History

The history of Clanton FUMC is well summarized in the articles below from the Clanton Advertiser. A few facts of note that are not in the articles:

-While the main sanctuary building was completed in 1923, the attached Education building was not added until forty years later, completed in 1963 (according to history by Helen Parrish). This education building included rooms for Sunday School classes as well as an elevator to allow access to the upper floors more easily by elderly and disabled persons.

-The most recent addition to the church was the large "Activity Building", completed in 2002. This building includes a gymnasium in which the contemporary worship service is held, and a fellowship hall, study rooms and a full kitchen.

-The pipe organ in the church is also an item of note. It was installed a few years after completion of the current sanctuary building in the 1920's. Purchased by the "First Methodist Espiscopal Church, Clanton, AL" from the M.P. Moller company it is designated as Opus 4518, or musical creation 4518. Originally, the organ had 2 "manuals" (keyboard levels) and 32 registers but the original console was replaced sometime around the turn of the century by another console with three ranks. At the same time the console was replaced it was relocated from directly in front of the pipes, over to one side. The original console was traded in to get the "new" console (which was actually used from another church). The original pipes remain in place. This information was obtained from the "OHS Pipe Organ Database", organ ID 45427, and from verbal discussion with Sibley Reynolds in Jan 2013. Persons with personal knowledge of additional or more specific information about the organ should email the church so that more may be added here. Here are some photos of the organ: console back, console front (keyboard side), pedals, and pipes.

Mission

In this context, we refer to "Mission" as the statement of purpose/goals of our congregation, not as the outreach activities of this church. Such a mission statement for CFUMC was adopted in 2006. It was the result of a consultation with Paul Nixon in which he made a strong suggestion that any organization would benefit from going through the process of identfying and recording its mission. CFUMC had also gone through “40 Days of Purpose” providing an impetus for the church to define its purpose. The Administrative Council named a task force to put it together and then the Council adopted the work of the task force as the official mission of the church. These activities are recorded in the minutes of the Administrative Council in 2006. The following mission statement was adopted as an outline of a fourfold mission of this specific congregation of Christians at CFUMC: 

As the family of God at First United Methodist Church, we exist to WELCOME everyone- to extend Christian hospitality to all people, because everyone matters to God and Jesus Christ died for all people. We also exist to WIN people to a personal relationship with Christ- to share the good news of Jesus Christ, His love, and His transforming grace through teaching the Bible. Our third purpose is to EQUIP believers to follow Christ daily through making the Bible our authority for living and by becoming a part of the life of our church as we accept, love, and forgive one another in committed relationships that make us more like Jesus. Our last purpose is to SERVE Christ’s mission here in Chilton County and around the world- that lives may be changed for now and eternity as we proclaim through word and deed that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen.

An abbreviation of this mission statement is shown immediately above our name in the logo at the top left of every one of our webpages, reminding us all of our purpose.