Barrington United Methodist Church
| Barrington United Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
| Location | Barrington, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | United Methodist |
| History | |
| Founded | 1840 AD |
| Administration | |
| Episcopal area | Northern Illinois |
| District | Elgin |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Sally Dyck |
| Senior pastor(s) | Rev. Chris Winkler |
| Pastor(s) | Rev. Mi-Sook Yoo |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Karen Maxwell |
| Organist(s) | Jeffrey Neufeld |
Barrington United Methodist Church, Barrington, Illinois, is an historic United Methodist Church congregation in the Northern Illinois Conference.
It is one of the oldest churches in the conference, tracing its roots back to the frontier circuit riders and one of the first Methodist classes in the Fox River valley area. The church is currently one of the largest churches in the Northern Illinois conference and the largest in the Elgin District.
The church's current building along with its large steeple is a familiar landmark rising above the horse farms and mansions in the surrounding hills and prairies known colloquially as the Barrington Area.
The church's history can be traced back to the year 1833 at the close of the Blackhawk War, when the treaty with the Native Americans removed most of the Native Americans to the reservations west of the Mississippi and opened the northern prairies of Illinois for settlement.
From the barren New England states came the “Yankee Pioneers” and their families, seeking land and new opportunities. They came first to Chicago, then out to the prairies, buying their land for $1.25 an acre. The first families that came to the Barrington Area arrived between the years 1834-1840.
The Methodist Preachers rode across the Alleghenies with the pioneers, and many historians agree that these Methodist men of God, the remarkable breed of men known as the circuit riders, were greatly responsible for bringing order to the new frontier.
Early frontier Methodism was organized into classes of around 12 persons, who usually met at private homes once a week to review their sins, pay their tithes and receive spiritual encouragement from their lay leader. Their circuit rider preacher would come to town, usually once a month.
The first Methodist class or group of this kind in the Barrington vicinity was organized in 1840 at Barrington Center, in the Dundee Circuit. It had 8 members, including the Class Leader, John Allen. This group worshiped first in homes, then for 13 years in a stone school-house, which was located at the corner of Bateman and Algonquin Roads.
In 1853 a church, known as the Barrington Center Church, was built on the corner of Old Sutton Road and Dundee Road, in Miller’s Grove, (now Barrington Hills.) It was, a plain, neat frame edifice 34 feet by 52 feet, with a short steeple and a bell. Known as the Barrington Methodist Episcopal Society, the congregation flourished, and in 1858 was considered to be the strongest church in the Dundee Circuit with a membership of 85.
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