Our Building

Originally named "First United Brethren in Christ," the church was established in 1848 as one of the first two churches in Shamokin. Over the next 20 years, the church hosted several other congregations while their church buildings were under construction. These included, the Methdoists, Lutherans, Reformed, Evangelical, Baptists, and Quakers. In 1869 the building was remodeled and enlarged to accommodate the needs of the congregation and the community. In 1890 the building was torn down completely and rebuilt by the fall of 1891. The parsonage for the church was added in 1911 on the corner of 9th and Sunbury Streets (where the church now sits). A fire occurred on October 29, 1928, which completely destroyed the church building, leaving only a few walls left standing. The parsonage was moved to where the church originally stood, and construction began on the new church building in the summer of the following year. The cornerstone for the new building was laid on August 11, 1929 at 2:00pm, with construction being completed and the building dedicated on April 27, 1930, and fully paid off in 1947. This is the current church building, to which a new addition is being added to enclose the entrance walkway, which has been damaged by weather over the past several years, and increase accessibility into the building (2020).

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Our Congregation

A merger occurred between the United Brethren and the Evangelical Church denominations in 1946, which changed the name of the church to First Evangelical United Brethren Church. Another merger occurred between the EUB and Methodist denominations in 1968, changing the name once again to the First United Methodist Church. In 1998, the congregation of Chestnut Street United Methodist Church merged with First Church, with the congregation of Lincoln Street United Methodist Church merging in 2001 as well.

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