What we believe
A Triune God- One living God, everlasting, full of wisdom, power, and love. We believe God is the maker of all things, known to us in three persons: the Father (Creator), the Son (Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
- God's Love for Us: Grace
- We believe that God's gift to each of us is a love and an acceptance beyond measure. We call it Grace. God's grace was alive in Jesus, and we see it at work in Him. God's grace comes into our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God that invites us to change our lives, to deepen our spiritual life, to travel and grow along our spiritual journey.
- Spiritual and Social Responsibility
- We believe that good works grow out of our encounter with Christ and His teachings. We seek to nurture and deepen our faith; we seek to make our faith more than words, by the way we choose to live our lives and serve others in need. More about the beliefs of United Methodists...
History of Sunrise
On February 3, 1980, under the leadership of Rev. James Cowell, Minister of Evangelism at First United Methodist Church, and Rev. Ray Mattheson, retired Air Force Chaplain, the first formal worship service of the Northeastern Methodist Fellowship was held at the Tot's Learning Center on York Road with about forty persons attending. This site was soon outgrown and the congregation moved to the Rockrimmon Children's Center on Delmonico in April 1980. Charter Sunday was there on June 15, 1980, with 75 members joining. The name ―Sunrise was chosen as it meant ―a new beginning. In November 1980, the 280-member congregation of Aldersgate UMC, located in the Cragmoor area, voted to merge with Sunrise. Their site had no room for expansion and Sunrise UMC was to be in the newly developing Briargate area. By February 1981, the Sunrise congregation moved to the third and final temporary site, the Zeider Zee Conference Center on Academy Blvd. Easter Sunday, April 19, 1981, was the worship service that united the two congregations. This merger and the subsequent sale of the Aldersgate church property along with a bond drive became the key to the future financing of the new Sunrise building at the corner of Briargate Blvd. and Union.
In the final decade of the 20th century, the membership grew about 50% from 900 to over 1,300. Directors of Care Ministries, Children's Ministries, Youth Ministries, and Music became full time positions. Support staff increased as well. Ongoing Preschool and Mother's Morning Out continue to be important programs. In 2003, Sunrise leadership came to the conclusion that added space was required to handle the growing ministry. This led to the purchase of land and a warehouse about one mile from the Briargate Campus. In August 2006, the Woodmen Campus was rededicated as the first phase of renovation was completed. This campus is now the home for our Contemporary Worship services in the Connection Center, the Student Ministries department and the Connection Café. Long term, the goal is to construct a new sanctuary building in the open field next to the Woodmen Campus and to reunite both campuses onto one location. Currently, Sunrise has over 2,000 members and continues to grow by God’s blessing. About 1,000 additional individuals are on the regular visitor rolls.
For more about where we are headed, see our Strategic Ministry Plan
The Founder of United Methodism
John Wesley (June 17, 1703 – March 2, 1791) was an 18th-century Anglican clergyman and Christian theologian who was an early leader in the Methodist movement. Methodism had three rises, the first at Oxford University with the founding of the so called ―Holy Club, the second while Wesley was parish priest in Savannah, Georgia, and the third in London after Wesley's return to England. The movement took form from its third rise in the early 1740s with Wesley, along with others, itinerant field preaching and the subsequent founding of religious societies for the formation of believers. This was the first widely successful evangelical movement in the United Kingdom. Wesley's Methodist connection included societies throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland before spreading to other parts of the English-speaking world and beyond. He divided his religious societies further into classes and bands for intensive accountability and religious instruction.