HISTORY OF FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
SECOND QUARTER CENTURY

1896 - 1920

Wichita, Kansas

DR. WORTHINGTON B. SLUTZ

In the fall of 1896, Dr. and Mrs. W. B. Slutz came to First Methodist Church. He was a strong preacher and a great organizer and the church was in excellent condition at the end of his four year pastorate. His salary was $2,000 a year, including the parsonage allowance. There were 853 members on the church roll. In 1900, Dr. Slutz transferred to the Indiana Conference. (We have not been able to secure any further information about Dr. Slutz. If anyone reading this page can supply us with additional information, please let someone on the Archives Committee know.)

REVEREND FRANK LYNCH

In March, 1900, Rev. and Mrs. Frank Lynch and family came to First Methodist Church from Grafton, West Virginia. Rev. Lynch was 40 years of age. He was a brilliant fearless preacher. He was also very active in the prohibition fight which was being waged at this time. During his pastorate, his 8 year old son died, and the following year, a new little son, Eugene Paul, was born.

Rev. and Mrs. Lynch were loved, not only by their church, but by the whole community.

In 1905 Rev. Lynch was granted a four month leave of absence, as he had been chosen as a delegate to the World Sunday School Convention held in Rome, Italy, and during his leave, was able to visit the Holy Land.

In March, 1907, Rev. Lynch and his family transferred to Topeka after six fruitful years at First Methodist Church, Wichita.

Rev. Lynch was born in Sissonville, West Virginia, May 14, 1860. He spent one year in Lebanon, Ohio Normal School and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio, in 1883. He served his first charge in the "Green Circuit" of Wheeling, West Virginia, and spent seventeen years preaching in the West Virginia Conference, before coming to Kansas. He spent the next 25 years preaching in many conference churches throughout the country.

He retired in 1925 in Marietta, Ohio, thus giving 42 years of active service in the Methodist ministry. He died in Marietta, Ohio, August 28, 1945.

REVEREND WILLIAM R. RUNYAN

In 1905 while Rev. Lynch was on a four month leave of absence from the church, Rev. William R. Runyan came to be the pastor. Rev. Runyan was "Conference Evangelist" at the time and was located in Wichita. He was 36 years old. He was well liked for his evangelistic preaching and hymn singing and is said to have "kept the church and its people happy." Rev. Runyan was born in Marion, New York, January 21, 1870. He attended Garrett Biblical Institute from 1895 to 1897 and started his ministry in 1894 at Leon, Kansas. He was appointed "Conference Evangelist" in 1903, and served as such till 1923 when he retired because of increasing deafness. He had served 34 active years in the ministry. He was on the editorial staff of Moody Bible Institute from 1926 to 1939. He was the Musical Editor with Hope Publishing Co. from 1944 to 1948. He received an Honorary Degree of L.L.D. from Wheaton College on June 14, 1948. He has published several books of poetry and about three hundred hymns. He and Mrs. Runyan lived with their daughter, Dorothy, at 4303 Caduceus Avenue, Dallas, Texas until his death in 1957.

DR. JOHN H. CUDLIPP

In April, 1907, Dr. and Mrs. John H. Cudlipp came to Wichita from Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was 43 years old, was very distinguished looking and very intellectual. He had a fine voice and was a refined minister, beloved by his congregation. He was pastor at First Methodist Church for two years and in the spring of 1909, exchanged pastorates with Rev. William H. Heppe to Grace Church, Portland, Oregon. Dr. Cudlipp was born April 2, 1864, in Cornwall, England, and at the age of two came with his parents to a small town near Detroit, Michigan. He started preaching in 1887 at Pickford, Michigan. He retired in 1931 in Portland, Oregon, having spent 44 years in the active ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in Portland, Oregon, April 29, 1935.

DR. WILLIAM H. HEPPE

In March, 1909, Dr. and Mrs. William H. Heppe and family came to First Methodist Church from Portland, Oregon. Dr. Happy was 42 years old at the time. Ha was very energetic and a very forceful speaker. He was a great fearless speaker for prohibition. He was minister for five fruitful years. These were hard years of extremely cold winters, summers of drouth, and poor crops. But by 1914, when he transferred to Burlington, Iowa, there were 992 members and the church was in good condition. Dr. Heppe was born March 1, 1867, in Peoria, Illinois. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in 1888 and 1889. He received his D.D. degree from the same school in 1892. He taught for 5 years at Iowa Wesleyan College before starting his ministry. His first charge was at Victor, Iowa, in 1893. He retired in 1930 after 37 active years in the ministry of the church. He moved to Denver and spent 5 years in preaching in a small chapel near Lakewood, Colorado. In 1952 he was injured in an automobile accident and moved to Lakewood, Colorado, to live with his daughter, Mrs. Fletcher Miller, and her family.

DR. J. R. MCFADDEN

On May 1, 1914, Dr. and Mrs. J. R. McFadden and family came to First Methodist Church from Chanute, Kansas. Dr. McFadden was 42 years old. Dr. McFadden's pastorate marked an epoch in the growth of First Methodist Church and by his effective labors became one of the outstanding churches in American Methodism. Under Dr. McFadden's leadership, the new church building began. In 1917 a plot of ground just north of the church was purchased from Dr. J. G. Dorsey - the father of Mrs. T. Walker Weaver. Plans were made to build the new church, but this was delayed because of the onset of World War I. However, the basement section was completed in 1920 in time for the 50th Anniversary. This was at the height of the terrible "flu epidemic," but the celebration was held in the new Fellowship Hall. In September, 1920, the Wednesday night dinner meetings for family fellowship and study were started. They were held in Fellowship Hall. On December 30, 1920, Dr. and Mrs. McFadden and family left for First M.E. Church in Salina. The membership was 1,147 and Dr. McFadden's salary of $4,400 had been paid in full. Dr. McFadden was born at Peoli, Ohio, October 26, 1872. He graduated from Scio College, Ohio, in 1898 and started to preach on the "Plainfield Circuit" in 1898. He received his B.S.T. from Garrett Biblical College, Evanston, Illinois, in 1902. His first charge was at Chetopa, Kansas, in 1902. He served his last pastorate at University Church, Salina, Kansas, in 1936. He accepted the Chairmanship and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Kansas Wesleyan in September, 1936, and remained with the college for 14 years, retiring in August, 1950. He served as Acting President of Kansas Wesleyan from November 1937 to March 1938. Mrs. McFadden died October 26, 1950. Dr. McFadden moved to the Methodist Home "Cassa de Manana" at LaJolla, California.

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