The Central Outreach Team in partnership with Shalom Zone and our Power Program will be sponsoring a Neighborhood Block Party on Friday, June 25. The event will take place in the grassy area across from the church on Mary Street and will last from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. We will have children’s games, an inflatable bounce house and slide, and a free meal for our neighborhood families. We invite the entire congregation to pitch in or attend this event to allow us to be the church outside the church walls that so often separate us from our
neighborhood. We will be sending special invitations to our child care families, the families at St. Lucas Place, and the families of all of the children who will be taking part in our VBS program that week. Please let Mike Warneke or Ruth Randall know if you would like to help out in any way.

Our Friday Small Group will be taking the summer off from
our normal routine and we will be having some social gatherings
scattered throughout the summer. Please look on our
website for more information, or contact Mike Warneke if
you are interested in attending any events, or would like to
help plan an event.
The Wednesday night small group will continue to meet
sporadically during the summer as a lead into our volleyball
nights. This group will share a common meal, spend time in
discussion and sharing and work with the NOOMA film
series and begin at 5:00 p.m. during the scheduled days. This
time is open to anyone or any couple in the church that
would consider themselves “Young Adults.” Please let
Mike Warneke know if you plan on attending, so he can
plan and coordinate meals. Childcare is available

VBS will be held June 21 through June 23. All kids
ages 3 through 11 are invited to attend. We will
begin with a meal at 5:30 p.m. and close by 8:00 p.m. each
evening. This year’s theme is Hero Headquarters and the material
promises a great adventure. On Friday, June 25, the
Outreach Committee will cap off the week with a big block
party. Please plan to join us for the week. We still need volunteers
and we will have our giving tree in the back of the
sanctuary to help with supplies and meals. To register, use
the forms in the bulletin or e-mail Nancy at nreid@centralchurch.
org. If you have questions, please call Abby
Warneke at 962-5755 or Amanda Schreiber at 437-2234.

Environmental Restoration (the company doing the work on the current EPA-funded soil contamination clean-up in Jacobsville) is looking for additional person to train and hire for a variety of jobs (truck driving, laborer, etc.) with the clean-up here and on the Gulf Coast from the oil leak. They will do a free 4-day training program on handling environmental hazards May 17-20 for those interested in applying for the jobs. Persons interested in the training and jobs must submit a resume, be interviewed and approved before attending the training. To apply call Ron Lybarger at 422-4435. Pass on the information. They are renting our Garden Room for this.

The Fair Trade Fair

This ministry is coordinated by the Missions Team
The “Fair Trade Fair” is an opportunity that the mission committee is currently working on for this coming winter. It is our hope and our goal to work with vendors and craftsmen from around the world in impoverished communities to help them in their plight through our very own “Fair Trade Fair.” The fair will be held on Sunday, November the 8th from 11:45 until 1:45 and will be accompanied by a fried chicken luncheon furnished by the UM Women. There will be crafts from widows living in Kampala, Uganda, crafts from Red Bird Mission, items from Tess’ International Handicraft Shop, Patchwork Central items, and a chance to help provide a beautiful Christmas for our friends in Cali, Colombia.

The Central UMC annual campfire cookout and hayride at the Harris Ranch will be on November 1st @ 4:30pm. Please bring the whole family and invite friends! We’ll have hot dogs, hamburgers, s’mores and lots of fun around the campfire, and a spooky hayride after dark. Mark your calendars!

Click on the above title for directions.

Expect to be welcomed at Central United Methodist Church. The building is large and well-laid-out for its purpose to serve a variety of ministries. The Sanctuary was built in 1925, Finke Hall (the office and classroom area) in 1958, the Central Child Care wing in 1999 and the Family Life Center in 2006. You might think you need a map to get around the first couple of times, but friendly people are here to welcome you and help you find your way. The congregation is varied in age with many wise seniors, vibrant middle-aged adults, growing families with children of all ages, and active youth. CUMC offers two Sunday morning worship services for different tastes with both being offered at 9:30 a.m. The Casual service is intimate, informal in style and contemporary in its music, and held in the Family Life Center located off of Franklin Street. Our Traditional Worship in our beautiful Sanctuary is more traditional in music and liturgy, but it also has a friendly and informal style that lets people feel welcome. We are kid-friendly with:  Sunday School classes planned to help children experience God, a nursery staffed all morning for infants and toddlers, and during our worship time there is a children’s message followed by Kid’s Club for children through 5th grade. An active Youth Group meets Wednesday evenings during the school year plus for many special events, and a youth class meets during Sunday School. Also at 10:45, seven adult Sunday School classes offer a vital place of study and fellowship for a variety of ages and interests. During the week you will find many opportunities for study, service, fellowship and help with the needs of life.

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The sesquicentennial of Central United Methodist Church took place in 1999. The importance of this event is not due to the age of a building, but to the beliefs and ideals of the people who have called Central (and its Ingle Street predecessor) their church for the past 150 years. In order to understand where we as a church are going, we need to look back to our roots,to discover how we got to where we are today.

Central began in 1849 as a mission Sunday school of the Locust Street Methodist Church. Its original meeting place was on Main Street near the  northern edge of town, probably in the vicinity of the present day Lloyd Expressway. Four years later this group of Christians had grown sufficiently to erect a permanent house of worship near the corner of Ingle and Seventh Street. Dedication of the Ingle Street Methodist Church was held in October, 1853, during the annual conference which was being held in town.

The subsequent years showed periods of growth and decline for the church. Conflicts within the membership over the direction the church was taking led to several setbacks, the earliest being in 1860 when organ music was introduced. The most serious setback came in 1874 when work was begun on a new church at the corner of Eighth and Sycamore Streets. Soon after the foundation was laid, half of the membership left over the expense of the new edifice. As a result, construction was halted and the church was left heavily in debt. The process of rebuilding the church continued until 1905. In that year property was obtained two blocks north in the residential neighborhood at Franklin and Mary Streets.

With the move on March 4, 1906, came the name change to Central Methodist Church. Due to continuing growth this gothic style brick structure was short lived. Within 20 years the building was razed and the present enlarged church was built on the site.”, Prior to the April 12, 1925, dedication, services were held in the Coliseum. Years of continued growth followed with the completion of the Finke Hall addition on January 5, 1958, to house the office and education needs of the church.

Throughout its history, the members of Central United Methodist Church have not been content to dwell on the past. This planning for the future continues to this day, most recently with the Vision 21 program. As we, the present members of Central United Methodist Church, celebrate over 150 years of Christian service in Evansville, let us remember the past, but look forward to the future!

Past Clergy

1904 – 1909: Rev. John Ragle
1912 – 1922: Rev. A. M. Couchman
1922 – 1923: Rev. O’Haver
1923 – 1924: Rev S. L. Martin
1927 – 1930: Rev. W. W. Billinger
1935 – 1940: Rev. W. H. Wylie
1943 – 1955: Rev. H. Sprague
1955 – 1961: Rev. Bill Burton
1963 – 1980: Dr. Webb Garrison
1980 – 1984: Rev. Richard Armstrong
1984 – 1989: Rev. Robert Sharp
1989 – 1994: Rev. John Cheesman
1994 – 2001: Rev. C. Mac Hamon