Lee County P.L.S. - Lee 7.6 HIS of the South Georgia Conference 3 1032 00021090 2 HISTORY OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH a man namedWESLEY 04* KW> CW*M&V*OiX/>- -j^nn | . -**- o*tnwiujK>i^*a.j "*v. Qeumu Voave, ^wb^isiojLPcw em^mho on tp* *m * ntm *w - mi vi(\ Vjr- t*-**"* ii^i wr rwv^v Vj I S/U.'K Y' W '// ,sr p/.. '-A." - 3X, Jr';- tf^rr^prf* \ &-**-,+y*** &* 'u- z'/ 'i-S- " ...'V~ **--< *&* < S ^ ^ s s 'I .y?j ^ .^V' , /Z^ , >.*yVRK: :7~<''s -r ^,... . :-^:r*.v *.:.r. .-v.. -t*--T'>= =..; ' /t PxaX .-,??>.* Z-5- m *tA*~*X!**fXy-* )/' ' ' ' >*' '. / . / s s. I r f e- r^. <^ - ^ s/t - - :"> A-i~ y&f 4 <--'r-- <- , .>,>;r.r7.- >3 iliisill IS ggBBjBj| li ilililili iSp p MHH| IfifiKWilH y. I ?|f| 1 -X'-Y >-^. 1 /^^**-^~. /-*-*-**-* ,C?n<**40tA., &C S' S. ||ii| 11 >-1 H|*| s iiii ^i^p # s 7^., ,4 . -*-...i- > m&sm S^Si r- : :4^< - from South Georgia Conference Archives Depository 11 Chapter 1 GEORGIA METHODISM BEFORE 1866 Marynell S. Waite When American Methodism became an organized church, The Methodist Episcopal Church, at the Christmas Conference of 1784, Baltimore, Maryland, it has been forty-seven years since 1736 when Rev. John Wesley had spent a year and nine months as the religious leader for the new colony of Georgia, which extended south from Savannah to Frederica on St. Simons Island and north to Purrysburg on the Savannah river. In later writings, Mr. Wesley referred to the Sunday afternoon services of humn singing, prayers and expounding of the scriptures held in the par- sonage in Savannah as the second rise of Methodism. Yet the rise of Methodist Societies, which were the start of Methodism in America, came 25 years after John Wesleys return to England and his Aldersgate experience. In the early 1760s a young Irish lay preacher-farmer, Robert Strawbridge, began holding services in his cabin in Maryland and organizing societies in his area; a carpenter in New York, Philip Embry, began preaching at the insistence of his cousin, Barbara Heck, while a young English regimental soldier, Captain Thomas Webb, began holding services in a sail-rigging loft near the great lakes. By 1769 young English lay preachers, converts of Mr. Wesleys preaching in England and Ireland, were answering his call for volunteers to carry the gospel to the col- onies. Of these men, Joseph Pilmore was the first to come all the way down to Savannah, Georgia, where he visited Bethesda Or- phanage built by George Whitefield in 1740 after the example of Charles Wesley, who saw the plight of the orphan children in Savannah in 1736 and took them into the parsonage to care for them. When the American Revolution came, all of Mr. Wesleys lay preachers returned to England except Francis Asbury who sided with the American colonies. Despite 12 Rev. Don Adams portrays John Wesley as Savannah celebrates' Georgias 250th birthday. suspicion and threats upon his life, Asbury continued to preach, establish Methodist Societies and meet with the American lay preachers in conferences. Even before the Revolution began, John Wesley had become concerned that some of these unordained lay preachers were daring to baptize and administer the sacra- ment of the Lords supper, which functions Wesley thought only ordained clergy should perform. So following the Revolution in 1784, he sent Dr. Thomas Coke, an ordained English clergyman, with Mr. Whatcoat and Mr. Vasey, to America to ap- point Francis Asbury the general superintendent of the American societies. When Asbury met Dr. Coke at Barratts Chapel, Dover, Maryland, in mid-December, he declined to be appointed, saying he would serve only if his fellow preachers, with whom he had labored during the Revolution, should elect him to this office. Hasti- ly, the now famous Christmas Conference was called. America had fought and won its independence; the same spirit surged through this conference. Thus, a new church for a new nation was established at the Christmas Conference. Although the new church was organized along the guidelines outlined by John Wesley, the preachers chose to elect Asbury to be the first general superintendent, or bishop as they are now called. Ordained a deacon one day, an elder the second, on the third day Asbury was consecrated a bishop by the laying-on-of-hands by Dr. Coke, Philip Otterbein, Thomas Vasey and Richard Whatcoat. At the close of the con- ference Asbury admonished the preachers of the new church to get out of the cities and into the countryside to spread the gospel. Then he saddled his horse and rode out into the country to win souls for Christ and to establish new churches, begin- ning what was to be a long road. For 45 years he traveled annually six thousand miles on horseback. It was said that he became the best-known man in America, the greatest circuit rider, for he traveled more, knew more people, had a better knowledge of roads and towns than any other person. A letter with just the address America would reach him, for every postman knew the man who rambled America would soon pass that way. Although a preacher was assigned to the settled portion of Georgia at the 1785 Conference, it is doubtful if he ever reached Georgia. But beginning in 1786 there have been preachers assigned to Georgia first by the Virginia, North and South Carolina Conference and later by the South Carolina Conference until 1830 when the Georgia Conference was created. Up until 1805 all the settled part of Georgia made one district, the Georgia District. Then, Georgia was divided into two districts: the OCONEE with Ap- palachee Circuit, Oconee Circuit and St. Marys Circuit and the OGEECHEE with Ogeechee Circuit, Augusta Circuit, Little River Circuit and Broad River Circuit. These circuits were scattered over such a wide area that it took a month for the circuit-rider to make it around to all the preaching places. He preached two and three times a day, everyday except Monday on which he was supposed to rest. In between preaching he held class meetings and met with societies. In his saddle-bags he carried his library as well as Methodist books and tracts for distribution. Should his collections exceed his salary of $64 for the year, he gave the extra to the con- ference to be shared with the other preachers who did not get their full salary. 13 The Federal road, opened in 1806 between Augusta and Ft. Hawkins (Macon), was the main highway. One writer described it as full of holes, deeply rutted and cut-up by transport of cot- ton, and dangerously slick in wet weather since it was entire- ly of clay. Another described the section between Knoxville and Talbotton 10 years later as a tract through the forest with roots and stumps, even tree trunks, left in the road by the highway builders; but even so, log cabins dotted the road and clusters of houses, not yet villages, appeared over every hill. By 1830 the road reached from Augusta to Columbus, a distance of 247 miles, which took the mail-stage three full days and part of the fourth to cover. Between 1805 and 1835 the Federal Government made five treaties with the In- dians, each time moving them west from river to river until the Chattahoochee was reached. With each new treaty with the Indians, new settlers, Georgians moving west as well as people from other states, flocked to claim the new land. In the forefront was the Methodist circuit-rider adding new preaching places as the com- munities developed. Here are some towns and the dates they were laid out or chartered: Brunswick 1736 Jacksonborough 1799 Jacksonville 1807 Thomasville 1826 Waynesboro 1783 Sandersville 1796 Macon 1822 Columbus 1829 Louisville 1786 Clinton 1807 Perry 1824 Ft. Gaines 1830 St. Marys 1788 Irwinton 1808 Waresboro 1824 Lounesville 1833 With the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814, all the land below the present city of Albany was opened to settlers; by 1826 the Creek Nation has been removed to the Chattahoochee River. Now the Federal Road extended from Augusta to Ft. Mit- chell, Alabama, just across the Chattahoochee a short distance below the present city of Columbus. In 1820, the South Carolina Conference assigned Rev. William Capers to establish a school for the Indians. Mr. Capers went to Ft. Mitchell to negotiate an agreement with the Indian Nations for a school in which the Indians would be taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and a trade. After considerable dif- ficulty, Asbury Manual Labor School was opened. The 1826 report of the South Carolina Conference listed the enrollment as 15 Indians, 13 white, and 43 black students. Up until 1822, Florida had been closed to Protestantism. As soon as this ban was lifted Rev. Elijah Sinclair was assigned to St. Marys and Amelia Island on the eastern side, and Rev. John Slade was sent to the Chattahoochee Mission on the western side. Chattahoochee Mission along with Early Mission soon reached from near Macon to Tallahassee, Florida. Both the St. Marys appointment and the Chattahoochee appointment were in the Oconee District. By 1825 the Tallahassee 14 District of the South Carolina Conference was formed with three circuits: the Chat- tahoochee Circuit with 403 white and 76 black members, the Early Mission Circuit with 108 white and 18 black members, and the Tallahassee Circuit with 60 white and 13 black members. At the South Carolina Conference in 1830 it was agreed that the work in Georgia and Florida was so extensive that at the end of that session those preachers as- signed to appointments in Georgia and Florida would become a new and separate conference, the Georgia Conference. In 1831 the first annual meeting of the Georgia Conference convened at Macon in the white clapboard church on the site of the present Mulberry Street Church. Since only preachers attended the conferences at this time, each day during the week-long meeting at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. the business was set aside and the townspeople welcomed to the preaching services. Crowds filled the building eager to hear a different preacher at each service, sometimes even two at one service! In 1831 there were six districts: the Augusta, Columbus, Athens, Milledgeville, Oconee, and Tallahassee. At this conference Rev. James O. Andrew emphasized the need for an active Sunday School in every church; Rev. Lovick Pierce spoke of helping with the education of young preachers through the Georgia Education Society. Because the missionary interest was con- cerned with the opening of the new territory in this state, a conference missionary was appointed to the new territory of Harris County. The ladies of Savannah, Macon and Columbus had working societies to help raise finances for the con- ference to provide housing for the preachers. Other concerns included the need for colleges and a bequest of $1500 to be added to the Fund for Special Relief. This fund, established by Bishop Asbury at the 1806 conference meeting in Sparta, Georgia, was used to assist the superannuated or worn-out preachers, as Bishop Asbury termed them. Most of the preachers died before their 35th birthday or were physically disabled due to the hardships of the traveling connection. Georgia Methodism was increasing rapidly. It had reached the Chattahoochee River and spread down it into Florida. In 1828, Rev. James Stockdale had established a church in the newly laid-out town of Columbus; in 1829, Rev. An- drew Hammill was assigned as presiding elder of the new Columbus District. He probably lived in Talbotton which was described as having a good brick courthouse, a large inn, many shops and many neat and tasteful private dwellings. Co- lumbus, on the other hand, was described as a boistrous, thriving frontier town where the river traffic began and bands of Indians roamed the street. Yet by 1835 the Columbus Methodists had torn down the small frame church and erected the first brick church in the conference. By the mid 1840s Macon was a prosperous town, a big trading center for cotton. Built on the banks of the Ocmulgee river, it provided ready access to water transportation. In 1835, Rev. John W. Talley was assigned as pastor; at a revival assisted by Rev. John Howard and Rev. Elijah Sinclair one hundred persons were added to the church. A college for women, now 15 Wesleyan, was chartered in 1836. Great excitement centered on the coming of the new railroad to Macon from Savannah. WESLEY CHAPEL 100 years later Although it had an early Methodist presence, Methodism suffered several set- backs in its first years in Savannah, but when Rev. Lewis Myers became the presiding elder of the Ogeechee District which included Savannah, he was deter- mined to see a church building erected. In 1812, he assigned Rev. James Russell to Savannah, and within a brief time Mr. Russell began constructing a modest frame church, named Wesley Chapel. Bishop Asbury preached in it soon after it was completed. By 1821 it became necessary to add to the length of the chapel. When Rev. Ignatius Few became the pastor in 1831 Wesley Chapel was a station church with a membership of 302 white and 296 black members. At least three preachers James 0. Andrew, William Capers and George F. Pierce, who would be elected bishops, served as pastors of this chapel. Again in the 1840s this chapel was too small and needed to be enlarged. Instead two new churches were built S Andrew Chapel and Trinity. In 1845, in Oglethorpe Ward, a new building for the Negro members was erected and named Andrew Chapel. At that time there were six hun- dred and thirty-seven free Black persons in Savannah and a slave population of 5,686. By 1848 the corner stone for Trinity Church, facing St. Jamess Square (Telfair), was laid. Designed by John B. Hogg it was of Corinthian architectural design, built of brick with the exterior cemented to imitate stone. For several years, Wesley Chapel continued to have services although most of its white members were in Trinity. By 1844 the number of circuits and preachers had grown so large that it was dif- ficult for them to meet for conference. Although the railroad had advanced part of the way across the state and in some sections north and south, travel took a long time and was very hard. A preacher might be away a month just to attend con- ference. At this time, the Georgia Conference extended from the Blue Ridge moun- tains to Key West and from Savannah to the Chattahoochee river. There were 135 preachers and 18 retired preachers in the nine districts: Augusta, Athens, Cherokee, Macon, Columbus, Ft. Gaines, Tallahassee, St. Marys and Newnansville (Florida). It was decided to form the Florida Conference by including the churches in the lower part of Georgia in the new conference. The line separating the two con- ferences began with Ft. Gaines across to Albany on the Flint River, along the Flint and Ocmulgee Railroad to the Alapaha River, then across to the Ocmulgee River at Horse Creek. It followed the line of the Ocmulgee to the Altamaha River and then to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus the towns of Brunswick, Blakely, Albany, Bainbridge and Thomasville were in the Florida Conference, from 1844-1866. Two other events of 1844 were to have a lasting effect on this area. At the 1844 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church the northern and southern sections could not agree on the question of slavery, and so the church became di- vided. This was not the first split to occur. In 1819, the African Methodist Episcopal Church had been organized and the second group to withdraw formed 16 the Methodist Protestant Church in 1830. After much debate the conference agree that the southern states should withdraw, and in 1845 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South had its first general meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. The final event was the moving of the last groups of Indians from this state to a reservation in the west. In 1846, a writer reported a most distressing sight was the last detach- ment of Indians, a party of no less than 500, being moved to Arkansas through Columbus, Georgia. In 1845, there were seven districts in the Georgia Conference: Augusta, Savan- nah, Athens, Macon, Columbus, LaGrange and Cherokee. In the Florida Con- ference there were only four districts, Tallahassee, St. Marys, Ft. Gaines and Newnansville. Thomasville, in the Tallahassee District of the Florida Conference, reported 101 white and 21 black members. It also had a very fine Methodist School, Fletcher Institute. Rev. Mahon Bedell, assigned to Thomasville in the late 1840s, wrote to his father at Woodbine that he wished he had known about the school before he enrolled his sons in a school in Decatur and that he would soon be sending for them. In this same year, Troupville, later called Valdosta when the town moved to the site of the new railroad, reported 239 white and 20 black members, while Brunswick in the St. Marys District had 230 white and 120 black members. Waresboro Mis- sion had 82 members and the Satilla Colored Mission had 157 members. Blakely reported 203 white and 166 black members. During the period of 1844-1860, the Georgia Conference increased more rapidly than the Florida Conference. There were six districts in the Florida Conference and 15 districts in the Georgia Conference. During the years of the Civil War, the churches suffered much. Many church buildings were used as hospitals or sewing rooms to make clothes for the soldiers. Colleges and schools were closed, yet the church went quietly on. The preachers at- tended conference and went to their assignments. Advance was slow, but when a preacher left to go to war, another took over his churches adding them to his own. With the terrific price of everything, especially food, it is a mystery how the preachers managed to live, but not a family starved. When the war ended, many of the newly freed slaves were puzzled about their church future, so many continued to worship as before until new churches were provided. The General Conference of 1866 was an important one, for at this time many changes were made. For example, the laymen gained representation and a voice in the church government, pastoral appointments were extended from two years to four years, and the old rule requiring expulsion for absence from class-meetings was repealed. At this General Conference the Georgia Conference was given permission to divide into the North and South Georgia Conference with those churches in the lower part of Georgia that has been in the Florida Conference being returned to the South Georgia Conference. When the Georgia Conference met in Americus in 1866 there was strong debate concerning the division at this time. Both of the con- ferences had been sadly impoverished by war and had lost many of the young would-be-ministers to death or physical infirmity. The strongest factor in favor of the division was the need for more pastors to serve the growing charges in the southern part of Georgia which the Florida Conference could no longer adequately provide since Florida needed more preachers for the new settled section in that state. Finally the decision was made to return all of the churches in the lower part 17 of the state of Georgia to the Georgia Conference, which in turn would divide into two conferences. Thus with the reading of the appointments at the close of the con- ference in Americus, the two conferences, North Georgia and South Georgia, were officially established. The new South Georgia Conference had the following districts: Savannah, Macon, Columbus, Americus, Bainbridge, Brunswick, Altamaha, Ft. Valley (colored) Bainbridge (colored) and Tallahassee (colored). At the 1867 conference sessions of North Georgia and South Georgia Conferences the preachers who had been assigned to one conference and preferred to be in the other were allowed to change, but the conference division of churches in the state re- mained the same. With a few exceptions in the Columbus-Manchester area and the Jeffersonville-Gray area, the South Georgia conference boundary has remained the same to the present time. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bowden, Haygood S. HISTORY OF SAVANNAH METHODISM, John W. Burke, Macon, 1929 Clark, Elmer T., Potts, Manning, Payton, Joseph, JOURNAL OF FRANCIS ASBURY Vol. I, II. Abingdon, Nashville, 1958 Curnock, N., ed. John Wesley, JOURNAL Vol. I. Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, London, n.d. Daniels, W. H. Illustrated History of METHODISM IN GREAT BRITAIN, AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA, Methodist Book Concern, N.Y., 1884 Gross, John 0., BEGINNING OF AMERICAN METHODISM, Abingdon, Nashville, 1961 Lane, Mills B., ed., RAMBLER IN GEORGIA, THE, Beehive Press, Savannah, 1976 McTyeire, Holland N., HISTORY OF METHODISM, A, Publishing House, Methodist Church, South, Nashville, 1910 Smith, George G., Jr., HISTORY OF METHODISM IN GEORGIA AND FLORIDA FROM 1785-1865, THE, John W. Burke, Macon, 1877 Pamphlets and Articles: Cates, Margaret, Davis, The Wesleys on St. Simons, South Georgia Conference Commission on Archives and History, St. Simons 1968 Clary, George G., Jr., Beginnings of the South Georgia Conference, The South Georgia Conference Historical Society 1967 Clark, Elmer T., Francis Asbury, Commission on Archives and History, Lake Junaluska, N. C. Notes taken from the various MINUTES of the South Carolina Conference, the Georgia Conference and the Florida Conference as found in THE MINUTES AND YEARBOOK OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH THE MINUTES AND YEARBOOK OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH Published by the Methodist Publishing House of each body in various combination of volumes covering each conference yearly 1784-1866. 18 Chapter 2 THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH 1867-1939 William A. Harrell INTRODUCTION The period of 1867 to 1939 rests between two benchmarks of American history, the Civil War and World War II. In 1867, the first year of the South Georgia Con- ference, the southern states were beginning the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War. In 1939, the last year of the operation of the Conference as a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the region was recuperating from a severe economic and social depression, and World War II had already started in Europe. Although there were depressions and recessions and a brief conflict with Spain as well as World War I, as a whole the period was a time of progress and expansion for the United States. The southern states were under military occupation in 1867, but within a few years returned to a status of statehood on the same footing as their former enemies in the north. Economically, the southland was devastated with its industry and transportation systems in ruins and its agriculture system, much of which had been based on the labor of black slaves, seeking a new relationship with labor. Not only was the role of the freed black in society of economic importance, but also a social matter, which settled partly for a time, rose again before 1939. Dur- ing these early years of Reconstruction there was doubt in many minds that the South would rise again. Many of the former Confederates migrated to other parts of the United States and some groups established colonies in Latin American coun- tries. The period of Reconstruction did not completely define the social, political and economic status of the southern states and the period up to 1939 left many of the problems still unsettled. The approach of this chapter of the volume is to review what happened on the conference level in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in South Georgia. It is necessary to place the Church and its activities in the context of the society in which it operated and in that of the larger church, the primary focus is what the organization known as the South Georgia Conference did from 1867 to 1939. Local 19 church histories are given elsewhere and there are other volumes dealing with Methodism in general, but these pages concentrate on the Conference as an entity. The Geographical and Social Context From 1867 to 1939 the northern limits of the territory of the South Georgia Con- ference followed a line which began at the point where Pine Mountain meets the Chattahoochee River and ran along Pine Mountain to the Flint River, then down the river to the southern limits of Upson County and Monroe County, then to the Ocmulgee River. Going south on the river, the line followed the southern edges of Jones, Baldwin, Hancock, Warren and Richmond counties to the Savannah River. The other limits of the conference territory were the boundaries of the State of Georgia below the above line. Twice, in 1892 and 1917, the Conference passed resolutions asking that the General Conference divide the State of Georgia into three conferences. However, except for a part of Jones County which is now within the bounds of the South Georgia Conference, the area remains the same in 1983. The bounds included all of sixty-five counties and part of Harris County. The area of the counties came to 35,665 square miles, or 61.2 percent of the state. Most of the conference territory lies beneath the Fall Line and is within the Coastal Plain region of the state. The upper reaches have some of the characteristics of the Piedmont region and are quite hilly while the southeastern parts are flat piney woods. The northern, central, and southwestern areas were ex- ploited for cotton cultivation in pre-Civil War days. In the tidewater coastal coun- ties, which had been the locale of plantation style agriculture with the freeing of the slaves, agriculture entered a period of decline. The principal economic activity of the period was based on the products of the soil although there was some manufacturing in Columbus, Macon, and Savannah as well as scattered textile mills in smaller cities. Cotton was the main commercial crop before the Civil War and continued as such into the twenties when tobacco and peanuts began to take over much cotton acreage. The virgin forest of the piney woods sections and the swamps of southeast Georgia yielded pine and cypress until the supply of first-cut trees disappeared closing the large saw mills, some of which had operated for three or four decades. By the middle twenties the lumber supply was largely exhausted, but in the early thirties there began a resurgence of forest in- dustries as the paper industry entered Georgia using the second growth trees. The population of the 66 counties in 1940 was about 1,450,000 an increase of 270 percent over the approximately 532,000 in 1870. This was 44 percent of the popula- tion of the state in 1870 and 46 percent in 1940. In 1870, there were 47 counties within the bounds of the Conference, but these had been subdivided adding another 19 by 1940. Counties experiencing the larger growth were the urban centers and those with available lands highly suitable for agriculture. The counties of the piney woods region which had the larger growth were those with better agricultural lands or with rail centers. The transportation systems of Georgia at the end of the Civil War were based largely on animal power since the rail system was almost completely destroyed. It was necessary to rebuild the railroads which expanded rapidly and by World War I touched almost every county in the Conference territory. Many of the lines were short and unprofitable and others were logging tram roads which had been made public. Even before 1917 some of the trackage had been abandoned and by 1939 20 there were fewer miles of rails than in 1915; however, for most of the period, the rail system was the system of transportation for all but local needs. The development of the automobile modified the way people moved around and was a social factor as well. Gasoline-powered vehicles appeared in the last years of the nineteenth century and early in the twenties were commonplace. Improved and paved roads came with the automobile facilitating the mobility of the population. What had been a long trip in 1867 became a short drive by 1939. Both ministers and people acquired wheels and the style of ministry and church operation changed. By 1939 animal-powered transportation could be found almost exclusively on farms. Communications systems changed radically between the Civil War and World War II. The telegraph was already in use and the telephone became a part of the American scene even in the rural South. As the rail system expanded, trains carried the mails, and another component of the postal system, Rural Free Delivery, brought daily mail to the rural areas. Less than twenty years before the end of the period radio broadcasting became a major link in the media system, and by 1939 there were several cities in southern Georgia with radio broadcast stations. Although manufacturing was not a major economic activity in South Georgia, the Industrial Revolution affected the region. Impoverished during Reconstruction times, the people of the South were not able to purchase large quantities of manufactured goods until later in the nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolu- tion brought technological change which entered the South as well as the rest of the nation; and by 1939, southerners were consumers of the products of the industrial system. The development of industry outside the South attracted southern man- power which was one of the major products of southern society. Both the black and the white populations confronted the readjustments made necessary by the emancipation of black slaves. The question was of economic, social and political importance. How were blacks and white to live in the same area with frequent interaction on an individual and a collective basis? During the first years after the Civil War the political questions were decided by military and civilian oc- cupation personnel, but after the political compromise of 1876 involving the presidential election, white southerners regained control of the governmental in- stitutions of the society. The policy of segregation was adopted as the southern solution and was accepted as a legal principle by the Supreme Court in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case in 1896. The principle of separate but equal remained the firm social, political, and economic racial policy of the South until well after the period under consideration. The South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, did not exist in a social vacuum. It was an important component of the religious sector of the society of the southern part of Georgia. The members of the Church in- teracted in the economic, political and educational sectors of society and were af- fected by the society as well as influencing the collective organization. The ac- NEW HOUSTON STREET METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH 1877 Savannah, Georgia 21 tivities and decisions of the Conference were those of a group of people who in- habited the counties of southern Georgia and were not separate from the ambient in which they lived. Therefore, one should expect to find Methodists of the region reflecting the attitudes, customs and mores of the society. Through the people the Church was affected by the society and through the people the Church affected the society. The Church After the Civil War At the end of the Civil War, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had to func- tion under the conditions found in the South at that time, and it, too, experienced the chaos of defeat and Reconstruction. During the Civil War the Bishops of the Church had not been able to maintain communications with one another, and some of the Annual Conferences had not held regular sessions. The scheduled 1862 General Conference was not held. In 1865, the Bishops met in Columbus, Georgia, to plan for the 1866 General Conference. They did not have an easy task. Some of the churches in New Orleans, Charleston, and Vicksburg had been turned over by military authorities to ministers of the northern branch of Methodism. Large numbers of the black members were going to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Zion, and the northern branch which was being reorganized in the South. The Publishing House in Nashville was heavily in debt and its equipment was being used by the occupation forces. The foreign mission enterprise was also heavily in debt and for several years the mis- sionaries had had to fend for themselves with a little help from other denomina- tions including the Methodist Episcopal Church. Many of the schools and colleges had closed and would not reopen. College endowments were wiped out by the war. All the Advocates had suspended publication. Many local churches could not support their ministers who had to turn to other occupations to survive. Some ministers and members were considering a union with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the South. Others feared a takeover by the northern Methodists. The 1866 General Conference met in New Orleans. The Conference instituted some changes which were considered radical. The probation period for church membership and the class meeting attendance requirement were discontinued. The Conference instituted the Church Conference and provided for a district meeting. Instead of attempting to work with a southern Bible society, the members decided to return to cooperation with the American Bible Society which extended a cordial and generous hand to the Church. The most notable change, however, was to bring lay participation into the Annual Conference and the General Conference. From this conference came the decision to divide the Georgia and Florida Conferences into three, the North Georgia, the South Georgia and the Florida. The Georgia Conference held its last session in Americus in December of 1866 and the appointments in effect divided the ministers between the two Conferences. The same occurred at the Florida Conference session. The South Georgia Con- ference met for its first session in Savannah in December of 1867 with Bishop George Foster Pierce presiding. