Springfield United Methodist Church

Here follows an excerpt from the church's website:

History of Springfield and Springfield United Methodist Church:

In 1952, Springfield was a rural area of farmland and forests and about 550 citizens. In 1954 there were about 3,000 people with one small shopping center, few telephones in homes, phone booths scattered in the small residential section of Crestwood and Yates Village. Garfield was the only elementary school in the area and junior & senior high school students were bussed to Mt Vernon HS or Annandale HS. Several churches were organizing at this time, including Springfield Methodist.

In December 1953, thirteen residents who were interested in organizing a Methodist Church in Springfield met at Garfield School. Rev George W Harrison was appointed as pastor in January 1954. On March 14 1954, Charter Sunday was held and 137 people united with the Springfield Methodist church – the largest charter service ever conducted in Virginia. They met in Garfield School for over 1½ years.

There was no altar in the school. Rev Harrison and another member looked all over the area at used furniture, office furniture, etc, and finally stopped in Hechingers. They found what they wanted, put it together and then learned it was a home bar! They added to it and by the time they were thru it looked wonderful. Rev Harrison commented ‘so far as I know, no one else ever converted a home bar into a Methodist Church altar.’

While the congregation met at Garfield, the first unit of our church was planned and completed. The building was on three acres of land, which had been donated by the Vernon M Lynch family. They were members of Annandale Methodist Church but businessmen in Springfield. On Feb. 6 1955 the ground-breaking ceremony was held inside because it was so cold - they used soil in a flower box. On Oct 15 1955 the Alexandria District Superintendent consecrated the building that had the sanctuary/social hall, fourteen classrooms and the church offices. The budget for 1954-55 was $15,600, including $12,900 for the building fund.

Springfield grew so rapidly that Garfield School asked permission to use 11 of our classrooms during the week, while we found it necessary to again use its classrooms on Sunday. The second part of the building was consecrated on April 24 1960 with a nave seating 700, a chapel, social hall, kitchen, classrooms and storage space. The sanctuary in the first unit was converted into eight classrooms.

About the same time the 40 foot steeple was put in place after weeks of preparation. In addition to heavy steel construction, several loads of concrete were poured into the interior of the steeple. A copper-base metal was attached to the exterior. An 18 foot steel rod was sunk into the concrete with approximately seven feet of the rod extending above the steeple so that a large cross could be placed on top. The cross was given in honor of Bill and Kathleen Kight and their children by his mother. He was the head of the building committee. On the day of the raising of the steeple, not only did the children from the church kindergarten watch, but also the children at Garfield School were dismissed to see this unusual event. The steeple was to become a beautiful and inspiring landmark pointing the way to God.

By then the church membership was about 1,500 with over 1,100 in church school. A third unit was planned but never built. In 1969 the church membership was at its height of 2780. Rev George W Harrison served as our first pastor from January 1954 to June 1965.

In October 1955 the congregation bought a split-level house in Crestwood to be used as the parsonage for $19,500. Roger Hildeen, an officer of Crestwood Construction Corporation, helped make the necessary arrangements. In 1967 a larger home was bought from one of our members for about $30,000 (more than the committee wanted to pay!). It contained four bedroom, three baths, a family room and carport on a lovely lot on Joffa Place. Both these parsonages were sold in 2002 for about $565,000.

In 1957 a committee was appointed to consider a pipe organ for the new sanctuary. They visited MP Moller Pipe Organ Co in Hagerstown MD. The organ that was purchased is a remanufactured one, an old one made new through a modernization project developed especially for SUMC by Newcomer Organ Co of Washington DC in 1959-60. The basic components were manufactured in 1925 by Henry Pilcher and Sons of Louisville, KY, and installed in the First Presbyterian Church in Huntington, WVA. The remodeled organ was dedicated on May 15, 1960, with an organ consecration recital by Ruth McCubbin – our pianist and organist from 1957 to her retirement in 1984. She presented a number of concerts over the more than 25 years with the church. The organ was expanded in 1978 and now has 27 ranks and 1595 pipes along with the 25 Schulmerich chimes, which were given in 1975

As the church grew, there were committees, social groups, Bible studies, prayer groups, WSCS (then United Methodist Women, now United Women in Faith) with two afternoon and four evening circles, Methodist Men, MYF, choirs and a Couples Club. BS troop 856 was organized in January 1955. There was no kindergarten in Fairfax County at the time so the Pre-School Mothers Club started a daytime kindergarten in January 1957 for five year olds. Marian Gonzales and Nellie Koomen were on this committee. Nellie Koomen was appointed the first Educational Assistant in Sept 1957.

The Bethel Bible study was started in January 1984. It was a two-year (21 weeks a year) overview of both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Among the first teachers were Meade and Ruth McCubbin, Gene Rizer, Janet Schuetze, Maxine Shute, and Jim and Polly Smith. Later we had multiple sessions of the Disciple Bible Study.

From 1967 to 1968, the circulation in the church library was about 2900 and many people used the reference books. There were about 30,000 books in the library including 284 new books. The Springfield United Methodist Church library was listed in the Directory of Church Libraries published by Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia in 1967. There were 16 volunteers on the staff of the library.

