A United Brethren in Christ Conference in 1885 recommended the opening of a mission in South Williamsport. By 1887, a West Southern Avenue lot was purchased and a church completed by May, 1889. However, the historical flood of 1899 devastated the building.
Remodeled and rededicated in 1903 by “unselfish and untiring” effort, the church took on a new lease of life. But by 1925, a new building was built on the same location since the church membership had grown from a mission class of 12 to 210.
Several unions of the 20th century in the Methodist Church nationwide affected the South Williamsport’s Christ Church. The name changed from Christ Evangelical United Brethren to, in 1968, Christ United Methodist Church. The challenges of financial needs of maintaining a building, eventually gave way to the membership joining the South Williamsport Larger Parish, United Methodist Church in 1993.
“The real achievement of the church came from the sturdy faith and sacrificial spirit of men and women who carried the work forward through turbulent and trying times of depression, floods and exacting circumstances that signified defeat,” writes Eleanor Fiedler, in “Historical Highlights of Christ United Methodist Church.”
South Williamsport Area Historical Collection 