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Little Meadows United Methodist Church

843 Pennsylvania Avenue P.O. Box 328
570-623-2746

Methodism came to Little Meadows as early as 1809, when John Griffin of the Tioga Circuit organized "The Class," which first began to meet in private homes. Quarterly meetings in a local shop building, the "carding mill.". The members of this first "class" consisted of Mr. & Mrs. John Brown, Mr. & Mrs. W. Collins, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Nichols, and Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Buffum. John Clifford and his wife joined the organization later and eventually became its leader. The Little Meadows Methodist Episcopal Church was actually chartered in Susquehanna County on August 20, 1844. The charter named the first Board of Trustees: John Clifford, Asahel Graves, Obadiah B. Haight, Howard Kimball, Jacob Barton, Abel Merrill, and Stephen Burton. As outlined in the charter, trustees could only be male members of the church, aged 21 or older, who were citizens of Pennsylvania. The charter established that an annual meeting would be held for the election of officers (and other business as necessary) on the first Monday in March each year. The charter was signed by 18 members of the congregation. The original church, a 30 x 40-foot structure, was erected in 1845 for about $1,000. The bell was dedicated in 1862 and installed in the spire in 1865. The church was rebuilt and modernized in 1884; it was during this construction that the dining room was added. 

The church's original parsonage was sold in 1888 and a house was rented for some time. In 1891 a lot next to the church was purchased and a parsonage was built in 1892 at a cost of $1,400. Little Meadows and Apalachin first joined together as a charge in 1924. Since the two churches shared a pastor, there was no longer a need for a Little Meadows parsonage, which was sold around 1927. Additional renovations and improvements to the structure have been made throughout the church's life, with much of the actual labor being contributed by members. Little Meadows UMC has been served by many fine pastors over the years. The Reverend Albert Almstedt served the longest term, remaining with Apalachin-Little Meadows parish from 1969 - 1981. The parish was served by the Wyoming Conference's first co-pastor couple, Jan and Doug Clark, from 1989-1997. They were followed by the Reverend Rebecca Sweet, the Reverend Virgil Muzzy, Reverend Phil Wanck, Mary Jean Simonin, and our current pastor, the Pastor Paul D. Reed. 

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