We boldly empower laity to answer their call to serve God.

Find friendship and purpose by joining a small group.

Small groups meet regularly to socialize, support each other, share a ministry.

  • Serve our church: Tuesday Morning Work Group.

  • Meet a need: Play Group, Kitchen “Pop-ups” as needed to bake biscuits, make soup, etc.

  • Serve a wider community: In-Stitches, Prayer Shawls.

  • Enjoy fellowship: Daytime Book Club.

Build connections by working together on a specific task.

  • Strawberry Festivals

  • Grandma’s Attic

  • Holly Boutique luncheons

  • Friday Night Out Suppers

  • Angels with Tool Belts

Make an impact by partnering with other ministries.

  • Canton Food Bank

  • Disaster Recovery Mission Trips

Participate in engaging fellowship activities.

  • Potluck lunches

  • Outdoor Summer Movie Nights for families

  • Movies & Dinner in Case Hall in the winter

Providing support and encouragement for our congregation.

  • Card Ministry

  • Friendly Visitors

  • Memorial Garden

  • Neighboring Circles

Meet Our Pastors

Pastor Gene Ott

Senior Pastor

Preaching and Methodism are in Gene’s family, going back to his great-grandfather. His love of storytelling is foundational to his commitment to community formation, and he believes that loving God, self, and neighbor springs from loving relationships. As a husband and father of two children, Gene preaches in a relatable and practical style. He likes airplanes, old cars, and long books.

Deacon Deb Clifford

Director, Congregational Development

Deb is happy that her two sons, daughter-in-law, granddog, and parents live nearby. A fitness enthusiast just now learning to play the Ukulele, she uses her years of corporate experience in leadership and team development to inspire and enable church leaders. Deb is a powerful preacher passionate about inclusion, service, and community.

Pastor Gene Ott and Deacon Deb Clifford serve 4 churches (affectionately referred to as “the quad”) within the Farmington River Parish. We are one of those churches.

We are part of a quad of churches within the Farmington River Cooperative Parish, which includes the Simsbury United Methodist Church, Copper Hill United Methodist Church, and Washington Hill United Methodist Church.

How does a quad of churches function?

We are 4 churches who share a pastor and a deacon. As such, we always have an ordained minister during worship services on the first Sunday of the month and for significant church holidays. The rest of the time, we rely on a bevy of exhorters from the churches in our quad and our parish to share the message on Sunday mornings.

What is an “exhorter?”

An exhorter is a lay person who preaches the Sunday sermon; and it is a word you will frequently hear as laity is now playing a larger role in our worship service. Here is a little background information.

John Wesley, in 1743, wrote a description of the united societies as “a company of men (and women) having the form and seeking the power of godliness, united to pray together, receive words of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their salvation.”

An exhortation is intended to urge, persuade or encourage the listeners to do something or take some action. It is a way of communicating that is persuasive and powerful. An “exhorter” is a perfect descriptor for the person delivering the Sunday sermon.

We are an historic church

The North Canton Community United Methodist Church is an historic church in North Canton, Connecticut. It was founded in 1871 at the intersection of Cherry Brook Road (Route 179) and Case Street on land donated by Milo Lee and Ruggles Case. The first service was held April 12, 1872.

An adjacent parsonage was purchased from Milo Lee in 1875. The church is a member of the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. 

The church has hosted an annual strawberry festival since 1951, with the exception of two years (2020, 2021) during the COVID epidemic.