to the world, “This is the temple of the living God: hear ye Him.” N. E. Heeter, 1916