Langley United Methodist Church marks 125 years with May events

Langley United Methodist Church marked its 125th anniversary with the kind of night that has long defined its place in Langley: a packed-house dinner, a baked potato bar, karaoke, an open mic and a talent show that drew 32 acts. The May 9 celebration doubled as a reminder that the church has survived for more than a century not just as a building on Anthes Street, but as a gathering place for music, humor and community life.

A second anniversary observance is set for Sunday, May 17, at 10 a.m., when Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth will lead a special service followed by a reception. Bridgeforth was elected bishop in November 2022 and assigned to the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

The church’s story reaches back to Aug. 11, 1901, when 14 people meeting at the Friends Community Church petitioned the Methodist Conference in Olympia to become a Methodist church. The congregation’s building was completed in 1909 at its present site on Anthes Street. The name changed in April 1953 to Langley Community Methodist Church, and it became Langley United Methodist Church after the Methodist Church and the United Brethren Church joined in 1968.

That history helps explain why the anniversary has been framed locally as more than a date on a calendar. The church describes itself as a place where visitors can find inclusiveness, social justice, music and space to think through spiritual and ethical questions. In a town where institutions often carry civic weight well beyond their formal mission, the church has remained a familiar anchor for longtime members and newcomers alike.

Barbara MacCallum, a retired teacher from Alaska who runs a bed and breakfast in Langley, offers one example of that reach. She had grown used to watching services on television, but after attending a church service tied to honoring a longtime Langley piano teacher, she returned because she liked the pastor’s style. Her experience reflects how the congregation continues to draw people into Langley life through worship and music.

The church’s civic footprint extends beyond Sunday services. Langley United Methodist Church provided the initial sponsorship for Hearts & Hammers, the South Whidbey home-repair volunteer effort that began as a pilot project in 1994 and later grew to about 350 volunteers working on roughly 25 to 30 homes a year. Music has also remained central to the congregation’s identity, with longtime organist and pianist Kathy Fox playing nearly every Sunday for about five decades before retiring.