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, functioned with a hierarchy of con- ferences. The supreme body of the Church was the General Conference which met 22 every four years and up to 1870 was composed only of ministers who were elected by the several Annual Conferences, also composed only of ministers. Beginning in 1870 the General Conference had equal lay and clerical representation with both categories elected by the Annual Conferences. The first General Conference met in 1784 and with the north-south separation of 1844, the General Conference of the southern branch assumed jurisdiction over the southern conferences and held its first session in 1846. The Annual Conference, as the name indicates, met on a scheduled basis each year and was the administrative and program arm of the Church. It was the link between the local church, or charge, and the larger Church. At its annual sessions the last question to be asked was, Where are the preachers stationed this year? The presiding Bishop then read the appointments and the preachers learned where they would work for the next year and the charges received their minister. There was no consultation with either preacher or local church, the Bishop having full authority to make the appointments. The Annual Conference worked through boards and committees which reported to the annual session and carried out duties during the year. The Conference was organized according to the Discipline, the law book of the Church which was updated every four years according to the action of the General Conference. The Annual Conference was composed only of ministers up to 1866 when the General Conference resolved to admit lay delegates, four from each district, to the yearly meeting. Both active and retired ministers were members of the Conference. The number of lay delegates, elected by District Con- ference, was increased to eight per district in 1918 and to a proportional basis in relation to the number of church members in a district in 1926. Annual Conferences operated within defined territorial limits; however, different ethnic and language groups in some cases occupied the same area. The General Conference accepted the idea of district meeting in 1866 and in its next session, in 1870, created the District Conference which was organized by the Annual Conference. Largely promotional in nature, the District Conference also handled some administrative matters relating specifically to the district. It also performed the important task of selecting the lay delegates to the Annual Conference. On the local level, the Quarterly Conference met every three months with the Presiding Elder in charge of the district presiding. It was composed of officials of the local church, or churches in the case of a circuit. The Quarterly Conference made decisions affecting the local situation and was an unifying body which held the churches on a circuit together. It received reports from local administrative groups such as the Board of Stewards and the Trustees as well as from different program groups of the church. Through the Presiding Elder and the appointed preacher, the Quarterly Conference was a link between the local charge and the An- nual Conference. Another conference of official standing was the Church Conference which was composed of all members of the local church. Its duties were few and its sessions ir- regular, but it provided for the participation of all members, without restriction, in the business of the church. The Districts of the South Georgia Conference The South Georgia Conference, as was typical of a Methodist Annual Con- 23 ference, was divided into geographical areas denominated as districts, each under the supervision of an official who was a Presiding Elder. With the growth of popula- tion and church membership and the shifting of the population, the territorial divi- sion of the districts changed frequently from 1867 to 1894. After that year the Cor- dele District was reestablished in 1906 and abolished again in 1929. The Macon District was formed from the South Macon and the North Macon Districts. The Dublin District was dissolved in 1916 but came into being again in 1918 and the McRae District was abolished in 1931. Other towns and areas which once gave names to districts but are no longer district seats are: Altamaha, Bainbridge, Brunswick, Dawson, Eastman, Hawkinsville, Hinesville, Lumpkin, Sandersville and Wrightsville. In 1939, the eight districts of the South Georgia Conference were: Americus, Columbus, Dublin, Macon, Savannah, Thomasville, Valdosta and Waycross. The Dates of the Annual Sessions Up until 1903 the South Georgia Conference annual session met in December, beginning as early as December 1 and at times ending the five-day meeting as late as two days before Christmas. In 1903, the session moved to November and for years, with objections at times, met during the week of Thanksgiving. As time passed, the dates of the sessions were moved earlier into November, begin- ning as early as November 4 in 1937. The dates for the sessions were set by the College of Bishops because each Bishop had to preside over several different Annual Conferences. A 1903 resolution requested that the sessions begin on the Wednesday after the first Sunday in December. The 1925 session voted to request an August meeting time, but reconsidered and rescinded the action. In 1937 the Conference voted for a December date which would leave at least two weeks between adjournment and the first of the new year. Apparently the wishes of the Conference did not affect greatly the fixing of the date of the annual session. After the 1903 resolution only in 1908 (December 2) and 1909 (December 1) did the sessions begin in the month of December. Conference Boards, Committees and Records The Conference, as a Conference, operated largely through boards and commit- tees which promoted what seemed to be important to the group. Through the ap- pointed ministers and the Presiding Elders of the districts, the Conference pro- jected itself into the local churches. Members of boards and committees were laymen and ministers appointed to charges or districts. Although a few ministers 24 METHODIST CHURCH, THOMASVILLE, GA. Seat of Conference. were appointed each year to work in institutions and near the end of this period some of the boards had full-time staff members, in reality, the Conference func- tioned without a staff and used personnel appointed to other roles to do its work. Most of the activities of the Conference were directed at support of the local churches in carrying out their mission both within and beyond the charge bounds. Conference boards and committees reported to the annual session as did church-related or church-owned institutions which were under the direction of trustees selected either completely or partially by the South Georgia Conference. The reports of the subgroups of the Conference constituted a good part of the business of the annual session and they were the creatures and agents of the body. The reports were published in what was usually referred to as the MINUTES, a yearly publication. The official title of the MINUTES was first THE MINUTES OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE and later THE YEARBOOK AND MINUTES OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE; however, most people thought of the report as simply the Minutes. The MINUTES included information about ministers, a list of deceased members of the Conference, the appointment of ministers for the following year, obituaries of ministers who had died during the year, statistical reports, reports of boards and committees and a listing of their members, treasurers reports (there was a different treasurer for each board of com- mittee), and of great importance, the part actually entitled Minutes which con- sisted of the questions required by the Discipline and the appropriate answers. In 1875 a section entitled Journal of Proceedings reported the actions of the Conference on a daily basis. The Journal did not appear again until 1899 and was included in the 1900 issues as well. In 1914 it began to appear on a yearly basis. The MINUTES offer a valuable source not only of what the conference did but also of what seemed to be important concerns. There was a deficiency of material resources, especially in the early years and indeed through the period, consequently a lack of human resources. The Conference received funds from the local churches and allocated these resources, meagerly, on what seemed to be most important, consciously or otherwise, expressing the priorities of the group. No doubt the Con- ference had many other concerns and was not satisfied with support given to its selected priorities, but non-existent funds could not be given. From these records, however inadequate, the history of this era is drawn. MISSION AND OUTREACH At the end of the Civil War, Georgia Methodists, living in an improverished and devastated region, plagued with problems beyond their understanding, and with survival at times in doubt, still looked beyond themselves to acknowledge the responsibility of mission and outreach as required by the Gospel. The Georgia Con- ference, meeting near the end of the War, adopted a resolution for the preachers to take up an offering for the China Mission. In 1860, Young J. Allen, a young Georgia minister, went as a missionary to China and remained there through the Civil War. Separated from the home church with only sporadic contact and no support, he incurred debts in order to continue the work. To support himself and his family, Mr. Allen found employment with the Chinese government and within the foreign colony of Shanghai. The South Georgia Conference accepted responsibility for its part in the payment of the debt and within a few years the obligation was liquidated. The next year, in its last session, the same Conference noted that the mission ef- 25 fort would have to be confined largely to the domestic field. It targeted the sub- urban populations, the poor indeed whose children are like the wild asss colt, growing up to become a nuisance to society as needing the Church. An important and pressing field for missionary labor was the colored population. The South Georgia Conference worked in the ministry of outreach through several entities. The conference Board of Missions dealt with both foreign and domestic missions as did the Womans Missionary Society and its antecedent groups. The contributions to the various general boards of the Church constituted support of the church-wide efforts. What is now understood as evangelism was the responsibility of the Board of Missions. The Board of Church Extension assisted churches in the building of physical facilities. The Church and Domestic Outreach The population of the southern part of Georgia increased by 270 percent from 1870 to 1940. New towns and counties appeared on the map. The piney woods opened for agriculture and the forest industries. Railroads, and later highways, changed the region from a collection of semi-isolated communities to a society. The Methodists of South Georgia understood their obligation to occupy the territory, and the Conference structured itself for the task. The Board of Missions centerd a large part of its activity and its budgets on the support of ministers, to go into the newly populated counties. Also, assistance was provided for struggling churches who could not adequately support a minister. For the missionaries as the Board termed them, a salary supplement was provided. Many times the amount of the supplement was very small, but it made a difference for the minister who received the money. The Conference and Foreign Missions Interest in foreign missions increased as more Georgians went to the foreign field and the economy of the southland improved. The Rev. R. W. MacDonnel, the son of a minister and from a family with a deep interest in foreign missions, went to Mexico in 1881 and died there in 1888. Between the Civil War and Unification, thirty-six ministers of the South Georgia Conference served as foreign missionaries, twenty-seven initiating their careers between 1900 and 1925. After 1898, when Cuba opened for protestant missions, eight conference members went to that island. The depression of the thirties caused a reduction of missionary staff, and only three conference members began careers in foreign fields between 1925 and 1938. These members are for ministers only and do not include lay missionaries, wives of missionaries, and women who served under the Womans Missionary Society, the first being Miss Hattie Gere Carson who went to Mexico in 1895. Part of the credit for the interest in missionary service should go to the Life Service Bands of the Epworth League. Individual churches accepted specific responsibility and made special contribu- tions for foreign mission work. The MINUTES for 1904 presented the photographs of the missionaries supported by South Georgia units of the Womans Missionary Society and the MINUTES for the following year had pictures of missionaries sup- ported by individual churches. The womens auxiliaries at Dublin, Montezuma, Cordele, Quitman, Marshallville, and First Street Church in Macon as well as the North Macon, South Macon, McRae, Valdosta, Waycross, and Columbus district 26 organizations contributed to the support of specified missionaries. The 1905 MINUTES included photographs of five men supported by churches at Waynesboro, Millen, and Mulberry Street. The Savannah District and the Macon firm of Benson, Walker and Moore, also, sponsored missionaries. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, maintained mission work in China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and for a few years in the twenties in Siberia. Work in Mexico and Brazil began in around 1880 and in Cuba in 1898. The Congo mission reached the organizational stage in 1914. Missions in Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia came into being after World War I. In 1930 the missions in Mexico, Brazil and Korea became autonomous Methodist churches with full recognition and much sup- port from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Through the sending of personnel and funds from South Georgia, the Conference ac- tively participated in the foreign mission enter- prises of the Church. The Conference and Evangelism The first committee or board carrying the ti- tle of Evangelism appeared in the MINUTES of 1919. The Committee on Evangelism, as re- quired by the Discipline, was selected by the Board of Missions. The Committee was in the listing of boards and committees in the MINUTES through 1925 and reappeared in 1929 and remained through 1933. The 1938 session of the Con- ference, on nomination of the Board of Missions, selected a committee. Before the 1939 session convened the structure of the Church changed and there was a Com- mission on Evangelism. The term Evangelist does not appear as a formal job until 1907 when what had been referred to as Conference Missionaries were listed in board reports as Mis- sionary Evangelist. The same report states that a missionary conducted eleven revivals. The appointments of ministers still used the title of missionary, but in 1916 there was an appointment of a General Evangelist and from 1917 a Conference Evangelist appeared in the appointments. The only expenditure in the report of the treasurers of the Board of Missions mentioned for evangelism was $150.48 in 1933. The above may seem to indicate that interest in evangelism in the South Georgia Conference is of twentieth century origin. Such is not the case. The work mission as used by the Conference in the last century carried all the meaning that is found in the word evangelism today. A review of the reports of the Board of Missions clearly shows that the missionaries whose salaries were supplemented by the Board were carrying on the work of evangelist. Domestic missions in Georgia implied evangelism. Evangelism was the work of the Church, local or otherwise. During the period from 1867 to 1939 the membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in South Georgia increased from 19,626 to 117,113 or 596 percent while the 27 MARY CULLER WHITE Missionary to China L population of the area increased only 270 percent from 1870 to 1940. Whether the activity was termed as missions or as evangelism, church membership increased at a rate of more than twice that of the population. METHODIST CHURCH, MOULTRIE. GA. The Conference and Church Extension The Board of Church Extension was organized in 1882 with the purpose of aiding in the construction of church buildings and parsonages. The Board functioned through the period up to 1939 presenting treasurers reports each year but frequently not including any other written material for the MINUTES. The purpose of the Board was to decide how con- ference funds allocated for construction should be used. It also recommended projects to the General Board of Church Extension. At times it expressed concern about deeds to church property, even preparing a model deed for use around the turn of the century. During the same period there was some bother from charges who could not properly fill out the forms for requesting assistance. The 1934 report recom- mended that churches pay off their debts and not incur others. The reports were not as wordy as those from other boards and committees and for most of the twen- tieth century there were no written reports besides that of the treasurer. Aid given for construction or repair was in the form of grants or loans. The Board received its funds from the assessments paid by the churches. The assessments were not paid in full so the grants were frequently reduced proportionately. On other contribution of the Board of Church Extension was the sponsorship of the Womans Parsonage Aid Society, referred to in 1887 as the Womans Depart- ment of Church Extension, which later became one of the components which form- ed the Womans Missionary Society. EDUCATION The South Georgia Conference was greatly concerned about education from 1867 to 1939. The principal provider of education in the local church was the Sunday School, and beyond the local church there were the church-related schools and col- leges. The Church and church members employed a considerable amount of human and material resources in these two types of education. There were other educational activities as well. The Womans Missionary Society and the Epworth League had definite instructional programs. There were Bible In- stitutes and Sunday School Institutes on the district and conference level. A well recognized Pastors School offered continuing education opportunities for ministers. The two principal operations were under separate conference entities, the Board of Education and the Sunday School Board until 1930 when both came under the aegis of the Board of Christian Education. 28 The Conference and Sunday Schools When the South Georgia Conference met for its first session in 1867, the number of Sunday Schools reported was 206 and the number of scholars was 9,003. Reported to the seventy-third and last session of the Conference in 1939 were 551 schools and 63,098 scholars. The peak enrollment for the period was 80,113 scholars and 716 schools in 1922. This growth was roughly the equivalent of doubling the enrollment every seventeen years. Although reports from the Sunday School Board sometimes complained that the activity was perceived to be for children, it was the component of the church which was open to all members of the church community, members or non-member, male or female, single or married, and child or adult. In 1867 the Conference related to the Sunday School through a Board of Managers; in 1874 it became the Sunday School Committee. The Committee became the Sunday School Board in 1881, and the responsibility shifted to the Board of Christian Education in 1930. During the first two decades of the Con- ference, there was a Sunday School Agent who, when appointed and there was none at times, promoted the cause. The 1906 conference session saw the appointment of Rev. H. C. Jones who served as Field Secretary for three years, followed by the Rev. A. P. Segars for only one year. The slot was not filled again until 1915 when Dr. J. H. Therrell became the Field Secretary. The MINUTES for 1916 through 1918 gave glowing reports of Dr. Therrells work, but he is not mentioned after 1918. During his period of service, he secured specific persons to accept responsibility for different areas of Sunday School activity thus gathering what could be seen as a part-time staff. The more definite staff organization came in 1925 when Rev. George E. Clary, Sr., was appointed as the Conference Sunday School Superintendent. He soon had full-time collaborators, Rev. D. G. Mann, Miss Lucy Quinn Eubanks, and Miss Louise Bridges. With the organization of the Board of Christian Education and the 29 accumulation of the responsibilities of the Board of Education, the Sunday School Board, and the Epworth League Board, the group was approaching the point of be- ing a Conference program staff and indeed performed many of the functions of such a staff. The Sunday School was an agency of instruction and performed this function for the Church. It used the literature provided by the Publishing House, but not always without complaint. Through Sunday School Institutes, the first held at Ashburn in 1901, and Standard Training Schools in the twenties, determined ef- forts were made to provide better teachers for the instruction of Methodists. It was possible for a teacher to receive credit for courses taken in the Standard Training program, some by correspondence, and upon satisfaction of all requirements to receive a diploma as a certified Sunday School teacher. The Sunday School was also an agency of evangelism. The 1868 MINUTES declared that the paramount object of the Sabbath School is the conversion of souls. Similar themes were expressed in many subsequent reports of the Sunday School entities. The Sunday School was the door through which large numbers passed on the way to becoming church members. It was not unusual to hear com- plaints that in adult classes the teachers did more preaching than teaching. A number of reports urged attendance at morning worship after the Sunday School session reflecting the fact that significant numbers of persons attended Sunday School and did not remain for worship, but through the Sunday School the Church had contact with these persons. A comparison of the plotted growth curves of church membership numbers and Sunday School enrollments in the South Georgia Conference in the period under consideration shows a clear relationship between the two. When the decline in Sunday School enrollments occurred after 1922, church growth rates leveled off. The Sunday Schools of the period were also missionary societies. From the early days of the Conference until Unification, the Sunday Schools collected funds for missions with the fourth Sunday offering becoming a standard mechanism for mis- sion support. Typical of requirements of the Discipline in its several editions was a statement appearing in 1902: Let every Sunday School be organized into a mis- sionary society auxiliary to the Board of Missions. The Conference Sunday School groups, committee, board, or staff, sought to assist local units in the development of activities. Teacher training, organization of special classes such as the Wesley Bible Class, free libraries for mission situations, and the furnishing of literature were some of the efforts. The 1891 report noted that some churches were not heated and offered to pay one-third of the cost of a heater. The Board upped the offer to fifty percent the next year and discontinued the program the next stating that it had not been a success. Few Methodist Churches in 1867 had facilities for the Sunday School. Classes met in the place for worship. By 1939 most town and city churches had adequate facilities for the Sunday School and some rural churches had rooms as well. Literature was scarce and not highly developed in 1867. By 1939 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had an attractive and technically developed system of Sunday School literature provided by one of the foremost religious publishing houses in the world. 30 The Conference and Educational Institutions The 1867 report of the Board of Education was principally concerned with two areas, the educational insitutions of the Church and the education of ministers. The first was the main concern of the Board from 1867 to 1930 when the Board of Christian Education assumed broader responsibilities. The second continued as an interest until 1886 and thereafter was only peripherally considered. The 1867 report brought information about Andrew, Emory, and Weselyan, the first solely owned by the Conference and the other two jointly held with other An- nual Conferences. The mechanism of control of these and other institutions was boards of trustees elected by the Conference and reporting each year through the Board of Education. The 1867 report directed that the Fletcher Institute in Thomasville, Bainbridge Female College, and the two schools near Talbotton to be transferred to the respective districts. The 1868 report states that the transfer was made; however, Lavert Institute, a school for girls and Collinsworth, a school for boys, both near Talbotton, were recommended for conference support in 1874 and 1875, then were not mentioned again in the MINUTES. These were considered feeder schools sending students to Emory or Andrew or Wesleyan. ORGHHIZED - - - 1836. Emory College. Oxford, Qa. Sixty 'fourth Session opened September 17th. 1902. Full Courses leading to A. B., Ph. B., sod S. B. Degrees. Excellent Library, well equipped Gymnasium and Scientific Laboratories. No Liquors sold in the county. Dining Hall Dormitory system furnishes BOARD. LODGING. FUEL AND LIGHTS FOR TEN .DOLLARS PER MONTH. PUPILS RECEIVED AT ANY TIME For other information address Jahes E. Dickey, President. From the 1908 MINUTES paid advertisement section Throughout the period the board reports centered around Emory, Wesleyan, and Andrew, Emory was transferred to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1914, but the Conference continued to send support usually for specified purposes, such as assistance for ministerial students from South Georgia. Emory also received funds for the Junior College at Oxford and Emory Junior College at Valdosta after that school began operation in September of 1928. The junior college continued to function on through the time of Unification. Well into the twentieth century there was a need for schools below the higher education level. Public systems were almost non-existent except in the urban areas, 31 and many cities could not meet the demands made on the public schools. Con- solidated schools and secondary education did not come to the rural areas of South Georgia until well into this century, accompanying the improvement of highways and the availability of school buses. For the largely rural population of the Con- ference, therefore, the only recourse was the private boarding school. Before the Civil War the church had been active at this level of education, and most schools of higher education had preparatory programs for students with deficient backgrounds for college studies. The 1886 session of the Conference recommended that each district enter the field of secondary education by opening a district high school. Previously, in 1881, a school had been established at Spring Hill in Montgomery County which went by the name of the Eastman District High School, the Brunswick District High School, and later the Spring Hill School, said to be the oldest district high school under southern Methodist operation, it continued operation through 1892 when South Georgia College opened for classes. CUTHBERT, GEORGIA Chartered 1854 A co-educational, two year college under the auspices of the South Georgia Conference 32 Early tennis uniform at 33 NANNIE LOU WARTHEN COLLEGE Wrights ville Georgia SOUTH GEORGIA COLLEGE McRae Georgia 34 The Nannie Lou Warthen Institute, later known as a college, first appeared in the 1888 MINUTES, the year after a reference to the founding of the Sandersville District High School in Wrightsville. It remained a district school until 1913 when it came under conference responsibility. The school operated without dormitories and endowment and in 1914 was classified as a Grade A academy. Warthen College received funds from the Conference in 1918 but was not included in the appropria- tions for 1919. The same report which first cited the Wrightsville school also men- tioned district high school at Snow in Dooly County and Guyton in Effingham County. These were short-lived institutions. The 1892 report on Spring Hill High School recommended that the Conference accept South Georgia College in McRae as a church school. For more than thirty years the institution operated with elementary and secondary level classes with some college level work as well. It offered a full junior college program in its last years. The enrollment of the school reached almost 600 in 1906 but dropped to well below 200 before it was closed. The conference session of 1928 recommended discontinuation of the school and in 1929 ordered that its property be sold. Sparks Collegiate Institute, known as Sparks College after 1920, began under the auspices of the Valdosta district in 1902 and was located at Sparks in Cook County. The Conference accepted it as a conference school in 1904 and monitored its work until it closed with the 1927 commencement exercises. The institution first was a lower level school but soon began to offer some college work and later offered a full junior college program. Pierce Collegiate Institute had been a Presbyterian school in Blackshear when it came under the Waycross District in 1912 and under the Conference in 1913. After 1917 the school received no more funds from the Church and ceased to be con- sidered by the Conference. Without exception, the church-related institutions suffered periods of financial difficulty and debt. Emory began to develop an endowment and Wesleyan also received support funds, but with the construction of the Rivoli campus and the depression of the thirties, its property was sold at auction and bought back by the Trustees. Andrew passed periods of very heavy debt and more than once there was discussion of closing the school. Not one of the other institutions which closed had any significant endowment and in some cases the sale of the peoperty did not pay the debts. Name of the Institution Emory College Wesleyan Female College Andrew Female College South Georgia College Warthen College Sparks Collegiate Inst. Total EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS Value of Property Endowment $205,000. 323,000. 75.000. 50.000. 35.000. 30.000. $239,000. 25,000 None None None None Professors 14 29 15 18 10 10 Pupils 265 446 155 604 353 240 $718,000. $264,000 96 2,063 -MINUTES, South Georgia Conference 1908 p. 38 THE CONFERENCE AND LITERATURE The Conference expressed its interest in literature through several agencies. The Books and Periodicals Committee was named on a session by session basis from 1867 to 1910 when it became a quadrennially elected group. The 1918 General Con- ference created a Board of Christian Literature which was basically the old com- 35 mittee with a different name and which continued to function up to Unification. More specific operations were under a Colporteur Committee (each preacher was to be a colporteur: a promoter and seller of religious books and tracts) selected an- nually from 1886 to 1890 and then for several years from 1910 to 1914. The Wesleyan Christian Advocate was of interest to the Books and Periodicals Commit- tee and to the Board of Christian Literature but operated under a separate Board of Trustees after 1887. Beginning in 1900 and continuing to 1919 there was a separate committee to promote Advocate interests in the Conference. The Bible Board operated and reported independently throughout the period. The Sunday School Board was always concerned with Sunday School literature and, as the Board of Lay Activities expanded, it also expressed interest in the literature of the church. The Conference and the Publishing House The production of most of the church literature was the responsibility of the Publishing House located in Nashville with branches later established in Dallas and Richmond. The Committee on Books and Periodicals reported on the activities of the Publishing House. One of the earliest ventures of Methodism in America and divided at the time of the north-south separation of the Church, the Publishing House was almost out of business at the end of the Civil War. It was deeply in debt and its material and equipment were in the hands of occupying troops. However, very soon the concern was operating again and turning out literature for the Church. The literature produced by the Publishing House may be divided into several categories. 1) There were the general publications such as the Christian Advocate and the Quarterly Review. 2) Different church groups such as the Sunday School, the Epworth League, the womens groups, and the laymens movements received periodicals printed by the Publishing House. 3) Books, including hymnals, editions of the Discipline and manuals used for many purposes by church groups. Most of the activities of the Publishing House were received with approval by South Georgia Methodists, however, there were occasions when there were objec- tions. In 1892, the Sunday School Board expressed dissatisfaction about the lack of Bible knowledge presented in Our Little People, material for children, and recom- mended that the periodical be replaced by a Historical Catechisms. The next year the report stated that the change had been satisfactory and called for other schools to return to the catechism which was more adapted to the capacity of in- fant minds. The Books and Periodicals Committee in its 1894 report gave condi- tional approval to the Epworth Era since it promised not to make any more bad breaks. The Committee regretted the position of the Christian Advocate in its failure to express properly the dissatisfaction of the Church about the dedication, by a Bishop, with religious services, of a subway tavern. There were no subways in southern cities at this period so the Bishop must not have been of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Conference and The Advocates The Committee on Books and Periodicals and its successor, the Board of Chris- tian Literature, promoted the interest of the Advocates. The 1867 report cites; the Christian Advocate of Nashville as the organ of the central church. Frequently 36 in the nineteenth century the periodical was referred to as the Nashville Advocate, a term which was used as late as 1934 although the title Christian Advocate was used almost exclusively in the twentieth century. The name had been changed from the Nashville Christian Advocate in 1858. In 1869, there was a reference to the Index, a periodical for black Methodists. The Southern Christian Advocate was published first in Charleston in 1837 and in Augusta during the Civil War. After the war the office was moved to Macon where a new beginning was necessary due to the loss of all resources except a stock of paper. The Southern Christian Advocate was the official organ of the South Carolina, the Georgia, and the Florida Conferences and remained the organ of the two Georgia conferences. The name was changed to Wesleyan Christian Advocate in 1878 when the South Carolina Conference established a separate paper. The Florida Conference made the same move eight years later leaving the Wesleyan to the two Georgia Conferences. In 1888 the two Conferences established a Board of Trustees with an equal number of members from each Conference, a system of ad- ministration which remained until Unification. The Trustees selected the editor and determined policy. That year there were 6,500 subscribers and the number reached 11,000 in 1893. The number fluctuated, dropping to less than 9,000 in 1901. In 1918 the Trustees implemented a new policy which required subscribers to pay in advance, a change from a system which allowed subscribers to be as much as two years behind in paying for the paper. Almost every year the Conference recommended that the preachers seek more subscriptions to the Wesleyan Christian Advocate. Various months, usually at the beginning of the year, were designated as the time to have a campaign to secure more support for the paper, the earliest mentioned being February of 1892. The conference organ was frequently plagued with debts but operated without regular aid from the Conference up until 1929 when subsidies were used to pay indebtedness. The depression years of the early thirties were probably the most difficult for the Wesleyan Christian Advocate; however, before Unification, C. A. Britton, Jr., later to become a minister and an executive of the Publishing House, became the Business Manager and Editor and there was a decided revival of the organ. In 1936, there had been 6,500 subscribers. The number climbed to 19,813 as the subscrip- tion rate dropped to one dollar a year. The Conference and Colportage The conference session of 1886 accepted a resolution recommending the establishment of a Colportage Committee which would approve the books and periodicals sold by colporteurs under the control of the Conference. The next year the same resolution was passed again and the Committee which had been ap- pointed reported that the work was not a success. A lack of a reading people and the necessity of paying local license fees inhibited the work. The Committee was listed in the MINUTES for several years, and a constitution for the Committee was approved in 1890, the same year the Conference abolished the group. The 1893 Bi- ble Cause Committee opposed the reestablishment of the colportage system as had been suggested by the Eastman District Conference. The activity appears again in 1907 when a Conference Colporteur, Rev. J. H. Mather, reported on his work. In 1908, a Colportage Committee is listed and continues on through 1912 with the ap- 37 pointment of a Colporteur each year. Mather was appointed as a colporteur for the American Bible Society on through 1915. The 1914 report of the Books and Periodicals Committee states that the colporteur system had not worked and sug- gested that the Publishing House send a book display to the sessions of the Annual Conference as proposed by that concern. Such an exhibit was present for the 1915 session of the Conference. One of the questions before the 1866 General Conference was the support of a Bi- ble society. There was sentiment for the establishment and support of a southern Bible society and for not returning to a working relationship with the American Bi- ble Society. Several factors led the Conference to reestablish the former relation- ship. 1) The American and English Bible Societies owned all the foreign language translations. All protestant groups depended upon them for foreign mission enter- prises. 2) The southern churches were impoverished and could not support a southern society. 3) During the Civil War the American Bible Society had sent Bibles through the lines to Confederate soldiers. 4) Debts owed to the Society by southern churches were forgiven. The South Georgia Conference confirmed the decision of the General Conference by formal resolution and continued action. From 1867 to 1939 there was either a committee for the Bible Cause or a Bible Board. Up to 1902 the group was appointed to act for each session, but after that year, as specified by the Discipline, the Bible Board was elected to serve quadren- nially, thus giving the entity a more permanent status. In 1894, a question, What has been done for the American Bible Society?, was inserted in the required ques- tions in the Minutes. All reports from the Committee, or the Board, clearly promoted support for the American Bible Society. Many of the reports consisted largely of praise for the work of the Society and encouragement for continued and increased support. Sup- port came in the form of funds raised by contributions and special offerings, especially on Bible Sunday first mentioned in 1891. The Conference provided other support for the Society by appointing personnel to act as agents and colporteurs. By the turn of the century, Bible Institutes were held regularly, a practice which continued for some years before other groups sponsored similar activities. There was little other program action in the area of Bible interest, but the appropriate Committee or Board consistently promoted the interest of the American Bible Society and pointed out the importance of the distribution of Holy Scripture, a position which received almost unanimous support among the Methodists of South Georgia. THE LAITY The development of lay participation in church government and the rise of struc- tures designed to involve the laity were a marked characteristic of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, after the Civil War. The most permanent and most highly organized group was that of the women. Structures for men did not develop as strongly; however, through the Board of Lay Activities, the men received more and more responsibility in action areas. The Epworth League, an organization of youth and young adults as well as children during its later years, came on the scene, had a period of high activity for about forty years, and then lost its organizational identity. 