Macedon Center United Methodist Church
A Brief History

The exact date of the organization of a Methodist Class at Macedon Center is not known. It is believed it was prior to 1812 and was the nucleus of our present church.

Sometime before 1825 the first meetinghouse was built and was west of where our present church is located.

In 1847 a proper church with the entrance in the center was built on the present site of the church on land donated by Durfee Osband. In order to meet the demands of the times, the building needed to be enlarged and modernized.

In 1881 the old vestibule and gallery were added to the audience room and a new and larger vestibule and room above were built on the front. It contained a steeple for the bell and a side-front entrance.

A Sunday School building was added to the rear of the church in 1926. The stained glass windows in the sanctuary were installed in 1939. Other stained glass windows have been given in memory of former members. Over the years other improvements have been made.

The Fellowship Hall was added in 1966 and is used for church dinners, meetings and a meeting place for Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts and other non-profit organizations. Looking back over time, it appears that every thirty years or so major improvements are made.

A lift was installed in 2008 and bathrooms provide for ease of use by everyone. The church is fully handicap accessible.

South Perinton United Methodist Church
A Brief History

The Perinton Society, that today is the South Perinton United Methodist Church, was organized February 22, 1837.  The original church building was constructed sometime before October 19, 1837, the day the building was dedicated, and consisted of only the part with today’s sanctuary.  The early church served a growing number of people in the area who felt a deep need for worship and fellowship and during periods of religious revivals in the mid 1800’s.   Baptisms were sometimes held in White Brook Creek on Wilkinson Road.

A vestibule and room above the vestibule were added in 1867, and the bell tower and spire sometime later in the 1800’s.  The sanctuary was heated by a wood stove, and church suppers were held in the small room over the vestibule using a kerosene store for cooking.  Lighting was by oil lamps, converted to electric battery power and then municipal power.

A dining room on the east side was added in 1915, and in 1956 a kitchen was added at the rear of the dining room along with indoor plumbing.   A carillon was installed in 1961 that still plays for all in the neighborhood or who pause to listen, along with complete renovation of the sanctuary.  (Many of the converted oil lights were reinstalled in the sanctuary and vestibule as part of 1960’s renovations)

A major change in the year 2000 was the addition of a fellowship room with Sunday school rooms below, a new kitchen, and a lift and restrooms for handicapped accessibility.  The sanctuary was updated in 2007 with new pew cushions and carpeting.

The South Perinton UMC building is a registered historical landmark by the Perinton Historical Commission.

Since 1859, South Perinton United Methodist church has been joined with Macedon Center United Methodist Church.

The cemetery behind the church is now owned and operated by the separate South Perinton Cemetery Association.  Several Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil war veterans are buried in the cemetery.