A Small Country Church

Burrsville’s Union United Methodist Church will celebrate its 191st anniversary this month. The small country church, which now averages about 20 attendees on Sunday mornings, stands alongside a cemetery with gravestones dating from 1867 to 1949.

Union was first organized as the Burrsville Methodist Protestant Church - Union Chapel by the Reverend Thomas Melvin, a founder of the Methodist Protestant Church, who deeded land to the trustees in 1834. While the exact date of the first church building and the founding of the cemetery remain uncertain, the congregation quickly established itself as a spiritual home for local families.

The church has weathered many changes. In 1867, land across the road was deeded for a schoolhouse, which later served as a community building. A devastating fire in May 1938 destroyed the original structure, but the congregation rebuilt and dedicated a new building that same year. Uniquely, the present pulpit area once belonged to the Pilgrim Holiness Church of Burrsville, which was demolished to make way for Route 317.

Many familiar names from the community’s past rest in the adjoining cemetery, including Nathan Smith (1802–1889), James P. Stafford (1847–1896), Celia Ann Melvin (1835–1901), and Rev. William C. Ames (d. 1878).

The church grew through the mid-20th century, adding its first Sunday school rooms in 1957 and expanding again in 1963. By the 1970s, attendance on Sundays often exceeded 100, with an active Sunday school, a boys’ choir, a Methodist Youth Fellowship, and a United Methodist Women’s group. “Unfortunately, as many teenagers left for college or relocated outside of the community, attendance has since declined,” noted church historian Carolyn Spicher.

Today, Union UMC continues to serve the Burrsville community through worship, fellowship, and stewardship. Fundraisers and donations support both the church and its grounds. Most recently, the congregation completed a major cemetery restoration project, including cleaning and repairing headstones and replacing the fence.

This fall, the church will host its 8th Annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 4, 2025. The following week, the community is invited to celebrate Union’s 191st Anniversary Homecoming on Sunday, October 12 at 2 p.m., featuring gospel music by Heaven 4 Shore and light refreshments.