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A Brief History of Forest Home Chapel (The First United Methodist Church of Forest Home)
Forest Home Chapel is a small United Methodist Church with an ecumenical tradition, as evidenced by this brief history.
• The Chapel’s roots are in a Sunday School for Forest Home families which was launched in 1884 by several Cornell students, including John R. Mott, who years later received the Nobel peace prize.
• After meeting in homes and the local school building for 30 years, the congregation organized to construct a church building. Forty-one names appeared on the membership roll at its inception in September 1914. Ten were Presbyterian, four were Baptist, four were Congregationalist, two were Christian Church (now United Church of Christ) and two joined on profession of faith. The other 50 % were Methodists and so the Chapel formally affiliated with the Methodist Church.
• The subscription list for those who gave funds to erect the Chapel reads as follows: “The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Forest Home has purchased the Middaugh property for $3600 and an adjacent lot for $700. The Board of Home Missions and Church Extension has granted a donation of $500 for this building fund.” In all “One hundred and ten families pledged $3500 and the Chapel building was completed in 1915.”
• It is now officially the First United Methodist Church of Forest Home, but has always been known as “Forest Home Chapel.”
• Over the following 50 years, 22 part-time pastors were assigned by the Central New York United Methodist Conference. Some did not live in the parsonage, and Cornell graduate students, John and Pearl Buck, were among the parsonage residents. After completing graduate degrees at Cornell, they moved to China, where John was an agricultural missionary and Pearl was an author, who later received the Nobel Prize in literature. John was famous in his own field as a leading expert on the Chinese agricultural economy.
• The 50th anniversary
celebration was held on the exact date of the dedication of the Chapel building,
December 5, 1965. The District Superintendent was Henry G. Budd and the local
pastor, Lloyd Moffett (1964-1968). 
The memorial sermon was given by James McConnell, son of the first minister.
The anniversary dinner was held at St. Paul's in Ithaca, which our history
recognizes as the "Mother Church."
The Reverend John Annas and Lenore Weathrly Bayus at their wedding on December 17, 2007. Rev Annas was appointed during this time.
• In the 1960s and early 1970s many retirees were given half-time appointments to the chapel. Given that they often did not own a home, the stipend plus the parsonage were a benefit to these ministers, and the Chapel received many superb pastors. The Reverend Roy Smyres was one of these appointees; he first served the Chapel when a graduate student at Cornell and spent many years as a missionary in Africa before returning to Ithaca. Many young chapel goers first learned of the Möbius Strip from one of the Reverend Smyres children’s sermons.
• In 1976, Kent Phillips-Huyck, a Dutch Reform pastor, became the minister. His wife was an associate pastor at the American Baptist church in Ithaca. They were a relatively young couple, and Kent, though half-time, encouraged us to think about a full-time appointment.
• In 1978, a Steve Congdon was assigned to the Chapel but left after three months, and David Dik of Dryden served the remainder of the year. • In 1979, Bob Hill was appointed as the full-time pastor; this was his first charge after seminary. He and Forest Home Chapel learned and grew together. From 1981 to 1984, Tom Wolfe served full-time; again this was a first assignment after seminary. The Chapel thrived, and we were considering two services per Sunday by 1984. Bob and Tom were much loved and much missed as they moved on to bigger churches. Bob (The Reverend Dr. Robert Allan Hill) was officially installed as dean of Marsh Chapel and Boston University Chaplain on Sunday, March 4, 2007. Tom Wolfe is now Dean of Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University.
• Unfortunately the appointment made in 1984 was not successful. The congregation shrank in size, and in 1987, Michael Chitewere a seminary student from Zimbabwe was appointed as the half-time pastor. He, his wife, and children were welcomed by the congregation who were enthusiastic about supporting Michael. Michael had little training for the ministry, however, and in January 1989, he was moved to a charge with a senior minister to mentor him. This was good for Michael, but upset some congregants who were annoyed by the mid-year move.
