Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook
24. Westfield College and Seminary, an educational institution in Westfield was established by the United Brethren in Christ. It was originally founded as Westfield Seminary in 1861 by the United Brethren in Christ. Its charter was granted by a special act of Congress passed Feb 15, 1865. The school was co- educational from the beginning and in some years granted both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. Its peak enrollment, reached in 1909, was 160. It closed in June 1914 because of declining enrollment and lack of financial support. The building was subsequently used by the Westfield Township High School. It was destroyed by fire in 1917. In 1877, the 17th general conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ was held at Westfield College, during which, Rev. Milton Wright, father of the Wright Brothers Orville and Wilber, was elected bishop on May 10, 1877. 25. Moat’s Marker, located near Towanda, was erected to designate the location of the first United Brethren in Christ congregation in Illinois near Money Creek. Moats was pioneer leader in that first congregation. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Illinois Great Rivers Conference re-affirms the United Methodist Heritage landmarks that were approved by past General Conferences: 1. Peter Cartwright Church, Pleasant Plains, began in 1824 as a class in the Cartwright home. In 1838, Cartwright donated land and $300 towards the construction of a log chapel where the congregation worshipped until 1853. By that time, the church had grown so much that it had to divide into two congregations. One moved two miles west and built the Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church (which was torn down in 1953). The other moved into the new village of Pleasant Plains and the current building was constructed in 1857. Two additions have been made, but the sanctuary is nearly the same as it was during Cartwright’s time. The church is the site of the annual Cartwright Memorial Sermon and the church contains a small museum celebrating the life of Peter Cartwright. 2. Wesley Foundation at the University of Illinois was the first Wesley Foundation established in all of Methodism in 1913. The movement begun at Urbana soon spread to other college campuses, and eventually overseas. Today, thousands of Methodist college students find support, counsel, and fellowship at over 250 Wesley Foundations in the United States and in other countries. The original Wesley Foundation continues its own ministry to more than 1,500 students yearly. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Illinois Great Rivers Conference hereby designates an additional Historical Site: 1. Streator , where Ella Niswonger (1865-1944), the first woman ordained in The United Brethren Church, began her ministry at Hopewell UBC. She graduated from Union Biblical Seminary (now United Theological Seminary) in 1887 and received a quarterly conference license a few months later. Shortly afterward she began working as a pastor in Streator, where she would work almost continuously until 1940. She was ordained an elder in 1889. The
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