OUR HISTORY

Our  church was organized in 1885 under the leadership of Rev. E. H. Giles. It first met in an old school house on the SE corner of our present property. The congregation, numbering 80, completed a Chapel on the highway in 1893 at a cost of $1,200. A parsonage was built prior to 1896. A Fellowship Hall was completed in 1956.

Our church experienced substantial growth in the 1980’s and the small Chapel on the highway began to overflow with worshipers. The Lady Lake

Church for many years shared its pastor with one or more other churches, but with increased responsibilities and opportunities, in June, 1989 Pastor Ralph E. Rivers began to serve full-time. Later that year, in a step of faith the congregation purchased the old Lady Lake School, which had been built in 1927. The school building had been owned by a fruit company but was unused following the devastating freezes of 1983 and 1984. Over a year’s time the deteriorated building was renovated into a beautiful worship center with offices and Sunday School rooms. This was done largely through the volunteer labor of church members and friends. We were also aided by the Leesburg District Board of Church Extension and by sister churches. The first worship service was held in the renovated building on December 2, 1990. The building is now know as the Christian Life Center.

Pastor Frank Mason was appointed in June 1993 and the congregation continued to grow.  Lady Lake UMC

began to envision an even greater ministry in the rapidly growing Lady Lake area. We began planning to build a 420 seat sanctuary. In preparing for this, in the summer of 1996 the chapel was dismantled and moved to the United Methodist Life Enrichment Center at Lake Griffin. Early in 1998 we purchased a new parsonage. A year later the old parsonage, next to the church, was given to a nearby family and it was moved to a new location, making room for additional parking. In the spring of 2001 we remodeled the old Fellowship Hall and began holding children’s Sunday School there in July following a Celebrate Jesus Mission. We began holding services in our new sanctuary on March 24, 2002.

In July 2007, Pastor Frank retired and Chris Sanders was appointed as minister to the congregation of Lady Lake.  A 2006 graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, Chris has also attended Duke Divinity School.  Chris graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors of Science degrees in Biological Science and Science Education.  Before entering the ministry, Chris taught High School Science in Florida and North Carolina.  Chris has served churches in Henderson, North Carolina, Palm Bay and Punta Gorda, Florida.  Chris is married to Charissa Jaeger-Sanders, pastor of Wildwood United Methodist Church.  They have a dog, a Caviler King Charles Spaniel, whose name is Jessie.                         

In July 2013, Rev. Dr. Carolyn E. Thomas was appointed as Senior pastor to our congregation, replacing Chris Sanders who was appointed to a church in the North East District of Florida. Pastor Carolyn received her Bachelor of Science degree in 2003 from Philadelphia Biblical University. In 2006 she received her Masters of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary. Originally from Englewood, New Jersey - she and her husband relocated to Florida in 2006. Prior to being called into the ministry she worked for the Department of Social Services in New York City. Pastor Carolyn comes to Lady Lake with a sense of service to the church and to the community. We look forward to a exciting time in ministry in the coming years. Pastor Carolyn is married to Nathaniel Thomas, who is retired. They have 2 cats - Osca and Maya.

Updated: September, 2013