First United Methodist Church of Pacific Grove
915 Sunset Drive (at the corner of 17 Mile Drive) Pacific Grove, CA 93950
the "Butterfly Church"
Loving God ... Growing Faith ... Serving Community
You will now find us at
www.butterflychurch.org
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Methodism, the First UMC, and Pacific Grove have a common thread in the weaving of history: they were never intended. John Wesley did not intend to found a new religion; he wanted to bring about reform in the Church of England. The preachers who met in San Francisco in 1875 to establish a summer camp did not intend to build a church, but to find a beautiful place for a retreat. Likewise, the Retreat Association did not intend to establish a city, but merely to maintain the resort. Yet all three - - Methodism, First Church and Pacific Grove - - came into being and continue to make history.
In the year 1873, a Methodist minister came to the Monterey Peninsula in search of a quiet and beautiful place to build a home. The Rev. Isaac J. Ross found just the site he needed located in pines, with
butterflies, oaks and cypress on the point of the peninsula which came to be called “the Grove.” Rev. and Mrs. Ross erected a tent house on, what is now the corner of Lighthouse and Fountain Aves. After 2 years they invited Bishop J.T. Peck, who was looking for a seaside resort for Methodists, to come from San Francisco to visit. The Bishop must have been impressed on his visit, because on June 1, 1875, he and several other Methodist ministers and laymen founded the Pacific Grove Retreat Association at a meeting in the Howard Street Methodist Episcopal Church in San Francisco. David Jacks, a controversial and wealthy entrepreneur of Monterey, heard about the search and offered 100 acres of land. Five acres were a downright gift and ninety-five were sub-divided and sold as campsites. The Howard Street meeting was for the purpose of forming a corporation under the California State Laws for receiving and administering Mr. Jacks’ gift. The group decided on the name Pacific Grove Retreat Association.
In the pages of historical scrap books in the church archives it is written, “One day in the late 1870’s Robert Louis Stevenson strolled along the coast westward from “The Old Pacific Capital” (Monterey) passing a Chinese hamlet where the opium pipe was smoked and saw fishing boats of strange and outlandish design. Following a trail, he came to a fence, and to his surprise, a stile and a deserted town. He saw an open air temple with benches and a sounding board, as though for an orchestra. The houses were all tightly shuttered. There was no smoke, no sound but the waves, no moving thing. He had never been in a place that seemed so dreamlike.” The open-air temple that Stevenson described was, in fact, the original Methodist Church site where the Pacific Grove City Library now stands, at Central and Fountain Aves.
What is now the corner of Lighthouse Avenue and Eardley Street was the location of the gate to the Pacific Grove Retreat Center. No vehicles were allowed in the retreat.
Early worship services were held in what is now known as Jewell Park in downtown Pacific Grove.
First United Methodist Church of Pacific Grove is located in a forest of Monterey Pine trees. A truly inspiring setting for worship.
What is now the corner of Lighthouse Avenue and Eardley Street was the location of the gate to the Pacific Grove Retreat Center. No vehicles were allowed in the retreat.
The church structure was an outdoor amphitheater nestled in among tall pines and surrounded by tent platforms. In 1877 the Methodists moved their worship services to a small cottage on Central and 17th Street, where the Centrella Hotel now stands. At Annual Conference in 1884 the presiding elder appointed to serve the Pacific Grove Methodist Church reported a membership of 25 members, 33 in Sunday School and a parsonage valued at $500. The first pastor to receive a bishop’s appointment, in 1885, was Dr. T.H. Sinex.
In a short time, Pacific Grove became a cultural center, “The Chautauqua of the West.” Well-known musicians, lecturers, scientists, educators, artist, and preachers came to entertain in the community. Festive spreads of food, flags, and banners enticed Chautauqua goers. The first on the California coast began in Pacific Grove on June 30, 1879, the last was held in the summer of 1926.
The Pacific Grove Methodist Church and Assembly Hall, on Lighthouse Ave. was begun in 1884 and dedicated in 1888. The New England style structure with its white wooden edifice, gracefully spired, attracted both religious and educational bodies. It was built with a great auditorium and dining hall and was designed to accommodate the Chautauqua meetings, the Annual Conference and other groups “assembled for religious and cultural purposes.”
