Schuyler Lake and Fly Creek Methodists Plan Merger
FLY CREEK—At a joint conference in Fly Creek on December 8, representatives of the Schuyler Lake United Methodist Church and the Fly Creek UMC agreed to merge into a single entity, pending formal approval by the Oneonta District of United Methodists of Upper New York. The two churches have shared a pastor for many years.
The merged entity will continue under the name of the Fly Creek UMC, with weekly worship services conducted at the more spacious Fly Creek facilities at 852 County Highway 26.
Founded in 1880, the Schuyler Lake church has been an anchor of the Exeter-area community for almost 145 years. Like most small churches in upstate New York—and nationwide—it has had to deal with an aging congregation even as its efforts to serve the local community have blossomed, including the purchase and rehabilitation of the long-vacant “Pantry” commercial building at 1472 County Highway 22. Other church activities have included “Sunday Soups,” pancake breakfasts, ice cream socials, band concerts and a food cupboard serving several needy families each month. The church building has also been for eight years the home of the monthly Schuyler Lake Coffee House, a festive “open mic” for area performers and audiences alike.
While the merger means the end of regular weekly worship services at the “Little White Church,” the Schuyler Lake UMC facilities—both the church and the Pantry—will remain in service, becoming in effect extensions of the existing Fly Creek UMC campus. Fly Creek UMC has a substantial congregation and a rich history of its own, which includes the now legendary “Fly Creek Philharmonic.”
Wilson Jones is the pastor of the Fly Creek UMC, and of Cooperstown UMC as well: “With the Schuyler Lake UMC no longer being able to sustain itself as a congregation, this was a natural path forward and one that creates a lot of exciting possibilities for Schuyler Lake and for the Fly Creek UMC. I can’t wait to see what God might accomplish as we move forward.”
The Schuyler Lake church was gutted by fire in December 2010. Determined church leaders such as Anna Buell, Loretta Buell, Eleanor Wightman, Harriett Geywits, Norm Winne, Sue Winne, then-pastor Sharon Rankins-Burd, and others oversaw the renovation of the building and the renewal of the congregation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftershocks suspended regular worship services in 2020 for well over a year, halting the momentum of progress and leaving the congregation with depleted numbers. Rather than give up and close down, the SLUMC leadership first proposed a merger with Fly Creek UMC in late 2023. Their stated goal was to keep the two SLUMC properties (the church building and the Pantry) open and in use.
The combined congregation hopes to use the church for special events, seasonal worship services, concerts, meetings and the like. The second floor of the Pantry had been renovated in 2022 to create an affordable rental housing unit, something in short supply in Exeter. The first floor has been the home of the Sunday Soups, pancake breakfasts, and other food-oriented events.
According to SLUMC Trustee Timothy Peters, “Schuyler Lake does not need any more vacant buildings. Keeping these two buildings open is a contribution—however modest—to the vitality of the community. It is a tribute to the Fly Creek UMC congregation that it sees this merger as an opportunity, not a burden.”
Longtime Fly Creek UMC member Julie Huntsman commented, “The Fly Creek UMC has a long association with the Schuyler Lake UMC. We have so much respect for this church and all it has been through, rebuilding after the fire in 2010, and having exemplary community outreach, particularly with their food pantry and monthly open mic Coffee House. It just makes sense to join together officially, and the FCUMC is honored by this union.”
Formal review of the proposed merger by the Oneonta District of UMNY is likely to take 3-6 months.