IN SCR0009

The Indiana General Assembly honors and congratulates the First United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon, Indiana on its 200th anniversary, which began in 1815 when Circuit Rider Moses Ashworth started preaching in the area.

The church constructed its first building in 1828 at Sixth and Main Street, followed by a new church in 1854, a sanctuary in 1958, the Susanna Wesley Nursery School in 1981, and Wesley Hall in 2002.

The church was the congregation of John Pitcher, a lawyer who tutored Abraham Lincoln, and held the funeral of Governor and Civil War General Alvin Hovey, who was also Pitcher's student, with approximately 10,000 attendees.

The congregation celebrated its bicentennial in 2015 by refurbishing the sanctuary, holding a kick-off dinner in spring 2015, a summer picnic, and a commemorative sermon and communion service on October 18, 2015, led by Bishop Michael Coyner and Senior Pastor Christopher Millay.

The Secretary of the Senate is directed to transmit copies of the resolution to Senior Pastor Christopher Millay and the church's leadership.