Clinton First United Methodist Church stands on the corner of 4th and Blackman Streets in Clinton, Indiana, just south of the public library and a block from the Wabash River town it has anchored for more than a century. The brick building, finished in 1915 and 1916, is part of a continuous Methodist presence that dates to 1882 and is known across Vermillion County for two things in particular: a Tiffany stained-glass window program inside the sanctuary, and a cluster of community missions that reach well beyond the church walls. The church operates as part of the Wabash Valley #83 Cluster of United Methodist congregations, partnering regularly with Wayside UMC, Salem UMC, Newport UMC, and Eugene Methodist on shared outreach.
A Building with Tiffany Windows
The present sanctuary was dedicated in 1915 and 1916, and a 1966 celebration marked its golden anniversary. After a major remodeling, the sanctuary was rededicated in 1997, and in 2015 the building marked its own centennial. Inside, visitors find a set of stained-glass windows made by the Tiffany Studios, a feature that has drawn interest well beyond the local congregation. A detailed history of the windows, written by Michelle Reed Itczak, is available in PDF form, and several windows are pictured throughout the church's records.
The Main Entrance to the building is reached from Blackman Street on the north side, where a ramp leads to an elevator just inside the exterior door. Parking is available on the street, in the church's Barn to the east, and in the Clinton Public Library lot behind the library to the west. Inside, a sanctuary, fellowship hall, classrooms on a second floor, a kitchen, and meeting rooms support a full weekly schedule of worship and small groups. The church posts detailed policies for weddings, building use, and outside groups, including custodial and sound technician fees, and a no-tobacco, no-alcohol policy throughout the building.
Sunday Morning Rhythm
A Sunday at Clinton First follows a familiar pattern: praise music, blended worship, fellowship, and small groups. The Praise Band welcomes the congregation beginning at 9:10 am, with praise music continuing for roughly fifteen minutes before the order of worship begins. The service itself is intentionally a mix of contemporary and traditional features in both the order of worship and the music, drawing on a Praise Team that also takes part in community events around Clinton.
Children are welcome in worship. After the service, a Fellowship Time offers coffee, lemonade, and snacks from about 10:15 am to 10:45 am. Small Groups for All Ages begin at 10:45 am, with classes held for children from age two up. Children's classes are arranged by school grade and meet on the second floor; adult classes are arranged by age or by topic of study. Visitors who arrive late are pointed toward the Welcome area and the Helpful Links section, where directions, the local weather, the UMC lectionary calendar, and UMC News are gathered.
Music, Messages, and Holy Communion
Music is a thread that runs through everything at Clinton First. The Praise Team provides opening music each Sunday and participates in community events promoting praise music. Past sermons are available as MP3 files and can be subscribed to through an RSS feed. A History of Hymns link connects worshipers to background on the hymns used in services.
Holy Communion is central to the congregation's life. The sacrament is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and is open to all Christians regardless of church affiliation. Children may participate as members of God's family even when they do not yet understand the full meaning of the sacrament. Communion is also offered on Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday, and the pastor takes the sacrament to shut-in and homebound members by request. By arrangement, Holy Communion can be celebrated by various groups in other settings. United Methodists believe that Christ is present in Spirit through the bread and cup, and the congregation practices open communion rather than closed communion.
The church observes the full Christian Year, with printed guides for the liturgical seasons, colors, and United Methodist special days. Advent is marked in purple or blue; Christmas and Epiphany in white or gold; Lent in purple; Holy Week with a bare altar; Easter in white or gold; Pentecost in red; and the long season after Pentecost (called Kingdomtide by some United Methodists) in green. The congregation also observes the six churchwide United Methodist special Sundays each year: Human Relations Day, UMCOR Sunday, Native American Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, World Communion Sunday, and United Methodist Student Day.