38 The Conference and the Laymen Before 1866, laymen did not participate in the business of either the Annual Con- ference or the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. These two bodies were composed entirely of clergymen, or preachers as they were usually called at that time. The New Orleans Conference provided for an equal number of laymen and clergymen in the General Conference to represent each An- nual Conference and for each district to have four lay delegates in the Annual Conference. The South Georgia Conference implemented the decision of the General Con- ference by receiving lay delegates for the first time in 1868. There was an Address of the Lay Representatives presented to the session giving the body some idea as to what was on the minds of the laity. Increased spirituality and faithfulness, a greater conviction of obligation to support the Church and the ministry, and careful planning, cultivation, and monitoring of financial programs were some of the topics considered in the report. The stewardship emphasis was to be a strong lay concern throughout the period. The 1868 session ruled that lay delegates were to be selected by district meetings, later District Conferences, and that traveling preachers who had a vote in the Annual Conference could not vote in the election. This allowed Local Preachers to be eligible for election and frequently they were selected. The Laymens Missionary Movement, organized in 1908, came to the attention of the Conference in 1910, and the body recommended support for the organization. Mr. W. B. Stubbs of Savannah was the church-wide movements first secretary. The same year there was a question in the Minutes, Who is elected Conference Leader?. Note that the term Lay Leader was not used. In 1911, there was a com- mittee for the Laymens Missionary Movement with District Leaders listed. At the 1914 Conference, the Committee on Lay Activities report listed the District Lay Leaders and promoted such stewardship aspects as every member canvas, duplex envelope system and a worship service for every church every Sunday by laymen holding the service. The 1915 report listed three lay committees for action in the local church: missions, evangelism and social service. Continuing the strong stewardship emphasis of previous years, the report discussed pastors salaries, systematic financial programs, group life insurance for minister, support of the Centenary movement and raising benevolences. The 1922 General Conference gave the Board of Lay Activities the task of work- ing with every Board and Committee in the Conference. Also, laymen were to com- pose the Board of Lay Activities in the local church, direct worship in the absence of the pastor and participate in District Conference programs. They were to have responsibility for the financial causes of the Church. The 1923 report pledged sup- port for the Superannuate Endowment Campaign and, in 1924, established the goal of payment of 100 percent of conference assessments. The 1926 session approved legislation which placed the responsibility for raising benevolences on both laity and clergy. The goal of the previous year, 100 percent payment of benevolences, was repeated and again was not reached. There was a complaint in the 1928 report that some Presiding Elders were not cooperating in the achievement of the goal. The role of the Board of Lay Activities changed in the thirties with the addition of responsibility for the training of officers in the local church. The Charge Lay Leader became a member of the Quarterly Conference. The celebration of 39 Laymans Day were continued from the twenties and the emphasis on lay speaking. The changes approved by the 1934 General Conference placed the Chairman of the Board of Stewards of the local church in the role of Charge Lay Leader as well. Most of the responsibilities of the Board of Temperance and Social Service were added to those of Lay Activities. Reports from 1934 through 1938 dealt with such subjects as stewardship, the new financial plan, the church press and the secular press, war, race relations, alcohol, sex, motion pictures, the family, women and tobacco, economic order, justice, lynchings, rural life, lay speaking, ministerial sup- port, evangelism and Sabbath observance as well as other topics. The 1937 report of the Board of Lay Activities was the longest recorded report included in the MINUTES from 1867 to 1939 reaching nine pages in length. Lay representation in the Annual Conference remained at four per district until 1918 when it was increased to eight. The 1926 General Conference gave each district a number based on the total membership of the district. The number of lay delegates elected to the 1938 session was 141. The Wesley Brotherhood, a laymens group, was introduced in 1924 being men- tioned in the Boards report. There was a column in the statistical tables for the Brotherhood and a question in the list required by the Discipline. The movement was not highly successful reaching a peak of fourteen units in 1928 and dropping to four by 1938. The idea of having facilities for summer assemblies came before the Conference in 1908 when it appointed a committee to meet with a similar group from the North Georgia Conference. The 1909 and 1910 reports from the committee agreed that there should be such a facility and recommended the acceptance of 1,000 acres near Tate, Georgia, noting the necessity of building some kind of a transportation system from the acreage to the railroad. In 1910, the Laymens Missionary Move- ment began building the assembly grounds at Lake Junaluska under the title of the Southern Assembly. The South Georgia Conference, in 1913, endorsed the idea of having a South Georgia headquarters at Lake Junaluska, but like the project at Tate, there is no record of implementation. The Conference participated in the several governing bodies of the Southern Assembly with a Conference Board representing the interest of the project, even when it was in the hands of receivers in the thirties. In 1938, Lake Junaluska came under the direct governance of the General Conference. The Conference and Women Before 1918, according to the decisions of the College of Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the Church could not accept women as ministers and pastors could not permit women who claimed clergy status to speak from the pulpit. Women could not be members of the District Conference. They were not eligible for election as stewards. A woman could be a Sunday School Superintendent, but even as such, could not be a member of the Quarterly Con- ference. These decisions effectively excluded women from the formal governing processes of the Church. The 1918 General Conference eliminated all the above restrictions with the ex- ception of acceptability as ministers. Women were brought into the administrative structure of the Church with equal legal status as men, but still could not have clergy status. The year 1918 also saw the inclusion of a question in the formal 40 Minutes of Annual Conferences concerning the Womens Missionary Society. Statistical tables had included headings relating the work of the women, but the Discipline had not stipulated such a question. Two years later, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Womens Sufferage Amendment, was ratified in August of 1920. The districts of the South Georgia Conference responded to the opening for women by having one woman delegate for the 1919 session, Mrs. J. W. Powell from the Savannah District. The next year there were seven women selected as delegates composing less than ten percent of the total lay membership of the body. The General Conference of 1918 had also increased the number of lay delegates to eight per district. The number after 1926 was based on the church membership of the district and by 1938 there were 141 delegates of which 25 were women. The 1918 decision also made it possible for women to become members of con- ference boards and committees. In 1920, Mrs. J. A. Harrell served on the Wesley Memorial Enterprises Committee. The 1923 Hospital Board requested that its number be increased from nine to twelve and that three women be included, even giving the names of the women. The list of Board members for subsequent years did not include any women. Women again appeared on boards and committees in 1931, and in 1938, there were three women serving the conference groups. In the election of lay delegates for the 1926 General Conference one woman received five votes and another received two. In 1934 and 1938 Mrs. C. C. Sapp was a delegate to the General Conferences and was a member of the Uniting Conference in 1939. Beginning in 1878, when the By-Laws of the auxiliaries of the Womens Mis- sionary Society appeared in the MINUTES, there were reports of the work of the organizations made up of women. These reports were sometimes hardly more than statistical data and a listing of officers. Some years the MINUTES included pic- tures of the missionaries supported by South Georgia groups. After 1908 there were few references to the work of the women except for the inclusion of data in the overall statistical tables found at the end of each volume of published MINUTES. Possibly one reason for not including information was that the Womans Mis- sionary Society published a yearbook which was a thorough report on the activities of the conference women. With the approval of the By-Laws cited above, the Conference endorsed the ac- tion of the 1878 General Conference approving organizations for the women of the Church. In December of 1879 the Methodist Women of the South Georgia Con- ference met in Perry and formally organized the conference level structure. Before the action of the General Conference there had been extensive local organizations of women, but after 1878 there was a mechanism by which the local groups could be directly included in the church organization and provided for in the Discipline. The term, Womans Missionary Society, was used from 1878 until 1892 when it changed to Womans Foreign Missionary Society to distinguish it from the Womans Home Missionary Society. In 1914, Womans Missionary Society became the name of the unified group and continued until Unificiation. As the name in- dicates, the group was primarily interested in foreign missions. The General Board of Missions maintained the foreign mission enterprise of the Church; however, the Womans Missionary Society sent out women in a separate but cooperating work. This work was supported by the local units of the Society. 41 In 1886, following the directives of the General Conference, the Board of Church Extension organized the Womans Parsonage Aid Society which became the Womans Parsonage and Home Mission Society in 1890. The name was changed to Womans Home Mission Society in 1898 and joined with the Womans Foreign Mis- sionary Society to become the Womans Missionary Society in 1910. The original purpose of the Society was to care for the parsonages in local situations with in- terest in domestic missions soon entering the scope of concern. Within a few years the mission aspect of the work became predominant, but the society, and the later Womans Missionary Society, did not lose interest in the local parsonage. From the 1899 MINUTES SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE WOMANS MISSIONARY SOCIETY 1899-1900 Mils. Mrs. Mrs. Mrs. Mrs. Mrs. Mrs. R. F, Officers of Conference Society. W. M athews ...................... <). A. Cl.ARK .......................... .1. B. (.'ORB. i: w. MacDosew. S. S. Sweet ..... It. C Nisei,y. ,f A luck Mathews... BctttlEN...... M ......President ............ ....................Vice-President ..........Cox responding Secretary- Assistant Corresponding Secretary ...................Recording Secretary ............:............Treasurer .......................... Auditor STATISTICS OF THE WOMANS FOREIGN WORK. KAIU of mmik I I i s & L j g* pg . . ? I ? UJ I Pi III. ITj. I g I a 1 I if. 6 if pH I Hj pip miss 46{ ilk IW M stii 7l 400i Si 661. 16 - 2i 20i [ ts j :M f |> II j ||| 14 1 f* | JS 102} 1,354 p m tT7 L M 2*667 T M 'ir ffj; if 6: $ 66,600 00 H. 164,000 00 li 6,127 70 I02{ 6T| fx ftjff mhvI Ml | lo,0no 00 i 4-4! 4,330. 16; $300,725 70 % a 2;6l2,60f ....j 3>J 13,000 Rod Tnfaiing 8cb< n 34; dtntrfcta, 1 *'* Mi**ionant A 61( $ 63,100 00 *! 76,000 00 164,000 00 1 6,127 70 1 l) 10,600 00 66!*f 388,727 76 3,630; members, 74,616; life subscribes* to Link Worker, 42 The Conference and the Epworth League There is some debate as to when the Epworth League movement began, one source placing the date as 1889. By 1893, a report in the MINUTES of an Epworth League Committee gave eleven as the number of League units within the Con- ference. The report stated that the League solved our problems and compared the movement to the Franciscans, the Jesuits, and the Salvation Army. Also, the paper declared that the League should be established in every church. The follow- ing year the Committee became a quadrennially elected Board. By 1898 there were 124 chapters with 4,852 members within the Conference. The Epworth League was an international and churchwide movement. In the Spring of 1897, there was a statewide Epworth League Conference in Atlanta and an International Epworth League Conference in Toronto in July of the same year. Early in its history, conference and district organizations appeared. The conference-wide meetings later developing into Summer assemblies for young peo- ple. There were city-wide, county-wide, and tri-county League Unions. Later there were summer camps for younger League members. In its beginning years the Epworth League was a movement of young adults, some of whom remained active well into adulthood. A Boys League was reported in 1906, and later there were Junior Leagues for children, Hi-Leagues for the high school age, and Senior Leagues for young adults. In the twenties the age level tended to drop, but in 1929 there were 225 senior chapters, 80 Hi-League groups and 75 on the junior level. The activities of the Epworth League covered about every phase of church life. There was a strong mission emphasis and a Life Service Band promoted the voca- tion to full-time Christian service both domestic and foreign. The League sent funds for use in foreign areas, and in 1917 there were 17 former League members serving as foreign missionaries. The Epworth Era was the publication of the church-wide League, and in South Gerogia, there were conference and district papers. These bulletins were frequently shortlived, rising, flourishing, and disap- pearing to be replaced by another paper very similar in nature. The League operated Bible Study groups and other educational activities. Local chapters sent support to the Orphans Home and assumed the responsibility for providing for specific children. There were Go To Church campaigns and evangelistic emphases which included revivals and personal outreach. In 1912 the Board suggested that pastors use the League members to collect Conference Claims when the stewards did not do their duty. Reading between the lines of the reports one finds that the Epworth League did not always have the full support of the entire Church. Repeatedly ministers were urged, were exhorted, to support the League. There were reports that ministers did not attend League conferences and other meetings. Although many, probably most, ministers promoted the League, evidently some did not. In 1909, before the League had been active in South Georgia for two decades, some thought that it should be combined with the Sunday School. The report which included the recommendation argued that no move was being made to abolish other church organizations simply because their activities had to be pushed. The 1930 General Conference turned the responsibilities of the Epworth League Board over to the Board of Christian Education; subsequent reports of that group to the South Georgia Conference hardly mentioned the League. The 1934 Discipline did not include the Epworth 43 League in the structure of the Church; however, the term was used to refer to youth organizations in the Church, especially the local church, until the Methodist Youth Fellowship came into being after Unification. The Epworth League in South Georgia was one of the outstanding examples of League activity in a conference. There were periods of growth and times of stagna- tion, but in the two decades before its phase out, the League enjoyed its greatest numerical success and rendered significant service to the Church. In the area of recruitment of full-time personnel for the Church and the intergration of younger people into the church activities and life, the League served its purpose well. Beyond the scope of this paper is a study of the parallels between the League opera- tion and the growth of foreign mission activity. By 1934, the activities of the League had been combined with those of similar age groups in the Sunday School and the Young Peoples Department, with morning and evening sessions, was the organizational cover for the new approach. SOCIAL CONCERNS A review of the interests of the South Georgia Conference demonstrates clearly that Methodists in South Georgia did not accept Christianity as being simply a matter of religion without concern for what happened to human beings in human society. The section of education points out the Conferences deep interst in the training of the mind. Soon after the Civil War when the area was still impoverished, an orphanage came into being and received all its support from South Georgia Methodism. Early in the twentieth century the Conference took interest in the establishment of a hospital in Atlanta and later assumed ownership with all the ac- companying responsibility for what became Candler Hospital in Savannah. Tem- perance was a live social issue throughout the period. The participation of the dif- ferent Womans societies in bringing the ballot to women can only be mentioned. Sabbath observance with its humanitarian and religious aspects remained a subject for discussion by several conference entities. Although the action of the Conference concerning Race Relations may seem to be archaic in the terms of the late twen- tieth century, in the social context of the period, the attitudes were viewed by some as being extreme. The Conference repeatedly spoke through its documents on other social concerns and what was said in the prophetic pulpits, inspired by the action of the Conference, is not within the scope of this chapter. The Conference and the Orphans Home The subject of the Orphans Home arises in the MINUTES when the Conference session of 1869 approved a resolution requesting that the delegates to the 1870 General Conference confer with delegations from other Annual Conferences on the idea. The 1870 South Georgia Conference selected a Board of Trustees for the or- phanage. In 1871 they reported that a home was desirable, funds should be sought, an agent appointed and the location be at the discretion of the trustees. In 1863, the Trustees reported that they had accepted 40 acres of good land, 26 under cultiva- tion, about two miles north of Macon. On the land there was a ten-room house and a never failing spring. The conditions of the donation required that the property, or returns from its sale, should always be used for an orphanage in Bibb County. 44 Eleven children were already in the Home. From the eleven children reported in 1873, the number increased almost every year until there were 150 in 1925. The number was 39 children in 1877 and 70 in 1889 and remained between 80 and 100 until 1900 when the 100 mark was surpassed. The Home had a system of bringing children under its protection and, when possiblj| finding good homes for placement. The 1907 report stated that when boys reached the age of 15 and girls the age of 18, they were sent out to Christian homes. Others, even younger, were placed in foster homes. State agencies during the period from 1867 to 1939 were not greatly con- cerned about what church orphanages did as long as there was no flagrant child abuse. The Home was concerned with the education of the children; some, de- i pending upon their age, attended a private school during the early years. The 1887 and the 1902 reports stated that the children were having classes at the Home; however, reports from in- tervening years placed them in public schools. Later all attended public schools through the secondary level; and as early as 1911, some were sent to church schools and colleges as well as state-supported institutions. During a good part of the period, farming operations and dairying were carried on using the older children as workers. They also participated in canning and food preparation under the direction of capable adults. From time to time there were classes in the domestic arts for the girls and skill classes for boys as well. The Vineville Church was the place of worship, for the children attended Sunday School there each Sunday morning and for a while, around the turn of the century, also attended an afternoon Sunday School at Manchester. In 1908, 33 children became members of Vineville. The Methodist Home, as it was known in the last years of the period, required considerable resources to care for the children and youth. Each child was totally dependent upon the Home for meeting all needs, physical, moral, educational and spiritual. The support for the Home came from the Methodists of the South Georgia Conference. The children needed housing and food. A number of buildings arose on the Home campus, and twice, in 1888 and 1919, rebuilding was necessary because of fire. Over the period of more than sixty years the needs changed and adjustments were necessary. The expansion of the Home and the adoption of different agricultural methods required new buildings and new equipment. In 1920, a new dining room 45 was provided and again in 1935. Other changes in the facilities for food preparation and dining during the period are not recorded in the reports. Although the Home grew some food, much more came from the farmers of South Georgia in the form of donations. Gifts in kind of almost every edible crop pro- duced in the area came to the Home. Churches and church organizations collected and forwarded food to Macon. Clothing came from such organizations as the Epworth League, Sunday School classes, womens groups, and individual churches. Some groups would accept the responsibility for caring for a specified child and would provide all clothing needed as well as contributing to the general support. In 1910, the Home received 93 boxes of Summer clothing and 73 for the Winter besides quilts and other supplies, more than half coming from Epworth League groups, Sunday School classes and Mis- sionary societies. An agent for the Home traveled thousands of miles through the Conference each year promoting its interest and accepting contributions. The Rev. J. A. Smith was the agent from 1910 until 1942. He was most proficient in his work, but never learned to drive an automobile, receiving ready transportation from ministers and other friends of the Home if rail travel was not available. The Orphans Home was a very popular cause in the South Gerogia Conference. There were no direct allocations from the Conference funds with support coming on a voluntary basis. Beginning in 1900, the MINUTES included a separate charge by charge report of contributions to the Home. In 1914 the Orphans Home Work- day became one of the fixed days of the Conference. Through the support of the Methodists of South Georgia it was possible to build and maintain the Home and to carry out its objective, the caring for helpless children. As the depression closed in on the agricultural sector of Georgia in the late twen- ties, the Home experienced some difficulty in receiving support. Although 1925 was one of the best years in the history of the Home, according to the report, and in 1926 the Home was described as being in excellent condition, the low prices of peaches and cotton caused some concern. When the depression hit all sectors of society in 1929, the endowment built up by the trustees became of little value as an income producing resource. The next year, 1930, was termed as the most difficult,- and the Conference instituted a Christmas Offering to help the institution meet its obligations. The Home was not less popular with the people of the Church. They could not give what they did not have. As the economy improved and the situation eased somewhat, resources again became available and the Home operated with adequate support. The Conference and Hospitals The 1904 MINUTES included for the first time a report from the Trustees of Wesley Memorial Hospital and also presented a list of representatives of the South Georgia Conference on the Board of the Atlanta institution. The same report recommended that there be a Christmas offering to be used for the support of the hospital. As the scope of the Wesley Memorial Enterprises expanded to other types j of work, the reports advised the Conference as to the varied activities. There were trustees from South Georgia for the hospital until it became the property of Emory ! University, and in 1922 a separate Hospital Board was listed. That same year the j Golden Cross became a conference cause as provided for by the Discipline. 46 The South Georgia Conference continued to support the Wesley Memorial Hospital; however, in 1930 the Hospital Board recommended the acceptance of the Savannah Hospital in fee simple and with no restraining conditions. The Savannah institution became the Candler Hospital and was the center of the hospital interest of the Conference and a recipient of Golden Cross contributions. The Conference and Temperance Temperance was a social and political issue which attracted considerable atten- tion in American society between the Civil War and World War II. What began as a movement to combat immoderate use of alcoholic beverage soon became a cam- paign advocating total abstinence and the legal prohibition of the manufacture, sale, etc., of the substance. Under the state laws permitting local option county after county became dry, and then entire states adopted prohibition legislation. By 1898, only twenty counties within the bounds of the Conference still permitted the sale of liquor, and the number decreased to nine by 1903. Georgia became a dry state on January 1, 1908. The Eighteenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution was ratified on January 16,1919, but the conflict was not over. The law was not obeyed, and in some parts of the nation there were hardly token attempts at enforcement. The campaign to repeal the Amendment began almost before ratification, and repeal was an issue in the presidential campaigns of 1928 and 1932. Repeal of the national law came on December 5^1933; and within a few years, most states, in- cluding Georgia, had adopted some form of local option legislation. Alcoholic beverages were never completely absent from the American scene since it was available from bootleggers, smugglers, and other illegal sources. There was never any doubt as to the position of the South Gerogia Conference in reference to temperance. The approaches of the Conference were in harmony with the decisions and declarations of the General Conference. The 1879 MINUTES listed a Temperance Committee, and each Conference session for every year, ex- cept two, up to 1910 appointed such a committee. In 1910, the Board of Temperance and Other Moral Reforms came into being as prescribed by the Discipline and was the entity which considered the subject. The name of the Board changed three times and was the Board of Temperance and Social Service when it surrendered its functions to the Board of Lay Activities in 1934. The Committee report of 1879 states that Methodists should refrain from the use, manufacture, and sale of alcoholic beverages and condemned all uses except for medicinal purposes and in case of necessity. The 1886 report found that there was an amazing amount of sickness among Methodists and that some fell ill with great facility. The following year it was made clear that the Church opposed all, even moderate, drinking. The word prohibition appeared in the 1887 report. The Conference continued its uncompromising stand against the use of alcoholic beverage, advocated statewide prohibition and a national law on the subject, and opposed the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. The reports contained flaming rhetoric and described vividly the evils of alcohol, the liquor traffic, and the com- mercialization of liquor. Many of the reports can (or could) be termed intemperate in the advocacy of temperance. The lawlessness associated with prohibition re- ceived equal condemnation. There was no softening of the opposition to alcoholic beverage at any point in the period. The reports of all entities concerned with temperance offered few concrete 47 recommendations but rather were exhortive in nature. Though there were no action programs; there were recommendations of support of prohibition legislation and the backing of candidates for public office who agreed with the position of the church. Programs of implementation were lacking. The Conference and the Sabbath The concept that the Sabbath, Sunday, was a special day was not a matter of debate in the South Georgia Conference between 1867 and 1939. Many years during the period, the Conference appointed a committee to report on the subject. The Sabbath Observance Committees function was directed to the Temperance Com- mittee or Board after 1910. From 1934 to 1939 the Board of Lay Activities reported on the subject. The railroads were one target of the Sabbath Observance Committee. The 1884 report related how an earnest Methodist preachers protest had caused the Buena Vista Railroad to cancel plans for Sunday operation. There was repeated op- position to Sunday excursions by rail. In 1897 the Conference addressed a paper to the Postmaster General protesting the carrying of the mails on Sunday. It seems that railroads had cited the necessity to transport the mail as a justification for Sunday trains. The 1891 report had stated that No Christian ought ever to open his mail box on the Sabbath. The opposition to Sunday operation of the railroads slacked off around the turn of the century, but the 1908 report still condemned Sunday rail excursions. Sunday work of all kinds met opposition. More than once even the reading of newspapers as well as their printing and distribution on Sunday was the object of disapproval. Buying and selling on Sunday (except in situations of necessity), the operation of factories and machine shops, and open saloons were targets of the Committee. The 1905 Committee lowered the boom on The Big Sunday Dinner which deprived the housewife and her servant of morning public worship. Recreational activities generally met disapproval. Ball games, bicycle tour- naments, boating excursions, dancing, the theater, movies, horse racing, concerts including those disguised by the term sacred, and later, joy rides in automobiles were included in the list of unacceptable activities. Most of these were condemned- even on workdays. The reports of the Sabbath Observance Committee and others concerned with the subject were based on the Fourth Commandment and were consistent with the General Rules of Methodism. Social change seemed to overwhelm the Church. The 1934 report of the Board of Lay Activities stated, Our Christian Sabbath is rapidly slipping away from us. The Board implored the entire membership to refrain from the prevelant desecration of the Day of Rest. Did a less rigid approach to Sab- bath observance slip up on the people called Methodist? Note well that the reports dealt with what was considered to be a problem so some Methodists, and possibly a goodly percentage, were not always faithful to the concepts of the Committees. The Conference and Race Before the Civil War black and white Methodists in Georgia were in the same Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Church had no doubt that the blacks had souls and could experience salvation. Statistics listed blacks; 48 (colored) and whites separately, and there were missionaries specifically assigned to carry on the work among blacks. In 1865, colored charges were listed in the Georgia Conference minutes, but almost every other charge listed black members totaling 17,811 full members and 3,535 in the probationary column. White member- ship that year was 41,309 with 7,607 probationers. Emancipation and Reconstruction brought a realignment of the social relation- ship between blacks and whites. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, could not escape the effects of social change and the situation required a new pattern of relationships. The 1866 session of the General Conference provided for blacks to be licensed to preach and to be ordained as well as for separate black churches, separate black districts, separate black conferences, and eventually a separate black Methodist Church. The South Georgia Conference had three black districts in 1867. In 1868 none was listed, but Samuel Anthony was appointed as the Superintendent of Colored People. Many blacks were leaving the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, Zion, and for other denominations. Some moved to the Methodist Episcopal Church as it was reorganized in the South. 7 The number of black members in the churches of the South Georgia Conference declined from almost 7,000 (including probationers) in 1867, to 2,462 in 1868,952 in 1869, and 53 in 1873. Statistical reports continued to include colored columns un- til 1897 when there were still seven black members. There were 54 black local preachers in 1867, 22 in 1868,4 in 1869 and 2 in 1870. The establishment of the Col- ored Methodist Episcopal Church, which was organized in 1870, as sufficient black districts and black Annual Conferences came into being, effectively removed all but a handful of blacks scattered through white churches. The 1938 Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the last before Unification, in listing the duties of the Secretary of the Church Conference, required the separate listing of local elders, local deacons, local preachers, white persons, colored persons, and Indians. In a 1869 report entitled, Respecting People of Color, the Conference affirmed that the command to go and preach the Gospel to all nations made no distinction as to color and race. There is a reference to the ministry of the past to bondsmen which asserted that such ministry was just as necessary as before emancipation. It noted the exodus of blacks to other Methodist churches, expressed a deep in- terest in the well-being of blacks, and recommended continued assistance in pro- viding schools and churches. The Conference approved the convening of the General Conference of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church and the election of Bishops for that Church. After most black members left the Church and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was underway, the Conference expressed sporadic interest in and seldom noted the presence of a black population. There was support for Paine Institute and Lane Institute, both later elevated to the college level. In 1887, the Conference endorsed Paine Institute, but the wording clearly reflects a paternalistic attitude, as did most subsequent references to blacks and black institutions. The 1894 Board of Education report acknowledges an obligation to blacks. The Temperance report of 1899 condemns the use of whiskey because, among other reasons, it turned black men into fiends and mobs worked under its effect. In 1904, the Rev. J. A. Berry, 49 the President of Lane College, addressed the Conference; and the Board of Educa- tion responded by pledging support for those who work to train teachers for the unevangelized masses of the Negro race. A 1913 resolution, responding to over- tures from the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church suggesting that the alienation between the races be reduced, offered to conduct a preachers institute and to otherwise help and encourage the black churches. Although a 1919 report from the Board of Temperance and social reform favored justice for every man regardless of race or social situation, it clarified its statement by declaring that this did not mean social equality or amalgamation. The 1920 report of the same group con- sidered ... the negro as a race is in many respects only a child and must be dealt with as such. The report recommended that whites should set good examples and also stated opposition to lynchings. The next year, there was a call for careful and prayerful thought on the subject of race and a condemnation of mob violence. It recommended patient justice and charity for a race inferior to ours. The 1925 report called for improving the living conditions of the black population and two years later, Christian race relations was given as a subject for study and interest. In the thirties the Board of Lay Activities considered subjects related to race and repeatedly called for solutions along the lines of the teachings of Jesus. The 1935 statement read ... that all men are brothers, regardless of race ... There was a specific recommendation that the local church Boards should render service through a committee which would work with the churches of the black community. The last reference mentioning race relations before 1939 was that of 1937 which urged the churches to ... make more real the ideals and practices of Christian brotherhood between various racial groups. During the period from 1867 to 1939 the South Georgia Conference reflected the social and legal norms of the region where it operated. For some segregation was just what the situation should be and they saw no need to change the existing pattern. Attitudes which were considered to be Christian were largely pater- nalistic and few doubted that one race was superior to the other. The Conference took no recorded stand on the racial disturbances of World War I and the postwar period. There is no recorded condemnation of the Ku Klux Klan which was reestablished in that period. Race was no doubt one factor which led to the rejec- tion of unification with other Methodist churches in 1925 and in that vote the lay delegates voted 100 percent against joining with the northern church, however, the stronger expression on race of the thirties came not from committees dominated by clergymen, but from the Board of Lay Activities. The Conference and Other Issues With the broadening of the scope of concern of the new Board of Temperance and Other Moral Reforms, the reports began to reflect the position of the Con- ference on other subjects. There were expressions of support for the Florence Crit- tenden Homes, schools for outcast girls, schools for the feeble minded, the YMCA, the establishment of a state Welfare Department, justice for all peoples, Christian race relations, and other causes which promoted human welfare. There were expressions of opposition to and condemnation of white slavery, worldly amusements, tobacco, gambling, laziness, dancing, joy rides in automobiles, pornography, mob law, lynchings, scanty bathing suits in public bathing places, Parisian fashions, and immoral movies. The 1910 report recommended the 50 establishment of a state censorship bureau for motion pictures. The 1915 report reiterated the request and also suggested a state censor agency for boarding houses for girls. There was repeated consideration of the family with concern expressed about divorce, the weakening of the family altar, and the failure of the family to rear children properly. The 1920 report stated that the Holy Family is the great seal of Christianity. The Conference expressed itself on international issues. There was approval of the League of Nations and the World Court. In 1905 and 1909 there were resolu- tions condemning the persecution of the Jews in Russia. As the international unrest spread in the years before World War II there were resolutions relating to peace. The cause of Near East relief was presented to the 1926 session and was repeated in the 1928 Board report. The final reports of the Board of Temperance and Social Service did not lessen the feeling for temperance, but there was a variety of subjects of social concern presented to the Conference thereby giving each session the opportunity of defin- ing the position of the South Georgia Methodists. UNIFICATION During the period after the Civil War, Methodism in the United States was represented by at least fourteen distinct and independent bodies, a situation which might be expected in a society marked by religious pluralism. Most of these groups recognized the others as being valid branches of Methodism and there was some transferring of both ministers and members. Wesleys dictum that Methodist are one people was generally recognized even, with some restrictions, across racial lines. The split between North and South in 1844 was provoked by a question relating to slavery. After the Civil War slavery no longer existed so many Methodists of the northern branch, and some in the South, hoped that the breach would be closed. Such was not the case and the Methodist Episcopal Church began to enter southern territory. In May of 1869 a deputation of two Bishops from the northern Church attended the annual meeting of the southern Bishops in St. Louis offering a communication concerning reunion. The overture was significant because the northern Church had rebuffed a southern gesture in 1848. The General Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, received fraternal delegates from the North in 1870. The General Conference of the northern Church received fraternal delegates from the South in 1872 and expressed sentiments of support for closer relations with the southern branch. Already, in 1867, a commission had met with representatives of the Methodist Protestant Church to consider union, but with no results. The cordial gestures were followed by a Joint Commission which met at Cape May, New Jersey in August of 1876 and arrived at principles which would be ac- cepted by the ensuing sessions of the General Conferences. Of importance was a formal declaration recognizing both Churches as legitimate branches of Methodism. Another suggestion from the Commission was the Ecumenical Methodist Conferences embracing all Methodist groups of the world. The first ses- sion of the Conference was held in September of 1881 at City Road Chapel in London. One of the members of the Joint Commission was Dr. H. P. Meyers of the South 51 Georgia Conference. The following December, in its regular session, the Conference approved the Cape May principles. In 1879 the distribution of Methodists in Georgia by the several branches was as follows: Methodist Episcopal Church, South 92,063 Methodist Episcopal Church 16,120 African Methodist Episcopal Church 27,523 Colored Methodist Episcopal Church 22,000 Other Methodist groups 5,000 Total 162,706 The story of Methodist union is too long to include in this account. The South Georgia Conference did not consider the matter again until 1916 when it approved a resolution supporting the concept of Unification with the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Protestant Church. By 1923 there was another Joint Commission which prepared a Plan of Union for the northern and southern branches leaving out the Methodist Protestant Church. It was approved by a special session of the General Conference of the southern Church in 1924. Among other points, the Plan called for two jurisdictions, each composed of the Annual Conference of the two former churches. At the 1924 ses- sion of the South Georgia Conference, the Rev. J. A. Harmon introduced a resolu- tion calling for prayerful and calm consideration of the Plan. The resolution was adopted and was an attempt to calm a heated issue. On a roll call vote at the 1925 meeting, the Conference did not approve the Plan of Union. The tally was 94 clergy for and 137 against. Not one layman voted for the Plan and 80 voted against it. Im- mediately after the vote Dr. Bascom Anthony offered a memorial stating that the Conference was not against union but could not approve that particular Plan. The motion was tabled. Although the Plan received slightly more than a majority of the votes cast in all Annual Conferences, it did not reach the required three fourths mark. The 1926 General Conference resolved to let the matter rest for four years while a Special Committee headed by Dr. Franklin N. Parker of Emory studied the subject. The Methodist Protestant Church entered the discussion and a new Plan of Union was formulated in the thirties. The new Plan provided for a regional jurisdic- tional organization with a separate jurisdiction for the black Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church. What became The Methodist Church was organized according to the principles of the Plan. The General Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Protestant Church meeting separately in 1936 approved the new Plan. In December of the same year, the College of Bishops of the Southern Church received requests for 25 of the 38 Annual Conferences that they present the plan for consideration at the 1937 sessions. The Bishops acceded and the plan passed by a vote of 7,650 to 1,247. The South Georgia Conference, meeting in Dublin on November 4, and voting by secret ballot, accepted the Plan by a vote of 262 to 53. In 1938 the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, approved the Plan by a 434 to 26 vote. Unification became a fact in May of 1939 at Kansas City Uniting Conference. The 73rd and last session of the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met in Macon at the Mulberry Street Church on November 8, 1939 and adjourned that night never to meet again. The following morning the South Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church convened for its first session. 