ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE CANDLES ON SPENCER’S CAKE

            “Open minds, open hearts and open doors,” is the present theme for Spencer United Methodist Church as we celebrated 165 years of reaching out into the community.

            On December 8, 2002 , Spencer U.M. Church paid tribute to their founding fathers during the contemporary and traditional worship services.

            A “get-acquainted” punch reception was followed by a “covered dish” dinner.  Entertainment was provided by the Sunday School children and other members of the church.  Members – present and past, neighbors and friends were there for the celebration.

            Spencer’s congregation met first in a log cabin, then in 1867 they built a small brick building to which a vestibule was added in 1910.  In 1926, the present building was completed.  Extensive remodeling took place in 1962.  New memorial windows with vibrant colors replaced the tattered stained glass ones in 1982, creating a beautiful and peaceful house of worship.

            In the beginning, the Spencer family would host groups to worship and study the Bible in their home.  The family held a large area of property from approximately Sankey Avenue to Gensler Road .  Their log home sat near the top of the present Sankey Avenue .

            By 1837 the Methodist Society was sufficiently established, and on September 17 and 18 the little group of Christians was formally assigned to the Chartiers Circuit of the Pittsburgh Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Thus, Spencer celebrated its formal beginning.

            In 1850, an entry by the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds confirms that a plot of land had been designated as the location for a Methodist Church .  This land given by James and Nancy Stewart is the spot where the Spencer Church now stands.  Then on March 7, 1857 , the congregation filed the records required for incorporation choosing the name Baldwin Chapel.  On December 22, 1867 , dedication services took place in a newly completed red brick building.  Among the devoted members were Jane Spencer Appleton and her sister Alice Spencer.  The congregation of the 1860’s, in appreciation of the dedication and financial support offered by Jane and Alice, named the new church “Spencer.”

            Carrick, informally known as “Spiketown” became a municipality on June 21, 1904 and the property of Spencer Church lay just inside the boundary line, thus the new name from Baldwin Chapel to Spencer Church seemed more appropriate.