Among the early settlers of Marcellus, those who held to the Methodist faith were so few, that no effort had been made to organize them until David Holmes arrived in the area in June of 1816. However, a Reverend Mr. Phillips had preached in the schoolhouse on North Street in 1809 or 1810 and Robert Dyer, another local preacher and a founder with his brother of the first woolen mill, had also held meetings.
Holmes, a Methodist preacher, settled on a farm northwest of the village and shortly thereafter began holding meetings in his barn. His efforts attracted much interest and some opposition. However, two circuit preachers, James Kelsey and Josiah Beebe, gave him assistance and the first class of sixteen members was formed.
In 1817 meetings held on Limeledge Road by Alexander Foreman, a forceful young preacher, added about sixty converts to the young society.
Then, in 1823, at the home of Reverend Stephen Cobb, the society was organized into a church with Reverend Cobb, Joseph Wilson and William Newton chosen as trustees. The group called themselves the First Zion Society of Marcellus.
During their first twenty-one years, the society was served by forty-two different circuit preachers who rode from town to town on horseback.
In 1824, the society raised thirteen hundred dollars to build a church.
A simple stone chapel with no steeple, measuring 30'x40' was built above the village where St. Francis Xavier Cemetery now lies. People literally wore a path into the hillside walking to worship each week.
As the church continued to grow, the congregation moved closer into the village and rebuilt their church using stones from the original building. Like many early Methodist churches, it was simple and practical — no steeple, no bell, just a gathering place for worship, prayer, and community.
Methodist churches in those days were served by many different pastors, often for only a year or two at a time. These pastors traveled constantly and often stayed with church families because there was no parsonage yet. Even with those challenges, the church kept growing.
In the mid-1800s, the congregation built a larger brick church on the site where MUMC still stands today. Then, in 1877, disaster struck when a fire destroyed the building. But the congregation immediately began rebuilding, once again using stones from the original chapel in the foundation — a symbol of how each generation continued building on the faith of those before them.
Today, more than 200 years after those first gatherings in a barn, MUMC continues its mission of worship, discipleship, service, and community. While much has changed over the years, the heart of the church remains the same: people gathering together to seek God, care for one another, and serve the world around them.