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HERITAGE SUNDAY JULY 18, 1909 - 50 YEARS! |
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The 50th Anniversary or Semi-Centennial Heritage Sunday Celebration! |
Contents of the Golden Methodist Episcopal Church 1909 Semi-Centennial Brochure: Inside Left | Inside Right | Back Cover |
| Right: The front cover of the activity brochure for Golden Methodist Episcopal Church's Semi-Centennial Celebration! Golden's First United Methodist Church- then known as Golden's Methodist Episcopal Church- celebrated its first 50 years on July 18, 1909! The activities on that day were the cumulation of a series of events celebrating 50 years of Methodism in both Golden and in Colorado! The Rev. Thomas Corwin Iliff, D.D. delivered the 10:00 a.m. sermon that morning. Iliff had been a frontiersman as well as a preacher. It his name by which the prestigious Methodist School of Theology in Denver is now known! Rev. Iliff also lectured at 8:00 pm July 18, 1909. His topic was "Christian Work on the Outposts of the Republic"! However, Iliff wasn't the only prominent historical figure present on this day! |
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| The Rev. Jacob Adriance- the minister who founded Golden's Methodist Church- was another honored guest! Additional information concerning Rev. Adriance and the early Golden Methodist Church is available here [click]. Adriance presented a paper at 7:00 pm on July 18, 1909 on the topic of "Golden in the Early Days." It was a topic Adriance knew well for he had delivered the very first Methodist sermon heard in Colorado some 50 years earlier! In fact, Adriance had again preached his original sermon only two weeks earlier, on July 3, 1909- fifty years to the day following his 1859 message! Adriance's initial sermon was preached from Denver's streets. However, the followup was heard by Methodists from across the state as they gathered for a weekend of celebrating the Semi-Centennial of Colorado Methodism! |
 Rev. Thomas C. Iliff, D.D. |
 Rev. Jacob Adriance |
The "Star-Journal" had billed Adriance's
upcoming July 3rd, 1909 sermon as
"...one of the most interesting ecclesiastical events in the history of Colorado..."in an article preceding the Semi-Centennial celebration. The "Star-Journal" also had this to say about the event: "On Sunday, July 4 (1909), a monster mass meeting will take place in the city auditorium and will be addressed by Governor Shafroth, but the July 3 meeting is the one in which great interest centers, as it will be the fiftiest anniversary of the first Methodist sermon ever delivered in the state." |
Adriance's sermon was centered on the Scripture:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."Celebratory activities leading up to Heritage Sunday on July 18, 1909 included three worship services during the preceeding week. Sermons were given by former Golden Methodist Episcopal pastors: |
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| Wednesday, July 14th, 7:30 pm | Sermon by former Pastor Rev. B. T. Vincent. |
| Thursday, July 15th, 7:30 pm | Sermon by former Pastor Rev. J. R. Rader. |
| Friday, July 16th, 7:30 pm | Sermon by former Pastor Rev. J. F. White. |
| The Rev. Henry M. Mayo was the Pastor at Golden's Methodist Episcopal Church at the time of the 50th Anniversary celebration! Mayo served Golden's Methodist Church for two years starting in 1908. |
1909 Brochure: Inside Left | Inside Right | Back Cover
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at Golden, Colorado's First United Methodist Church.
Last Revised: December 14, 2002.