by Judy Williams

Despite a long history in the community, two churches in our rural area will be closing their doors this month.

• Sunday, May 17, will be a sad day in Plainfield as Plainfield Methodist Church services will end after 174 years. (This church is formally known as Plainfield United Methodist Church.)
• Our rural church community will suffer another blow on May 24, when the Trinity United Methodist Church on Iosco Road in Fowlerville is scheduled to close its doors after 66 years.

Plainfield Methodist Church

At one time, the unincorporated village of Plainfield was the location of two churches. History indicates a group of settlers formed the Presbyterian Society on June 1, 1838, and built the first church in 1869. That church lasted until sometime in the 1920s. Very little information is available on this long-gone church, which was located on property that currently is part of the Plainfield Cemetery.

The second church was established in 1852 when a group of citizens met to organize the Methodist Protestant Class, a term often used to refer to a small group who met in homes or schoolhouses before a church is built. This local Class first held their services at the Plainfield School. During a meeting of this Methodist Protestant Class on March 11, 1868, a resolution to build a church was approved. The church was built along what is now Michigan 36 (M-36), and it was dedicated Sept. 23, 1868. This Methodist Church was located on the opposite side of the road from the Presbyterian Church.

During the early years, the Methodist and Presbyterian churches would exchange services, with one holding Sunday morning service and the other holding the evening service.
 
By the 1870s, the little community of Plainfield was thriving. The growing village boasted a post office, school, general stores, a physician, several shops, and two churches. Community members also were anticipating the coming of a proposed Central Railroad Line.

During the first 100 years, life revolved around the churches with Sunday worship, prayer meetings, revivals, ice-cream socials, and even box socials in which women would decorate lunch boxes and men and boys could bid for the boxes and the right to share the contents for lunch. There were special programs at Christmas, and music played a big part in church with occasional music programs.

During an evening storm on June 8, 1906, the Methodist Protestant Church was struck by lightning and damaged by fire. The building and its contents were a total loss and there was no insurance. After the fire, the Presbyterian Society let the Methodists hold services in their church.

But from the ashes emerged a new, larger church with beautiful stained-glass windows. (Information on these windows can be found at michiganstainedglass.org. (Use the Search function to look for Keyword: “Plainfield United Methodist Church”) The church was built on the same site and dedicated on Jan. 27, 1907. Throughout the years, the building was improved. A stove and chimney were added in 1918. In 1927, the congregation decided to sell the horse sheds and use the money to excavate the Michigan basement to allow for the furnace and a place to store wood and coal. This project took several years to complete. By 1941, the basement was finally finished and included a kitchen.

Years ago, the Methodist Ladies Aid Society would hold an annual chicken pie supper and bazaar as its big moneymaker for the year. This eventually grew into almost monthly chicken, biscuit and gravy suppers, events the community enjoyed for more than 75 years. Before the COVID pandemic in 2020, the family-style dinners were held in the church basement. The large crowd would wait in the church sanctuary, visiting with neighbors, while waiting for a turn to have dinner. After COVID, the dinners were takeout only, and the last one was held this year on March 14. The ladies always fixed enough chicken for 200 dinners. Any latecomers were out of luck, as the dinners usually sold out.

Plainfield’s first decline occurred in about 1884, when the Grand Trunk Railroad went through Gregory and Stockbridge instead of their village. After that, many of Plainfield’s businesses and buildings were moved to Gregory or other locations.

The village’s next decline came after World War II. The center of the community was changing to the schools, and the local schools were consolidating. Women’s groups found members had less time to meet as women were busy taking children to their activities and some now worked at jobs outside the home.

In 1958, the Plainfield Methodist Church congregation faced a difficult decision after being approached with a proposal to merge with several area Methodist churches. The Plainfield congregation voted against the merger proposition, while the other three churches formed the Trinity Methodist Church.

In 1967, a merger with the Stockbridge Methodist Church was proposed. Again, the Plainfield congregation decided to remain on its own.

Currently, church membership is declining because of a lack of younger members.

“The youngest member of our church is 65 years old,” lamented congregant Sue Wagner, while working the last chicken and biscuit supper. “We haven’t been able to draw in younger families.”

Facing the current reality is not easy for the congregation.

“Our members are trying to deal with the loss of our church,” Sean Butler said. “We’re losing something we will never get back.”

The fate of the church building, a Michigan Historic Site, is now up to the discretion of the Michigan Methodist Conference.

Trinity United Methodist Church

Trinity United Methodist Church, located on the corner of Bull Run and Iosco roads, began 66 years ago. In 1960, the church was created from the merger of three other churches: Parker’s Corners; Iosco (also known as Green’s Church), a small church with no plumbing; and the West Marion Church, which had been destroyed by a fire.

Prior to this merger, West Marion shared a minister with the Fowlerville Methodist Church. Parker’s Corners, Iosco, and Plainfield Methodist churches were on a separate circuit with another minister.

“Even though I no longer live in the community, and I attend another church, I feel the unimaginable loss of these two churches,” Jean Anderson Kelley said. “My grandfather, the Rev. Harry V. Clark, was the minister for Plainfield and Parker’s Corners from 1926 to 1963. My mother told me stories about Grandpa helping with the digging of the Plainfield church basement.”

Jean continues, “My father, Clayton Anderson, along with many more, put their love of God into the building of the Trinity Church.”

The Plainfield Methodist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church have both played a major part in our rural community for decades. They will be missed by many. When the buildings close, community members will be left with only their memories of the past social events, baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

All photos by Judy Williams.