Rev. William V. Burns was sent to southwest Kansas in 1886 to serve the Methodists of Deerfield, Lakin and Hartland. It was his first charge as a missionary as he had just been granted a license to preach at the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church held at McPherson in the spring of 1886. The western part of Kansas was then being settled, and the church was ever mindful of the spiritual needs of new communities within its jurisdiction. Rev. Burns was sent with instructions to “Go Preach.” It was a large field with big responsibilities and even greater possibilities. The enthusiastic young preacher, not yet 21 years of age, met the challenge.
At Deerfield, Rev. Burns found five Methodists to organize a church. They were A.R. Downing, R.A. Beckett, Mrs. C.L. Beckett, “Grandma” Mary Keep and Mrs. Sam Barker. The first year the members met in the office of a lumber yard or the general store. The first trustees, five in number, were required to sign an official document upholding the Constitution of the United States and the State of Kansas. This was notarized August 17, 1895 by B.B. Bacon. A school house was built in 1887, and church services were held there until a church was erected.
In the fall of 1905, the United States Sugar and Land Company gave a building site and $100 towards the building of a church. The Methodist’s new church was dedicated to worship on Sunday morning, December 9, 1906. According to Garden City’s Reflector, the weather was a little threatening early in the day, but by 11 a.m. the church was well filled. Dr. F.E. Mossman, president of Southwest Kansas College at Winfield, delivered the address “after which, in a comparatively short time, nearly $1,400 were raised to cover the remaining indebtedness on the church building, its entire cost being about $3,000.”
In 1919, the church basement was begun. It was completed in 1920 and dedicated by the Rev. E.L. Nicholson. Services were held in the Baptist Church during construction. After completion, a community kitchen shower aided materially in furnishing the basement kitchen. A remodeling program was begun in 1949 under the leadership of Rev. W.A. Hawes, and on Easter Sunday 1950, a dedication program was held. The electric organ, a gift of the Ralph Miller Family, and other furnishings were dedicated by the district superintendent, Rev. J.R. Throckmorton.
On November 19, 1961, Deerfield Methodists celebrated their 75th anniversary by dedicating a beautiful new educational building. The building and furnishings cost $34,434.44 plus donated labor. Designed by Howard Blanchard, the building was constructed by Richard Landon. The Rev. Bob Fleenor was the minister at that time, and Dr. Lester R.Templin, district superintendent, was guest speaker for dedication activities which included morning and afternoon worship services as well as a family basket dinner. The event brought to a close a successful three-year funds campaign.
On March 21, 1973, a building committee was elected to look into replacing the old church building. The last service was held in the old church on Sunday, March 3, 1974. The building was torn down starting on Monday, March 11 that year. This was done by men, women and children working together. Soon the workers razed the facility, cleared the site and made ready for the construction of a new church.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new brick structure were held on April 21 of 1974, and construction began the following day. The placing of the cornerstone was held March 2, 1975, following church services in the Lutheran Church where services had been held since March 10 of 1974. The placing of the cornerstone was done by Richard and Kent Landon and Anson Maddux. Some of the articles placed in the cornerstone included bulletins from special services; special anniversary bulletins; articles written about the Methodist Women, Men’s Brotherhood, choir, youth groups, ministers and church history; Bibles; hymnals; choir tape, Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs and 1974 coins.
Consecration services were held April 20, 1975, and a record number of former pastors, members and friends came to participate. Then, on December 7, 1975, the Rev. Dr. Ruben Reyes, pastor of the church, was assisted by Bishop Earnest T. Dixon of Topeka at the dedication service. Rev. Charles Hadley was the pastor when the church initiated the building program, drew plans, and launched the successful financial campaign which raised sufficient funds to begin building. Designed by architect Keith Fillmore and constructed by Richard Landon, the beautiful new building at Eighth and Walnut was originally estimated to cost $139,000, but the cost at completion was $125,000. “It was the labor and love of this congregation for many previous years, that made this possible for us to have this beautiful sanctuary, fellowship hall and kitchen.”
On October 16, 1990, the decision was made to remodel and add on a second floor to the educational building. On November 4 that year, Jay Dean Landon, Dick Horton and others started removing the roof and soon the volunteers were in action. Richard and Kent Landon were the contractors for the remodeling and new addition, and they too volunteered many hours. The first Sunday School classes were held in the new addition in April of 1993 with the dedication taking place on October 17, 1993 under the leadership of then minister Rev. Don Koehn. The total cost for remodeling and the new addition was around $75,000. Memorial money helped fund the addition and furnishings, and two beautiful stained glass windows were designed and donated by Jay Dean and Joan Landon for the new addition. This addition would not have been possible without the hard work of all volunteers and the love, the skill, and dedication of the congregation. A VIP club (Volunteers In Painting) was formed and donated money to have both levels painted. The educational building was then named “The Hazel Shriver Educational Building” in honor of one of Deerfield’s own who gave immensely to the community as well as to the church to help it grow and reach its goals.
“We celebrate, however, not only the beauty and magnificence of this building, but the faith, the love, and the dedication of all those who worked, prayed and gave of their monies that we might have this house for the praise of Him who is the giver of the house itself, our lives, and all things.”
SOURCES: October 17, 1993 Deerfield UMC program; archived Deerfield UMC Congregation Directory; History of Kearny County Vol. I; Museum archives, and archives of the Harper Sentinel, Reflector, Garden City Telegram, Methodist LIFE, and Lakin Independent.