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A Neighborhood Church in Akron, Ohio

    Woodland United Methodist is a Church that sits in the midst of a northwest Akron neighborhood that is little more than forty years old, but the church is much older than its surroundings. Although some members have come to Woodland in recent years from other west Akron churches like Emanuel United Methodist Church (previously Emanuel Evangelical United Brethren) and Westlawn United Methodist Church, Woodland accepted its first thirty members at the dedication of its first chapel more than one hundred years ago. Its beginnings were not in the new neighborhood just north of Wallhaven, where it now resides, but in the much older West Hill neighborhood of Akron to the east near Highland Square. Although the structure at 444 North Hawkins Avenue was indeed dedicated in October of 1964, the original structure for Woodland Church was actually founded in 1895 as Woodland Methodist Episcopal Church (Woodland M. E.) on a leased lot at the corner of Woodland Avenue and Balch Street.

       Woodland's story really began in 1894 when some people in the West Hill area began meeting in area homes and expressed a desire for a church in their neighborhood. The society for the establishment of a church was setup in October of that same year. The conference appointed the minister of North Hill Church, Rev. E. E. Whittaker, to organize the West Hill Church, and a lot was leased at the corner of Woodland and Balch in December. Many people donated labor and materials to the construction of the original one-room church. The total cost of the little frame building was about $600.00. The church was dedicated April 21, 1895, and thirty people were received as members that day. The name Woodland Methodist Episcopal Church was suggested in a motion offered by Mr. E. P. Humes and became the official name of the new church in September of 1895.

         When the lease expired on the lot where the original Woodland Church was located, legal barriers prevented the church from purchasing the lot. Undaunted, the church members secured a new lot at the northeast corner of Balch and Crosby streets and moved the church building to it in December of 1897. Although the building was enlarged after the move, it became apparent by the spring of 1901 that the structure was too small for the congregation, and a project was started to build a new church building. Many groups within the church came together to raise funds for the ambitious plan, including the women's group

which was at that time called the Ladies' Aid Society. They held an oyster supper as a fundraiser in October of 1901 and a second supper in November. The small church was sold in 1901 and moved to a vacant lot where it was made into an apartment house. A beautiful, new, brick and stone church was built on the lot at Balch and Crosby streets, and it was dedicated on December 21, 1902. Reverend William F. Wykoff was the church pastor who led the church during the construction period and for the first few years in the new facility.

     As time flew by in the new facility, the church membership increased and the Sunday School continued to grow. Additional Sunday School rooms were added in the lower part of the church, and a kitchen was eventually built. By 1917 the church women's organization had grown considerably and was meeting as four separate circles to support multiple church causes. Woodland Methodist Episcopal Church quickly became a recognized and effective organization in the West Akron community.

More Than A Century Of Change And Innovation

    In 1939 three church denominations came together. The Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Church were combined. This larger Methodist consolidation had an effect at Woodland as well. It was around this time that Woodland stopped using the word Episcopal and began using the name Woodland Methodist Church. In 1940 the church's three women's organizations -- Women's Home Missionary, Women's Foreign Missionary and Ladies Aid Society were also combined and were called the Women's Society of Christian Service (W. S. C. S.). The new organization continued to contribute to missions and provide financial support for local church activities.

    During the 1940's and 50's the church had a basketball team that became City champions in the city church league. They received several trophies for their efforts. Although we don't know exactly when it came into existence, by 1963 the Methodist Men's Club had been formed. Its purpose was for men of the church to get better acquainted and to help out with church causes.

     By the late 1950's many members of Woodland Methodist Church had moved west within Akron as the city expanded in that direction. Instead of walking to the church, they were driving and parking along the streets of the neighborhood around it, due to a shortage of parking at the facility. On Sunday, June 8, 1958, the congregation met and decided that Woodland Church should relocate. A committee was appointed to find a new site to the west, and a meeting was held Sunday, September 7, 1958 where they recommended a 5.7 acre site on North Hawkins Avenue. The congregation voted to buy the land and build a new church building on the site.

    A successful building fund canvas in 1959 raised $80,000 for the construction project, and Reverend Milford began holding dual services in 1960 at Litchfield Junior High School at 9:15 A.M. and at Woodland at 10:45. In June of 1962, the church chose Mr. John VonGunten of Cleveland to be the architect to design the new church, and he presented his plans later that year. The church raised an additional $132,000 through pledges, and in January 1963 the congregation voted to accept the part of the master plan that could be constructed with the money pledged. Ground was broken in July of 1963.   The dedication of the newly completed church was scheduled for October of 1964. Three hundred Eighty-five people packed the old Woodland church building on Balch Street on September 27, 1964 for the final Sunday. It was a communion service that was packed to the balcony as the church members bid a solemn farewell to the former home of their church. The following Sunday, the former Balch Street congregation joined the Litchfield group to bring a total of four hundred ten people to the first combined service in the new church on North Hawkins Avenue. The formal opening services were held on October 10th, 1964 when the five pastors who had preceded Reverend Milford joined him, Bishop Kearns, and a congregation of about 500 for the event.  The mid 1960's was a time of unification for the Methodist Church. It was also around this time that Woodland, as a form of service to the community, began providing space within the church for a non-denominational pre-school . During this period, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Churches were in the process of uniting, and many ministers of the two denominations exchanged pulpits from time to time. Then the two denominations merged in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church . After the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a very memorable service was held for him at Woodland on April 7, 1968, and prayers were said for deliverance from such troubled times. The choir sang from the Oratorio "Lord have mercy on us," and the sermon was followed by baptism of children and the reception of new members.

