SAGUACHE — The Saguache United Methodist Church marks a major milestone this year.  The church is celebrating 150 years of sharing faith and ministering to the community of Saguache and nearby areas.  The actual date of the incorporation was Nov. 3, 1873, but the Saguache church will celebrate a couple of weeks early.

Five original trustees made the Article of Incorporation for the Methodist Episcopal Church at Milton, an early settlement of Saguache County which sat a little over a mile southeast of Saguache. About all that remains of that town today is an old barn, but in its day, Milton was a thriving village competing for importance with Saguache.

The church body had its beginning at Milton and within just a few months, the church itself was constructed. Milton, however, had lost a very contentious county seat election to Saguache and over time, many of the citizens moved from Milton into Saguache.

The church building, after some neglect, was eventually lifted intact and slowly rolled into Saguache in late 1884 and dedicated the following July. Therefore, the history of the Saguache United Methodist Church began with that church in Milton.

There were a few Methodist ministers who came through the area well before 1873. The Rev. Joseph Williams, according to his diary, passed over Cochetopa Pass and through the Saguache area in 1842. After Colorado became a territory, several Methodist circuit riders came through and preached in homes here and there on an irregular basis.

The first of these traveling ministers was the Rev. John L. “Father” Dyer in 1867, followed by the Rev. Jesse Smith and the Rev. George Murray and possibly others.

It was the Rev. John L. Rickards and the Rev. B.A. Washburn, though, who were both assigned to this area from 1873-1874. They organized the church body at Milton, along with local men Samuel Ashley, P.H. Wilcox and Preston Hotchkiss. These five men made and signed the Article of Incorporation.

The church has experienced many highs and lows in its 150 years. There have been many periods when it was difficult to find and keep a pastor. There were other years when the church enjoyed huge growth in membership and pastors who remained for several years.

In more recent years, the church yoked with the Center United Methodist Church, a yoke which lasted 60 years. Through the entire history of the church, it has been the members, and often the women of the church, who have sustained it during the lean and difficult times.

Raising money for church needs, continuing Sunday School and prayer meetings held the church together even during the worst periods. This up-and-down history illustrates quite clearly that a church is not the building, it is not the pastors, it is not the conference, but it is the body of people of the community. Seventy-some ministers later, after Rickards and Washburn, the Saguache church is still sharing the faith in the community.

The Saguache UMC, therefore, is holding a 150th Year Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, and it will begin with a worship service at 11 a.m. This will be followed by an open house and reception in the Fellowship Hall from about 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

There will be a community Bible display and a historical photo display of pastors, the church over the years and weddings and other special events.

The Saguache congregation is preparing for a remarkable day. The Saguache UMC is located at Christy Avenue and 6th Street in Saguache.