52 wife. DELEGATES TO THE 1938 GENERAL CONFERENCE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH and THE KANSAS CITY UNITING CONFERENCE MAY 1939 Z _ W Bj w H Z w o o z z Z o H C O a a o a o a o a H a o TO < a at cs s a. W J= c GQ d) CD -*-> C go 2.3 CO vg Si -g 0 G 1 D S- x co +* | fa 2 H o Jjj *. > 4-> 04 pC 02 04 G2 K O icni +- to , a> a hd a> C *J C cO u c *43 a> co & CO CD cO O * ^ > S H 04 5 T3 -+-> g ^4 J CO .g a) 04 S 0) -o ^ 04 g f* co ^ G* . 04 C G O CO *-} CQ a Ou o5 CO CO CO X , Q U | Q 2 w DO: jjjg 53 Thrasher. Two of the delegates, Warren Roberts and Slater \\ ight. not present when the photograph was made. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY MINUTES AND YEARBOOKS Minutes of the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1867-1939. Combined General Minutes and Yearbook for 1924-25. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South. (Also numbers through 1939-1940) Minutes of the Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 1858-1865. The Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 1859, 1902, 1910, 1914, 1922,1926,1930,1934, and 1938. ARTICLES Brawley, James P. The Beginnings and Historical Transition of the Georgia Conference, 1867-1972, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 5, No. 2 (December, 1975) Clary, Jr., George E. The Story of the Founding of Paine College, Augusta, Georgia Part I, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 4, No. 2 (December, 1974) The Story of the Founding of Paine College, Augusta, Georgia Part II, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 5, No. 1 (June 1975) --. Paine College: A Symbol of Interracial Cooperation and Goodwill in the Deep South, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 9, No. 2 (December, 1979) Cook, Raymond A. Fletcher Institute 1848-1879, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 7, No. 1 (December, 1977) Knight, Doris Walker. South Georgias First W. F. M. S. Missionary: Hattie Gerre Carson, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 7, No. 2 (December, 1977) Martin, S. Walter. Development of the Lay Movement in the United Methodist Church, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 10, No. 1 (June, 1980) Rivers, Mrs. Julian R. The 19th Century Methodist Woman Emerges in South Georgia Conference, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 5, No. 1 (June, 1975) Stubbs, David C. Makers of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, 1878-1978. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 8, No. 1. ~. Sparks Collegiate Institute Sparks College, 1902-1927 Part I. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 7, No. 1, (June, 1977) ~. Sparks Collegiate Institute Sparks College, 1902-1927 Part II, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 7, No. 2 (December, 1977) . Sunday Schools in the South Georgia Conference, 1867-1932. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 10, No. 1 (June, 1980) . Lay Delegates of the South Georgia Conference, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 11, No. 1 (June, 1981) . Districts of the South Georgia Conference 1868-1978, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 9, No. 1 (June, 1979) Waite, Jr., Mrs. Alvis A. Understanding the Organizational Sources of Methodism in Georgia, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 5, No. 1 (June, 1975) BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS Cannon, III, James. History of Southern Methodist Missions. Nashville: Cokesbury Press, 1926. Clary, Jr., George Esmond. The Beginnings of the South Georgia Conference. : The South Georgia Conference Historical Society, 1967. McTyeire, Holland N. A History of Methodism. Nashville: Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1910. Moore, John N. The Long Road to Methodist Union. Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1943. Richardson, Simon Peter. The Lights and Shadows of the Itinerant Life: An autobiography. Nashville: Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1900. Smith, George G. The History of Methodism in Georgia and Flodia, From 1785 to 1865, Macon: Jno. Burke & Co., 1877. Smith, George G. The Life and Times of George Foster Pierce, Sparta, Georgia: Hancock Publishing Company, 1888. 55 Chapter 3 THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST CHURCH 1939-1968 S. Walter Martin The Methodist Church came into existence in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 9, 1939, formed from the union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church. These three branches of Methodism had been divided for more than a century. The Methodist Protestant Church was organized as a separate body in 1828, and in 1846 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, became an independent Church, having separated from the Methodist Episcopal Church as a result of the slavery issue in 1844. During the years of separation considerable effort was made to bring the three bodies back together. Many Methodists worked and prayed for a long time for unification. The Conference in Kansas City was a culmination of these efforts. The unifying conference, as it became known, lasted two weeks and one day, with the major portion of business devoted to the historic action of merger. The South Georgia delegation to the uniting conference included the following ministers: Leland Moore, L. A. Harrell, H. T. Freeman, W. F. Quillian, C. M. Meeks, Silas Johnson, and J. P. Dell. The following laymen were part of the Conference: W. T. Anderson, Mrs. C. C. Sapp, C. L. Shepard, Charles A. Britton, Jr., T. E. Thrasher, Warren Roberts, and Slater Wight. Rev. T. D. Ellis from the South Georgia Con- ference was also part of the delegation by virture of having been a member of the1 Commission on Unification. After unification the total membership of the new Methodist Church was estimated at 7,730,000 persons. Three hundred thousand of these were blacks. Two hundred thousand came from the Methodist Protestant Church; 2,850,000 from the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South and 4,680,000 had been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. There were thirty-one Episcopal areas in the new organization consisting of 116 annual conferences and 598 districts. There were ap- proximately 24,000 ministers. The new Church was divided into six jurisdictions. The black churches were plac- ed in the Central Jurisdiction and the other five jurisdictions represented the various geographical regions of the country; namely, North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern, and Western. Twelve months after the meeting of the first General Conference, conferences were convened in each of the jurisdictions, 56 and Bishops were elected as provided for under the plan of union. The Southeastern Jurisdiction was made up of nine states in the Southeast, and it con- sisted of eight Episcopal areas and nineteen annual conferences. The South Georgia Conference was one of those annual conferences. There were some discordant notes sounded while the unifying conference was in session, although most of the delegates favored the merger. One Bishop, Bishop Collins Denny refused to become a Bishop in the new Church, retiring instead, and refusing to accept his pension payments. Bishop Warren A. Candler, beloved Georgian, was also much opposed to union. He stated on occasions that it was il- legal, but put his feelings aside and declared, Ill stay with my Church. This he did. But to other Methodists in high places, the coming of unification fulfilled their highest hopes. During the years prior to the unifying conference, considerable opposition had also been expressed in the South Georgia Conference to unification with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and this feeling was rekindled when the plan of union was adopted in Kansas City. On the surface the jurisdictional plan seemed to insure the southern churches against forced integration which might come from the northern churches. But skepticism remained strong over how the southern churches would fit into the new plan, and whether or not unification would bring about complete capitulation of southern ideas and ideals as they related to the Church. Also, changes in the organizational structure, new terminology, and new emphases on some programs bothered many staunch Methodists of the South. It was to be some yeaTS before this opposition subsided. The Wesleyan Christian Advocate opened its columns to Methodists in South Georgia who wanted to express themselves on the issues. Prior to the meeting of the Conference in Kansas City, the matter was debated not only in the columns of the IAdvocate, but in pulpits, in Sunday School classes, and in groups of Methodists wherever they met. Dr. George L. King, one of the Georgia leaders of the unifica- tion movement, was very persuasive. He referred to the proposed plan as a reunion of Methodism in the world and pointed out all of the good features that Methodism would enjoy under the new plan. He called unification a holy consum- mation that would benefit everyone involved. He deplored the fact that some peo- ple were unhappy over the move, but he said, Joy cannot be compelled. Dr. King emphasized the point that the future of the new Methodist Church was very prom- ising and said that the plan did not reflect an ambition for size, but an ambition for service which must be our ever-motivating source. Another strong voice favoring the plan was that of Bishop J. L. Decell, the presiding Bishop of the South Georgia Conference. During the weeks prior to the Kansas City Conference he made several speeches and wrote many articles in an ef- fort to explain the need for the new structural plan for the Church. He stressed that .he plan of unification would do no violence to Southern ideals and that it would do much to interpret our local Church methods of life and service to people outside our section of the country. He pled with those who were against the plan to give it a 'rial, saying that, We will all go forward together in this united fellowship of Christ. Most of those Church leaders who spoke in favor of the plan tried to assure .hose who opposed it that the way of life of the Church was secure and that we vould all feel very comfortable with the new organization within a short time. The seven ministers and the seven laymen from the South Georgia Conference 57 who were elected as members of the unifying conference all supported the plan strongly upon returning home and worked endless hours to get favorable action by the Annual Conference on the plan of union. Bishop Decell, along with Bishop Ar- thur J. Moore, who would soon be appointed Bishop of Georgia Methodism, and Dr. Hary Denman, Secretary of the General Commission on Evangelism, traveled throughout the State attempting to explain and answer questions about the plan of union and to help soften the blow for some of those who opposed the action. Knowledgeable and competent Church leaders were asked to write articles on dif- ferent phases of the plan approved in Kansas City. The leadership of the Womans Missionary Society of the South Georgia Conference (which was soon to become the Womans Society of Christian Service) emphasized to its members the favorable features of the plan. One prominent South Georgia Methodist woman said that, A new day approaches for women with the coming of union of the three branches of Methodism. God has endowed us to face the new and the untried. This new organization brings a challenge to all women of the Church. Throughout the sum- mer and fall of 1939, the leadership of the Conference continued to hold meetings in the interest of the new Church and in preparation for its hoped for approval at Annual Conference. The Annual Conference was held in Macon that year at which time the formal ac- ceptance of the new Church structure was voted upon. South Georgia officially became a part of the Methodist Church on November 9, 1939. Several Methodist leaders assisted in the special service, including Georgia-born Bishop W. N. Ainsworth. After a stirring speech by Bishop Ainsworth and a rebroadcast of the Kansas City Conference, a formal statement of merger was read by Bishop Decell which said, I, J. Lloyd Decell, resident and presiding Bishop of the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church on the 9th day of November, 1939, declare the South Georgia Conference to be an in- tegral part of the Methodist Church by the acts of union already consummated; and further declare that part of the Georgia Con- ference of the former Methodist Episcopal Church and that part of the South Georgia Conference of the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South which lies within the boundry lines as drawn in paragraph 414 on page 461 of the 1939 Discipline of the Methodist Church have been and are duly merged into the one united Annual Conference, namely the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church. The statement was approved by the Conference, after which the sacrament of the Lords Supper was observed. The ceremony was impressive. The change from the old to the new Church structure began to take place in the fall of 1939, and the new Discipline was put into effect soon after Conference. Bishop J. L. Decell continued to serve the South and the North Georgia Con- ferences in addition to his Alabama assignments until 1940. He had been elected to the Episcopacy at the last General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1938 and presided from that time until 1940 over Methodism in Georgia and Alabama. After his two years in Alabama and Georgia, Bishop Decell, a native of Mississippi, returned to his native state to serve as the presiding Bishop of the Jackson area. He died on January 10,1946. 58 1940 CABINET Front: Silas Johnson, W.A. Kelley, Bishop Arthur Moore, J.R. Webb, Sr. Back: John Sharpe, G.N. Rainey, W.H. Haywood, George E. Clary, Sr., J.M. Hitch CLASS OF 1940 Back: E. D. Willard, Vemard Robertson, W. A. Alsobrook. Front: S. L. Mayo, Allen Johnson insets: J. Paul Barratt, Ellis Miller 59 BISHOP ARTHUR J. MOORE Bishop Arthur James Moore became Resident Bishop of the Atlanta area in 1940 and served the area for the next 20 years. He was a native of South Georgia, having been born in the village of Argyle not far from Waycross on December 26,1888. At an early age he married Martha McDonald, his childhood sweetheart. Bishop Moore joined the South Georgia Conference in 1909 and served several small churches in the Conference before going to Emory College at Oxford, Georgia where he studied for a short time. Bishop William N. Ainsworth, a fellow Georgian, who had been elected to the Episcopacy in 1918, realized young Moores powerful potential in preaching and offered him much encouragement. In 1920 Bishop Ainsworth transferred Arthur Moore to Travis Park Church, San Antonio, in the West Texas Conference. In 1972 Bishop Warren A. Candler transferred him to First Church Birmingham, Alabama. He was elected to the Episcopacy in 1930. Bishop Moore was assigned to Methodism in Georgia at the Southeastern i Jurisdictional Conference held in Asheville, N. C. in 1940, and was welcomed back to his native State with open arms. Just prior to the meeting of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in Asheville when Bishop Moore was assigned to Georgia, the first meeting of the General Conference of the new Methodist Church took, place in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Bishop Moore preached the sermon on the first night of the historic Conference. Among the 3,000 people who heard his sermon, none were more proud than the South Georgians. In summary, he stated that our Church must have these five substantial foundations, and he named them as follows: a vision, a world outlook, the spirit of the cross, a vital religious experience, and no fear of the future. He emphasized the fact that the Church cannot be fearful or timid. Bishop Moore proved to be not only an effective preacher and an able ad- ministrator but also a good leader of the clergy of the South Georgia Conference. He was also very successful in working with lay people. The laymen are in a very genuine sense the guardians of the vitality of the Church, he said at one time. Your task, my brethren, is ... first to assist your minister in a determined effort to i deepen the spiritual experience of our people. The Bishop further challenged the ; laymen with these objectives: (1) the promotion of a movement to give supremacy: to evangelism, (2) the movement to recover the burning zeal of earlier Methodists and to make Christ known to the ends of the earth, (3) a determination to make themselves good churchmen. Bishop Moore had numerous overseas assignments before and after returning to Georgia. Missions and evangelism were his two major emphases. His trips to foreign lands included a visit in early 1946 to Korea, China, and Japan; the chief purpose of which was to assist Methodist churches to recover from chaotic conditions brought on by the war. Bishop Moore also conducted conferences with Methodist chaplains in those countries. In mid-1948 the Council of Bishops sent Bishop Moore to Europe, and again in 1949, he went on another mission for the Council of Bishops, this time to Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Burma. This mission, which re- quired approximately four months, was perhaps his most difficult one because the war had left many problems in that part of the world, and there was much to do. Still, another overseas trip included a visit to India and Africa in 1956. In 1952 Bishop Moores responsibilities were enlarged to include the annual conferences in central and southern Europe and Africa. The work was not new to him, for he had 60 presided over some of those conferences in 1934 to 1940. For the next few years, im- mediately after the annual conferences in Georgia were over, Bishop Moore visited the Geneva area conferences. As Bishop Moore neared completion of twelve years of service in the Atlanta area, it was rumored that he might be moved to another area in 1952; so con- siderable effort was spent in trying to get him back to Georgia for another quadren- nium. Though expecting to be moved at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Con- ference, held at Roanoke, Virginia in July 1952, Bishop Moore and many of his friends were pleasant surprised at his reassignment to the Atlanta area. Glad to return, he said that his joy was tempered by a solemn sense of the unfinished task and pledged his best efforts in the work that lay ahead. Four years later, the Jurisdictional Conference was again petitioned to return him to Georgia for his last quadrennium prior to his retirement. The request was granted; Bishop Moore was assigned once more to the Atlanta area to complete his active ministry in his native state. He presided over his last South Georgia Conference session in 1960. At which the Conference gave special recognition to him in appreciation of his years of service. In his last message to the Annual Conference as its presiding Bishop, he said: "This is the 70th year of my life, and the 50th year of my ministry. Much of it has been spent in service with and among the people of the State where I was born. So many things haue been done this year by generous friends to mark these anniver- saries in my life and ministry. I bow in gratitude for them all. I do not know how to frame adequate words of appreciation... The report of the district superintendents at this conference emphasized the pro- gress made in South Georgia during Bishop Moores twenty years of leadership. Im- provement was made in every endeavor of the Church. Membership in the Womans Society of Christian Service increased by 55%; Sunday School enroll- ment increased by 55%; Church membership by 20^; Pastors salaries by 281%; World Service giving by 236%; and total giving by 700%,, Bishop Moore left a lasting imprint on South Georgia Methodism. THE WAR YEARS The scent of war was in the air when the Methodist Church came into existence in 1939. The totalitarian nations of the world were on the verge of forcing global conflict on humanity, which by December 1941 engulfed the United States of America. Christians everywhere had prayed that this would not come about, but when World War II was thrust upon Americans, South Georgia Methodists took a deep interest in its progress. Many Methodist homes were involved. The Con- ference supported the men and women who became engaged in the military, and i especially the Methodist chaplains who entered the service from South Georgia. The 1941 session of the South Georgia Conference passed a resolution asking that one Bishop of the Methodist Church be selected and appointed by the Council of i Bishops to act as a personnel contact with the chaplains of the Methodist Church and the War Department. Since our Conference in South Georgia, the resolution i stated, is in an area which embraces more army posts and more military personnel than most other areas of the Methodist Church ... such an appointment is needed. It was also felt that our chaplains in the service should have at all times a Bishop who could properly represent their cause when action was necessary. A commission on the chaplaincy was created and headquarters were placed in 61 Washington. There was a steady flow of men going into the service from the South Georgia Conference thorughout the war years. The local churches in the South Georgia Conference showed compassion and love for the men in service and their families. Local pastors made a special effort to minister to the loved ones at home. In an editorial in the Wesleyan Christian Ad- vocate, May 14,1943, pastors were urged to give more thought to the content of the pastoral prayers at the Sunday morning service and especially to remember those men who were fighting the war. The editorial, written by Dr. E. G. Mackay of the North Georgia Conference, said further: Most of our people are having special tensions and trials relating to the war, and the pastor would be a poor shepherd if he did not see and pray for these persons. Sons, brothers, and fathers are involved in the war in one way or another. Some are in imminent danger. Great issues are at stake and suffering is everywhere. Not even the guns of war should silence the voice of prayer. Many of our people suffer and sacrifice. PROGRAMS During the early years of the war, members of the Conference began to think about the day when hostilities would cease and peace would once again come to the world. With this in mind, a committee was appointed in 1942 to begin a thorough study of world peace and how it might be kept. The committee was appointed in 1942 to begin a thorough study of world peace and how it might be kept. The com- mittee, which later became a commission, reported each year at Annual Conference on its study relating to world peace and order. One of its recommendations urged the South Georgia Conference to support the emphasis called the Crusade for a New World Order. This emphasis or thrust was designed and sponsored by the Council of Bishops in 1943 for the entire Methodist Church. South Georgia took an active part in this crusade. The Crusade program was placed under the Board of Missions and Church Ex- tension for implementation. Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam of Boston was the project chairman, but the entire College of Bishops participated by giving full support to the promotion of the work. During the early months of 1944 twenty-two teams of Bishops traveled throughout the United States, holding mass meetings at which the program was explained and promotional activities were planned. The resident Bishop presided over all Crusade meetings in his area. In the South Georgia Con- ference, the mass meeting was held in Macon on January 19, 1944, and was at- tended by a large crowd of Methodists. March 26 was set aside as a day of consecra- tion when all Methodists in South Georgia were asked to rededicate their lives to the principles of the Prince of Peace and to pray for the continuation of the ad- vance of peace throughout the world. Following the Conference mass meeting, District mass meetings were held throughout the South Georgia Conference. In this way the grass roots of Methodism were affected. Out of this undertaking by the Council of Bishops to emphasize peace and world order came the quadrennial thrust for 1945-1948 known as the Crusade for Christ. South Georgia Methodists became very much involved in this program. Interest reached a high level in early 1945 after District meetings were held throughout the Conference to explain the main ideas of the program. Briefly, it included the following emphases: First of all, it was a Crusade to emphasize Jesus Christ and the cross in the daily lives of all Methodists. All Methodists were called upon to deepen 62 their spiritual lives. (2) Missions were stressed, with hopes that during the post war years world missions would be expanded and enlarged. (3) Evangelism was lifted up, and the winning of souls for Christ was stressed. (4) Stewardship was a major thrust, particularly the stewardship of giving to Church-related organizations agen- cies and charities. (5) And finally, the Sunday School was emphasized, through an effort to build a larger and more enriched Sunday School in every Methodist Church. All of the emphases of the Crusade were important, but certainly none was more vital than the effort in evangelism. The year of 1946 was set aside for special atten- tion on evangelism. In the South Georgia Conference an attempt was made to mobilize the total life of the Church in this effort. As millions came home from the war, all returned with a special need, some with broken health and spirits and others with shattered dreams. The Church did much to help these persons reconstruct their lives and their homes. Every Methodist in the South Georgia Con- ference was called upon to do or give something in this phase of the Crusade. The laity of the Church took an active part in the success of the total Crusade program. Mrs. C. C. Sapp of Albany, Conference President of the Womans Society of Chris- tian Service and Dr. Walter A. Blasingame, of Moultrie, Conference Lay Leader, and other lay persons delivered speeches in many of the districts in support of the Crusade. The next year, 1947, was designated for an emphasis on stewardship. The Sunday School received attention throughout the quadrennium. Sunday Schools throughout South Georgia became enlarged and their programs enriched. The Crusade was declared a success. During the quadrennium (1945-48) the Methodist Church at large was asked to raise twenty-five million dollars, and it responded with more than twenty-seven million. During that time more than 600,000 new members were added to the Church rolls, about 400,000 by transfer of membership. South Georgia met its goal in new members; new congregations were formed; mis- sion work was strengthened and new churches were built. These advances took place not only in South Georgia, but throughout Methodism. The quadrennial emphasis for the period 1949 through 1952 was called the Ad- vance for Christ and His Church. In many respects, it was partly a continuation of the Crusade for Christ and was received with approval in the South Georgia Con- ference. It presented a new challenge and contained a number of additional features. The goals included four emphases: Our Faith, Our Church, Our Mission, and Our Ministry. This program was equally as successful as the Crusade for Christ. No other quadrennial emphases did more for South Georgia Methodism than the two just mentioned. CHURCH EXTENSION The promotion of evangelism and Church extension which was a strong thrust of the two quadrennial programs from 1945 through 1952 had a lasting effect in South Georgia Methodism. Ministers in large and small churches alike supported the idea, and Church rolls increased in numbers. With more people coming into Georgia after the war and with the population on the rise, there was a larger field in which to work. Church extension in South Georgia perhaps reached a new high in the 1950s and 1960s. South Georgia enjoyed favorable economic conditions during this time. As a result our cities and towns grew. Church sociologists pointed out to the ministers and laity that Methodists were not gaining their share of this influx of 63 people, since membership growth was not keeping pace with population growth. The Methodist Church needed to win more people. One problem which had to be overcome was the lack of cooperation from some of the older and more established churches who feared that giving up of a goodly number of their own members to serve as a nucleus for a new congregation might weaken the mother congregation. This fear proved to be a groundless assumption. In every case, where a considerable number of members from an older church became a nucleus for a newly formed congregation, both the old and new churches prospered. Good examples of this were Park Avenue Methodist Church in Valdosta, Porterfield Methodist Church in Albany, and White Bluff Methodist Church in Savannah. Each of these churches were born in the expansion period of the fifties. Rev. W. A. Kelley, who was Conference Director of Evangelism and Church Extension during this period, gave much time to the organization of new churches. From 1950 to 1958, 377 new churches were organized in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. The job had not been finished. To determine the need for the next ten years, a survey was made in 1960 in South Georgia to see how many churches should be organized and where each should be placed. Rev. C. W. Hancock was Chairman of the Conference Committee on Mis- sions and Church Extension. When the study was completed a Conference rally was held in Tifton for the purpose of hearing the report. Bishop John 0. Smith and several officials of the General Board of Missions were in attendance. The study revealed that sixty-three new churches were needed and should be organized in South Georgia. The challenge was accepted by the Conference, and Rev. F. J. Beverly, Jr., was appointed Director of Evangelism and Church Extension, assum- ing his responsibilities in June, 1961. Rev. Beverlys biggest problem at first was the lack of funds to do the job because very little was available from the Conference. Efforts to get financing for the expansion program were finally successful in 1964 when the Annual Conference voted to earmark $400,000 for this project. After a time, the goal was over-subscribed. This gave us the financial undergirding, Beverly said, that was so desperately needed. KINGDOM BUILDERS CLUB H E L P S WITH NEW LOCATIONS AND REBUILDING Between June 1963 and June 1967, twenty-three new church congregations were begun. Though short of the goal of sixty-three churches which the study had re- vealed were needed, a great deal had been accomplished. Some members of the Conference had felt that the ten-year goal was a bit unrealistic, anyway. Guidelines 64 for the planning and the building of the churches were drawn up, and these details are still available for use by prospective congregations in the Conference. Rev. Beverlys efforts during his six years of leadership bore fruit, and the churches which were begun became thriving congregations. The Kingdom Builders Club, organized at this time to help finance new churches, has increased in numbers and grown in significance. It still makes money available for new congregations for the purchase of land or the construction of needed facilities. Rev. W. Carlton Carruth followed Rev. Beverly in the position of Director of Evangelism and Church Exten- sion and gave good leadership to the movement for a number of years. In 1967, a revised list of new church sites was projected, nine of which were of immediate need and ten more were placed in the long-range need category. The Kingdom Builders Club provided some of the funds, to purchase lots and help with erection of first units; without the help received from this source, much less would have been accomplished. Evangelism was a major emphasis during the 40s, 50s and 60s in South Georgia. It was of special interest to both Bishop Moore and Bishop Smith. The Conference Journal reported that in 1946 evangelism had the greatest year the Conference has known in a quarter of a century. Bishop Moore, in commenting on the pro- gress, said that wise and winsome evangelism seems to have taken root in our Con- ference. Church rolls were increased with new members joining on profession of faith and by transfer of letter. The trend continued. Evangelism was given special emphasis through all programs of the Church, especially the Sunday School. The laity took it as a special project for the quadrennium, 1945-1948, but the lay efforts in this area were not limited simply to this one quadrennium. Evangelism was also i stressed by the Womans Society of Christian Service for a number of years. Dr. Harry Denman made several visits to places in the Conference in the interest of i evangelism during the era of the Methodist Church. The quadrennial emphasis in 1961-1964 was Jesus Christ is Lord, and it carried 'with it a continued stress in the area of evangelism. In addition, other areas of in- terest during this quadrennium included the Inner City program, Church and cam- ipus, the family, Christian social concerns, missions, and stewardship. In the sixties ithe Conference became greatly interested in the emerging plans and the work of the (Conference Board of Christian Social Concerns. The Board investigated such topics as crime and rehabilitation, the Vietnam war, medicine and theology, the abolition of the Central Jurisdiction, the liquor traffic, and the merger of the Methodist 'Church with the Evangelical United Brethren Church scheduled in 1968. Moreover, it was in the forefront in all discussions dealing with issues of race and civil rights. In the field of communications, the Methodist Church was active, and the in- itterest spread to the South Georgia Conference. In 1964, the Television, Radio, and Film Commission of the Methodist Church opened offices in New York and Los [ Angeles for the purpose of supplementing the work already being done in this field in Nashville by TRAFCO, and cooperated with all the annual conferences. Several persons were sent to Georgia to assist in the promotion of the work in the area of television. TRAFCO in South Georgia derived much benefit from the organization on the national level, and became involved with such matters as news coverage, both local and national, as well as the placement and promotion of television and radio programs with appropriate church or religious orientation. The temperance issue was constantly before the Conference, and from time-to- 65 time the Chairman of the Board of Temperance made a report about significant progress that was being made in South Georgia. At the Conference session in 1940 a stirring report was made by the chairman of the Temperance Board, Rev. Roy C. Sampley. He asked the Church to seek to secure the repeal of the liquor legislation of Georgia and the reenactment of a state prohibition law as soon as possible. But little was done to carry out the suggestion. Rallies were held from time-to-time. On November 9, 1955, a large temperance rally was held in Macon, sponsored by the Macon Ministerial Association. Though inter-denominational, the rally was strong- ly supported by Methodists. But those fighting the liquor traffic fought a losing battle because the manufacture and consumption of liquor continued to increase, not only in South Georgia, but in our society in general. It remains a national social problem, still unchecked, despite efforts by some churches and groups to control it. Efforts were made throughout the period of The Methodist Church to increase the Superannuate Endowment Fund for retired ministers. Until 1982 no other pen- sion program existed in the Conference. Through the efforts of some of the laity, the movement to increase the pension fund for ministers received much needed at- tention with the result that gradually the compensation for retired ministers was increased, though the increase was small. Taking the lead in this endeavor were several lay leaders of the Conference, including Walter Blasingame, Julian Strickland, B. I. Thornton, and George Wright. Later, in the 1970s, George Mayo and Will Peterson were among the leaders in the Pension Crusade and ultimately in the new pension plan. The old one, a kind of pay-as-you-go plan, was most inade- quate, whereas the new plan, which went into effect in 1982, put the program on a more solid basis. Certainly, the efforts made from 1939 to 1968 helped lay a good foundation for later accomplishments in the area of pensions. Many of the South Georgia Conference programs were financed in part by Ex- pansion Day offerings which began in 1953. The Conference came to depend on Ex- pansion Day giving, not only for the development of new programs, but for the enrichment of established programs. A program of both the South and North Georgia Conferences, this special day was developed by the area planning con- ference and adopted in a called meeting of both