Risk-Taking Missions Across Vermillion County
Clinton First organizes its community work around what it calls the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, drawn from the book by Missouri Bishop Robert Schnase. One of those practices, Risk-Taking Mission, has grown into a regional network of programs coordinated through the Wabash Valley #83 Cluster. The church's mission statement is simple: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, with a vision of sharing the love, faith, and service of Jesus Christ with the community.
The mission portfolio includes a Back-To-School Program that provides pencils and erasers to Vermillion County Schools each fall; a Clinton Area Food Pantry collection of non-perishable food and cash taken at intervals throughout the year; support for UMCOR Advance Projects and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission; and direct support for local, state, national, and international mission trips of members and constituents. Two larger programs - Free Laundry Day and the Wildcat and Falcon Christmas - have become signature ministries in their own right.
Free Laundry Day
Free Laundry Day began in Clinton and is now in its fourth year. Twice a month, on the first and third Wednesdays from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, anyone needing to wash clothes is welcome to join the program at the Uptown Laundromat on the corner of 4th and Mulberry Streets. Volunteers supply quarters and laundry detergent, with a typical two-load limit per person. On a typical Free Laundry Day, volunteers wash an average of 80 loads. The project is sponsored by the Wabash Valley 83 UMC Cluster and has drawn support from Bombas as a Giving Partner. A Wal-Mart Free Laundry Day Registry allows donors to order supplies directly, and the program has been featured on Hi99 Breakfast Bribe and in local coverage. Local officials and media have recognized it as an award-winning project for the way it removes a small but persistent barrier to school and work attendance.
The BackPack Program
The BackPack Program is the church's longest-running mission. It began in January 2011 after a brainstorming meeting of church members who wanted to do something about local children facing food insecurity over weekends. A four-week pilot that May served 74 students at Central Elementary using a church closet for storage and a Sunday school classroom for packing. The program expanded steadily: to 110 students at Central that first full year, then to Ernie Pyle and Van Duyn Elementary Schools in February 2013 with grant support from the United Methodist Foundation of Indiana. Today the program serves approximately 220 students in need from South Vermillion elementary schools, who take home a backpack most weekends during the school year. A typical bag includes a juice box, a shelf-stable milk, two breakfast, two lunch, and two fruit items.
The program is organized and operated entirely by volunteers, with funding from financial and in-kind donations and grants from individuals, businesses, and community groups. Nutritional and health inserts are added to the bags once a month. Permission slips are available from school teachers, and donations can be sent to the BackPack Program at Clinton First United Methodist Church, PO Box 186, Clinton, IN 47842. The program has tracked steady totals year by year: 5,480 bags in its expansion year, 7,676 the following year, and 7,352 the year after.
Wildcat and Falcon Christmas
The North Vermillion Falcon Christmas and South Vermillion Wildcat Christmas programs together serve 150 carefully selected middle and high school students from South Vermillion middle and high schools in Clinton and North Vermillion High School in Cayuga. Working closely with principals and faculty, organizers identify students who face hardships or who need help blending in at school. Each student receives a new outfit, shoes, a coat, warm blankets, pillows, toiletries, and other items. The program operates through a year-round planning cycle that begins the day after each year's mission ends, with strategic planning for the next round of donations and grants.
The Falcon Life Skills Secret Santa is a related program focused specifically on the North Vermillion Life Skills classroom. Each student receives a Christmas bag with a pillow, blanket, new clothing, toiletries, special books, a school-logo hoodie to help them blend in with other students, and a sensory toy, all chosen to support personal growth and resilience. Both programs are sponsored by the Wabash Valley #83 Cluster, with Vermillion County Community Foundation support, and are partners with Project Linus in Terre Haute. A Wal-Mart registry allows donors to purchase specific items, and a Bombas Giving Partnership supplies socks and underwear.
The Blessing Box
On the north side of the church, a Blessing Box provides a variety of food items and other donated goods for anyone in the community who needs them. The box is restocked regularly by volunteers, and a Wal-Mart Registry for the Blessing Box lets donors order specific items to be shipped to the church. Items can also be ordered by visiting the Wal-Mart Christmas Project Underwear Collection Registry, which supports the Wildcat and Falcon Christmas programs as well.
