In the 1970s, a group of United Methodists in Fountain Hills decided to form United Methodist Church. Layperson Charlie Thompson contacted The United Methodist Conference to get a church started, but since there were not many people in Fountain Hills in the late 70s, it was deemed impractical. So, several couples began meeting in homes, more United Methodists moved to Fountain Hills; the group grew and began meeting in a conference room at the Community Bank and the Kiwanis building.
In 1987, they received their first part-time minister, Rev. Buddie Johnson, and moved to a building on Enterprise Drive. Early in 1988, Rev. Don Henrich began as pastor and the church received its Certificate of Organization March 20th, 1988. The church was named the First United Methodist Church of Fountain Hills.
Rev. Jim O’Neal served as pastor from 1988 -1991. Rev. Ed Grant came in 1991 and that same year, a building was purchased and remodeled to serve as a new worship space. The church changed its name to The Fountains, A United Methodist Church, and Pastor Ed began a variety of creative ministries, including “Inspirations Coffee House” created with Chuck Marohnic. When Rev. Bert Lancaster retired to Fountain Hills in 1997, he assisted Rev. Grant for the next year.
Rev. Mark Lansberry came to The Fountains in 1999. In 2001, two lots were purchased at the NW corner of Glenbrook and Fountain Hills Blvd and rezoned for our church. In 2003 MTV Construction Company began building our beautiful 8,000 square foot sanctuary. A house, already on the property, was remodeled for church offices and classrooms. Worship services were held next door at the Fountain Hills Middle School while the sanctuary was built. The first service in the new sanctuary was November 30, 2003 and the church was consecrated Feb. 8, 2004 with Bishop William Dew.
Rev. David Felten, our current pastor, came to the Fountains in 2006. Pastor David is a Phoenix native, co-author of Living the Questions, and an advocate for progressive Christianity and social justice.
Connection Center
In May of 2018 the original church house was torn down to make way for a new Connection Center. The Connection Center, which now houses the church offices, has a unique multi-functional layout that can be adapted for many different functions. It was finished in June of 2019 and dedicated on January 12th, 2020.
Peace Pole Dedication
The Fountains United Methodist Church was honored to have Arun Gandhi as the keynote speaker at the dedication of its Peace Pole, September 26, 2009. Mr. Gandhi, the founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence and President of the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He was in the valley as part of the celebration of World Peace Day.
Mr. Gandhi dedicated the Peace Pole with a Sanskrit prayer chanted in Hindi. Some of those on hand included: the artist/creator of The Fountains’ Peace Pole, George Briani; Fountain Hills’ Mayor Jay Schlum; Carolyn Goldberg, President of Fountain Hills’ Beth Hagivot Jewish Congregation; and Chotzi Van Bemmel, representing Fountain Hills’ Church of the Ascension.
The Fountains’ Peace Pole was uniquely designed and crafted by member, George Briani and includes the phrase May Peace Prevail on Earth translated into six languages: Sanskrit, Yavapai, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, and English.
The Peace Pole Project™ was started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, who decided to dedicate his life to spreading the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in response to the bombings on Hiroshima. A Peace Pole is an internationally-recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message, May Peace Prevail on Earth, in different languages on each of its four or six sides. Since the beginning of The Peace Pole Project™ more than 200,000 Peace Poles have been planted in more than 200 countries around the world. Adapted from www.peacepoles.com.
Download a PDF copy of The Fountains UMC History Album
This album was started in 1987 and is an overview of the early history, ministers, memorials, love gifts, building God’s House, life groups, and property purchases at the permanent campus.