Gratiot United Methodist Church celebrates 120 years of service this Sunday

GRATIOT, Ohio – A local church is celebrating 120 years of worship and is inviting the public to celebrate this Sunday, Nov. 7.

The Gratiot United Methodist Church was built in 1905 and from 2-4 p.m. the church invites people to explore the church, learn its history, and share memories while also looking forward towards the churches future. It also serves as a great opportunity to meet Reverend Jessica Stonecypher, who became pastor of the church in July.

“So I’m from Muskingum County and I’ve been around forever and I’ve driven past this church on the highway for, you know, many many years. And so, it’s been great to get to know Gratiot. Not only the church itself but the community as well,” Stonecypher said. “Everybody’s very friendly and the church, here, we have several events that we do throughout the year. Fourth of July parade and we’ve got our Operation Christmas Child coming up and there’s several other things that we do. But, lots of things happening here that I think a lot of people ought to know about. ”

The event also serves as an chance to meet the long time congregates of the church like like Susan Short who was happy to share some of her earliest memories with the church.

“The first thing I recall is the bell. It always rang in the morning, about 9 o’clock, and I knew that was time for Sunday School. So, I would walk up to Sunday School and after Sunday School there was church service but I really didn’t know what church meant. So, I waited until we got a youth choir and then I was able to join church,” Short said.

You can learn more by visiting the Gratiot United Methodist Church’s Facebook page.