• In spring 1989 the Reverend Steve Kish was appointed to a half-time position. Steve was ill, and his illness created uncertainty about his availability. But the congregation learned to handle his unpredictable absences. A kidney transplant kept him in the hospital for over 50 days, and it was ultimately not successful. To our great sadness, he died in October 1995. Steve’s little congregation, of about 30, benefited greatly from his brilliant sermons, and our lay leaders grew in strength and leadership skills. He blessed us, and we hope we helped him and his family. His widow continues to live as tenant at the Parsonage. Visiting ministers, including the Reverend Paul Pitkin, served the remainder of the 1995-96 year. Paul now provides a Family Counseling Ministry at the Chapel several days per week.
• From 1995 onward, appointments have been quarter-time and include Roger J.
Smith, then a student at Rochester-Colgate, and retirees from other conferences.
Fred Brooks supported by his wife Alice served the Chapel for five years. Robert
(Bob) Johnson who came out of retirement following 20 years as Director of
Cornell United Religious Work at Cornell University, served the Chapel for two
years. On July 1, 2006, the Reverend Laura Bartels Felleman, from the Nebraska
Conference, joined our congregation. Sadly, Laura and her husband found it
necessary to return to Nebraska and Laura left the Chapel in
October
2007.
Reverend Robert (Bob) Johnson
The Chapel was ably served by interim pastor, The Reverend Fred Kelsey, another retiree, from October 2007 through June 2008. Roger, Fred, Bob, and Laura each brought different strengths to the Chapel. Recognizing that a one-fourth time appointment may be an important limit on the Chapel’s ministry, congregants took the decision to return to a half-time pastor in 2008. On July 1 2008 we welcomed The Reverend Marilyn B. Stevens as our new permanent Minister.
Rev. Dr. Fred S. Kelsey
• Historical records about the Chapel’s music programs are sparse, but it is clear that the Chapel has had excellent organist/choir directors and correspondingly excellent music for at least the last 50 years. Some were music majors at Cornell or Ithaca College, including Doctor of Musical Arts candidates. Several of them continue today as organists in larger churches in Ithaca, and others are teaching music in major universities. We have been blessed by a quality of music that is well beyond the “normal” for a small membership church. We are currently lucky to have Merilee Nord - who teaches sight singing and music theory at Ithaca College, and piano lessons for youth and adults in her own studio, - serve as our Organist and Choir Director.
In
sum, the history of the Chapel involves many changes in leadership, with ups and
downs, but with many more good times than bad. The laity has learned to deal
with change and uncertainty. We have been able to remain financially viable and
to pay in full the shared ministry asking of the UMC. We have carried out major
renovation projects on the parsonage and the Chapel building in the past 10
years. The Chapel has been completely redecorated and is now on the national
historic register. Repairs and redecoration are almost complete at the
Parsonage. A beautiful
garden outside
the Chapel is maintained by Elizabeth Mount and a landscaping committee is
working on improving the plantings around the Parsonage. The congregation is
active in a variety of mission projects, including regular support of the local
“Kitchen Cupboard,” and the Chapel participates in Area Congregations Together,
hosting an ecumenical Thanksgiving service from time to time and contributing to
a “gently used children’s books” project. While recognizing that the Chapel
will never have a huge congregation, an active search is underway for ideas to
improve our ministry and to assure that we are a welcoming, hospitable
congregation. Our location, near two institutions of higher education, is a
joy and a concern. A transient population can be difficult to serve, but we are
blessed by the talents of students and faculty who pass our way. Chapel
"alumni" are scattered throughout the world. As noted above, John and Pearl
Buck were among the students at the Chapel in the late 1920s. A former
congregant is working in mission in Nepal with the Mennonite Central Committee.
Another is an economist with U.S. Senate Agricultural Committee; he and his wife
are both in leadership positions with a United Methodist Church in the
Washington DC area. Other alumni are faculty members at universities scattered
across the U.S. Recently, three congregants completed PhDs in the biological
sciences, and they too will likely go on to something wonderful, probably
outside of Ithaca. Two voice majors from Ithaca College were part of the choir,
and were sorely missed when they graduated. Attachments are formed, but never
truly broken. It is a joy to think of our alumni, literally sprinkled
throughout the world. Other churches, no doubt, have similar experiences, but
relative to our size, Forest Home Chapel has perhaps had an unusually large
outreach. Congregants are aware that ministry can reach worldwide and that the
Chapel is a special place for worship, spiritual growth, friendship, and
sharing.
For a full list of pastors who have served at the Chapel go to Forest Home Chapel Pastors.