Small Groups for All Ages
Beyond Sunday morning, Clinton First runs small groups at various times for Bible study and fellowship. The church frames this work as Intentional Faith Development, one of the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Adult groups are arranged by age or by topic of study. Children's groups are arranged by school grade, beginning at age two. A Vacation Bible School is held annually during the summer. The congregation's Bible study rhythm draws on the United Methodist lectionary, and a glossary page defines worship terms from acolyte to lay liturgist to lectionary readings for visitors who are new to liturgical language.
United Women in Faith: Esther Circle
United Methodist Women has been renamed United Women in Faith, and the local chapter at Clinton First is the Esther Circle. The group meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm, except in January, February, July, and August, with meeting locations announced in the Sunday bulletin. Officers are President Karen Hartman, Vice President Lou Ann Andis, and Secretary/Treasurer Audrey Lientz. The Esther Circle welcomes all ladies, with carpooling and directions available from any member. The chapter is part of United Women in Faith of Indiana, the statewide arm of the national organization.
Wrapped in His Love and the Prayer Shawl Ministry
A small group called Wrapped in His Love maintains a Prayer Shawl Ministry. Prayer shawls have a long tradition in Christian caregiving, and the group continues that tradition with knitted, crocheted, and soft-fabric shawls. The Shawl Maker begins with prayers and blessings for the recipient, known or unknown, and continues praying throughout the creation of the shawl. After a final blessing, the shawls are given to members of the church and the wider community who need comfort and love during times of hardship. The shawls receive their final blessing during prayer time periodically throughout the year. Anyone interested in making prayer shawls is invited to join; those who know of someone in need can contact Kathy Davis.
A Prayer Chain supplements this ministry. Prayer requests can be initiated by calling the church office at 765.832.3159.
Youth: UMYF, VBS, and Camping
Youth ministry at Clinton First operates as United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF), but the youth themselves meet with the Vermillion County Cluster #83 Youth, led by Angie Brewer. Cluster events rotate among the Wabash Valley #83 congregations and are listed on the church calendar and on its Facebook page. The church also partners with Camp Impact, a regional United Methodist camp where youth and adults participate in summer programming and retreats.
Vacation Bible School is held each summer. The program brings together children from across the community for a week of Bible stories, music, crafts, and games. Planning and registration information appears on the church's calendar as the season approaches.
The Wabash Valley 83 Cluster
Much of what Clinton First does is shaped by its membership in the Wabash Valley #83 Cluster of United Methodist churches. The cluster includes Clinton First UMC, Wayside UMC in Clinton, Salem UMC in Hillsdale, Newport UMC in Newport, and Eugene Methodist in Eugene. Cluster activities include Free Laundry Day, the Wildcat and Falcon Christmas, BackPack Program support, SAWS ramp builds, and the joint UMYF. Monthly cluster meetings rotate among the member churches and are open to anyone who wants to attend.
Through the cluster, the church also connects with UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM), supporting disaster relief and short-term mission trips both at home and abroad.
Visiting Clinton First
The church building is open throughout the week, with the office reachable at 765.832.3159. Pastor Duane Caperton can be reached at 812-251-2141 or by email at duane.caperton@inumc.org. General inquiries can be sent to clintonfirst@gmail.com. Sunday morning visitors will find parking on the street, in the Barn to the east of the church, or in the library lot to the west. The accessible entrance is on Blackman Street, with a ramp and an elevator just inside the door. Those who want to learn more before visiting can review the calendar, browse the photo and document album, or follow the church on Facebook and YouTube, where worship videos and photo albums from church life and outreach events are posted regularly.
From the Tiffany windows in the sanctuary to the laundry detergent handed out at the Uptown Laundromat, Clinton First United Methodist Church works to be the same congregation in both places: rooted in a century-old building on South 4th Street and walking the streets of Vermillion County with the people who live there.