    In 1971, Many members of the former Emanuel United Methodist Church (previously Emanuel Evangelical United Brethren) chose to join Woodland, and the members of Woodland United Methodist Church welcomed the Madison Avenue people with open arms. The people of Emanuel Church brought with them many interests and causes such as that of the mission at Red Bird, Kentucky that continued to be long term causes supported by the people of Woodland Church. In 1972, to reflect the new spirit of unity, the name of the church women's organization was changed to United Methodist Women.  In 1973, as a memorial, the church received a beautiful set of hand bells from the family of Edward and Ferne Swartz, who had been long time members of Woodland Church. Subsequently, a bell choir was organized under the direction of Linda McDonald, and the bell choir became a much appreciated feature of Woodland services in the years that followed.  Reverend Harold Milford, pastor from 1960-1969, made a return visit to Woodland in 1974 for a special day designated to celebrate Woodland's eightieth birthday and the tenth year on North Hawkins Avenue. The date chosen was October twentieth, and everyone enjoyed having their former pastor back once again. The church was filled with current and former members, and a program by "Life" singing group was presented.From 1975 to 1977, Woodland United Methodist Church had its first Interpretive Movement Group who used rhythmic body movements to illustrate songs sung by the choir and by soloists. Mary Lyon organized the group of five teenage girls in 1975, which included Jacqueline and Jennifer McMellon, Carol and Karen McCormick, and Dorothy Leisher. The girls performed their presentations for numerous special occasions, and they were always well received by church attendees. Although three members of this first group of girls gave a farewell performance in 1977, Dorothy and Karen were joined by Tina Teter, Tari McCormick, Debbie Lewis and other girls as they continued this new Woodland tradition. The girls gave a particularly memorable performance at Lakeside in 1980 or 1981 for the Akron District Institute. Liturgical dance continued at Woodland into the Eighties and, as older girls left, younger ones took their places. Later in the eighties and nineties, one of the group's early members, Jennifer McMellon, assumed direction of the group. (Jennifer's name can be found on current church rosters as Jennifer Hissem, our Church Youth Director.)

   In 1988 Woodland United Methodist Church received its first female Pastor, Barbara Houston. She led the church for quite a few years and was a wonderful asset to both the church and the community. Barbara’s family also played an active role in church life. Rev. Houston’s husband, Jim Houston, who was a former Cleveland player, led the men's group on a trip or two to Browns games at the old Municipal Stadium..

      In 1995, Reverend Ray Kovach became the church pastor, and during his tenure some significant changes have taken place at Woodland. In his years with the church, he and the people of Woodland introduced a contemporary worship service to complement the traditional services. The vacation bible school program was re-introduced as a neighborhood outreach. The church also began sponsoring a monthly free lunch for people in-need. 2003 saw the premier of a new annual event, the Woodland Chili Cook-off. Also, a special children's Summer Sunday School program was introduced for the first time in 2003 to fill in during the summer when the regular Sunday School program is on hiatus. Also, in June of 2003, the church launched this site on the World Wide Web. The easy to remember URL is: http://www.woodlandumc.org. 2004 saw some major improvement to the Church attic storage space.  In the spring of 2005, Woodland began receiving natural gas from a new gas well on church property. The contract with the company that established the well provided enough free gas to the church to supply about one quarter of what is typically required to heat the building. The free gas came in just in time to offset the significant increase in utilities that occurred in the fall of that year. As a result, the church was spared the considerable financial burden of trying to cover those increases. The main sanctuary roof was replaced and the Church Sunday school classrooms for children were renovated in 2005. In 2007, a new sign graced Woodland's front lawn in place of the deteriorated original from 1964. We also added a large storage building off the back parking lot late that year. In 2008 the people of Woodland bid a fond farewell to their pastor of thirteen years, Reverend Kovach, who took on new responsibilities as pastor of a United Methodist Church in Clyde, Ohio.

     In recent years, Woodland has continued to proceed along its traditional path of continuous improvement. Reverend Debbie Gibbons is the pastor at Woodland and also at a sister Church in Akron. Through everything, the people of Woodland continue to sponsor regular events like the Chili Cook off, the kids club program, and  the ice cream social that's held every summer. In addition. they've added a monthly spaghetti dinner fundraiser, initiated a gift card sales program, and raised money for both hurricane and flood relief. Every Christmas brings an annual fundraiser for Open-M and special events like our annual free turkey dinner for the neighborhood and the Angel Tree gift donations for area families in need. At Woodland, each year is viewed as a new opportunity for self-improvement and outreach to our neighborhood.

       Because our church is well over a century old, our founders are no longer with us, but we do have members who remember the early days at Woodland Methodist Episcopal Church. These people have supported the church and its causes for many years, and because of them, Woodland continues to be a church that makes a difference in the lives of people on the west side of Akron. Although many names and faces have changed during the past century along with the name and location of the church, one thing has remained the same. Woodland is a church of friendly, Christian people, who strive to help others.