Last Sunday, worshippers at Coupeville United Methodist Church noticed several of their own looking like they had stepped out of the mid-1800s.

During the service, two of the1850s-dressed people, Doris Jones and Lillian Huffstetler, came forward to take the congregation back in time to 1853 when Coupeville United Methodist Church formed.

They touched upon Island County’s early white settlers and how people in the area worshipped before the Methodist Church came to be in 1853.

Without a church in the area, many would observe their sabbath in quiet meditation in their own homes, Jones said.

In April, 1853, worshippers on Central Whidbey found a home when the first Protestant services on the island were held in the home of Isaac Ebey.

Three months later, the Methodist Church was organized. Coupeville United Methodist is the third oldest church in the state.

Numbering six families and 18 bachelors, the church didn’t have a building until 1860.

In 1872, the church building was moved to a parcel of land where the present-day high school is located. The church lasted until 1893, when the building was destroyed by fire.

The church’s current location was built shortly thereafter.

In remembering the early days of the church, the worshippers kicked off the Coupeville United Methodist Church’s sesquicentennial celebration Sunday.

During the presentation by Jones and Huffstetler, Jones frequently quoted the diary of Rebecca Ebey, who died of tuberculosis in September 1853. She is seen as one of the sparks that formed the local church in the mid-1800s.

“It was Rebecca Ebey who got the ball rolling,” said Pastor Mary Boyd.

Also Sunday, Bishop Jack Tuell presented the congregation with an 1852 edition of the Doctrines and Disciplines of the Methodist Church and present and past members of the choir came together and sang during the service.

From the six families who started the congregation, the church has grown to its current size of about 300 worshippers.

“It’s a lively, involved congregation,” Boyd said. “We were instrumental in starting Gifts from the Heart,” she added, describing the food bank that is one of the church’s recent accomplishments.

Boyd said that the Methodist church also supports missionaries in Africa and has an expanding youth group.

The Founders Day service is the first in a series of events marking the church’s sesquicentennial.

On April 27, a Festival of Hymns will highlight how church music has changed over the years.

Next month, Bishop Elias Galvan will visit and on May 10, the church will hold an open house.

Coupeville United Methodist will have a float in the Memorial Day Parade and have a Cemetery Tour on May 25.

In June, there will be a potluck and there will be a day to recognize seafarers.

For more information, contact Coupeville United Methodist Church at 678-4256.

You can reach News-Times reporter Nathan Whalen at nwhalen@whidbey

newstimes.com or 675-6611.