conferences in 1952. Begun in 1952, Expansion Day was observed for many years in the Conference and judged by any standard of measurement, it was a great success. It represented the second mile of giving on the part of churches. The money given in these once-a-year offerings made possible the building of new churches in the Conference, the expansion of Epworth-by-the-Sea, and the establishment of a chaplains office at Candler Hospital. It also gave financial support to our Methodist colleges and Wesley Foun- dations, and it provided for scholarships and loans for needy boys and girls. Over a number of years, it assisted in improving Methodist information and in furthering good race relations. The total giving from Expanion Day funds for the first decade, 1953-1963, was approximately one-million dollars. Youth and childrens work in South Georgia became well established during the era of the Methodist Church. Interest on the part of the adults and good leadership by the young people assured success in this area. The Methodist Youth Fellowship was organized in the early forties and had the support of the entire Church. The Council of Bishops gave assistance to the programs of the MYF, one in particular being the world-wide watch night service of dedication which was held in all the conferences on New Years eve night in 1941. It was estimated that two-million 66 Methodist young people were involved in these services. South Georgias youth par- ticipated. The purpose was to give the youth an opportunity to consecrate themselves anew to Christ and His Church. The Crusade for Christ program, as well as the Advance Program in the forties and fifties gave special attention to youth work. Youth work in the Conference was further strengthened when the Pro- gram Council was established. At this time additional support was given by the Conference and the youth workers were furnished more resources with which to do their jobs. ACTIVITIES OF THE LAITY The laymen of the South Georgia Conference played an important role in the af- fairs of their Church during the era of the Methodist Church, 1939-1968. They were organized into the Board of the Laity which was made up of representative laymen from each district in the Conference. The lay leader of the Conference who was chosen by the Board was the head of the Board of the Laity. He was elected for a term of one year but could succeed himself. The following persons served as lay leaders from 1939-1968: Charles S. Pryor of Leslie, 1939-1940; Walter A. Blas- ingame of Moultrie, 1940-1945; Zack Henderson of Statesboro, 1945-1949; E. D. Whisonant of Valdosta, 1949-1951; B. I. Thornton of Cordele, 1951-1955; W. E. Bostwick of Arlington, 1955-1960; Charles P. Gray of Perry, 1960-1962; William S. Parks of Rhine, 1962-1966; George A. Wright of Tifton, 1966-1968. (George Wright served four more years, from 1968-1972, after the Methodist Church became the United Methodist Church.) Over the years lay representation in the Conference and Councils of the Church had come slowly. A limited number of laymen were delegates at the General Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South as early as 1870, but it was not until the time of union that equal lay representation became a reality in the annual conference. In the South Georgia Conference there were 219 lay delegates present in 1939, the first session after unification. This was an improvement over previous years, but more was to be achieved later. When equal lay representation finally became a reality in all conferences and meetings of the Methodist Church, there was a noticeable increase in lay participation in the Church. Lay influence in the local Church and the annual conferences began to be felt. As the laity began to take its place in leadership positions, it threw its full sup- port behind the clergy and the program of the Church. Training sessions were held by some ministers for lay persons who wanted to assume leadership roles. One of the first undertakings with which the laity became involved after unification in 1939 was the task of learning more about the structure and the function of the new Church. Many of them assisted in helping to get the rank and file of the Church more familiar and better acquainted with the structure of the new organization. Other projects or programs in which the laity took special interest during this era of the Methodist Church included: (1) Epworth-by-the-Sea, (2) stewardship em- phasis, (3) evangelistic efforts, (4) Methodist colleges and higher education, (5) in- terracial cooperation, (6) the pension fund, (7) rural work, (8) lay speaking, (9) mis- sion projects, and (10) opposition to the liquor traffic. The Board of Laity assisted in the local Church with the emphasis that was | adopted each four years by the General Conference. Local programs were usually designed to be in keeping with the quadrennial thrusts. Stewardship and 67 evangelism, both introduced in the Crusade for Christ thrust, held special interest for the laymen. Giving to various causes in the Conference was increased as a result of the effort of the laity. Training programs for the purpose of assisting lay people in learning how to win people to Christ were conducted by the Board of Laity. Family worship was stressed in an effort to deepen the spiritual lives of lay persons. Laymen in the local Church also sponsored Laymens Day each year. Laymen spoke not only in the pulpit on Laymens Day, but when and wherever needed by their pastors. During one lenten season the Wesleyan Christian Advocate editorialized that there are a thousand Methodist laymen ready to fill pulpits in Georgia during February and March that otherwise would be vacant. The District boards of the laity were active as well as the Conference Board of the Laity and took the lead in coordinating the No Silent Pulpit program. The Conference Board of the Laity sponsored Methodist Mens clubs in the local churches where such an organization could be started. Many such clubs were chartered, but some were short lived. At one time approximately 150 clubs were in existence, but the number fluctuated from time-to-time. In some cases the local clubs lacked objectives, or a purpose, or perhaps leadership. It was not until 1972 that much importance was placed on the local Church mens organization. Methodist Mens fellowships took on new life under the structure of the United Methodist Church. WOMANS SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE The work of the women in the Church was reorganized at the time of unification in 1939. The old organization, the Womans Missionary Society, gave way to the Womans Society of Christian Service and the Wesleyan Service Guild. Though the two units were entirely separate, they had some common relations. The Guild was devised to give women who worked outside the home an opportunity to have a part in the womens service of the Church. It was governed by its own officers, made its own plans, formulated its own programs, and raised and spent its own money. Under the organization of the Womans Society of Christian Service, or the WSCS as it was popularly known, a secretary was chosen to work with the Guild officers.] Mrs. W. F. Sessions of McRae was the first person to serve in this capacity and it 68 was her responsibility, along with the pastors and the presidents of the Womans Society of Christian Service in the local churches, to organize units of the Guild in the various churches of the South Georgia Conference in her home in McRae. Soon Guilds were organized in many of the other churches in the Conference. The move- ment expanded, as did the Womans Society of Christian Service, and it became a very significant part of the womens work in the Conference. The first years were years in which a great deal of pioneering was done; however, with good leadership which was given to the Guild by persons like Mrs. Sessions, the permanency of the organization was assured. Mrs. C. C. Sapp of Albany served as the first Conference president of the newly created Womans Society of Christian Service. Having attended the last General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South held in Birmingham in 1938, and also the uniting conference in Kansas City in 1939 when the three major branches of Methodism were merged, she came home inspired and anxious to get the new organization underway. With the assistance of Bishop Arthur J. Moore, Mrs. Sapp called an organizational meeting of the WSCS of the South Georgia Con- ference at Fitzgerald on September 27, 1940. Approximately 1200 Methodist women of South Georgia accepted the challenge issued by Bishop Moore, to dream dreams of a Christian-oriented world. The new organization was off to a good start. The first few years served as a time of adjustment; however, the women of the Church were equal to the challenge. Changes were made, sometimes with difficulty, but in the end the new organizational pattern was accepted by laity and clergy alike. The leadership of the Womans Society of Christian Service over the next three decades was good. Including Mrs. Sapp, those who served as president were Mrs. F. M. Mullino, Mrs. J. Wallace Daniel, Mrs. Clyde J. Newman, Mrs. Scott Edwards, Mrs. C. R. Avera, and Mrs. J. E. Williams. The Womans Society of Christian Service sponsored many projects and programs during the 1940s, 50s and 60s which were noteworthy and of great importance to the Methodist Church. The Vashti School for underprivileged youth in Thomasville, the Open Door Community Center project in Columbus, and the Bethlehem Center in Savannah were examples of the kinds of activities which the women of the Church undertook. The Wesleyan Service Guild also became involved in similar projects. Inspiring reports were made at each Annual Conference by the various presidents of the Womans Society of Christian Service. These reports always showed that the women were ac- tive in all of the districts of the Conference and that gains were usually made in the total number of societies and in the number of members. The per capita giving of each member was high, and the total amount of money raised each year was noteworthy. During the early 1940s reports showed that there were 351 societies with membership in the Conference of 13,958. A little more than ten years later, Mrs. Scott Edwards, the president, reported that there were 470 societies and 121 Guilds, with a total membership of 23,000 in the Conference. Our responsibility is great, Mrs. Edwards said in her 1955 report, because our Church is challenged by the needs of a turbulent world. Every Methodist woman in the South Georgia Con- ference is needed to bring her talents and interests to this task. One of Mrs. Ed- wards chief interests lay in the School of Mission and Christian Service which was sponsored annually by the Society. Each of the other Conference presidents claimed a keen interest in this project, also. Workshops and retreats were held fre- 69 quently by the Society on timely subjects such as foreign and home missions, the Christian lifestyle, Christian social concerns, spiritual life of the individual, evangelism, alcohol abuse and other matters dealing with the Church and society. At all levels, women began to serve on boards, committees, and commissions and discharge faithfully all duties to which they were assigned. During the last quadren- nium of The Methodist Church era, the Womans Society and the Wesleyan Service Guild gave more than $900,000 for the cause of missions. METHODIST HIGHER EDUCATION From 1939 through 1968 South Georgia Methodists supported their colleges in a fair manner, but never in an overly generous way. From time to time individual Methodists made sizeable contributions to higher education, which helped to keep the institutions solvent. At each annual conference reports were heard from the col- leges located in South Georgia: Andrew College, Wesleyan College, and Emory at Valdosta or Emory Junior College. One of the Conference objectives for 1940-1942 was a concentration on Christian higher education with special emphasis on the needs of the three Methodist colleges in South Georgia. A major concern during the 1957-1960 quadrennium was the financial assistance to the institutions of higher education. Methodists in Georgia determined to raise $2,000,000 for the six Methodist colleges in the state. In 1955, the North and South Georgia Conferences created the Georgia Methodist Commission on Higher Education to coordinate a statewide effort in Methodist higher education and to help secure needed funds for the six institu- tions. Rev. Luther A. Harrell became the first Executive Director of the Commis- sion. He was followed two years later by Rev. George E. Clary, Sr., who served for a number of years. Both men were from South Georgia. The first major undertaking of the Commission was to spearhead the drive for the raising of the $2,000,000 which the Conferences had approved in 1952. The amount was pledged and raised in full by the end of the quadrennium. The six colleges wnvolved were Andrew, Emory at Oxford, LaGrange, Reinhardt, Wesleyan, and Young Harris. Emory at Valdosta had ceased to exist as a Methodist institution prior to this time because of financial difficulties resulting from reduced student enrollment. When Emory University closed its Junior College campus at Valdosta, all facilities were turned over to the State Board of Regents to be operated as a part of the State College at Valdosta. Emory Junior College at Valdosta had been supported by the South Georgia Conference since 1928 when it was first opened as a branch of Emory University. It was closed in 1942 for the duration of the war. Deem Hollis Edens, who was later Dean of Administration at Emory University and afterwards served for a number of years as President of Duke University, was Dean of the College at Valdosta when it closed. It reopened in the fall of 1946 with E. D. Whisonant as chief administrative officer. Whisonant was a prominent Methodist layman who had been in public school work for a number of years in Gerogia prior to taking the Emory position. When the school was closed in the mid-fifties, Whisonant was transferred to the Emory campus in Atlanta as Associate Director of Development. Others from the faculty and staff also found employment at Emory University. Like many educational institutions during the depression, Wesleyan College in Macon fell into financial trouble in the mid-thirties and was unable to discharge its 70 obligations. Until it could discharge its accumulated debts, it became necessary for the property to be sold to a private corporation. During this crisis period Bishop Moore was asked by the trustees to assume the presidency of Wesleyan, which he did. Dr. Silas Johnson, prominent South Georgia minister, assisted him as Vice President, and together they raised more than a million dollars to pay off the outstanding debts and restore Wesleyan to its rightful owners. Dr. Johnson also served as President of Wesleyan during a portion of this crisis period and is given much credit for his work. He died an untimely death in 1951, and his passing was a tremendous loss to Wesleyan. After an interim period when Dr. W. F. Quillian served as acting President, the trustees elected B. Joseph Martin of Greensboro, N. C. as President. He was succeeded by Rev. Earl Strickland. Andrew College, like Wesleyan, fell on hard times as a result of the depression and a low student enrollment. Andrew has passed through several financial crises in her long history of Christian service, and the 1940s and 1950s were not exceptional. A study committee went so far as to recommend that the College be closed, but pleas came from alumnae and others throughout the State to save their alma mater from this fate. Alumnae and friends did come to Andrews rescue, as did the South Georgia Conference, and one individual in particular, W. I. H. Pitts, prominent Methodist layman. Andrew slowly regained its financial footing and has continued since to contribute in a very meaningful way to Christian education in South Georgia. Those serving as presidents of the College during this period were: Rev. Chester Oliff, Rev. A. W. Ray and Rev. George Gambill. In the early 1950s several Methodist laymen in Georgia became interested in helping qualified young people receive ministerial training. At a time when large in- vestments were being made to build new churches and expand physical facilities by Methodist in the Conference, it was felt that similar investments should be made to insure educated pastors for the new churches and the increased membership. Realizing, also, that many young men were not going into the ministry because they lacked the necessary funds to do so, these interested laymen proposed to raise funds for a soundly based program of ministerial training. Since the Candler School of Theology at Emory University was the appropriate place for these funds to be spent, students were sent there for training. Methodist congregations throughout Georgia were asked to contribute 1% of their budgets to this trust. Individuals could participate both by gift or bequest. Though this was primarily a Georgia project, Methodists throughout the Southeastern Jurisdiction were encouraged to participate. Two Georgia laymen became well known for their leadership in the 1% plan, as it was called. D. W. Brooks of Atlanta headed the campaign in North Georgia, and B. I. Thronton of Cordele was chairman of the committee in the South Georgia Conference. The 1% plan met with great success. It was beneficial to the ministerial student, to the Conferences, and to the Candler School of Theology. Later the plan was developed into a larger structure. The Southeastern Jurisdiction adopted it for all churches in the Southeast, and the money was divided between the Divinity School at Duke University and the Candler School of Theology at Emory. The plan, adopted later by the General Conference, is known today as the 2% plan for ministerial training from which all Methodist-related theology schools benefit. It is worth emphasizing that this churchwide program was begun originally on a voluntary basis in the North and South Georgia Conferences as the 1 % plan for ministerial education. 71 EPWORTH-BY-THE-SEA Perhaps the most ambitious building project undertaken by the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church was the construction and development of Epworth-by-the-Sea, the beautiful year-round conference center on St. Simons Island. Many lay persons and clergy were involved in this project, but Bishop Ar- thur J. Moore was the chief driving force that brought it from its inception to its maturity. In his autobiography Bishop Moore wrote: Were I to uncover my whole thinking in the matter (of Epworth-by-the-Sea), I would have to confess as I look back that maybe this was the most vivid and satisfying achievement of my service as a Bishop in Georgia. Today Epworth-by-the-Sea stands as a monument to the vision, foresight, and leadership of Bishop Moore. Realizing the need for a conference center for recreation, worship and study, as well as for Church meetings of all kinds, Bishop Moore brought the matter to the attention of the South Georgia cabinet at a meeting in Waycross in 1945. The cabinet thought well of the idea, and the matter was approved at the next Annual Conference where a Commission was appointed to give further study to the project. Its first meeting was held on January 15,1946 at a luncheon at the Cloister Hotel on Sea Island. Alfred W. Jones hosted the affair. Twenty-two members of the Com- mission were present and Julian Strickland of Valdosta was elected Chairman and Rev. George E. Clary, Sr. was made Secretaty. Both Strickland and Clary remained in these positions of leadership for a number of years and made significant con- tributions to the project. The Commission worked diligently for several years making a report to the An- nual Conference each year on what progress, if any, was being made. At the Con- ference in 1948, the Commission was optimistic over the possibility of securing a suitable site for the center in McIntosh County where 150 acres of land was available. It was a part of the Harris Neck Airbase and was located on a paved road, six miles east of the coastal highway and fifteen miles south of the town of Midway. This was an attractive place with beautiful oak trees, bounded by the river and the marshes that could have been purchased from the Commissioners of McIntosh County for $20,000. However, the purchase was not consummated. The Commission continued to examine sites along the coast until at Annual Con- ference in 1950, it reported with satisfaction that a site located on the Fredrica River on St. Simons Island known as the Hamilton Plantation had been acquired for the conference center. It was near the causeway to St. Simons and included forty-three acres of high land. Located on the property were a host of buildings, a chapel, a barn, and several stalls. Bishop Moore and an interested group of laymen had purchased this property for the Conference in the name of the Commission on October 19, 1949, at a cost of $40,000. Laymen, church groups, and the Womans Society of Christian Service all assisted in making the center ready for use by the summer of 1950. The Conference authorized a campaign to raise the purchase price of $40,000, and also approved the borrowing of $25,000 for improvements on the grounds. In particular, the Chapel had been restored and named for the original Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland where in 1784 the Methodist Episcopal Church had been organized. The name Epworth-by-the-Sea was adopted for the center with Tuesday, July 25,1950, set as the official opening date. A Board of Managers (later known as trustees) replaced the Conference Commis- sion. All former Commission members were named to the new Board, along with 72 When you come to mmm: ^ i 73 several other prominent Methodist laymen in the Conference. Rev. W. J. Irwin was asked to move into the caretakers house to oversee the renovations. At the 1951 Annual Conference, Rev. John S. Sharp was appointed as the first full-time Superintendent of Epworth-by-the-Sea, where he served only the first year. Epworth-by-the-Sea had a dramatic growth. The desire by South Georgia Methodists to build a first rate conference center, coupled with the leadership of several dedicated individuals, spelled success for the project. As a conference center it became a place highly regarded not only by Methodists in South Georgia, but also by people throughout the Southeast. South Georgia Methodists supported it from the beginning. The laymen of the Conference were particularly interested in its growth. All mortgaged indebtedness was paid-in-full, and the property was dedicated as a part of the Aldersgate celebration held at the center on May 24, 1963. The value of the property according to the audit at that time showed a total valuation of $1,339,458, including the value of the land, buildings, furniture and fixtures, equipment, inventories, and cash-on-hand. This figure later expanded many times. Those taking part in the dedication included Bishop Moore, Bishop Smith, Walter A. Blasingame, the Conference lay leader, Julian Strickland, Chair- man of the Board of Trustees, and Rev. Frank Nalls, Superintendent of the center. As the center became more widely known, additional facilities had to be added. Laymen of the Conference led by B. I. Thornton and E. D. Whisonant raised $80,000 to build a fifty-room motel, the Laymans Lodge unit. Julian Strickland of Valdosta and his sister, Mrs. Natalae S. Waters, financed the building of the auditorium in memory of their mother at a cost of $90,000. With contributions of $170,000 from South Georgia Methodists and other friends, the Arthur J. Moore building was constructed and dedicated in 1960 in honor of retiring Bishop Arthur J. Moore. A dining room and cafeteria were completed in 1960 at a cost of approx- imately $225,000. Earlier a camellia garden was begun by Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Whitehead of Valdosta. During the 1950s and 1960s numerous lay people gave con- tributions which made possible renovations and improvements on the grounds as well as the construction of other new facilities. The buildings, grounds, and the en- tire setting became a place of beauty. Epworth-by-the-Sea attracted groups of Methodists not only from South Georgia, but from other conferences as well. In September 1955, the laymen began their annual Labor Day weekend retreats at Epworth, and these gatherings have continued to be held there each year since. A few months later, in 1956, the annual winter camp meetings were started and began to draw large crowds of Methodists from throughout the State each year. The Wesleyan Christian Advocate called the first camp meeting a new camp meeting with an old-time flavor and fervor. Bishop Moore and Dr. Pierce Harris of Atlanta were the preachers that first year in 1956. The South Georgia Conference has met at Epworth from time to time as has the Womans Society of Christian Service and the Wesleyan Service Guild. Youth meetings have become regular occurences as well as meetings for adults and senior citizens. At one time the World Council of Bishops met at Epworth, as did also the Executive Board of World Methodism. Selected denominational groups, other than Methodists, hold meetings at Epworth-by-the-Sea from time to time. In the early 1960s, plans were made for certain Conference offices to move to Ep- worth. The Board of Education of the Conference with Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., as Executive Secretary, was the first to move its offices from Macon. The newly 74 created Board of Church Extension with Rev. F. J. Beverly, Jr. as its Director, was also soon located at the facility on St. Simons. A headquarters building for these Conference offices and others was soon constructed. From 1952 until 1969 Rev. Frank Nalls served as Superintendent of Epworth-by- the-Sea, and his contribution to the successof this facility should be noted. He was the driving force which was responsible for much of the early construction and other improvements at the center. Working closely with Bishop Moore and the trustees of Epworth, he gave it good leadership. The Nalls building was constructed on the grounds during his administration, and public sentiment demanded that the structure be named in honor of him and his wife, Edna. Nalls was succeeded by Rev. Bernard Brown who retired in 1973 because of health reasons. He, too, pro- vided good leadership for the center. His successor was Rev. Vernard Robertson. In 1961 Walter Blasingame of Moultrie succeeded A. J. Strickland, Jr. of Valdosta as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and in turn, he was followed by A. J. Strickland, III, also of Valdosta. One of the most significant contributions to Epworth-by-the-Sea was a gift by Alfred W. Jones in 1957 of approximately fifty acres of high land and fifty-four acres of marsh land adjacent to the center property. Sixteen acres were added to the lands of the center property while other acres were sold to a separate corpora- tion which was known as Epworth Acres, Inc. Epworth Acres sold lots for building purposes, at a cost of $2,250 for inside lots and $2,750 for corner lots. Riverfront lots sold for $4,250, and any profits made by Epworth Acres were given to Epworth-by-the-Sea. Streets were laid out, lots were landscaped, and many homes were built and occupied. A home for Bishop Arthur J. Moore was the first to be erected, and a home for the Superintendent and the ten Woods homes for retired ministers were built within a short time. MAGNOLIA MANOR The South Georgia Methodist Conference became actively interested in the care of elderly citizens in the late forties and early fifties, but it was not until the Annual Conference Session in 1957 that a Commission was appointed to study the problem and determine if there were sufficient resources available to construct a retirement home. The Commission moved ahead with its assignment; and after looking at a number of sites where a retirement home might be built, the group recommended that the proposed center be located in Americus. There were a number of reasons why Americus was chosen as the center, not the least being that Mrs. Kate Witte had left in her Will an attractive parcel of land consisting of 394 acres, which she specifically states was to be used for the purpose of building a home for the elderly. The Superior Court of Sumter County had created a foundation and charged it with the responsibility of carrying out the terms of Mrs. Wittes Will. Since the foundation had finally concluded that the task which they had been assigned was too great they offered the Witte land to the South Georgia Methodist Conference for a site where a retirement center could be built. The offer was accepted. Trustees for the proposed home were elected, and Rev. Henry S. Brooks was made President of the Board. Rev. Harry Moore became executive secretary. Under the leadership of these men, the new facility began to take shape. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on October 17, 1962, followed by opening ceremonies for the facility on December 3,1963. Governor Carl Sanders of Georgia and Bishop John Owen Smith 75 MAGNOLIA MANOR r js RETIREMENT CENTER with Health Care Facilities participated in the program. The President of the Board of Trustees of Magnolia Manor, State Senator Julian Webb, presided over the exercises. Gerald A. Bishop was the first resident administrator of the center. A year after the facility began operation, the nursing center was opened, along with the activities building which houses the library, the recreational activities, and the auditorium. The Martha McDonald Moore Memorial Chapel, named for the wife of Bishop Moore, was dedicated in 1968 on the fifth anniversary of the opening of the retirement home. The chapel was built entirely by gifts from friends and family. The immediate care unit was opened in 1969. This facility provides services for those who need more care than is available in the retirement home but who do not need the full-time skilled care of the nursing center. In 1971 the Garden Apart- ments of Magnolia Manor were officially opened. Currently, including all of its facilities, the center provides for a total of some 600 residents, half of whom receive some financial aid. Much of this financial aid is made possible through the con- tributions of the League of the Good Samaritan, a Conference organization formed early in the life of Magnolia Manor. Magnolia Manor performs an outstanding ministry for the aging and is proud to be able to say that no elderly person has ever been denied care because he or she could not afford to pay their own way. 5* CANDLER HOSPITAL Another ministry performed by a Conference-related institution is the Candler General Hospital in Savannah. The hospital has roots going back to the early part of the 19th century, but during these earlier years it was operated as a facility of the City of Savannah. By 1900, it was widely known as a pioneer health-care center. Nurses were trained at this city-owned hospital as early as 1902. During the depres- sion of the 1930s the hospital reached a new low in public support and was on the brink of closure. NEW BUILDING ORIGINAL BUILDING At this point the Methodist Church came into the picture. In the mid-twenties a igroup of South Georgia Methodists who had become interested in a church-related hospital had formed a corporation for the purpose of studying the need of a hospital in South Georgia. The Methodist group became interested in purchasing the Savannah facility and operating it as a Methodist institution. After conferring 'with the appropriate authorities, arrangements for the transfer of the hospital to the South Georgia Conference were made; the sale of the hospital to the Methodist Church was authorized by the Mayor and Council of Savannah on November 13, 77 1930. The new Hospital Board changed the name to the Warren A. Candler Hospital of Savannah in honor of Bishop Candler. The first meeting of the Board was held on March 12, 1931. Despite the fact the hospital needed financial assistance from the start, it made progress during the 1930s. Federal assistance during the early 1940s made possible the first expansion in two generations. The completion of a three-story wing on Abercorn Street cost $120,000 and added 41 patient beds. Candler contributed much to the war effort during World War II through its nurses training and other programs. Further expansion took place in 1955 when a new wing was opened, adding seventy-seven patient beds. In 1959, $500,000 was raised to retire an accumulated indebtedness and to make some needed improvements. In 1967 the hospital received a sizeable grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for expansion. By this time it had developed into a general hospital, and the name was changed from the Warren A. Candler Hospital to the Candler General Hospital. On October 27, 1968, a new building costing approximately 3.9 million dollars was officially opened. The hospital had experienced steady growth from the time it was taken over by the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church in 1930. Other evidence of this growth during the 1960s was the merger with Candler hospital of two small private hospitals. By 1970 Candler had a broad range of services to offer to the community and sur- rounding areas. The hospital today is a 305-bed private facility affiliated with the United Methodist Church, with a work force of around 1,000 people. With the com- pletion of a new ultra-modern hospital complex in November 1980, Candler now is considered one of the leading health facilities in the State. METHODIST HOME FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH The Methodist Home for Children in Macon had its beginning on December 14, 1870 when the South Georgia Annual Conference meeting in Fort Valley appointed a committee of ten ministers and laymen to establish within the bounds of the South Georgia Conference an orphans home. The home began operation in 1873. At the time of unification in 1939, there were 116 children in the home, and the facility had been expanded considerably. Annual giving to the home had increased to about $30,000 under the directorship of Rev. J. A. Smith who spent over thirty years as the agent for the home. Others who gave long service were: John S. Lough, J. J. Taylor, and J. O. Stanalan. Some of the trustees of the home during 1939-1968 were: Ralph Porterfield, Sr., T. D. Ellis, Albert S. Trulock, S. T. Senter, Roy McTier, John S. Sharp, C. W. Curry, William J. Erwin, John E. Wilson, Tom A. Whiting, Mack Anthony, and Albert L. Hall. The charter was amended in 1940, and the name was changed to The Methodist Home of the South Georgia Conference. In 1971 the charter was again amended to change the name to The Methodist Home for Children and Youth of the South Georgia Conference. Thousands of needy children have been referred to the home to live and have found advantages of a Christian home. In 1970 the capacity of the home was about seventy-two. CONFERENCE AFFAIRS Sessions of the Annual Conference were held in towns and cities throughout South Georgia, usually in the churches where larger crowds could be accomodated. 78 It was an honor for a church to host the Annual Conference because it brought not only the Bishop and several hundred South Georgia Methodist preachers and laymen to the community, but also a number of visitors and the Conference preachers including Bishop A. Frank Smith, Bishop Paul Kern, Bishop Fred P. Corson, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Bishop William T. Watkins, Dr. Lawrence Lacour, Bishop Ronald Spivey, and others. Only three men held the important job of secretary of the Conference during the era of the Methodist Church, 1939-1968. Thomas H. Thomson retired from this job in 1949 after having served as assistant secretary or secretary for fifty years. J. N. Shell served from 1949 to 1960, and Alvis A. Waite, Jr. succeeded him and held the position of secretary for the next twenty- two years. Conference sessions were ably presided over by, first, Bishop Moore, and then after 1960 by Bishop Smith. Reports from boards, committees, commissions, and trustees consumed much of the conference time, as did the election of delegates to general and jurisdictional conferences every fourth year. Preaching services were held at appropriate times each day during Conference. Ordination services for deacons and elders and a memorial service for the deceased were always observed. The love feast which was so much a part of the Conference sessions during the years of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was discontinued in the new Church much to the displeasure of many of the older members of the Conference. There was strong sentiment that the observance be reinstated, but it never was. There was no organization or part of the Church structure that received more support from the clergy and the laity than the Church School, or the Sunday School. Reports about the progress of the Church School at each Conference ses- sion were heard with interest. Church School enrollment and attendance were looked upon as an indication of the general condition of the local Church. If the Church School showed progress in a local Church, usually the Church reflected growth also. The change of time for the meeting of the Annual Conference was an issue that received considerable attention from time to time. Traditionally, the Conference has met in the fall of the year, usually in November. As early as 1939 a special com- mittee recommended that the Bishop hold the sessions of the Conference between Sundays and also that the sessions be held each year in June. There were good arguments on both sides of the question, but nothing was done in 1939. The matter simmered for several years, and after the war the question came up again. Ministers with school age children maintained that moving time should be in the summer rather than the fall for the convenience of the children. Also, there was an old argu- ment that local churches could not raise their finances until the cotton crops were harvested in the fall; therefore, Conference had to wait until the budget could be raised. But this no longer held true because of the changing economy in the South. Summer revivals could also be scheduled so they would not interfere with moving time when a change was made, it was argued. Sentiment in the Conference for a change was so strong that Bishop Moore appointed a committee to give further study to the matter. In 1946 the committees recommendation that the Conference sessions be switched from fall to summer was approved by a large majority. A few years later the sessions of Annual Conference were scheduled to meet on week days only. Then no Conference meetings interfered with Sunday worship in the local churches. 