About Standish Free Methodist Church
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People often ask the question, “Why the Free Methodist Church?” And there are a few answers to this question which may give an explanation.
1. Freedom in worship, in contrast to deadening formalism, was important to “Free” Methodists. It was this which was the key issue that made the Free Methodists decide to make a separate stand as a denomination. Their concern, and a part of what made them embrace the “Holiness Movement,” was that some were coming to believe that mere Church membership was enough to give a person salvation. The Free Methodists felt that the important thing was to have a personal relationship with Christ and that worship should reflect that element. Free Methodists believe in a more informal worship service as opposed to the formality seen in many Church congregations.
2. In the distant past it used to be common practice for parishioners to pay for their pews. That would mean that particular people always sat in the same pew and (if you were a visitor) you might suffer the embarrassment of being asked to move, if you were inadvertently sitting in the wrong place. Another result was that the practice relegated the poor to benches in the back of the sanctuary. “Free” Methodists called for free seats for all and emphasized tithes and offerings to support the church’s ministries. You will be pleased to know that there is no such practice in our Church. In that sense the seating in the church is free — as opposed to reserved.
3. Issues that were important to the early “Free” Methodists included slavery in America. While the mother church did not take a stand, those who took the name Free Methodist opposed slavery. Unlike the mother Church, Free Methodists believed that a religion which did not affect the society was not the kind of religion Jesus and the Apostles stood for. They chose to be free from the yoke of those who would restrict Christianity to the merely spiritual part of life.
For all of these reasons which spring from the denominational history the members of the congregation in Standish are pleased to be called the Free Methodist Church of Standish.
