Lodi man compiles history of last 50 years of First Methodist Church

Wayne Field, who has been a member of the First United Methodist Church in Lodi for his entire life, holds a copy of the book he wrote about the past 50 years of the church's history. The book, "Fifty Golden Years — 1958-2008," can be purchased from the First United Methodist Church, located at 200 W. Oak St., Lodi. (Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel)

Lodi man compiles history of last 50 years of First Methodist Church

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Saturday, November 22, 2008 6:04 AM PST

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Some serious religious history — 155 years of Lodi's First United Methodist Church — has just been published and is available to the public.

Wayne Field, a Lodi Methodist church member for all of his 83 years, has put his blood and sweat into updating his church's history. A history book depicting the church from 1853 to 1958 was previously written — but nothing recorded since then, until the beginning of November.

That's when Field came in — to catch up on the last 50 years at Church and Oak streets.

Do you remember any of the former pastors, such as Norm Mowery, Darrell Thomas, Herbert Hirschfeld, Frank Norris, Richard Bimson and Jackson Butler?

How about the people who made the choirs sing? Sunday school?

You can read about their lives in the history book, thanks to written histories.

"The whole thing is accented on people and names. It's full of names," Field said. "I tried to include every group and every activity. It's not easy to do when the minister (Alan Kimber) asks you to do a history of 50 years."

History book at a glance

Name: Fifty Golden Years — 1958-2008.
Where to find it: First United Methodist Church, 200 W. Oak St. at Church Street, Lodi.
Cost: A $12 donation is requested; $15 to have it mailed to you.
Phone: 368-5357.
Web site: www.lodifirstchurch.org.
Source: First United Methodist Church

Field said he wanted to avoid histories of other churches that focus more on building expansion and new structures and little on the people who made the church what it was.

The book highlights the current church building opening on June 10, 1919

Field spent a year-and-a-half collecting material from all kinds of people, including all living former ministers. And for ministers who died, their children were contacted.

It all started a couple of years ago when Kimber approached his church's history committee and said the history hadn't been updated since 1958. He asked the committee to do an update. Everyone pointed their finger at Field.

He has a strong background in journalism, having owned the Galt Herald for a couple of years beginning in 1948, and serving as journalism and yearbook adviser for 10 years at Lodi High School and nine years at Tokay.

He had a reputation for writing skills, so he was appointed the task of compiling history.

One of Field's favorite parts of the book is about the church's highly successful ice cream socials from 1939 to 1980. He writes about the 15 gallons of cranked ice cream that were served and the work that went into getting the socials organized — more than four pages worth.

"The ice cream socials got so big that we had to have them five nights in a row to accommodate everybody," Field said.

Field has been a Lodi Methodist church attendee for all of his 83 years, but he doesn't really rely on the Bible for his inspiration.

"You could be as religious as Jesus would like and never enter a church," he said. "I belong to the Methodist church more because of its social programs of helping people and do good."

Now that he's done with the history book, Field can go back to his hobbies — the nine model airplanes he has in a back room of his house and his VHS tapes of every San Francisco 49ers football game since 1984.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

airheart6 wrote on Nov 29, 2008 2:56 AM:

" Mr Field, Thanks for doing such a great thing for the Methodist Church and for the community of Lodi. I only wish I had known you were putting this together when I saw you last summer at our high school reunion. I have lots of old photos that my father had taken over the years of some of the Ice Cream Socials, the Women's Circle that my mother had been a member of (2 of them), as well as all of the ministers you mentioned in the article (Herb Hirschfeld even performed my wedding ceremony;and I think Frank Norris performed my sister's). I will be anxious to get my copy...and plan on giving a copy to my mother...who I think has been a member for a long time too...maybe not as many years as you...but up there. Mom will be 89 in February and I think she joined when she was 22....so that's only 66 yrs. Guess she's got some catching up to do. "

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StuckinLodi57 wrote on Nov 26, 2008 10:57 AM:

" Congratulations to Mr. Field and the Methodist Church! As a former student and staff member (yearbook and newspaper), I heartily appreciate Mr. Field's love of writing and talent. I tell people all the time that he is the man who made me the professional writer I am today. He helped me find my "voice" and encouraged me in a way no teacher previously had. In a very tangible way, I owe my career to him and am delighted that, at 83, he is still writing and contributing to the community. Job well done, Mr. Field! "

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CaJewels wrote on Nov 25, 2008 11:41 AM:

" Mr. Field what a wonderful gift you have given to our community. I was raised at this church and have many fonds memories of the cake walks, nursery school and singing in the children's choir. I hope you can disregard the rude comments about your faith. You don't have to be a member of a church or a regular attendee to have a strong faith in God or Jesus. I would love to purchase the older history and the current history book. Audi 5000, please re-read the article. You are putting words into the story that are not there. Keep your criticism for the gang bangers and drug dealers in our community. "

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Audi 5000 wrote on Nov 25, 2008 10:38 AM:

" Mr. Field, 83 years attending church and you are not inspired by the Bible? You attend church just for the social functions? How have you missed the message? Certainly the earthly good a church can do is evident, but our primary focus needs to be one of eternity and our relationship with Jesus. The Bible is the centerpiece of a Christian's life, as it spells out what the Christian life is all about. Ignoring the Bible is ignoring God's word and ignoring what He desires from us.

I encourage you to rediscover the joy of God's word, and its practical application to daily life. "

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