“At it’s altar thousands knelt for dedication and inspiration. From its platform more of the great orators from presidents to prelates have spoken than in any other California Methodist Church. Famous guests and speakers have included Presidents Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. Susan B. Anthony, Georgia Harkness, Bishop Pitt and Maud Booth also addressed audiences from the pulpit of Pacific Grove’s First Methodist Church. President McKinley’s appearance was in 1900 when he addressed a state convention of the Grand Army of the Republic which met in the church. He arrived in Pacific Grove from the Del Monte Hotel by surrey.” (The Herald, August 16, 1955)
Through the depression of the 1930s and renewed world war in the 1940s a note of discouragement is apparent in the annals of First Church. No longer was Pacific Grove the “seat” of the Conference. Instead the members found themselves to be a small church in a small town on the southernmost edge of the newly enlarged Conference. Year after year there were fewer who remained who had experienced the “Halcyon days.” More and more the operating budget ended with a deficit. The once splendid edifice with its sky-piercing Gothic towers seemed incongruous to a dwindling congregation. The building was in need of repairs and there was not enough money to pay the bills. Those must have been discouraging days for the church members who remembered the glorious days when the spacious auditorium was filled to overflowing many times when bishops, missionaries and other noted speakers delivered “soul stirring” sermons from the pulpit; where great numbers of men, women and children came to the altar to become acquainted with God and find a new way of life. Such a rich heritage is wonderful to remember.
A few dared to dream dreams, to envision a future for First Church ...building the gap between the “good old days” of Pacific Grove Retreat, the Chautauqua and the Retreat Association on one hand and the Pacific Grove of the day on the other.
In 1955, PG Methodist was in the headlines once again, “Historic P.G. Church Appears Doomed With Site Up For Sale.” A quorum of the membership had voted 51-35 to construct a new church building. The pastor at the time said, “It was a hard decision to make; a church has to grow with the community.” The reasons to move were given as lack of space, the safety of the building, and a stagnant church growth pattern. The church was a divided people. Part of the membership was attached to memories and the landmark Gothic building. Part of the membership wanted to move to a new location with a brand new building, envisioning young families and new growth.
In the meantime, the life and ministry of the church continued. Worshiping the Lord, studying His Word, and serving people in need were the primary ministries of the church. The Methodist Youth Fellowship group was healthy and active, the mission programs,
picnics, retreats to the mountains, women’s and men’s groups, potlucks and business meetings all proceeded in great strength over the transition years.
On Palm Sunday, 1962, braving the fears of an uncertain future, the
congregation marched up from the old downtown church to break ground for the new building to be constructed at Sunset and 17 Mile Drive in Pacific Grove. Here the courageous dreamers saw their dreams become reality and on April 7, Palm Sunday, 1963 the first worship service was held in the new sanctuary on Sunset Drive. Those who served on the building committee worked hard to entwine the history of this great church in its new setting. The Resurrection Window, a mosaic stained glass windows laced with butterflies tie the church to its city whose nickname is “Butterfly Town, U.S.A” The monarch butterfly, a symbol of resurrection, migrates to Pacific Grove yearly. The Ceremonial Doors at the entry to the sanctuary tell the story of the church from the creation of the world to the founding of our church. Heritage Patio (built in 1970) incorporates the cross, bell and founding stone from the Lighthouse Ave. church structure. The stained glass windows from the chapel in the east wing of the old church were saved to be placed at a future date. History and symbolism played an important role in the design of the new church.
The burning of the mortgage and the dedication of the church to the Glory of God occurred on January 30, 1983 and the original building committee had the privilege of lighting fire to the mortgage papers. Some of the items that had been in the cornerstone were displayed and significant events over the 100 year history were recognized.
The history of this church marches on. Pastors will come and go. People will come and go. Buildings will come and go. But the foundation remains the same. It is Jesus. Our challenge is to build on the Rock of Faith, not on shifting sand. Our task is to remain loyal to the never changing God in a highly changing society. We can best do this by fulfilling Christ’s commandments to us: To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Matthew 22:37-39