In October, the Elmgrove United Methodist Church will be celebrating 195 years of being an integral part of our local community. The original church was established in 1828 on Elmgrove Road, just south of the canal. It was a way station for the local area, where people on horseback (or carriage) could gather to meet as a community and also worship together. The community was a rural, but within 20 years, it outgrew this meeting place, and a new church was built on the southwest corner of Elmgrove and Spencerport Road, along with establishing a church cemetery. The church continued to flourish, and was host to many community activities, meals and picnics, fundraisers and meetings. In 1904, the church suffered a massive fire and was totally destroyed, but was rebuilt very quickly on the same plot of land. By the mid 1960s, the decision was made that the congregation had grown so much that a larger building was needed. Thanks to several acres of property donated by a church family, the new church was built at 1500 Spencerport Road, just a short distance east from the original church. This is where the church remains today.
Elmgrove UMC has a long history of being involved in local community outreach, as well as national and global missions. The church membership will celebrate this special 195th birthday with a party on October 15. Elmgrove UMC looks forward to many more years of being a vital part of the Gates, Greece and Spencerport community. To learn more about the church, call 585-247-4973 and speak with Pastor Jeff Aiosa.
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