The music program has always been wonderful. In 1957 Ruth McCubbin became the church organist, retiring in the mid 1980s. A big goal was finally reached in the spring of 1964 when enough trading stamp books were collected from church members and friends to purchase a new

piano for the Church School! The grand piano in the sanctuary was bought in 1989. Nancy Burton was an early choir director and in 1987, Dr. Linda Monson joined us and continues leading and playing marvelous music. Organist and pianist Allan Weberg has been with us since 1996.

In the spring of 1982, the music committee (Lu Sanford and Jan Olson) started a campaign to raise $4,000 for a 3-octave set of hand bells (37 bells). They did a lot of research as to what kind to buy, listened to various choirs and decided they like the sound of Schulmerich bells the best. In a short time $4,350 was raised and the bells were bought and dedicated on June 13, 1982. Our first bell choir director was hired – Doris Davis who came from Messiah UMC. The 4th and 5th octaves were bought in 1984. Five octaves of chimes were bought later. Roger Rudy was later the director for about 15 years. The current director is Mindi Riffer who was brought up in the church and started playing in the 4th grade.

In November 1969, a series of Harvest Festival Dinners were held at the church. The goals were fellowship and a good meal, learning something about the Christian mission of the church and most importantly to make a commitment to Christ of our time and money. It was felt that the dinners accomplished these goals for the 715 people who attended. A freewill offering took care of the cost of the dinners prepared by the women of the WSCS. The UMY aided in serving and nursery care, and the UMM were responsible for cleanup. SUMC has supported several missionaries. Dwight and Sonia Strawn were missionary teachers in Korea. They spoke to both Sunday school classes and in the worship service in 1983 and again 1990.

Although, as in so many other churches, the succeeding years showed a steady decline in membership and attendance, SUMC has continued to engage in ministries for all age levels, for families, for men and for women, and for various community groups. Short- and long-term Bible Studies have continued to be offered on a regular basis. The United Methodist Men still meet monthly and have been selling Christmas trees annually since 1972.

The youth ministry continued to engage in mission trips for many years, as recently as 2015. Both Boy and Girl Scouts have continued to be active over the years at the church. When Fairfax County Schools began offering kindergarten classes, the church ministry became a preschool program. That ministry, the Christian Weekday Program (CWP), has in recent years been growing in numbers and enthusiasm, and is the largest single ministry of the church today.

The most recent new emphasis at the church has been in the ministry of outreach to the community, which the church seeks to serve in new and creative ways. The church’s location is understood now more than ever to be one of its greatest assets, for we are at perhaps the busiest intersection in this region. An electronic sign was placed on the front lawn in 2014 and it reaches more people through our messages of inspiration than could ever be counted. The church is engaging more actively with the community and with county agencies through commuter support of various kinds; public events for families in the front yard (including annual Egg Hunts); regular support for ECHO (community ministry) and Rising Hope UM Mission Church; supporting families of Garfield ES in cooperation with school leaders; Springfield Days Craft & Fun Fair; yard sales; and “Parents Night Out” events.

As with any older building, the church has needed many repairs and replacements over the years. Boilers and air handlers have been the biggest problem. Windows and doors were replaced, the roof replaced, all exterior wood capped and gutters replaced in the 90s. A new A/V system was added to the chapel and the system in the sanctuary was up graded. New tile floors, carpeting and painting of a number of rooms were completed. The chancel area was reconfigured. The work continues!

In February of 2020, the covid-19 pandemic spread across the world. Businesses, schools, and churches closed and people stayed at home. Technology adapted, and streaming on website or Facebook became widely available. We soon worked, studied and worshipped from home. SUMC followed this trend. The church building was closed, but in the background was still active. The sermons and prayers, the music, organ and bells were all recorded separately and them pieced together and streamed on Sundays on our website and Facebook. Meetings of different groups were held on ZOOM.

This continued for over a year until finally on Easter 2021, SUMC reopened for services. The pandemic wasn’t over, but by then many were vaccinated and worship services were adapted to keep congregation members safe. Since then, the congregation has grown and is enjoying both old and new groups and activities. We have learned new ways to connect and meet using technology and mix online meetings and programs with our live worship and gatherings. Our worship services are available to members who are at home or far from Springfield. We are thankful.

Many people have passed through the doors of Springfield United Methodist Church and have in one way or another touched a great many lives in the name of Jesus Christ. We expect to continue to do so in the years ahead. While it will never be the church it used to be, it can be the church God wants it to be for new generations to come.

This history is a summary of the larger church history in the SUMC church archives with some more current additions.


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Here follows an excerpt from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Springfield United Methodist Church (formerly Springfield Methodist) was established in 1954 in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Springfield, Virginia. Springfield United Methodist Church is a member of the Alexandria District in the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. The first service of the church that would become Springfield Methodist was held in January 1954 at Garfield School. Thirty-three residents were in attendance along with representatives of the sponsoring church, Trinity Methodist in Alexandria.

Ground breaking for the first unit of the new church building occurred in 1955, and the second unit was completed in 1960. By June 1974, the original building had been remodeled and air conditioning installed. In 2000 the church was completely renovated inside and outside and the pipe organ refurbished