By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Since 2019, some 1,800 local Methodist churches have decided to disaffiliate from the main United Methodist church. Those impacts have reached Barton County. June 30 marked the final day for the Immanuel United Church of Christ and Ellinwood United Methodist Church (UMC). A Sunday-morning service on July 2 marked the birth of the Ellinwood Community Church (ECC).
"At the beginning of this year, the Methodist church made some changes within," said ECC Committee Member Nancy Baird. "We knew we were losing our pastor at the end of June due to that. Our congregation has just gotten smaller, and our building requires a lot of expensive upkeep. We had a direct lightning strike nearly three years ago and that really damaged our building in some structural ways."
Tom Reazin was the minister of the Ellinwood UMC. He will transition to being pastor of the new non-denominational Ellinwood Community Church.
"We're welcoming everyone to join us for fellowship," Baird said. "We feel like our worship service will have something to offer for everyone. It's taking two smaller churches and becoming one large congregation. We are just hoping this was God's path to grow something new in our community."
ECC services will be held each Sunday morning at 9:15 at the church located at 7th and Fritz in Ellinwood. Baird is excited about what the new church can mean for area residents.
"Maybe it will excite people," she said. "Maybe they'll come and see what we have to offer. Our whole goal is to grow as a new church and do mission work throughout our community."