On Father’s Day, one Loveland Church celebrated its Founding Fathers Day.
Founded in 1865, the First United Methodist Church celebrated its 150th birthday Sunday with an outdoor service and potluck.
“Of course it's a matter of reference but [when we became members people said], ‘Oh there's a lot of old people at that church.’ Of course we're the old people now,” said Ron Hogan laughing.
Ron and his wife Shirley have been congregants since 1964. They say over the years the population and attendance has changed, but the church’s role in the community has not.
“Of course we've had disasters, we've had floods and fires and the church has really stepped up,” Shirley said.
The church was founded by a circuit-riding preacher in the 1800’s. He would only preach once a month, but managed to gather enough of a following to establish a building in the center of Loveland.
“I think our major emphasis is not looking back on 150 years. That's great, but what's better is where do we go from here,” Reverend Steve Goodier said.
Goodier is newer to the church. He joined as a preacher just last year, but has quickly caught on to the culture and direction.
“It's a loving congregation that is very interested in the welfare of people here in Loveland and Northern Colorado,” he said.
To give an idea of the changes the church has endured when it was founded Larimer County had around 70,000 people living in it.
Today it has more than 350,000.
