While the village of Cayuga celebrates its 150th anniversary, a small brick church within the village celebrates an anniversary of its own. The Cayuga United Methodist Church turns 175 this year.

The church's pastor, the Rev. Kevin Grish, who also happens to be the mayor of the village and a member of the volunteer fire department, has canceled Sunday's regular 11 a.m. service. Instead, he has planned a special 3 p.m. service that will bring back many former pastors from CUMC. After this service, an ice cream social will be offered to the public.

After moving to central New York and taking a position as the technical services manager at Mackenzie-Childs, Grish said he decided to become a United Methodist minister. Before that he had been a deacon in a Catholic Church in New Jersey.

After completing his necessary training, Grish occasionally filled in as an interim minister, when such an opportunity arose.

“The former pastor of the church had relocated and the District Superintendent offered me the position,” he said.

He officially became the new pastor July 1; the sign in front of the church lists Grish as the “Spiritual Leader.”

Grish said the church decided to combine its celebration with that of the village for one large community event.

“We have a float in the parade, and we're even going to have a circuit rider. He's a certified lay minister who will dress as a circuit riding preacher from the 1890s. He's going to give a fire and brimstone sermon at 2 p.m. today and a regular sermon at 4 p.m.” The guest minister's name is Jim Denelsbeck.

The history of the Cayuga church began in the early 1830s with the Rev. Moore, a local preacher who wanted