cross and flame

The Cross and Flame is a registered trademark and the use is supervised by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church. Permission to use the Cross and Flame must be obtained from the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church:

 

Legal Department
GCFA
Post Office Box 340029
Nashville, TN 37203-0029
Phone: 615-369-2334
Fax: 866-246-2516

The Local Church

Kennewick First United Methodist Church is part of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Seven Rivers District. Our local church was established in 1902 as the Kennewick First Methodist Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Rev. Ezekiel Rubicam, a pastor from Kiona who added Kennewick to his circuit. The original church had 5 members. For three years the congregation met in various places until a banker, W.R. Amon led a drive for funds to build. A white frame church building, costing $3,750, was soon erected and a mortgage for $1,214 to build the parsonage next door followed. By 1920 the original church was too small to accommodate the growing congregation, so in 1923 the new brick Methodist Episcopal church was completed with a bell tower, stained glass windows, and enough oak pews to seat a large portion of the community. It is the grand old building you see today. The church has undergone a recent addition and is planning a new fellowship hall in the near future. Kennewick First UMC celebrated its Centennial in 2002 marking 100 years of ministry and history. Our church continues to be be a hallmark of hospitality in the town of Kennewick, hosting many community groups, school functions, and outreach ministries. Kennewick First United Methodist Church is evolving with the times yet retaining it's heritage and a firm foundation of faith.

The Global Church

The United Methodist Church is an 11-million-strong global church that opens hearts, opens doors and opens minds through active engagement with our world.

John Wesley and the early Methodists placed primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action. This emphasis on what Wesley referred to as "practical divinity" has continued to be a hallmark of United Methodism today. We invite you to learn more about our rich theological heritage.


To learn more about our beliefs, please click here to access the link on our National website.

The Cross & The Flame

The history and significance of the Cross and Flame emblem are as rich and diverse as The United Methodist Church. The insignia's birth quickly followed the union of two denominations in 1968: The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Following more than two dozen conceptualizations, a traditional symbol—the cross—was linked with a single flame with dual tongues of fire. The resulting insignia is rich in meaning. It relates The United Methodist church to God through Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flame is a reminder of Pentecost when witnesses were unified by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw "tongues, as of fire" (Acts 2:3).

The elements of the emblem also remind us of a transforming moment in the life of Methodism's founder, John Wesley, when he sensed God's presence and felt his heart "strangely warmed." The two tongues of a single flame may also be understood to represent the union of two denominations.

The insignia, one with lettering and one without, was formally adopted by the General Conference in 1968 and registered in 1971 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Since 1996, the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of The United Methodist church has supervised the emblem's use.
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The Story of our Altar Cross
Our handmade altar cross was made by J. Carl Laney in the 1960's. He was received into our church December 12th, 1945, transferring form Yakima's 1st Methodist church when he and his family moved to Pasco. He and his wife Harriet later moved to Kennewick and J. Carl was an active member, teaching Sunday school and also preaching. In September, his son Carl Laney and Carl's daughter Jenny Rexius, traveled from Eugene, Oregon, to the Tri-Cities to trace some family history. One of their stops was at our church so they could take some pictures of the cross that her grandfather built. This is what she shared with me.

 "We all have such fond memories of attending church there when my granddad taught an adult Sunday School class for years, beginning when he retired around age 65 and continuing into his 80's. He expressed later in his life that was the best thing he ever did. He and my grandmother LOVED that church and the people loved them as well. We celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary there in the mid-60's. They must have done something right as my grandmother lived to be 102--died on her birthday! I clearly remember my grandfather working on the cross in his basement wood shop. Jenny Rexius"

J. Carl died November 8, 1975. Harriet followed him on her 102nd birthday, February 9, 1994. A piece of them lives on not only through the beautiful cross that reminds us of our faith, but in the teaching and serving they and their family did while they were with Kennewick First. It is dedicated saints like these that we remember, that inspire us and spur us on in our ministry now. May we continue on in this heritage of devotion so that we touch others lives as deeply for God as those in the past have.
Carl Laney, the son of J. Carl Laney, our 'cross maker' and daughter Jenny Rexius at the foot of the cross her grandfather crafted for our church fifty years ago.