79 In 1939 there were eight Districts in the South Georgia Conference, but before 1968, the number had increased to nine. In the early 1960s several laymen and clergy of the Conference became concerned that some of the superintendents had more charges in their districts than they could handle. William S. Parks, of Rhine, Conference lay leader, and B. I. Thornton of Cordele, former Conference lay leader, urged that a study be made of the situation. The study emphasized the need for a new district. In 1962 this district was first proposed on the Conference floor, but the matter was tabled temporarily by a vote of 171 to 71. However, after further consideration the new district was added in 1963, becoming the ninth in the Con- ference. It is the Statesboro District. The other Districts are: Savannah, Waycross, Valdosta, Americus, Macon, Thomasville, Columbus, and Dublin. Rev. Thomas P. Watson was appointed as the first District Superintendent of the Statesboro District. As the voice of the South Georgia Conference, the Wesleyan Christian Advocate was a positive influence during the period of the forties, fifties and sixties. Rev. Frank G. Echols was general manager for many years, and he was followed by Rev. Dan H. Williams who was also editor. Both men made substantial contributions to Methodism in the field of journalism. Many of the Advocate editorials were written by well-known ministers in the Conference, who spoke in a forceful way on matters relating to the Church. On the bigger issues before the Church, the Advocate not only analyzed the problems for its readers, but also took a firm stand on how they should be solved. The paper was of great assistance during the time of unification and the years that followed in helping the Church members understand and ap- preciate the new Church structure. During World War II the Advocate supported the war effort and the Methodist chaplains who enlisted in the service of the coun- try. Also, the editors expressed their thoughts and feelings on such issues as those dealing with race, ministers and district superintendents salaries, pensions, unification, the jurisdictional system, Church extension, and many others. The paper supported the various emphases which were promoted by the General Con- ference, the Annual Conference and the local Church, and church-related institu- tions. It emphasized youth and childrens work, and the place of evangelism, mis- sions, stewardship, temperance, and the laymens work in the Conference. The paper was supportive of the Church in every way. BISHOP JOHN OWEN SMITH Upon Bishop Moores retirement in 1960, Bishop John Owen Smith was assigned to the Atlanta area. He was one of the four Bishops elected at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference held in July of that year. He came to Georgia from the Bethel Methodist Church in Charleston, S. C. to which he had been appointed by his annual Conference just a few weeks before being elected to the Episcopacy. On a later occasion Mrs. Smith stated that they had not completed the job of unpacking in Charleston before they were moving again, this time to Atlanta. Bishop Smith was born on December 21,1902 in Johnston, S. C. and received his early education there. In 1922, he graduated from Wofford College with Phi Beta Kappa honors, and a few years later received the Divinity degree from Yale Univer- sity. In 1924 he married Mildred Brown; they had two daughters. After joining the South Carolina Conference in 1925, Bishop Smith was ap- pointed to some of the better known churches in the State, including Clemson Col- lege, First Church, Laurens; Washington Street, Columbia; Buncome Street, Greenville; Central, Spartanburg; and Bethel, Charleston. He also served as superintendent of the Spartanburg District. The new Bishop had been one of the leading ministers in the South Carolina Conference for a number of years. He was appointed to numerous boards and agencies and was elected to the General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 1948, 1956, and 1960. He served as leader of his delegation in 1956. Bishop Smith was a strong preacher and a good Church administrator. He was also a man of deep commitment and dedication, who came to the Atlanta area with a determination to serve his Church well. He was a forceful Bishop and above all he was a fine human being. At the end of Bishop Smiths first year in South Georgia, 1961, the Conference Journal declared that, Our new Bishop endeared himself to the ministers and lay delegates who were in attendance at Annual Conference. In response to the warm welcome, the Bishop expressed his appreciation to everybody for everything. He appraised the Methodist Church in South Georgia thusly: You can be a giant for Christ, if the Choice is made (for the right decisions). Your heritage is unparalleled, and great growth is possible. Your leadership is outstanding, and the financial poten- tial is tremendous. He also stressed his faith in the future of the Church saying that he believed we 'were on the verge of outstanding achievements. In 1962, Bishop Smith was again ;praised by a resolution of appreciation at the Annual Conference session. When he had completed his first quadrennium in 1964 as the South Georgia Bishop, the Conference praised him and asked the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference to return him. The resolution stated that he and Mrs. Smith are greatly beloved, and that he was a gracious preacher ... He approaches problems in an optimistic iway ... makes no attempt to dodge an issue ... and he doesnt try to coerce those iwho disagree with him. The Conference asked that he be returned in 1968, also. Bishop Smiths arrival in Atlanta came at a time when the controversal issue in- volving the abolition of the Central Jurisdiction was beginning to arise. The ac- complishment of this undertaking would mean the merging of those churches in the Central (black) Jurisdiction with the two annual conferences in the Atlanta area (white). The Bishop faced the problem courageously. He knew that integration of 81 the churches was coming, and feeling that this was the only action the church could take, he worked quietly and conscientiously to help Methodists throughout Georgia accept the change. Opposition developed and critics appeared in every corner of the Conference. The Bishops stand on the matter was not a popular one, because many Methodists were not ready for integration. But, despite opposition from some, he moved steadily forward to get the job accomplished. The Bishop was not only somewhat more liberal in his thinking on the race issue than many South Georgia, Methodists, but he was convinced that the Church in South Georgia could not possible fail to take a positive stand on the matter at this time. It was right that it do so, the Bishop contended. The Conference was in a period of tension. ABOLITION OF THE CENTRAL JURISDICTION The tensions and stresses of the 1960s were not experienced by the Church alone. Our whole society was caught up in the dilemma over integration of the races. Public and private schools, clubs and organizations, and government agencies were struggling with the same problem. Since Methodist segregationists associated the race issue and the abolition of the Central Jurisdiction with the forthcoming merger of their Church and the Evangelical United Brethren, the problem was compounded. Some faithful Church members became so unhappy with conditions in the denomination that they talked of withdrawing their memberships and join- ing some other church where the segregation of the races would be preserved. A few even thought of attempting to resurrect the old Methodist Episcopal Church, South. But for the lack of strong leadership, the effort failed. Many became concerned over integration as it related to the Church in 1954 when the Supreme Court rendered its verdict on integration in the public schools. There were widespread differences of opinion as to how and in what spirit Methodists should accept this decision. At the Annual Conference which followed that landmark decision, several clergy and lay persons, including Rev. Albert Trulock, Rev. Leonard Cochran, Rev. Anthony Hearn and Rev. Frank L. Robertson (later to be elected to the Episcopacy from South Georgia), and the Lay Leader, B. I. Thornton, and the Womans Society of Christian Service President, Mrs. Scott Edwards, brought to the floor of the Conference a statement concerning the con- troversial decision. It was an appeal to all Methodists to be calm and dispassionate in the search of a solution to the situation in which the Church found itself. The resolution called for persons of both races to be in prayer about the matter. But the smoldering issue became active within a year when talk in some circles indicated that the jurisdictional structure of the Methodist Church, in particular the Central Jurisdiction where the black churches were located, might be abolished at the forthcoming General Conference which was to be held in Minneapolis in April, 1956. The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops made a statement in an attempt to allay the fears and suspicions of Methodists in the South. They reaffirmed their belief in the jurisdictional system by saying, This (abolition of the jurisdictional system) in our judgement would not be progress. The Bishops called for cool heads and said we must not let our prejudices dominate. Actually, they took no firm stand on the issue and apparently were successful in riding out the storm for the time being. The General Conference of 1956 held discussions on the jurisdictional system, but, of course, did not eliminate it. It did, however, create a special Commission to 82 study the jurisdictional structure of the Church and to report to the next General Conference meeting in 1960. The Conference also called for the abolition of racial discrimination and urged better race relations. Furthermore, it proposed a con- stitutional amendment that authorized the merging of churches and annual con- ferences on a purely voluntary basis. This General Conference action caused fear among many South Georgia Methodists; and upon arriving home from the Con- ference, some of the delegates to this important gathering made public statements explaining the mood and feeling of the Conference. South Georgia clerical members of the Conference were L. H. Cochran, Albert S. Trulock, Anthony Hearn, G. E. Clary, Sr., and J. Frederick Wilson. Frank L. Robertson and Mack Anthony were alternates. Lay members included B. I. Thornton, Zack Henderson, Mrs. Scott Ed- wards, Walter Blasingame, and W. E. Bostwick. A. M. Anderson and Julian Strickland were elected as alternates. The Wesleyan Christian Advocate carried stories of explanation by various per- sons on the action of the General Conference. Articles by Bishop Arthur J. Moore and Rev. Mack Anthony were especially helpful to the rank and file of the member- ship. They pointed out that before the merging of any two conferences took place, both groups would have to approve the proposal by a % vote. This, of course, had reference to conferences from the Central Jurisdiction which might choose to merge with conferences of any other jurisdiction, such as the all-white Southeastern Jurisdiction. At the next meeting of the South Georgia Annual Conference, the body went on record as opposing by resolution any change in the jurisdictional system and urged the General Conference Commission not to make any proposal that would destroy or alter the present set-up. It also urged the study commission not to recommend any measures on race relations that would coerce any church or conference into any kind of action. Some South Georgians were bitterly opposed to the thought of being forced on this issue. The General Conference in session at Denver in 1960 argued and debated the issue of the Central Jurisdiction, and though observers thought that the Conference moved a step or two closer to abolition, it did not go all the way. Those attention the General Conference sessions in 1956 and 1960 knew, however, that the Church was rapidly approaching a day of decision, a decision that would have wide repercussions. Zach Henderson Leads in Worship 83 That day of decision came at the General Conference meeting in Pittsburgh in 1964. At that time the procedure for abolishing the Central Jurisdiction was worked out and approved. In effect, this meant that the Methodists of the South had lost their battle to keep the six jurisdictions intact. They were reduced to five in number. Clerical members from South Georgia to this all-important General Conference were: L. H. Cochran, G. Ross Freeman, David A. Duck, Frank L. Robertson, and J. Frederick Wilson. The lay delegates were: W. S. Parks, B. I. Thornton, Zack Henderson, W. E. Bostwick, and Mrs. Clyde Newman. Acceptance of the disquieting news from Pittsburg came hard for many South Georgia Methodists, and herein lay the almost unsolvable problem which Bishop Smith and his associates had to face. The actual merger plans and procedures were yet to be worked out on the jurisdictional level, but it was to be done when it was mutually agreeable with the annual conferences involved. Since the acceptance of the concept of integration of the conferences was so hard for some Methodists in South Georgia, the working out of the details came only after heated discussion and argument in the churches, in district gatherings and at Annual Conference sessions. At the Annual Conference meeting in Valdosta in 1969, a spirited debate on the issue took place. However, the pieces of the problem seemed to fall in place after this Conference when the members voted to approve in principal the acceptance of the former Central Jurisdictional churches in the South Georgia Conference. MERGER WITH EVANGELICAL UNITED BRETHREN Hard on the heels of this controversy came the other problem that caused dissatisfaction among some Methodists. That was the proposed merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren. In a way they became one problem. For those who preferred the status quo in the Church, the merger was upsetting; but the joining of these two kindred bodies had been under discussion for several years. Strangely enough, there were no EUB churches within the bounds of the South Georgia Conference, but this did not keep South Georgians from being tremendously interested and concerned. A joint committee from the two denomina- tions had been studying the matter of union in much depth. It was discussed at the General Conference meeting in Pittsburgh in 1964 and virtually agreed upon there, but a special session of the General Conference was called to meet in Chicago in November, 1966, for the purpose of finalizing plans for merger. The EUB Church met at the same time in Chicago to consider the matter. Plans were perfected by this time. When those attending the Chicago Conference agreed on the plan, the merger was then approved. However, the plan then had to go to the annual con- ferences of the two churches for ratification. The annual conferences could not amend the plan and had to vote on it as it was adopted. The final merger of the two denominations was consummated at the General Conference in Dallas in 1968. South Georgias clerical delegates to that meeting in- cluded David A. Duck, Frank L. Robertson, J. Frderick Wilson, C. W. Hancock, George L. Zorn, and G. Ross Freeman. The lay delegates were George A. Wright, W. S. Parks, B. I. Thornton, Mrs. J. E. Williams, Zack Henderson, and Chester Mur- ray. The mood of the Conference was very positive. There was a sense of victory present. The merger plan had been so carefully worked out that most everyone seemed to be pleased. Though some opposition existed on the homefront to merger, 84 there were no negative votes among the members of the South Georgia Conference delegation. There was, however, a lingering doubt about the position of the EUB Church at large. There was a feeling that the EUB Church members might not give their total consent even though its delegation at the Conference approved the measure. Some members of the smaller denomination felt that their Church would be wholly swallowed up by the Methodist Church and this was a valid assumption. So, in order to give the EUB a feeling of belonging to the organization, the Methodists compromised on the new name and allowed the word United to be in- cluded, thus the United Methodist Church today. Other compromises were made also. The new United Methodist Church was born with a membership in excess of eleven million members, the largest protestant body in North America. Merger had now been completed on paper and in theory, but the next few years were to be spent in an effort to bring about merger in fact. The upcoming quadren- nium, 1968-1972, was to be one of change and reorganization in the Church struc- ture, as the new Church became solidly entrenched on a foundation of Methodism nearly two centuries old. NOTES n preparation of this paper help was received from many sources. Conversations and correspondence vith Rev. George L. Zorn, Dr. David D. Stubbs and B. I. Thornton were yery helpful. Also giving me help oy correspondence were Rev. F. J. Beverly, Jr., Mrs. Augusta Carruth, Rev. Emory C. Gilbert, Victor J. Ceryance, Dr, William T. Greer, Jr. and Rev. Brooks Partain. The two most valuable pinted sources were the files of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate and the Journal of the South Georgia Conference 1939-1968. Other sources include: Cates, Margaret David, EARLY DAYS OF COASTAL GEORGIA, St. Simons Island, 1955 Clary, Jr., George E., OUR METHODIST HERITAGE IN SOUTH GEORGIA, Savannah, 1960 Mitchell, Joseph, THERE IS AN ELECTION, Troy Ala., 1980 Moore, Arthur J., BISHOP TO ALL PEOPLE, Nashville, 1973 Pierce, Alfred M., LEST FAITH FORGET: The Story of Methodism in Georgia, Atlanta, 1951 Sledge, Robert W., HANDS ON THE ARK: THE STURGGLE FOR CHANGE IN THE M.E. CHURCH, SOUTH, 1914-1939, Lake Junaluska, N.C., 1975 Trulock, Albert S., ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SERVICE: METHODIST HOME FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH privately printed, 1972 /anstorv, Burnette, GEORGIA, LAND OF THE GOLDEN ISLES, Athens, 1956 Pamphlets and articles Villiams, Margaret T., The Blessed Stream Rolls On, HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, Vol. 5 No. 2, December 1975 learn, Anthony and Strickland, Julian, The Story of Epworth-by-the-Sea, typewritten manuscript, CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF THE WOMENS ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, South Georgia Conference United Methodist Women, 1980 85 Chapter 4 THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 1968-1984 Alvis A. Waite, Jr. INTRODUCTION This section will not be a detailed history due to the vast resources available for the period and the page limitations of this book. Rather, the writer has highlighted major events in the Conference and shown trends of change and development between 1968-84. For more details consult the Conference Journals published an- nually and other materials in the Conference Archives. With the merger in 1968 of The Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren Church this Conference became the South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church. The next two quadrenniums were years of change as merger was accomplished with the churches of the former Central Jurisdiction within the bounds of South Georgia and as restructuring on both local church and Conference levels took place around the new concept of a Council on Ministries. MERGER OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE WITH THE CHURCHES OF THE FORMER CENTRAL JURISDICTION WITHIN SOUTH GEORGIA Our church through several name changes has remained a connectional structure maintained through a chain of conferences. With the formation of The Methodist Church in 1939, the Church within the United States was divided for ad- ministrative purposes into jurisdictions. Five of these were geographic and one, the Central, was racial. The 1964 General Conference adopted a plan of action for the elimination of the Central Jurisdiction by September 1, 1967. The General Con- ference in a special session in 1966 expressed its determination to bring about not only the elimination of the Central Jurisdiction but also the merger of the separate Negro Annual Conferences with the Conferences of the regional jurisdictions and the elimination of any structural organization based on race. This was to take place not later than the close of the Jurisdictional Conferences in 1972. In 1966, the South Georgia Conference approved a plan for completing the elimination of the Central Jurisdiction within the geographical area of the Southeastern Jurisdiction, 86 with those Conferences becoming a part of the Southeastern Jurisdiction. In 1968, Bishop John Owen Smith appointed an Atlanta Area Inter-Conference Committee on Merger composed of members from the North Georgia, South Georgia, and Georgia Conferences. This Committee was to work on plans for the merger of the Georgia Conference with the North and South Gerogia Conferences. South Georgia members of the committee were: Mr. Zack Henderson, chairman, Rev. George L. Zorn, Rev. James W. Chester, Rev. Oscar Bell, Rev. Albert L. Hall, Mr. J. V. Skinner, Mr. George A. Wright, Rev. L. DeWitt Shippey, Rev. W. Ray- mond Wilder, secretary, Rev. Guy K. Hutcherson, Rev. Orman Sloat, Mrs. J. E. Williams, Rev. James T. Pennell, Rev. David A. Duck, Rev. C. W. Hancock, Rev. Bernard L. Brown, Rev. Robert T. Padgett, Rev. C. E. Steele, Rev. James C. Varnell, Rev. Frank E. Jenkins, Rev. Vernard E. Robertson, Rev. W. Aubrey Alsobrook, Rev. Carlton Anderson, Judge Mallory Atkinson, Mr. Will Peterson, and Rev. Frank L. Robertson. On June 4, 1969, this committee presented a detailed plan for merger to the South Georgia Conference meeting at First United Methodist Church, Valdosta. The plan was defeated by a vote of 400 to 289. Immediately following the an- nouncement of the vote, Rev. Frank L. Robertson moved that the question of merger between the Conferences of Georgia be referred to the same committee for study with the request that a new plan be proposed either to the 1970 sessions of the three Conferences or to called sessions. The motion was amended to enlarge the committee, and the original motion passed. New members added to the committee in 1969 were: Rev. G. Ross Freeman, Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., Mrs. Sammy Clark, Jr., Rev. J. S. Wetzel, Rev. V. L. Daughtery, Jr., Mr. Evans Plowdon, Rev. W. B. Key, Rev. William H. Hinson, Mr. Jack H. Braught, Mr. Hudson Owen, Mrs. J. R. Rivers, Rev. David F. Cripps, Rev. Edward H. Carruth, Rev. C. C. Edmundson, 'Rev. Tom P. Watson. On June 2,1970, the committee brought its report to the Conference meeting at Trinity United Methodist Church, Savannah. This plan of merger was still too detailed for the majority of the members, and it was defeated by a vote of 354 to j 513. Following this the North Georgia and Georgia Conferences voted to merge; and n June 1971, the churches of the former Georgia Conference within the bounds of douth Georgia became the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference. At the 1971 South Georgia Conference meeting at Epworth-by-the-Sea, Rev. G. Ross Freeman presented a resolution calling for Bishop Smith to constitute mother committee to continue studying the new situation after the merger of the North Georgia and Georgia Conferences on June 21,1971, and to provide guidance : n the matter for the South Georgia Conference. This resolution was unanimously idopted, and Bishop Smith appointed the following committee: Chairman, Rev. G. loss Freeman, Bishop John Owen Smith, Rev. Charles P. Adams, Mr. Milton Ueckham, Rev. C. E. Cariker, Mrs. Carlton Carruth, Rev. James W. Chester, Rev. [ Veyman R. Cleveland, Mr. John P. Durham, Mrs. E. B. Gaines, Jr., Mr. Kenneth I Rail, Rev. C. W. Hancock, Mr. Walter Harrison, Rev. William H. Hinson, Rev. I ames F. Jackson, Jr., Rev. Frank L. Robertson, Ms. Emily Sessions, Mr. Embree pmith, Rev. C. E. Steele, Mr. William B. Turner, Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., Mrs. I Charles E. Zimmerman, who served as secretary, Rev. George L. Zorn, Mr. George | v. Wright, Mrs. Julian Rivers, and Mr. Tim Bagwell. On March 2,1972, at a special session of the South Georgia Conference, meeting at Wesleyan College, this committee presented a resolution for merger and a simplified plan of agreement. After much discussion a simplified resolution was ap- proved 372 to 273. The resolution follows: WHEREAS, the seventeen charges of the Georgia Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference are within the geographic bounds of the South Georgia Annual Conference, and, WHEREAS, such an arrangement is not in harmony with the policy of the Methodist Church, and, WHEREAS, it is administratively expensive and in- efficient, and, WHEREAS, we do not believe such arrangement reflects the true meaning and spirit of Methodism, therefore, be it resolved by the South Georgia Annual Conference meeting, March 2, at Macon, Georgia, that we hereby request the North Georgia Annual Conference Annual Conference to release these charges with their blessing and pledge of continued interest and support so that they may become a part of the South Georgia Annual Conference. The 1972 Session of Annual Conference was held at Porterfield United Methodist Church in Albany. At the evening session on the opening day, June 5, 1972, there was held a historic service celebrating the merger of the Georgia Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference with the South Georgia Conference. The high point of the service was the ritual of offering involving representatives of both organizations who presented scrolls symbolic of that which their respective group offered to God for dedication. Bishop John Owen Smith placed the scrolls on the altar and offered the prayer of dedication and declared the Georgia Coastal District and the South Georgia Conference to be one. Because of its significance and the information given, the ritual of offering is presented here. THE RITUAL OF OFFERING Tim Bagwell, President of the South Georgia Conference United Methodist Youth Council: The 14,438 young people of the South Georgia Conference, hav- ing shared already a rich fellowship with the youth of the Coastal District, bring our experience in Christian brotherhood and our hope for a growing United Methodist witness as an offering to God. Ms. Sonja Bens, President of the Georgia Coastal District United Methodist Youth Fellowship: The 568 young people of the Georgia Coastal District, with bold confidence in the future and the growing awareness of Gods pur- pose, bring our hearts and our enthusiasm as an offering to God. Ms. Nancy Rivers, President of the South Georgia Conference United Methodist Women: The 18,771 United Methodist Women of the South Georgia Con- ference bring an organization of 438 local Womens Societies of Christian Service and 137 Wesleyan Service Guilds dedicated to helping women grow in the knowledge and experience of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and to sharing in Christian witness, service, and missionary outreach as an offering to God. Ms. Essie Simons, President of the Georgia Coastal District United Methodist i Women: 88 The 576 United Methodist Women of the Georgia Coastal District bring their understanding of the task, skills in doing the work of the church, and commitment of the highest ideals of the Kingdom as an offering to God." Dr. George A. Wright, South Georgia Conference Lay Leader: The 142,358 lay persons of the South Georgia Conference bring churches valued at $69,723,217, parsonages in which we have in- vested $8,668,760, and other assets worth $3,465,742, along with our determination to be wholly Gods people, obedient to Him and responsive to the needs of all men as an offering to God. Mr. Norman Johnson, Lay Leader of the Georgia Coastal District: The 5,103 lay persons of the Georgia Coastal District bring 48 churches valued at $1,130,150, parsonages in which we have in- vested $157,800, and other assets worth $37,833 along with an ap- preciation for The United Methodist Church, a growing spirit of stewardship, and a tradition of God-centered and spirit-filled lives as an offering to God. Rev. C. E. Ned Steele, President of the South Georgia Conference Cabinet: The South Georgia Conference brings 335 full conference ministers, 41 Probationary members, 25 Associate Conference members, and 73 retired ministers, whose leadership resulted in a total expenditure last year of $12,206,630, for the work of the Kingdom; -we bring Andrew College, Wesleyan College, Vashti School, The Methodist Childrens Home, Magnolia Manor, Epworth-by-the-Sea, Effingham Camp Ground; and we bring all the grand traditions which have made this conference what it is as an offering to God." Rev. P. Harold Gray; Superintendent of the Georgia District: The Georgia Coastal District brings nine ministers in full con- nection and eight Lay Pastors whose leadership resulted in a total expenditure last year of more than $200,000 for the work of the Kingdom; we bring a rich heritage growing out of more than a hundred years of history, a warm tradition of spirited singing, of freedom in worship, of gospel preaching, and of enthusiasm for the things of God; we bring a loyalty to the United Methodist Church and a commitment to its programs and purposes as an of- fering to God. 'Bishop John Owen Smith received the scrolls placing them on the Altar as the con- gregation sang The Doxology. The Prayer of Dedication by Bishop Smith: Almighty God, from whom every inclination to do right cometh; Accept our gratitude for all the acts of faith which have brought us to this historic moment, for all the devoted service which has produced the strength of this conference which we come now to dedicate to Thee. Accept, we beseech Thee, what our hearts have been guided to do; protect what has been entrusted to us by our fathers; purify all that we present upon this altar tonight; and move us to enriched experiences as we endeavor to be totally obe- dient to Thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 89 THE EPISCOPAL DECLARATION I, John Owen Smith, as the presiding Bishop of Georgia, do hereby declare that the churches, institutions, members, and ministers of The United Methodist Church of the South Georgia Conference and the Georgia Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference are now one in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE With the rapid growth of the Conference in the 1940s and 50s there came a cor- responding growth in the Annual Conference Boards and Agencies. Church membership had increased from 119,907 to 144,710. Sunday School membership had increased from 64,189 to 100,129. Ministerial members of the Conference had increased from 284 to 375. To serve the expanded needs occasioned by this growth program agencies developed more programs and more resources. With increased programming came need for more employed staff. During the 50s there were some who felt some kind of inter-board structure for coordinated programming was needed. However, Conference leadership did not think the time was right. In 1962, a first step was taken. A Coordinating Council was named composed of various staff persons and representatives from programming agencies. Members were Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., Executive Secretary, Board of Education, Chairman; Rev. F. J. Beverly, Executive Secretary, Church Extension and Evangelism; Rev. W. F. Childress, Executive Secretary, Town and Country; Rev. L. C. Harvard, Board of Hospitals and Homes; Rev. H. W. Scoates, Jr., Board of Ministry; Mr. W. S. Parks, Conference Lay Leader; Rev. Joe H. Bridges, Cabinet representative. While hoping some coordination of programming could take place, the Council was only given authority to make suggestions and thus became mainly a calendarizing agency for the Conference and functioned as such until 1965. At the 1962 Session of the Annual Conference, Mr. B. I. Thornton, chairman of the Conference Commission on World Service and Finance presented a resolution, which was approved, requesting the Commission to employ a professional consul- tant to study financial structure and organizational efficiency of the Conference. On May 1, 1963, Price-Waterhouse and Company presented a survey of the finan- cial structure and administrative efficiency of the Conference. They reported that a lack of over-all direction and coordination was responsible for the difficulty ex- perienced by the Conference in assigning priorities for proposed projects and pro- grams within the limits of available funds. This report documented what many Conference leaders had been expressing. In response, the 1965 Annual Conference elected a Commission on Promotion and Cultivation which succeeded the Coordinating Council. The 1960 General Con- ference had provided for such an organization in every Annual Conference to coor- dinate the promotion of all approved general and conference benevolence causes. The South Georgia Commission was organized with Mr. Robert F. Morris, from Statesboro, as chairman and Rev. George L. Zorn as vice-chairman. In addition to fulfilling the Disciplinary responsibilities, the Commission initiated an extensive study related to the desirability and feasibility of an inter-board type organization for the Conference. Rev. George L. Zorn was named as the chairperson of a commit- 90 tee to make this study. He recruited the help of Rev. F. J. Beverly, Jr., Director of Evangelism and Church Extension, and Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., Executive [Secretary of the Conference Board of Education. To the 1967 Session of the Annual Conference this commission presented a resolution authorizing the organization of a South Georgia Conference Inter-Board Council, not later than October 1,1967. A fconsitution was adopted. The purpose was: to correlate and promote the program of boards, commissions, committees and other agencies of the Conference; to pro- vide staff, leadership and services for the Conference boards, commissions, commit- [tees and councils; and to give effective program help at the district and local church level. All boards and agencies were to continue to fulfill their disciplinary respon- sibilities and remain independent in their structure and activity, but be related to | the total Conference program through the Inter-Board Council. The first Inter-Board Council was organized with Rev. George L. Zorn as chair- man and Rev. L. C. Fullerton, secretary. During the initial year the Council was to study program areas and council staff looking forward to the full effective function- ing not later than the beginning of the 1968 quadrennium. In 1968, the name was changed to the Program Council of the South Georgia Conference, in keeping with 1968 General Conference legislation. This name better described the function of the Council. Rev. George L. Zorn was elected chairman. pFor the first time a Conference Program Director was elected. Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., filled this position for two years, 1968-70 followed by Rev. W. Carlton Carruth who served for two years, 1970-72. The first staff, in addition to the director, was composed of Rev. W. Carlton Carruth, Mr. James H. Snead, Jr., Rev. David Han- Uon, and Ms. Betty Cochran. These seven years George L. Zorn had given untiring leadership in the development of a coordinated process of program planning and implementation for the South Georgia Conference. The 1972 General Conference provided for a Conference Council on Ministries to surplant the old Program Council. In making the Program Council report to the 1972 Annual Conference Rev. George L. Zorn, chairman, recommended that the Council and organizations of the Annual Conference give careful study to the legislation looking toward specific structure recommendations to the 1973 Annual [Conference. Mr. Jack H. Braucht, new chairperson of the Conference Council on Ministries, appointed a task force to bring structure recommendations to the 1973 Session of the Annual Conference. Members of the task force were: Rev. G. Ross Freeman, chairman, Mr. Jack Braucht, Rev. David Duck, Mr. George Mayo, Rev. H. W. Scoates, Jr., Mrs. J. R. Rivers, Rev. T. M. Key, Rev. William H. Hurdle, Mrs. Carlton Carruth, Rev. Fred D. McLendon, Jr., Mr. Norman Johnson, Rev. A. Jason phirah, Mr. Gregg Porter, Rev. A. C. Epps. The structure task force presented to the 1973 Conference a completely reorganized plan of organization for the Annual Conference structure. To better Uerve the local church the plan was based on the organization of the local church and centered around the Council on Ministries concept. Whereas, the Program Council was a loose federation of powerful boards and commissions, the new struc- ture provided for these functions to be carried on through program committees of | the Council on Ministries. For the first time it was possible to plan and implement ka coordinated program for the entire Conference. The new concepts were implemented with the new structure. The Council on I Ministries became responsible for developing a Program budget and submitting it 91 to the Conference Council on Finance and Administration. Also the Council adopted an annual theme for the years work and recommended priorities to the Annual Conference. While certain programs of education, evangelism, missions, and others, were ongoing, each programming agency was asked to center most of its programming around the theme for the year. This gave unity and strength to the entire Conference program. Annual themes were: 1973 The emphasis was on Key 73 a nation-wide evangelistic effort. 1974 The theme was OPENING DOORS IN 74 and we stressed: ^^SChurch School Church Extension Advance Specials United Methodist Men 1975 The theme was SOUTH GEORGIA AFLAME FOR CHRIST and the emphasis was the World Methodist Program of Evangelism. 1976 -BThe theme was DECLARATION OF OUR DEPENDENCE and the em- phasis was upon: H- Stewardship The Pensions Funding Crusade The Bicentennial of the Nation 1977 The theme was FOCUS ON THE LOCAL CHURCH we urged every local church to become a Fellowship of Caring, Understanding, and Shar- ing. Each congregation was asked to Focus on five areas: Define their purpose Be supportive, redemptive fellowships Deepen their commitment to Christian values ' i-Tfilncrease their understanding of United Methodist Beliefs and the connec- tional system Develop their missional ministries in the world 1978 The theme was ACTION IN THE LOCAL CHURCH with every local church called to care through action in four areas: Concentrate on the Family Aid Ethnic Minority Congregations Reduce World Hunger Emphasize Evangelism 1979 The theme was CARING THROUGH THE LOCAL CHURCH with every local church called to care through action in four areas: Concentrate on the Family Aid Ethnic Minority Congregations Reduce World Hunger Emphasize Evangelism 92 1980 The theme was CARING FOR ALL GODS CHILDREN urging every local church to proclaim the word of Gods Caring for all His Children so that they can respond and be nurtured into complete discipleship. The Priorities were: Strengthen the Sunday School Proclaim Gods Word through Evangelism Relieve World Hunger Help Ethnic Minority Local Churches 1981 The theme was DEVELOPING AND EXPRESSING DISCIPLESHIP THROUGH THE LOCAL CHURCH -Bwith every local church called to focus on: Identifying its needs Developing its leadership Reaching the uncommitted Kv Nurturing through study, worship, and prayer Affirming our United Methodist Heritage and Doctrine Extending the Church and Kingdom Serving human needs 1982 The theme was DEVELOPING AND EXPRESSING DISCIPLESHIP THROUGH THE LOCAL CHURCH OBJECTIVE: BY LEARNING THE FAITH through active participation in church school development by attendance and study through greater support for church and campus ministry, with particular focus on Andrew College HgS through continued study of United Methodist doctrine and heritage... BY BELIEVING THE FAITH through motivating and exciting worship through a planned program of Bible Study and nurture in the Wesleyan tradition... B Y LIVING THE FAITH through being aware of and practicing Christian steward- ship through strengthening the Christian family through promoting peace and justice... B Y SHARING THE FAITH through mobilizing and equipping the laity through strengthening the ethnic minority local church through assisting the development of the church in Africa through combating and relieving world hunger. 