The Williston Federated Church is a union of the local United Methodist Church and United Church of Christ congregations. The federation has existed since 1899. We are a Christian community of faith that invites all persons into its life of worship, fellowship and service. We seek to share our spiritual journey with one another. Wherever one may be in their personal journey, we hope that here they will find encouragement and companionship that challenge and affirm their faith in God and inspire them to respond in loving service.
We seek to be a welcoming, intergenerational community. We want to provide a friendly, inclusive atmosphere. We support each other, we share in each other's joys, we value each other's strengths.
Children are an important part of our church family. They are welcome participants in the opening portion of worship and come forward for a "Word of God For All Ages," following which they depart for Christian education classes. They are welcome to receive communion with parental consent.
Directions:
The church is located at 44 North Williston Road in Williston Village (map is below).
From Burlington take Interstate 89 to Exit 12, proceed North on Rte. 2A until you reach Rte. 2 (Williston Road), turn Right onto Rte. 2. The church is at a four-way intersection, with North Williston Road and Oak Hill Road, approx. 2 miles East on Rte. 2.
From the East take Interstate 89 to Exit 11, proceed West on Rte. 2 (Williston Road). The church is at a four-way intersection with North Williston Road and Oak Hill Road.
The Williston Federated Church has its roots in early Congregational (now United Church of Christ) and Methodist (now United Methodist Church) activity in the town. The local Congregational history dates back to the end of the 18th century when missionary preachers, mostly from Connecticut, were released from their parishes for four months at a time to travel throughout Vermont. In his journal, one such preacher stated his hearers here were “chiefly Methodists.”
At the town meeting in 1790 plans were made to hire a minister and to build a meeting house “for religious services, town meetings and other assemblies.” The first “settled minister” was Rev. Aaron C. Collins and the Congregational Church was formally organized in 1800. By 1831, the meeting house was so dilapidated that the Congregationalists decided to build their own, and in 1832 they erected the beautiful brick church which stands in the center of town.
Early Williston Methodists were served by circuit riders. When a church was established in Hinesburg, Williston people became a part of it. Services also were held, starting in 1836, at the Muddy Brook school, the preacher coming from Essex. The Williston Methodist Church was officially organized in 1844. The Police Department and Williston town offices for the Departments of Public Works and Recreation now occupy the first Methodist church building.
Although Congregational church growth and influence began to decline following the Civil War the Methodists experienced rapid growth and the resultant need for a larger church building. Construction began in 1867 and was completed in 1869. It was erected on the site of the famous hostelry, Eagle Tavern, which had burned in 1850. The cost of the lot and building, along with furnishings, was $18,116 ($12,000 of which was contributed by three people.)
The building, now the home of the Williston Federated Church, has a prominent stone foundation topped by clapboard construction that was originally finished with a sand and paint mixture to give it the appearance of a more stately-looking stone building from a distance. For many years now the church has been painted white. The clock in the tower was installed in 1900 and is owned by the Town of Williston. The clock continues to keep the time and toll the hours having been refurbished at the same time the church steeple was restored in 1998.
The first recorded joint meeting of the Methodist and Congregational churches was in 1889 when union services were held during a week of prayer. In March 1898 they met to consider the Cuban affair and collected $6.42 for the Cuban Relief Fund. Toward the end of the 19th century both the Methodist and Congregational churches faced declining memberships and the possible necessity of closing. In 1899, when the Congregational minister left, the two churches voted to unite for one year to support a pastor. They decided to meet in the morning in the Methodist Church and in the evening, at the Congregational Church.
So it was that the Williston Federated Church was formed, reportedly the first such federation in Vermont. The church was part of a larger charge sharing a pastor with another Methodist Church until church members voted in 1958 to call a resident pastor and no longer depend upon Essex Junction for their minister which was the arrangement at that time.
An educational wing, located at the rear of the existing structure, was completed in 1964 and currently is used for church offices and the sitting room. A larger fellowship addition was completed in 1995 and is currently used for most church educational and program activities as well as numerous community organization gatherings and events.