Who We Were -- The Church History
The Salem Lutheran Church was organized August 24, 1872. The day after organization, the first service was held in the Pecor School in Portland, NY. For the next 10 years the services were held in School No. 9, North Brocton. The church on Mill Street was built and dedicated in 1883 and incorporated January 5, 1888.
The first meeting to organize the Portland Methodist Church was held February 3, 1834 at the school house on the corner of Church and Second Streets in the Hamlet of Portland. Prior to that time, the classes were held at private homes and school houses, beginning in 1816 at the home of William Dunham (the Father of Methodism in Portland) on Lake Road about one-half mile west of Lake Avenue.
The first Brocton Methodist Church was built in 1853. It stood on the North side of Route 20, the second house from the creek, near Mill Street. This site was granted by the Holland Land Company for religious organization. Later, the building was used as a skating rink and storage center. It burned about 1939. The second church was built in 1903 along with a parsonage adjoining the property.
In the late 1960’s, Salem Lutheran as well as the Brocton and Portland Methodist Churches were in need of a minister. Luther Minister the Rev. Bertil Erling agreed to come to Brocton, live in the Brocton Methodist Parsonage and serve the three churches, conducting Sunday morning worship services from the three respective church buildings. The next minister was the Rev. Douglas Garwood, a Methodist pastor who served here in the early 1970’s. He remained here until the mid-1970’s when the Rev. Frank Scott came here to serve the three churches.
After a short time, Rev. Scott proposed to combine the three separate church services in to one combined Sunday morning church service. A decision was made by the three church administrative boards that one Sunday morning worship service would be held from each church building for four months of the enabling all three buildings to be used.
This arrangement worked successfully for several years until the congregation decided it would be better served by worshipping from only one church building. Thus, consolidation began.
Tri-Church Parish was created in June 1984.
The Brocton Methodist Church was chosen because it was the largest and had a parsonage. After years of agreements and research, the Consolidation Service of the Tri-Church Parish was held on February 10, 1985. In the agreement, the first Sunday of the month is a Lutheran worship, the remaining Sundays are Methodist. Congregations from all over the United States have studied the Tri-Church Parish Consolidation Agreement as different denominations go through the process.
Out Of The Ashes
On November 3, 2013, Tri-Church Parish was set on fire by an arsonist. Unfortunately, it burned to the ground.
Tri-Church Parish was rebuilt in the summer of 2017. A half-circle stained-glass window was saved from the burnt church. It was restored by then Pastor Barb Brewer. The window was able to be mounted over the doors that join the new Sanctuary and Welcome Center. One section of the altar rail was rescued from the burnt church. It was restored and refinished by local Amish workers. Once again, it is part of the Sanctuary along with five other stain glass windows that were salvaged and restored by community member, Paul Polakiewicz.
Incorporated on the left corner of the church exterior is the original cornerstone which marks the footprint of our former church. On the right corner, is a newer cornerstone that designates our new church structure.
On Christmas Eve 2017, Tri-Church Parish conducted its first Worship Service in its brand-new church building with lots of singing and praise to God for giving us a second chance.
Dedication of Tri-Church Parish was held on Sunday, March 11, 2018, at 1:00 pm. Upper New York United Methodist Church Bishop Mark Webb and Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Bishop John Stanley Macholz presided over the dedication service for the church. The UMC Cornerstone District Superintendent Rev. Sherri Rood and Dean of the ELCA Southwestern Conference Upstate NY Synod Rev. Daniel Rumfelt assisted in the service.