93 1983 The theme was THE FAMILY: BEING BELONGING BELIEVING BECOMING OBJECTIVE: Through its Council on Ministries, the South Georgia An- nual Conference helped families of one or more persons: To discover who they are ... BEING To come together as family and other families... BELONGING To experience and express Christian Faith... BELIEVING To grow as God intends ... BECOMING During the three quadrenniums the Conference Council on Ministries has been operative the Council has had very creative lay and clergy leadership. 1972-76 1976-80 1980-84 COUNCIL OFFICERS: Chairperson Mr. Jack H. Braucht Rev. G. Ross Freeman Mr. Joe Giddens Vice-Chairperson Rev. Frank L. Robertson Nov. 72 Rev. A. Jason Shirah Miss Ina Randitt Rev. V. L. Daughtery Secretary Rev. W. E. McTier, Jr. Mr. Joe Giddens Miss Denise Conner Council Directors 1972-76 Rev. H. W. Scoates, Jr. 1976- 77 Rev. L. E. Houston, Jr. 1977- 80 Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr. 1980- Rev. Fred D. McLendon, Jr. Associate Council Directors 1972-76 Rev. L. E. Houston, Jr. 1972-74 Mr. James H. Snead, Jr. 1972-77 Rev. Dave Hanson 1972-74 Ms. Bettye Cochran 1974-77 Rev. Emmett S. Davis 1977-83 Rev. William E. McTier, Jr. 1977-81 Rev. H. Eugene Barlow 1977- Mr. Ray Cox, Jr. 1981- Rev. David T. Haygood 1983- Rev. W. Carlton Carruth EPISCOPAL LEADERSHIP BISHOP JOHN OWEN SMITH At the 1968 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference Bishop John Owen Smith was assigned to the Atlanta Area for the third quadrennium. The 1960s was a time of turbulence not only in the nation but also in Georgia as rapid political, economic and social changes took place. Through it all Bishop Smith mainfested a spirit of patience and compassion for the feelings and needs of others, giving himself in brotherly love without reservation to the claims and tasks of Christ and His Church. 94 1970-71 CABINET l-r: C.E. Steele, Bishop J.O. Smith, R.T. Padgett, H.W. Scoates Back: Guy Hutcherson, C.C. Edmund- son, C.E. Cariker, Edward Carruth, Vernard Robertson, W.A. Alsobrook At the 1968 General Conference the Atlanta Area invited the 1972 Conference to meet in Atlanta and promised to effect merger by that time. For Bishop Smith this became the priority of this quadrennium. The words of Bishop William R. Cannon in his report to the 1976 Jurisdictional Conference described Bishop Smith and his objective: The necessity of achieving merger became, therefore, the overmastering objective -Heven the obsession of this great man during the last quadrennium of his administration. Therefore, his policies and most of his public utterances had been dedicated to this end. He achieved eminence as a spokesman for social justice and the intergration of the races. Our Church owes him a debt of gratitude for his hardihood and determination, and for his accomplishing one of the most difficult tasks ever assigned an episcopal leader. Merger of the Georgia Conference with the North and South Georgia Conference became a reality under his leadership. In 1972 toward the end of his administration, he and the Atlanta Area were hosts to the Council of Bishops meeting at Epworth-by-the-Sea in April and the General Conference following in Atlanta. He was able to report to the 1972 Jurisdictional 95 Conference on Atlanta Area of 21 districts, 1,752 churches and 393,000 members with total property valued at $620,597,896. In retirement Bishop Smith lived in Atlanta where for four years he served as Churchman in Residence at Candler School of Theology, his influence continu- ing in the lives of young ministers, a number of them South Georgians. BISHOP WILLIAM R. CANNON At the 1972 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference Bishop William R. Cannon was assigned to the Atlanta Area. A native son came home to be the Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Georgia. He was reared in Dalton, Georgia, where his education began. An honor graduate of the University of Georgia, he went on to Yale University for a brilliant academic record in theological and doctrinal studies. In 1940 he was admitted on trial in the North Georgia Conference and in 1942 became a full member and was appointed to Oxford as pastor. The next year he joined the faculty of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University where he remained for 25 years, ten years as professor and 15 years as Dean of the School. In 1968 he was elected to the Episcopacy and assigned to the Raleigh Area. Two years later he was also given the added responsibility of the Richmond Area due to the death of their presiding Bishop. 1975-76 CABINET 1-r: Fred McLendon, Jr., Bruce Wilson, Bishop William R. Cannon, J.C. Vamell, Jr., Alvis Waite, Jr. Back: Frank Montgomery, McCoy Johnson, Ted Griner, Ross Freeman, C.W. Hancock Bishop Cannon set the hallmark of his administration in Georgia as the work of a pastor and a shepherd. He wanted to make merger succeed, to restore a goodwill among the people, and to expand the Church both in membership and resources. At the end of his administration it was apparent that his goals had been reached. In 96 the very first month he traveled throughout the area holding rallies for all the districts in order to make immediate contact with the people called Methodist. Following this he visited every parsonage home in the area. Bishop Cannon stressed evangelism from the beginning of his administration. In the fall of 1972 an Area Convocation on Evangelism was held at the Macon Col- iseum where more than 10,000 people attended. This began a reversal in the membership decline of several years, and for eight consecutive years the Con- ference showed a net increase in membership totaling 6,147. In 1977 the Atlanta Area registered the largest membership gain in the entire United Methodist Church, the increase in South Georgia being 1,723. The 1980 South Georgia Con- ference membership was 152,401. While emphasizing evangelism as a major priority, Bishop Cannon gave support to the total program of the Church. He averaged preaching 150 times a year in the Atlanta Area, giving at least one Sunday a year to each district, conducting revivals and preaching missions and other special events. He also brought ecumenical stance to his work serving as one of the presidents of The World Methodist Council and serving on two international bi-laterals, one between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church, and the other between the World Methodist Council and the World Lutheran Federation. During this time a new chapel at Emory University was constructed and named for William R. Cannon, honoring his contribution to the Candler School of Theology, his native state of Georgia, and the Atlanta Area of The United Methodist Church. BISHOP JOEL D. McDAVID Bishop Joel D. McDavid was assigned as episcopal leader of the Atlanta Area at the 1980 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. He is a native of Alabama and was educated at Milsaps College and Candler School of Theology of Emory Univer- sity. He and Milah Gibson were married in 1942 and served charges in the Alabama-West Florida Conference until his election to the Episcopacy in 1972. After eight years as Bishop of the Florida Area he was assigned to the Atlanta Area. Bishop McDavid immediately began getting acquainted with the vast Atlanta Area by holding a series of district rallies in which he met thousands of leaders of Methodism in Georgia. He averaged preaching three times each Sunday and two speaking engagements each week. He assigned two Sundays a year to each of the 21 districts in the Area. While giving major emphasis to evangelism, he supported the total program of both the North and South Georgia Conferences. Not only did Bishop McDavid want to meet people of the Area but also get ac- quainted with its institutions: nine colleges and universities, three hospitals, two childrens homes, nine homes for the aging and two conference centers. By visita- tion and attending board meetings this goal was accomplished. Special needs of some of the institutions received his direct support and attention. Soon sifter coming to Georgia Bishop McDavid was asked what he did for recrea- tion. He replied work. He stated that God had called him to the ministry and that he was constantly about the work of a minister. As the McDavids covered the state from Rabun Gap to Tybee Light, she would drive while he prepared for future engagements. 97 1981-82 CABINET 1-r: Thomas Johnson, Sr, Guy Hutcherson, John Carroll, Hamp Watson back: W.R. Key, Ellick Bull- ington, Alvis Waite, Jr., Bishop McDavid, Lawrence Houston, C.E. Steele In this short time Bishop McDavid gave leadership to three capital funds cam- paigns: Andrew College, Simpson-Wood in North Georgia, and the National Televi- sion Ministry and Presence. His support of the new pension program was characterized by his speaking at a pension rally in each of the 21 districts in the Atlanta Area. While giving leadership to all areas of the Churchs life and work he also served the General Church as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Coun- cil on Ministries, Chairperson of the Advance Committee of the General Board of Global Ministries, and chairperson of the Program of Bible Study for the Church as directed by the Council of Bishops. Georgia Methodists were sorry that Bishop McDavid could only serve one quadrennium in Georgia due to the retirement age of Bishops. In one quadrennium Bishop McDavid has made a lasting impression upon Georgia Methodism. Upon retirement in 1984 he will become Churchman in Residence at Candler School of Theology and will continue to live in Atlanta. LAY LEADERSHIP IN SOUTH GEORGIA From the time the laity was given representation in the Annual Conference, South Georgia was blessed with dedicated and creative lay leadership. During this period, 1968-83, young adults and youth joined men and women in membership on Conference boards and committees. The Board of the Laity and its successor, the Committee on Lay Life and Work, gave direction and coordination to the total lay program, with the Conference Lay Leader serving as chairperson. The work of the Laity is highlighted by quadrennium in the following paragraphs. 1968-72 Mr. George A. Wright of Tifton served as Conference Lay Leader. The 1968 General Conference changed the name of the Board of Lay Activities-to the Board of the Laity. In 1969 this new structure was implemented in South Georgia. In ad- 98 dition a new staff person, James H. Snead, Jr., was added to the staff of the Con- ference Program Council. Mr. Snead had specific responsibility for lay work. Dur- ing this quadrennium the Conference Board of the Laity gave special emphasis to stewardship. Materials were produced for every member visitation campaigns. The theme in 1971 was Let Love Guide You and in 1972 Together We Care. 1972-76 Mr. George W. Mayo of Savannah served as Conference Lay Leader. The Board of the Laity was organized in two major sections: Stewardship and Finance, and Division of Lay Life and Work. The stewardship emphasis was continued with two more sets of material for every member visitation campaigns: Pass It On and Who Will Answer? The 1972 General Conference phased out the Board of the Laity and provided for a new organization called the Committee on Lay Life and Work. This was organized in South Georgia in 1973 with the Conference Lay Leader as chairperson. Also at this time Methodist Men was reorganized and the Methodist Mens Club of South Georgia became the Conference United Methodist Mens Fellowship. The bylaws of this organization were approved by the 1973 An- nual Conference. The Committee on Lay Life and Work in 1975 was given the responsibility to monitor the equalization of lay and clergy membership in the An- nual Conference. In 1975 a constitution for United Methodist Young Adults was approved by the Conference. The same year both youth and young adult delegates were elected to General and Jurisdictional Conference. 1980-84 Judge J. Taylor Phillips of Macon was the Conference Lay Leader. During this time the Adult Council became active with its chairperson being a member of the Conference Committee on Lay Life and Work. A standardization of the process for electing lay delegates to General and Jurisdiction Conferences was formulated. The lay speaker certification program was reorganized becoming a year-round program and surplanting the old no silent pulpit program. Judge Phillips was chairman of the Committee to prepare the laity address to the 1984 General Conference. Space does not allow a report on each of the Conference lay organizations during this period. However, a resume of activities can be found in the reports of the Com- mittee on Lay Life and Work to the Annual Conferences. The presidents of these organizations are listed here. Womens Society of Christian Service 1968-72 Mrs. J. R. Rivers of Camilla United Methodist Women 1972-76 Miss Ina Randitt of Cochran 1976-80 Mrs. Augusta S. Carruth of Douglas 1980-84B- Mrs. Carolyn J. Hopkins of Cairo Methodist Mens Clubs 1968-72 O. C. Rinehart of Thomasville United Methodist Mens Fellowship 1972-76 S. Walter Martin of Valdosta 1976-80- Roy Lifesey of Warner Robins 1980-84B- Joe L. Giddens of Sandersville United Methodist Young Adults Reorganized 1973 1973 JB- Larry Webb 1977-78Syd Shepard 1974-75 Louis Jordan 1979-81Jeanie Crosby 1976 Linda Peacock 1982-83Barry Wood 99 United Methodist Youth 1968 Holland Morgan 1969 Emily Sessions 1970 Paul Cleveland 19713 Tim Bagwell 1972 3 Greg Porter 1973 a Bill Bagwell 1974 Syd Shepherd 1975 Martha Aycock 1976 Cathy Crosby 1977 Craig Buckley 1978 Mary Jane Wilson 1979 Luanda Sparks 1980 Libbie Powell 1981 George Tyson 1982 Jim Kegerreis 1983 Jeff Hanson Young Adults Reorganized in 1973 GROWTH OF CONFERENCE This period, 1968-84, was not only a time of structural change but of growth. The first quadrennium, 1968-72, had as its priority the accomplishment of merger with the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference. This also saw the implemen- tation of the Program Council succeeded immediately by the Council on Ministries. In the first year of his administration, 1972, Bishop William R. Cannon chal- lenged the Conference to the priority of evangelism. The Conference immediately responded with a program which continued over two quadrenniums. The General decline in membership since 1962 was reversed, and for eight consecutive years the Conference recorded a gain in membership. The first two years of the 1980-84 quadrennium recorded a slight decrease since conference action had prohibited charge conferences from dropping members for three years in the late 70s. This moratorium was imposed in order to get all churches following the disciplinary pro- cedure for deleting members. In 1981 and 82 there were a large number dropped by charge conference action; had these deletions been taken in their usual years, the trend of membership increase would have continued since total gains exceeded total losses for these five years. The membership in 1968 was 144,323 and 151,056 in 1982, the last year that statistics were available for this history. During this time the charges of the Con- ference increased from 353 to 397; and the ministerial members of the Conference1 from 455 to 581. In the matter of finances there was a dramatic increase. Although this was a time of high inflation the giving of South Georgia Methodists kept up with the rate of in- flation and in most instances surpassed it. Here are some statistics which indicate: 100 the commitment of South Georgia United Methodists. During the period the total Conference budget increased from $1,534,146 to $4,833,083. Included in this was World Service and Conference Benevolences which increased from $616,961 to $1,422,552. At the same time our advance missions special giving, in addition to the budget, increased from $303,445 to $816,397. This trend was also evidenced in ministerial salaries. The approved base minimum salary which was $5,000 in 1968 had increased to $14,300 in 1983. Total ministerial salaries paid in 1968 equalled $2,064,000 and had increased to $5,730,990 in 1982. In two fund raising campaigns the goals were over-subscribed. In 1976 a cam- paign for ministerial pensions was conducted with Mr. Will J. Peterson and Rev. Weyman R. Cleveland as co-chairpersons. On a goal of $3,000,000 over $5,000,000 was pledged. In 1982 a campaign for Andrew College was conducted under the leadership of Mr. James C. Brim, Jr. and Rev. Gilbert L. Ramsey, co-chairpersons. On a goal of $1,500,000 over $2,200,000 was pledged. Another forward step was the formation of a South Georgia Conference United Methodist Foundation to receive and administer funds for religious, charitable, and educational purposes. The articles of incorporation and bylaws were approved by the 1978 session of the Annual Conference. Mr. George W. Mayo and Mr. Edward B. Liles were the incorporators and served as the first president and secretary respectively of the Foundation. CHURCH EXTENSION Since the Church Extension emphasis of the mid 1960s few new United Methodist churches had been organized in South Georgia. Some declining churches in urban areas relocated and have become thriving congregations, but United Methodism was not keeping up with the population growth in the state. A program proposal was approved by the 1980 Session of the Annual Conference directing the Committee on Missions in consultation with the Committee on Evangelism to appoint a Task Force to develop a Church Extension strategy to meet a projected population growth in Georgia of 24% by the year 2000. The Task Force made a thorough study using the services of District Task Forces and staff of the National Division of the Board of Global Ministries, studying census figures and population trends. The report, made to the 1983 Session of the Annual Con- ference, identified the need in the Conference for 17 new congregations within the next five years. A strategy for helping to develop these congregations, including financing, was adopted. South Georgia Methodists accepted the challenge of reaching more persons for Christ through Church Extension. ARCHIVES AND HISTORY The 1968 General Conference provided for a Commission on Archives and History in the Annual Conference. In 1968 South Georgia moved from the era of the old Historical Society to the General Conference Plan. Throughout 100 years the Historical Society had given sporadic emphasis to collecting the history of local churches and the Conference. Now there began a concerted, continuing emphasis to preserve our heritage by a body duly elected by the Annual Conference. For a decade Bishop Arthur J. Moore had been gradually bringing to the library in the Arthur J. Moore Building at Epworth-by-the-Sea various items and books of 101 historical interest. In 1969 Bishop Moore met with the officers of the Commission on Archives and History and expressed the desire for some orderly transfer of responsibility for ongoing operation of the library and museum to the Conference Commission. Thus began a cooperative effort by the trustees of Epworth-by-the- Sea and the Conference Commission on Archives and History to maintain and develop a Methodist depository and archival interpretation center which would in- clude a museum and research facility. Major emphasis has been given to the Wesleys in Georgia and the heritage and history of Methodism in Georgia. In 1972 the Frank A. Strickland An- nex to the museum was constructed. This needed addition was to house papers, displays, and artifacts of Con- ference organizations. In 1980 a campaign was launched to raise over $200,000 for the renovation and expansion of the museum. Included in this was a fireproof/moistureproof vault to house the important, ir- replaceable items and papers which the museum had acquired. The renovated and expanded museum was reopened in 1983. CONFERENCE HISTORICAL SITES In 1974 the Commission on Archives and History began recommending sites for approval of the Annual Conference. To date seven have been so designated and marked with a plaque. 1.1974 John Wesleys American Parish in Savannah. This cluster site includ- ed Coxspur Island, the sites where Wesley preached, his parsonage, and the courthouse where he held services. This cluster site was also approved by the General Conference of 1976 as a National Landmark of the United Methodist Church. 2.1976 M Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Glynn County. 3.1977 Site of Wesley Chapel built in 1812 on the corner of Lincoln and Oglethorpe Avenues in Savannah. 4.1977 Bethel (Brick Church) United Methodist Church in Screven County. Built of native clay brick in 1827. 5.1978 Talbotton Church built in 1831 on College Street. The present building was erected in 1857 of native clay brick. 6.1980 5 Perry United Methodist Church, Perry, Georgia, organized in 1826. 7.1981E- St. Marys United Methodist Church S organized 1799 present wood Chapel built in the 1850s. In 1971 two significant decisions were made. One was to begin a biannual publication called Historical Highlights. Each issue included historical articles of interest both to South Georgia and General Methodism. Also, the Conference Historical Society was reorganized with 100 dues paying charter members. This organization is an adjunct to the Commission on Archives and History with its membership being open to anyone interested in preserving our heritage. 102 PUBLICATION OF CONFERENCE HISTORY From the beginning of the Commission on Archives and History some discussion had taken place about the publication of a South Georgia Conference historical book. In 1980 the Commission appointed a committee to make specific plans for the publication. Mrs. Marynell Waite was named chairperson and editor for the book. For several quadrenniums she had been the unofficial historian for the Conference. She had served as Secretary and Chairperson (first laywoman) of the Commission on Archives and History, the Director of the Museum/Library at Epworth-by-the- Sea, and currently the President of the Conference Historical Society. This book was published in 1983 to begin the celebration of the bicentennial of American Methodism, 1784-1984. EXPANSION OF CONFERENCE INSTITUTIONS EPWORTH-BY-THE-SEA The decade beginning in 1971 had many new additions made to the facility so that it became a major Conference center able to accommodate meetings of up to 1,000 persons. In 1971 the Pitts Memorial Motel of 24 units was constructed. This was a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. W. I. H. Pitts of Waverly Hall, Georgia. In 1972 the Frank A. Strickland Memorial Building was constructed as an annex to the Methodist Museum. The Susannah Wesley House was renovated to provide 12 ad- ditional rooms and was renamed the Harvey House in honor of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Harvey of Nashville, Georgia. In 1976 a new dining hall was completed, costing in ^excess of $225,000 and was named for W. Harry Smith, long-time trustee. This made possible the accommodation of two large groups meeting simultaneously. In 1978 the Jones Building, named for Alfred W. Jones, Sr. of Sea Island, was ren- novated and an auditorium added. In 1979 twenty-one new motel rooms were added, 16 to the Pitts Motel and five to the Reynolds Building. In 1980 the Clary Learning Center was constructed, which included an auditorium, craft room, and class rooms. In 1981 the office complex was renovated with new offices being built in what was the former courtyard. During 1981-83 additional motel rooms were added to the Harvey Complex, Turner, and Reynolds Buildings. This brought the total motel rooms to 166. Four new cabins were added to Aldersgate village, making a total of ten. In 1982 the George Wright Prayer Tower was constructed at a cost of $85,000. It was named for George A. Wright of Tifton, a long-time trustee and former Con- ference lay leader. Also the Gholson Pre-School Building was constructed at a cost of $75,000 and named for Rev. and Mrs. Louis Gholson. In 1983 the Methodist Museum was renovated and enlarged at a cost of over $225,000. During this period the number of persons coming to Epworth-by-the-Sea more 1 than tripled to 47,000 in 1982. THE SOUTH GEORGIA HOME FOR THE AGING, INC. The 1980 session of the Annual Conference approved a resolution presented by the Board of Health and Welfare Ministries granting permission to the trustees of the facility to construct a 120 unit retirement center in Macon, Georgia on property given by The Methodist Home. The cost of this facility was approximately 103 $4,500,000. This was the first expansion beyond the campus of the Magnolia Manor Home in Americus. In 1982 property was acquired in the Savannah area for the future construction of a retirement facility. ANDREW COLLEGE The 1979 session of the Annual Conference approved a $1,500,000 campaign for endowment and capital improvements at Andrew College. The campaign was con- ducted in 1982 with over $2,200,000 pledged. The first major capital improvement made possible by the campaign was a new dining hall named for D. Abbott Turner of Columbus, Georgia. CANDLER GENERAL HOSPITAL In 1980 Candler General Hospital of Savannah completed and moved into a new $40,000,000 facility which combined the three previously separated branches. Ap- proval was given to the building of the new hospital by the Annual Conference in a special session December 1,1977. SOURCES JOURNALS OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE, THE, 1968-1982. SOUTHEASTERN JURISDICTIONAL CONFERENCE JOURNALS, THE, 1968,1972,1976,1980. From the South Georgia Conference Archives Depository, Epworth-by-the-Sea: Records of the Annual Conference Secretary Minutes of the 1971 Merger Committee, Mrs. Miriam Zimmerman, Secretary Papers of G. Ross Freeman and Alvis A. Waite, Jr. on Merger 1973 Structure committee File and Papers of G. Ross Freeman on Structure of Annual Conference From the Conference Council on Ministries Files: Information on the Laity provided by Ray Cox, Jr. and David T. Haygood, Associate Directors Statistical Information on Epworth-by-the-Sea provided by Rev. Vernard E. Robertson, Superintendent 104 SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE COUNCIL ON FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION T. Jeff Smith III Treasurer Ms. Joyce Patterson Executive Secretary Theresa Padgett Secretary Spring Council Meeting in Treasurers Office Working on the Conference budget for next year 105 Chapter 5 BLACKS IN SOUTH GEORGIA METHODISM Amos 0. Holmes INTRODUCTION Blacks were charter members of the earliest Methodist movements, local Methodist Societies and Churches, members of the first annual conference in the American Colonies and the organizing conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784. Many Black United Methodists feel that their contributions and involvement in the history of American Methodism have been overlooked and left out of publications about Black Methodists. The tendency is to focus on other in- dependent Black Wesleyan denominations rather than the mainline Black Methodists who were involved from the beginning and were never separated from the parent Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of American. It is to the credit of this historical effort that Blacks in South Georgia Methodism will have recognition. The genius of early Methodist Movements and structures, namely the lay ministry, the class meeting functions, the general and district superintendents, and conferences on several levels, attuned the developing Methodist denomination with the pioneering growth of a new nation in North America. This was a blessing for Blacks in Georgia, who became members of the oldest Methodist Episcopal Churches and their predecessor societies. Receiving religious sponsorship by white Methodist Societies, many Black groups were not separate Churches until after the Civil War. Many of these old Church congregations were in the Methodist. Episcopal Church and were aligned with its old Georgia Conference between 1864 and 1876. Prior to 1863, slave policies restricted the freedom of religion by Blacks (slaves, freemen, freedmen, or mixed-breeds with any blood of Blacks). The Methodist Class Meetings and Societies and the congregations of Black worshippers, slave or free, were under slave restrictions and white leadership. Black lay pastors, and white missionaries were under constant surveillance. Notwithstanding the desires of Blacks who organized the Wesleyan Black denominations to have their own Churches, in each instance, white Methodist Episcopal Churches gave them sup- port to build their Churches, provided white ministerial and missionary leadership ordained and trained their ministry. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, organized in 1844 by Articles of Agreement between the parent Methodist Episcopal Church and most of the 106 Southern Churches, had the larger segment of Black members in the South. The 1866 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, passed a resolution to set its Black membership, societies and congregations apart as a Black denomination under their leadership. Accordingly, the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1870. Now called the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, it remains still separate from the United Methodist Church. They were not included in the merger of Methodist denominations in 1939 to form The Methodist Church, and they are not United Methodists. The earliest Black break from the original Methodist body occurred in 1787, when Richard Allen and a group of Blacks withdrew from St. Georges Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began the African Methodist Episcopal Church. They were supported by some of the members of St. George Church, who aided the Blacks in acquiring property and subscribed to the building of a Church building for their worship. It is interesting to note that despite the separation, Bishop Francis Asbury also ordained Richard Allen as a deacon in 1799. He had dedicated Bethel Church, the first A.M.E. Church, in 1793. James Varick, who became the distinguished leader of another group of Blacks in New York who withdrew from John Street Methodist Episcopal Church, was aided by John Street Church and the New York Conference in the building of Zion Church, their first Church. After several years of relationship to the Methodist Episcopal Church, they organized the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Zion, in 1820. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Zion, and the Christian Methodist Church originated in the parent Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are regularly confused as Black United Methodists. However, they are not Black United Methodists but independent Black denominations. As such, they are not the primary concern of this chapter which discusses the history of Black United Methodism. Focusing on South Georgia, this chapter will describe the early origin of Black Methodists in Methodist Societies and Churches with white, their development of separate class structures under the umbrella of white Societies and Churches, the formation of Black congregations and Churches prior to the Civil War, and the later recognition and alignment of Black Churches in South Georgia from those early foundations. A description of the development of Churches, schools, districts, and annual con- ferences for Blacks in South Georgia will be largely sketchy. Broader accounts of development may be read in the sources listed in the Bibliography of this chapter. EARLY BEGINNINGS AMONG BLACKS IN GEORGIA From its foundation the colony of Georgia had no government established religion, and even as late as 1785 there were very few congregations of any denomination. In that year, however, the first Methodist minister was sent to Georgia to encourage the few early Methodist Societies and to promote the organization of other societies and congregations. A year earlier in 1784, the found- ing General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church urged the bishops to give attention to the class meetings among Negroes. Reports of conversion of Negroes in class meetings are included in Frederick A. Norwoods, Source Book of 107 American Methodism. By 1788, there were enough Methodists in Georgia that Francis Asbury made his first trip to the state. These early societies usually in- cluded white and Black members though most Black members were slaves. However, there were also free Blacks in early Georgia who were instrumental in the foundation of independent Black churches. Though records are sparse for these early years, it is clear that Blacks were active in the beginnings of Methodism in the state. The earliest Black congregation was established by the early 19th century in Burke county and throughout the following years Methodism among Blacks in other areas also grew, tremendously. In 1786, there were 1,870 Black members in the whole Church and by 1879, there were 7,077 Black members reported and 111 local preachers licensed in the Macon and Savannah Districts in the Methodist Episcopal Church in South Georgia. Remarkable numbers considering the upheaval and realignments caused by Church separation and the Civil War. This section on beginnings will consider these early activities through the period of the Civil War, describing some of the significant areas of growth. Burke County Seat of one of the earliest churches of any denomination in Georgia, Burke Coun- ty, which is located between Augusta and Savannah, was carved out of the St. George Parish, one of the early Anglican Church Districts in the Colony. These Anglican Districts of which there were eight were organized in 1758. Burke County was organized in 1777 as a result of Native American Creek cessions to the Colony of Georgia in that year. The Old Church, an Anglican congregation, was the hub of a community located about six miles south of what is now Waynesboro, Georgia. Another Burke County settlement on the Ogeechee River, called Old Town, became Louisville, a well known slave market. During the Revolutionary War, 1775-178, the Anglican Church declined because of the suspicions of the Georgian and American colonists that the priests and peo- ple of the Anglican Church, the established Church of England, were British par- tisans. Most of the Anglican priests returned to England, leaving in most instances their Churches to the Methodist Societies. So, in 1777, Old Church became the meeting place of Burke County Methodist Societies. These Methodist Societies in- cluded Blacks in their membership. Not all Blacks in Burke County were slaves, however; some were freedmen, freemen, and some classified as Blacks were of mixed blood including Black. The impetus for the formation of the first Black con- gregations probably came from among these free Black people. A 1956 search of the early census records by Nell H. Baldwin and A. M. Hilhouse found that the free colored population of Georgia was listed as 84 in 1820, 125 in 1830, and 150 in 1850. The volumes from 1790 to 1810 were missing, but it is probable that there were some free Blacks in Georgia then. For example, Kathryn Bargeon Wilson in her history of Burke County wrote that George Leile, a Black who became a famous Baptist Preacher, was freed by Deacon Henry Sharpe of Burke County during the period of the Revolutionary War. Rev. Leile baptized Andrew Bryan, who is said to have built the first Black Baptist Church in Georgia. However, were all free Blacks in Burke County Baptists? Probably not, for it is the site of one of the earliest Black Methodist churches also and the place from which free Black Methodist lay 108 preachers began their evangelistic outreach, organizing new Methodist congrega- tions and churches in other areas. This first Black congregation had its roots in the Methodist society that began to meet in Old Church in 1777. That society apparently did not really prosper. After Bishop Francis Asbury visited the Methodist Old Church in 1790 and 1791, he wrote in his journal, the work in Georgia is generally, dead. He was also un- complimentary about Burke County. Oral historical data indicates that Old Church became a Black Methodist congregation during this period of decline in white Methodists and remained so until after the Civil War. This conclusion is supported by the documented decline of white Methodists by 1812 and the later organization in 1812-1815 of a new white Waynesboro Methodist Church, with only 10 members. The Old Church was renamed Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, perhaps in honor of Bishop Asburys visit, and has remained through the years until the pres- ent an active Methodist Church. The local Church History of Asbury Church, read in a celebration in 1980 states, At the close of the Civil War in the year of our Lord 1865, our group was left without a place to worship, but was given a plat South of the old white church on Sandy Runs Branch. Rev. Paddy Bell, Rev. Jacob Ward, Rev. Lavette Williams, Rev. Augustus Wright, and the Rev. Floyd B. Bell, five local preachers, were listed among the founders before the meeting of the Georgia Conference in 1832. As Methodism among Blacks in Burke County prospered, a set of favorable cir- cumstances made these Methodists leaders in Black Churches expansion in South Georgia. First, the Oglethorpe Highway, which ran between Augusta and Savannah and was one of the first two roads built in Georgia, made contact with all of east Georgia possible. Second, the slave market at Louisville on the Ogeechee River was responsible for the spread of Christian slaves who had been under Methodist in- fluence in Burke and adjacent counties. Finally, the involvement of the Methodist Episcopal Church in post Civil War missionary work among Blacks in Georgia included support of schools for the education of Blacks as well as the work of relating non-aligned Black churches to annual conferences and organizing new churches. One of these schools, Haven Normal School, was established in Waynesboro, and from 1868 to 1884 it trained 1,000 Blacks, many of whom became the leaders for the Methodist Church in Georgia. They became preachers, teachers, and missioners for Church development in the places from which they came. Haven Church, Waynesboro Haven Church at Waynesboro began as a worship center under the leadership of ministers who were principals or husbands of principals of the Haven Normal School. The Haven Church building was dedicated August 19, 1888. Rev. James Jackson was Pastor, and Rev. John Watts, was the Presiding Elder. It was named for Bishop Gilbert Haven, a Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who had died in 1880. Haven and Asbury Churches furnished the Church with a large supply of preachers, who served the annual conference in the early years. Among them were: Rev. Douglas R. Cooper, Samuel Williams, H. W. Kimball, E. J. Kimball and many lay preachers of the earlier period. 