Our History

1974 - 1988

The church continued to grow in its new facilities but by the time Rev William Bellmore joined us in 1982, the sanctuary was fairly bursting.  No longer could the pews accommodate all the worshippers.  Many had to be seated in folding chairs at the ends of the row.  The choir loft did not have enough seats to sit the choir members then seats. The Sunday School rooms were overflowed and classes were held in the kitchen, outside or anywhere there was space.  The church also did not have enough parking space.  Once again, expansion was needed.

Church activities continued to grow.  Men's breakfasts, Fall Bazaars, Easter Cantata's, Mother Daughter Banquets, Chili Suppers, Bible Studies and other activities flourished.  The youth group was active and three choirs had been instituted - the Comfort Tones, The Sunshine Choir, and the Cherub Choir. The annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service had candles throughout the church, outside the driveway and down Mt Comfort Road to Interstate 70 in addition to east and west of cross streets to form a large cross.

On March 24, 1984, God took Leoma Eakin to be with Him forever.  In the midst of her passing, came a special gift from God.  Leoma Eakin whose portrait hangs in the parlor was a woman few members knew well.  She was a Butler University graduate and a school teacher in Ft Wayne for 42 years, but she was the great grand daughter of Joseph Wright, an early Buck Creek Township settler (his grave is found in the cemetery north of the church).  Leoma's parents resided on land west of the fire station and she visited occasionally in the area.  Even in her declining years, she maintained an interest in the community where her ancestors lived and in the Mt Comfort Church, which she considered her home church.  In her will, Leoma left a financial legacy to be divided between this church and the Hancock Memorial Hospital.   These funds helped pay for the new Mt Comfort Methodist Church sanctuary.

On November 24, 1985; 97 years after the month of the dedication of the first church on this site.  Reverend Darrel Riley conducted our first service in our new place of worship, a circle of faith standing proudly on higher ground.  

  (majority of material taken from "Higher Ground: A Centennial History of the Mt Comfort United Methodist Church, 1988 written by Sharon Kingen)

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