109 Nepsey Chapel, Ailey, Montgomery County Alexander McNeil Peterson of Montgomery County bought two slaves at Louisville in 1852, Peter Johnson, a native African, and Nepsey (Peterson), a halfbreed Creek Native American and Black. Sometime before 1872, Peter and Nepsey were married and became the parents of two daughters, Lucinda and Belle, whose children and grandchildren greatly influenced the growth of Methodism in Montgomery County, Georgia. Peter and Nepsey Johnson may have been converted in Burke County. Anyway, in 1872, they built a log cabin on the Plantation of Willie J. Peterson for the wor- ship of Blacks, and called it Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. The loca- tion is just off Highway 280, near the intersection of Alston Road, east of Ailey. Wesley Chapel was relocated and rebuilt in 1897 on what is now Pine Street at Ailey. As a quote from their Church History tells, this Church was built on this site and the name was changed from Wesley to Nepsey Chapel in recognition of the faithfulness of the foremost of a small band of brave and hard-working members, Nepsey Johnson. Others who worked with her were: Her husband, Peter Johnson, Georgian Robertson, Lizzie Ross, and Rev. Samuel Ross, Ben Horn, Gilbert and Creasey McClain ... Sister Nepsey Johnson ... was a steadfast and immovable Christian, was all Church through and through. She worked faithfully for this Church with all her heart and soul, mind and strength, until death called her from labor to her reward. At one time it was linked to the Tatnall Circuit, which covered all of the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in its surrounding territory, long before Lyons, Vidalia, Ailey and Mt. Vernon were charted as towns. Nepsey furnished several contributing preachers throughout its history, John Ross, Samuel Ross, Peter Rock, I. T. Griner, Joseph F. Robinson, and Amos O. Holmes, the great-grandson of Peter and Nepsey Johnson. Warren Chapel, Mount Vernon Another Church in Montgomery County began when Warren C. Crawley, a generous Black landowner, gave property in downtown Mt. Vernon, for the building of Warren Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. He also gave five acres of land on which the first buildings of Brewton Parker College were built, about 1904. After nearly eighty years of service to the Blacks of Mt. Vernon, Nepsey and War- ren Chapel merged. Since February 15, 1983, Nepsey-Warren have worshipped at the Nepsey Chapel facility. Screven County During the early part of the nineteenth century, Black Churches began to spring up in counties on or near the old Oglethorpe Highway, and the Ogeechee, Oc- mulgee, and Altamaha river basins. Among the earliest Churches in Screven Coun- ty were the Old Ebenezer and Simpson Churches, that started as brush arbor con- gregations long before their name designation as Methodist Episcopal congrega- tions. Simpson Church was named for Bishop Matthew Simpson in 1866, who is said to have organized the already existent congregation as a Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Simpson presided over the annual conference in Georgia in 1869 and 1881. 110 Chatham County The Old Mt. Zion Church in Savannah had gone on before the end of slavery as a non-aligned Church. Then it sent delegates to the Georgia Conference in 1869 and asked to be enrolled as a Methodist Episcopal Church. Appling County Appling County had Blacks in Churches before 1864, from which Harpers Chapel emerged. Several very strong laypersons have given strong leadership to the Conference over many years, including the Farmeys, Striplings, McNeals, Tillmans, and Rooks. Harpers Chapel had some distinguished preachers who made their services count in the early and later periods. Among them were J. S. Stripling, A. E. Stripl- ing, William M. Beaton, David L. Rooks and Burlester Tillman, Jr. Camden County Mrs. J. W. Bailey wrote a history of St. Marys Methodist Church in 1982, in which she states that Rev. George Clark was sent as a missionary to the banks of the St. Marys River about 1792. Enoch George, later a Presiding Elder of the Georgia District, came in 1794. In the Methodist Episcopal Church of 1839, there were thirty-four Blacks. When the whites decided to build another Church building in 1856, they gave the old downtown Church of St. Marys to the Blacks. The successor congregation built another Church in 1844. Greater Trinity was among the several Black Churches that grew from the membership of the thirty-four Blacks in the First Church of St. Marys. THE CHURCH AND BLACK EDUCATION AFTER THE CIVIL WAR Following the Civil War, Blacks in Georgia were poorly prepared for their newly granted freedom. The Union Army won the War but the Blacks won the continuing belligerence of Southern partisans. Landless and largely jobless, almost entirely il- literate, Blacks became the concern of the Churchs foremost missionary endeavor. The Freedmans Aid Society was organized by a convention of ministers and laity in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 7-8, 1866 to operate in connection with missionary and Church extension societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who were designing programs of relief for the Blacks of the South. Provisions were made for the educa- tion of Blacks and the training of Black leadership. Church extension and the align- ment of Black Methodist people, Methodist Societies, and non-aligned Churches with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and vocational training to help with the sup- port of their families, were among the projects and goals of the post-Civil War era. The Freedmans Aid Society collected and spent $60,000 in its first year of opera- tion. Schools were established in Waynesboro and Savannah in 1868. 111 Haven Normal School (1868-1927) was a partner in the missionary work in South Georgia. It started with Northern, white preacher-teacher missionaries, C. P. Wellman, Principal, and two teachers. Among the teachers was Mrs. Emma C. Cooper, wife of Rev. J. R. Cooper, born in Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, April 1, 1846, died May 19, 1872, and is buried in the yard of the parsonage of Haven Church, Waynesboro, Georgia. There was a considerable bit of hostility in the white community toward the Haven Normal School in the early years of its service at Waynesboro. March 8, 1897, the magnificent school building was burned to the ground. The building was restored without dif- ficulty. It was fully insured. Mrs. W. H. Lovelace, the principal, was the wife of W. H. Lovelace, a distinguished preacher of those early years in the Savannah Conference. After sixty years of continuous service, the Haven Normal School building was sold to Burke County for a Black public school. The services of Haven School in Waynesboro were merged with the Haven Home School in Savannah. The Haven Home School at Savannah, founded in 1868 and located on Harden Street and later located on Montgomery Crossroads at Sandfly, seems to have changed sponsors. The primary sponsor of this school in the later years was the Woman Home Missionary Society. Several Black and white missionaries served the Haven School as teachers over the many years of its history. Among the teachers were: Misses Lewis, Ballweng, Philo and Herring in 1896; Miss Georgia Hurd, Mary T. Alexander, and Minnie Ziegler, Black missionaries; Ann Jeanette Lehman, Lula Breckerbaumer, Viola Sanders, and Mrs. G. E. Palen, missionary, for whom the Palen Church was named. In 1932, the Boylan School and the Haven School were merged and called, Boylan-Haven School of Jacksonville, Florida. Some of the students of the later period of the schools services include: Class of 1927: Ellie Newton (Bivens), Mildred Grant (Lonon), Teresa Gaston, Gladys Max- well, Minnie Johnson, Sallie Edgerton, Azalia Jones, and Natalie Cheatham. Ger- trude Luton, Amy Reddick, Annie Laura Bohanna, Sarah Watkins (Holmes), An- nie Mae Robertson, Bessie Lee Royal, Jennie Simon, Elizabeth McNeal (Tillman), and Erma Stripling were among a long list of others who attended the school. The class of 1932, the last class at Haven in Savannah were: Carrie Phillips (Davis), Nona Young, Alethia Green, Alberta Hicks, Bertha Kimble, Edna Kemp (Luton), and Maude Gaston. Higher education began to take form in 1869 with the founding of Clark College. It was called Clark University in the early years of its work. In 1883, Gammon Theological Seminary was founded and funded by Rev. Elijah H. Gammon, who en- dowed the school with a gift of $200,000. Both Clark College and Gammon Theological Seminary were jointly undertaking the task of educating leadership for Georgias people and churches. 112 HAVEN HOME HIGH SCHOOL 1868-1932 RETIRED MISSIONARY DIES AT HOME OF CO-WORKER Miss Mary Templeton Alexander The above photo shows the 1 ate Miss Mary Templeton Alexander, Methodist mission- ary, when she was a youtj woman living in Yonkers, Nev. York planning her lifes career Her final decision was to serve as a teacher of Negro girls ir the Sooth, She gave thirty, lour years of service in hei chosen field in Savannah an< Jacksonville, Florida. Miss Alexander would hav* been eighty-seven years of ag< had she lived until her nex Ila Ah*.'--' HI 1932 Last Class Graduation Picture Haven Home School Savannah, Ga. Sandfly Area 1932 Faculty 113 In the early years of their services, none of these schools charged the Blacks who studied there. They greatly strengthened the pastoral leadership of the South! Georgia Conference. EMERGENCE OF BLACK ANNUAL CONFERENCES From 1788-1830, Methodist work in Georgia was on the eastern half of the state and was in the Georgia District of the South Carolina Conference. In 1830, the Georgia Conference, which included northeast and middle Florida, was organized! During this period, all congregations were part of the same conference. Then in 1844, white southern members withdrew their churches to form the Methodise Episcopal Church, South. During the confused state of affairs after 1844 and until after the Civil War, a small part of Georgia north of the Blue Ridge Mountains and a few white and Black Churches remained in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia. They were largely isolated and unrelated to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. However,, most of the Blacks and whites were aligned with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which took with it the existing conference structure. Blacks who were in the M. E. Church, South, were then set apart in 1870, but most of those Blacks went back to the Methodist Episcopal Church or joined the A. M. E. and A. M. E. Ziom Wesleyan Black Churches. In 1848, a movement by three New Orleans Methodist Episcopal Church bodies* 114 claiming all property as belonging to the M. E. Church, spread up the Mississippi Valley and across Alabama to Georgia, south of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and in west Georgia down to north Florida. Following the Civil War, the Methodist Episcopal General Conference of 1864 authorized the organization of the Alabama and West Georgia Missions District in 1866. The following year on October 10, 1867, Bishop D. W. Clark presented a resolution which separated Alabama from Georgia. Thus in 1867, the northern part of Georgia, not in the Holston Conference, and the western half of Georgia down to north Florida was organized into the sec- ond Georgia Conference, this one replacing for the M. E. Church the conference which had withdrawn when the M. E. Church, South, was formed. The Black churches of the M. E. Church as well as its white congregations were members of this Georgia conference until 1876 when the Savannah Conference was organized. The Ministerial Directory of the 1867 Georgia Conference, printed below, lists twelve Black pastors. Also, view the places where Blacks were ap- pointed. Remember that the Georgia District in the South Carolina Conference was not combined with the Georgia Conference until 1876; so some Black churches in Georgia were still in that conference. MINUTES OF TUE GEORGIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE. I1 fc 7 - VII.MINISTERIAL DIRECTORY. Ansley, George, Ml Pleasant Brewer, Wro.. Atlanta. Burrow, F.osh, Ncwnun. Brown, Samuel D., Jonesborough. Brcckenridgc, II., QrifUn. Branan, W**sley, Conyera. Bankston, E. J., Whitetvillc. Caldwell, J. IL, LaQrange. Caldwell, C. M., LaQrange. Caldwell, A. TV., Rome. Dorman, Alfred, Fayetteville. #Usbic, James, Griffin. Elder, Henry, New nan. Fowler, James L., Harmony Grove. Freeman, Jacob. FrankJin. Groover, Peter. Marietta. Ilipp, B. M.. Klijay. Hall, J. M., Red Clay. Hollinabcd, Win., Hightower. Jav, T. P. Red Clay. Johnson, J. Thomas, Atlanta. .loiieit, John C., Hightower. Jenkins, Marshall, Thomaaville. Johnson, Crockett J.. Carters? ill e. Kendall, George. Griffin. Lumsden, Richard, Bowden. Lane, Joseph, Oxford. Murphy. John, Fairburn. McHenry, James. Cartersrille. Parker, C. W Columbus. Prcttymao. Wesley, Atlanta. Powell, J. B., Jonesborough. Pinkard, Joseph, Atlanta. Standing, George, Newn&n. Spiliuan. J., Atlanta. Smith. Wm, D., Cleveland, Tcun. Sec. Albert N., Covington. Smith, Joseph T.. Jonesborough. Smith, Samuel, Ncwnan. Trimble, Newton, Talking Rock. Tidwell, S. M.. McDonough. Tnlinagc, Anderson, Grilfin. Watters, R. LI., Jonesborough. Walker, Wm. C., Buchan nun. Yurbroiigh, J. \\\, Oxford. Those marked thus aro colored. -from THE 1867 MINUTES OF THE GEORGIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE, THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The spirit of this founding conference was remarkable to its delegates as the ollowing note from the Minutes illustrated. During the entire session, at times, the Conference-room became a heavenly place, on account of the manifested presence of God. We never attended a Conference where the spirit of true religion seemed so pervasive. At times it seemed as if we were engaged in an old-fashioned revival, and the dying words of Wesley were verified: The best of all is, God is with us! The preachers were fired with a holy ardor, and spectators themselves, felt the in- 115 fluence of that gracious Spirit who descended upon the ministers, and when, at the close of the session, all present knelt together around the table of our Divine Lord and Master, they rejoiced ex- ceedingly. Every one felt that it was good to be there. The first session of the Georgia Conference will be long remembered. As early as the 1872 General Conference of the M. E. Church there were resolu- tions for separate conferences for Black Churches with Black leadership even though they were well aware of the Methodist Episcopal Churchs policy of non- separation and non-discrimination on the basis of race. In 1876, the Black work in all of Georgia south of the Blue Ridge Mountains was included in the Savannah Conference, an all Black Conference organized in Augusta, Georgia, by Bishop Levi Scott, November 1, 1876 with five districts, 79 preaching appointments and 9,728 members. Then on January 22, 1896, the Savannah Conference was divided into the Savannah and Atlanta Conferences; Bishop Willard Mallalieu presided. The resolution gave the main reason for division as the difficulty of travel over the large territory the state included. The two conferences became part of the Methodist Church and members of the Central Jurisdiction at Unification in 1940 and con- tinued to exist separately for 65 years until they were united in a new Georgia Con- ference in 1952. The reasons for unification of the two conferences in 1952 were various but among them the resolution stated that transportation was no longer a problem, that cost of administration could be cut, that the conference would gain in numbers of delegates to the General Conference, and that union would enable the extension of work into the undeveloped territory of Georgia and a pooling of resources toward that end. This extension of Methodist work was to include a territory of at least a 100 miles in the middle of the state which neither conference served. The two conferences met in joint session at Waycross, Georgia, July 13, 1952, to unify; Bishop J. W. E. Bowen presided. The two Conferences met in their 1952 sessions June and July respectively andl closed out the business as separate Conferences and in a joint session held ati Waycross, Georgia, July 13, with Bishop J. W. E. Bowen, presiding, the organiza- tion of the Georgia Conference was perfected by electing the Rev. T. P. Grissom, Jr., Secretary; Rev. A. S. Dickerson, Treasurer, and the appointing and election of! Boards, Commissions, and Committees as per the 1952 Discipline for the carrying, on of the work of the new GEORGIA CONFERENCE. By vote of the Conference, the first regular session of the Georgia Annual Conference would be held in Savan- nah, Georgia. EPISCOPAL LEADERSHIP IN THE CONFERENCES Areas consisting of churches and districts within a part of or all of a State orn States, and sometimes, areas consisting of a grouping of two or more states, were structured for the work and residency of the bishops. Each bishop was assigned to j administer the work of an area but was assigned occasionally to preside over the an-1 nual conferences of other areas. Area assignments began in 1912. The General Conference of 1920 elected two Black General Superintendents andl assigned them to what was called the New Orleans Area and the Monrovia (Liberia^ Area. The two bishops elected were Robert E. Jones and Matthew W. Clair, Sr I Bishop Jones had supervision over Black Conferences in the States of Centrail 116 Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Upper Mississippi, Texas and West Texas. Bishop Clair was a missionary bishop to Africa. The other Black Conferences in- cluding the Savannah M. E. Conference were the adjunct responsibilities of white Bishops who presided over both white and Black annual conferences, having Bishop Jones and Bishop Clair as their guests to preside occasionally. Bishop Robert E. Jones presided over sessions of the Savannah Conference ses- sions in 1926 at Waynesboro and in 1929 at Greenville. Bishop Matthew W. Clair, Sr., presided over the Savannah Conference sessions of 1930 at Sylvania, and, lagain, in 1939 at Sylvania. Bishop Clair retired in 1936, and the General Conference iof 1936 elected Bishop Alexander P. Shaw and assigned him to the New Orleans Area. Bishop Jones was assigned to a new Black Area, the Covington (Kentucky) Area. Bishop Shaw presided over the Savannah Conference sessions of 1938 at Statesboro. White bishops were resident superintendents over the Savannah Con- ference until Unification and the election of another Black Bishop in 1940. The Savannah Annual Conference in 1940 had Bishop Lorenzo H. King for its first Black resident Bishop. More Black Bishops were elected by the Central Jurisdic- tion quadrennially from 1940 to August, 1967. L. Scott Allen, a member of the Georgia Conference, who was received into full connection in 1942, was the last Black bishop to be elected by the Central Jurisdictional Conference. That con- ference was held in Nashville, Tennessee. No Black bishops have been elected by the Southeastern Jurisdiction since the Central Jurisdiction was eliminated in 1967. All other Jurisdictions in United Methodist Church have elected two or more Black bishops during the years 1968-1980. LAY AND CLERICAL LEADERSHIP Delegates elected to the 1939 Uniting General Conference in Kansas City, Mo. to form THE METHODIST CHURCH Minister D. H. Stanton Reserve ^^5 J. W. Queen C. W. Prothro J. W. Keller Laymen J. P. Brawley Reserve E. Luther Brooks H. W. B. Smith Thad Eubanks Delegates elected to the first Central Jurisdictional Conference, St. Louis, Mo. 1939 Minister daymen N. J. Crolley J. W. Keller E. Luther Brooks Thad Ubanks Reserve J. W. Queen J. A. Baxter Reserve J. P. Brawley Lyndon M. Hill 117 'Eii? E.D. Giddens T.S. Collins SOME MINISTERS OF the SAVANNAH CONFERENCE and GEORGIA CONFERENCE W.M. Melton C.W. Prothro Vanderbilt Simmons Wade H. Brown, Jr. 118 John Collins Wade H. Brown, Sr. LAY AND CLERICAL LEADERSHIP Delegates elected by the Georgia Conference to the Special Session General Con ference, Chicago, 111. 1966 Minister L. S. Allen Ministerial Reserve A. C. Epps J. D. Grier Lay J. P. Brawley Lay Reserve A. M. Carter W. E. Wilson Delegates elected to the Special Jurisdictional Conference Nashville, Tn. 1967 Minister L. S. Allen Lay jffil T. R. Wilson A. C. Epps James Jackson J. D. Grier Norman Johnson Ministerial Reserve C. L. Henderson Lay Reserve John Harris J. T. Amey Eddie Freeman Delegates to the 1968 General Conference and Uniting Conference in Dallas, Tx. to form the UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Minister A. C. Epps Lay T. R. Wilson Ministerial Reserve J. D. Grier Lay Reserve James Jackson C. L. Henderson Norman R. Johnson Among the oldest preachers whom I have known, who were active before 1900, iwere: E. D. Giddens, who was in the organization of the Atlanta and Savannah Con- ferences, 1896. So committed he was to serve, that he protested the Savannah Con- ferences retirement at age 83. Rev. C. W. Prothro, early graduate of Gammon Theological Seminary, who was a District Superintendent three times, and a perennial delegate to General and (Jurisdictional Conference. Rev. R. R. ONeal, a fire-brand preacher, who was preaching at a session of the Savannah District Conference in the 1920s at Ailey, was caught up in the Spirit to such an extent, that a woman who had not walked in many years, jumped from her 'rolling chair and shouted. She walked thereafter, until her death. There were the intellectuals of the early period, James Jackson, W. H. Lovelace, D. G. Greer, H. R. Allen, S. D. Bankston, Otis A. Burns and J. S. Stripling. There were the outstanding evangelists: Among them, Claude Robbins, L. W. Strickland, S. P. Bryant, W. M. Melton, W. C. Cato, and R. R. ONeal. Among the saintly and beloved everywhere were: Thos. S. Collins, W. R. Dixon, J. H. Pinckney, Robert L. Nunnally, William M. Lockwood, H. J. Kimball, W. A. Holmes, C. L. Levalle, and J. F. Robertson. There were the lay giants of the century: Allene Holmes, Lila Odum, Carrie Sharpe, Amanda Smith, Elizabeth McNeal Tillman, Mabel Maddox Wilhite, A. M. Carter, Rachel Collins, T. R. Clements, Uly Williams, H. G. Gordon, H. L. White, Cassie Sapp, H. K. Gross, and H. L. Thompson. There were several preacher families to remember: Wade H. Brown, Sr. and Jr.; John Collins, Thomas S. Collins, Joseph P. Collins; John W. Watkins, Willie C. 119 Watkins, Sarah Watkins Holmes; Vanderbilt Simmons, Essie Simmons. During the years when pastoral reports were made from the floor by every pastor to the annual conference, J. H. Pinckney, who had a poor year in 1935, was criti- cised by the Bishop for his poor performance. Rev. Pinckney, piously, humbly and softly said, Bishop, if you are not gonna be bishop next year, the people at Odess and Arbor Springs, and Culloden, would be glad to have you as pastor. The Bishop apologized and Brother Pinckney retired at that conference. He was a saintly soul. CONCERN FOR BROTHERHOOD For the more serious Methodists, Christian integrity in race relations is a priority for a future agenda. Notwithstanding areas of disappointment in some areas of interracial brotherhood, there is a noticeable change of spirit which should offer hope for bet- terment. Some positive results can be seen in new Black Church development. A Conference Church Extension Task Force is recommending a program for funding several targeted Church and parsonage projects, among which are a half-dozen new Black Churches in areas where we once had Black Methodist Episcopal and United Methodist Churches. Albany, Cordele, Vidalia, and Valdosta are among the proj- ects. Other projects include parsonages for Black charges in St. Marys, Woodbine, Blackshear, Statesboro, Waycross, Baxley, and the new Churches at Cordele and Albany. An increase of eight seminary trained Black ministers have been added to the roster of pastors over the ten years, 1973-1983. A Parish Program Associates Training event over fourteen months will assure a reservoir of trained laity for roles on every level of ministry in South Georgia. The 1983 Black Clergy members of this conference are: George Anderson, Ernest Augcomfar, Joseph P. Collins, Ulysses C. Dukes, Cliff A. Dunham, Timothy Green, Clarence Griffin, Amos O. Holmes, William B. Howell, Clarence Jackson, Jr., Frank Jenkins, Lee Jones, Henry Joyner, Jr., Lenton Powell, Joseph Roberson, David L. Rooks, Oliver Thompson, Jr., Thomas Schley, James Swanson, Essie Simmons, George Walton, Burlester Tillman, Jr., George Walton, and Comer Ziegler. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baldwin, Nell H. and Hilhouse, AN INTELLIGENT STUDENTS GUIDE TO BURKE COUNTY (GA.) HISTORY, Burke County Library: Waynesboro, 1956. Davis, John P. and Others, THE AMERICAN NEGRO REFERENCE BOOK Englewood Cliffs N. J.P: Prentis-Hall, 1969 Garber, Paul Neff, THE METHODISTS ARE ONE PEOPLE Nashville: Cokesbury Press, 1939. Graham, J. H., BLACK UNITED METHODISTS, Retrospect and Prospect New York: Vantage Press, 1979. J HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS, St. Marys United Methodist Church St. Simons Island, Ga.: Methodist Museum, June, 1982, Volume 12, No. 1. GENERAL CONFERENCE JOURNALS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH Madison, N. J.: General Commissions Archives and History Center, The United Methodist Church, 1796, 1836,1840-48. ANNUAL CONFERENCE JOURNALS: The Georgia Annual Conference 1867. The Georgia Annual Conferences 1868,1880,1882,1885,1895,1896,1952-1970. ANNUAL CONFERENCE JOURNALS: The Savannah Annual Conference 1879,1891,1897. The Savannah Annual Conferences 1884-85, 1887, 1892, 1895, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1911, 1926, 1928, 1935-1952. Luccock, Halford E. and Others, THE STORY OF METHODISM New York: Abingdon Press, 1926. Luccock, Halford E. and Others, HISTORY OF AMERICAN METHODISM. New York: Abingdon Press, 1964, Volume 1. 120 HISTORY OF THE ASBURY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF WAYNESBORO Norwood, Frederick A., SOURCEBOOK OF AMERICAN METHODISM. New York: Abingdon Press, 1982. Porter, James, COMPENDIUM OF METHODISM New York: Phillips & Hunt, 1875. Powell, Lillian, AN INFORMAL HISTORY OF FIRST METHODIST CHURCH OF WAYNESBORO, 1812-15 to 1968. Pay, W. H., THE METHODIST CENTENNIAL YEAR-BOOK FOR 1884 New York: Phillips & Hunt, 1883. THE MONTGOMERY MONITOR Mt. Vernon, Ga., May 12,1976. Wilson, Kathryn Bargeron, IN BURKE COUNTY 200 YEARS AGO (Sylvania, Ga.: The Partridge Pond Press, 1979). REPORTS OF THE FREEDMANS AID SOCIETY, 1868-1880, Microfilm HISTORY OF NEPSEY CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF AILEY, GA. HISTORY OF ST. ANDREWS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SYLVANIA, GA. METHODIST HISTORY, Table of Methodist Annual Conferences (USA) Madison, N. J.: General Commission of Archives and History, October, 1969, Volume VIII. Brawley, James P., The Beginnings and Historical Transition of the Georgia Conference 1867-1972, Historical Highlights Volume 5, No. 2. ACKNO WLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgement is made to many, many persons whose roots are in the past history of Methodism in South Georgia, who have helped in the research and provided materials for this Chapter on Blacks In South Georgia Methodism. Limited space has made it impossible to use all of the collected resources in this publication. A promise is made to do a larger work which will include much more data. Special thanks is due to Mrs. Beulah Melton Taggart, Mrs. Pearl Bellinger, Mrs. Phillis Williams, and Mrs. Edna Kemp Luton for very valuable books, oral information, and photographs. Many Black pastors shared information, among them are: Joseph P. Collins, David L. Rooks, Comer Ziegler and Clarence Griffin. For unusual help in my research, special thanks go to Ms. Minnie H. Clayton, Director of the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, and to Dr. Major J. Jones, President-Director of Gammon Seminary, for permission to use the Archives of Gammon Theological Seminary. Dr. Kenneth E. Rowe, of Drew University and the staff of the National Archives and History Center at Madison, N. J. Let me thank Mrs. Marynell Waite, and my family for suffering they bore in letting me write the ac- count of Blacks In South Georgia Methodism. Thanks are also given to all publishers, whose permission is given to quote their works. Amos 0. Holmes May 17,1983 121 The Writers WILLIAM ASBURY HARRELL William Asbury Harrell, son of Rev. Luther A. Harrell, is the pastor of the First United Methodist Church, Folkston, Georgia. Born in the Lee Street Methodist parsonage, Americus, he attended Emory Junior College, Valdosta and received the B.A. and B.D. degrees from Emory University, the M.A. from Scarritt, and the Ph.D. from the University of Florida. For ten years he was a missionary to Brazil, serving the last five as President of Granbery College. He was a specialist in Latin American affairs for the U. S. Office of Education and the University of Houston, where he taught also. The author of articles and books on Latin American history and education, he is editor of HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS for the conference. AMOS O. HOLMES Amos 0. Holmes, great-grandson of Mrs. Nepsey Johnson, Ailey, is the Ad- ministrative Assistant to the Bishop and South Georgia Cabinet. Following education at Clark College, Atlanta, Rust College, Mississippi, he completed the Diploma Course at Gammon, entering the ministry at age 19. He has done graduate work at ITC, Ft. Valley College and Atlanta University. He was the first director of Christian Education for the Savannah Conference, secretary of the Savannah Conference and Georgia Conference for 13 years and the Upper Mississippi Conference for five years, Conference Evangelist, Conference Direc- tor of Evangelism for the Georgia Conference and for six years secretary of the Georgia Conference Merger Committee. During the 45 years of his active ministry, his joy was the organizing and building of churches. He is now retired. S. WALTER MARTIN President-Emeritus of Valdosta State College. Formerly President of Emory University and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History at the University of Georgia. Currently, member of the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church; Chairman, Atlanta area Committee on Episcopacy and member of the SEJ Committee on Episcopacy. Formerly, South Georgia Conference President of United Methodist Men and also South Georgia Conference Lay Leader. Home Church, Valdosta First United Methodist. ALVIS ABBOTT WAITE, JR. Alvis Abbott Waite, Jr., is the superintendent of the Columbus District of the South Georgia Conference. The son of Rev. A. A. Waite, Sr., a deceased member of this conference, he received his A.B. from Emory University and his M.Div. degree from Candler School of Theology. He was secretary of the conference from 1960-1982 and is the present secretary of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. He has served several pastorates, as Executive Secretary Con- ference Board of Education, Conference Program Director, Waycross District Superintendent, and Director of the Conference Council on Ministries. He has been a delegate to the Jurisdictional and General Conferences and to the World Methodist Conference. He is a member of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Coun- cil on Ministries. MARYNELL S. WAITE Marynell S. Waite, is the wife of Rev. Alvis A. Waite, Jr., and daughter of Rev. J. E. Sampley of this conference. Educated at Wesleyan College, Macon, and Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, she was the first director of the Wesley Foundation at G. S. C. W., Milledgeville. A member of the Conference Commis- sion on Archives and History, she has been chairman, secretary and is president of the conference Historical Society. She is a member of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Council on Ministries Commission on Archives and History and of the SEJ Historical Society. For two quadrenniums she has been a member of the General Commission on Archives and History, serving as chairperson of its Committee on Shrines and Landmarks, 1980-84. 122 k: > r 1983 SESSION OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE Delegates to the 1984 General and Jurisdictional Conferences cocflHZ'CACtO ACTIVITIES AT EPWORTH-BY-THE-SEA Bible study during Winter Camp Meeting 124 United Methodist Men Meet at Epworth-by-the-Sea For the Remodeled and Enlarge ARTHUR MOORE METHODIST MUSEUM John Wesley Statue Main Entrance t Library ^ Conference Exhibits SOME INSTITUTIONS OF THE CONFERENCE The Methodist Home 126 Wesley Center Savannah - Open Door Columbus Inner City Savannah UNITED METHODIST WOMEN Mrs. Carolyn Hopkins and Mrs. Faye Sanders ANNUAL MEETING 1983 Installed Officers SOME CONFERENCE PROGRAMS FOR ALL AGES Camping, Assemblies, Older Adult Retreats, Volunteers in Mission a. VOLUNTEERS^ f in MISSIONS So. Ga. U. Methodist Petit Hoi+; limn 128 CONFERENCE COUNCIL ON MINISTRIES Mr $igr~ 0$. pSIJH Spring V - p gkJ'.- ' >*;v, -. ''wi ;.fp 'r w&* Council on Ministries South Georgia Council on Ministries Office Building, St. Simons Is., Ga. 129 GEORGIA METHODIST HIGHER EDUCATION Part III HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE LOCAL CHURCHES of the SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE Camp meetings, the forerunner of many churches, were attended by entire families, who came on foot or by cart, slept on the ground in makeshift tents and cooked on an open fire. Camp meetings had three or more preaching services a day and lasted two to three weeks with everyone attending all the services. 131 Milledgeville AN EXPLANATORY NOTE Every church in the United Methodist Church is a part of a conference. The local churches in this section of histories are a part of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Each conference is divided into districts, smaller geographical sections for administering the work of the Church. Districts vary with the growth of a conference. At present, this conference has nine districts. The histories are presented by each churchs current district assignment in alphabetical order according to the appointment listing for 1983-4. The term charge indicates the pastoral assignment, which can be a single church or a circuit of churches. A circuit means a group of churches. In these histories the term station or station church usually indicates a single church supporting a full-time pastor. The membership figure for each church is the latest available for the entire con- ference and is taken from the Conference Statistical Report, made by each church, ending December 31,1982. The names of persons entering the ministry or mission field are a partial listing, since many churches did not give this information. Some of the persons listed did not complete their training; others did not join the South Georgia Con- ference, and a few are serving in other denominations. OPPOSITE PAGE: This is an outline map of the South Georgia Conference showing the lines of the current districts. Editors comment: In preparing these histories an interesting fact stands out. The coming of electrici- ty" brought the most changes to church buildings. For the rural church buildings. For the rural church this meant more than a change in lighting and heating. A pump in the well made rest rooms and kit- chen facilities possible resulting in remodeling, additions or new buildings. Such changes ran like a 'refrain through these histories. M. S. W. 133 AMERICUS DISTRICT C. C. Edmundson, Superintendent 1602 Goff Circle, Cordele The Americus District, first formed by the Georgia Conference in 1858, was one of the 15 Georgia districts, in 1866, when the Georgia Conference divided into the North and South Georgia Con- ferences. Since then, except for 1869, there has been an Americus District in this conference. Its shape and size has varied, for in 1874 some of the churches became part of the Dawson District for a year. Then when the Cordele District was formed in 1906, some of the chinches were from the Americus District. Then when the districts were realigned in 1928 and the Cordele District dissolved, many of these churches were again placed in the Americus District. In 1983 this district had 47 charges with 89 churches and 15,006 members. ABBEVILLE LIBERTY HILL CHARGE Leigh Ann Raynor, Pastor ABBEVILLE 20 S. Broad Street Rev. R. M. Booth was the first pastor of this church, organized in 1875 with seven members. When the membership reached 25 a wooden building was started next to the school. After wind- storms twice blew down the partially finished church, they decided that God didnt like that location and stopped the building. Services were held in the court- house until the present building, on the current site, was finished in 1892. It is red brick, of Gothic style, with a gray wood facade in front. The interior is enhanced by handcrafted rafters, beams, and pews. In its beginning this church was a mission with the preacher coming on horseback from Pineview. One preacher even walked when his horse dropped dead enroute to the church. 1982 Membership: 115 LIBERTY HILL 10 Miles WNW of Abbeville The name, Liberty Hill was chosen by Mrs. A. W. Winslett, Sr., who with her husband, organized this church in a log cabin in 1885. The first pastor was Rev. D. F. Miles. By 1890 a one-room wooden building was up; the present one was built in 1918. A devastating tor- nado did extensive damage in 1936, but restoration was begun immediately. In its early years this church was on the Rochelle Circuit as it is five miles east of Rochelle. 1982 Membership: 73 Members Entering Ministry: Bernard L. Brown, Wesley Asbury Wilson AMERICUS, CONCORD Gene Yelverton, Pastor Ga. Hwy. 30 Friendship Road The number of Methodist Societies in this area between 1830 and March 18, 1846, when this church was organized with 46 members, is not known. Rev. Daniel Fresley was assigned as pastor, and Rev. Jesse Boring, the presiding elder, came on horseback every three months to hold quarterly conference, for which he received 50 cents for traveling expenses. He carried all his church books and papers in his saddle bags. Due to changes made by the highway, the loca- tion of the church has been shifted three times, yet remained in the center of the community. In 1910 the present wooden sanctuary was built; the first classrooms 'were built as Logan Memorial in 1949. In 1961 a concrete building added more rooms. Concord has been on five circuits before becoming a station church in 1976; Americus, Sumter, Smithville, Magnolia and Plains. 1982 Membership: 157 'Members Entering the Ministry: James William Dupree; Charles Jackson Dupree AMERICUS, FIRST Church and Lee Streets, Americus In 1835 the circuit rider, Rev. Joseph Edwards, was holding regular services in the homes of this community. By 1845 a large wooden building, with separate idoors and seating for men and women, was built in the growing town. By 1847 the membership was 149. Fire destroyed the wooden building in 1922, and im- unediately, construction began on the present cream brick sanctuary and class rooms on the modified Akron plan. In 1967 the new educational building and chapel were added. The chapel windows, designed by Willet Studio, depict the ma- ijor scenes in the life of Christ with smaller scenes as vignettes in the background. The 1866 Georgia Conference, in session in this church, voted to divide into two conferences, North Georgia and South Georgia Conferences. This church has been lhost to sessions of the annual conference, in 1875,1889,1905,1926 and 1935. 1982 Membership: 1,248 'Members Entering Ministry: Oscar M. Bell, James B. Jensen, William O. Powell, Carlton Reid J. William Dupree, Pastor 135 AMERICUS, LEE STREET J. Kenneth Turner, Pastor South Lee Street, Americus During the pastorate of Rev. J. A. Thomas at First Church, he felt a growing need to start a church in the new residential section of town. He pushed the idea hard and helped to organize the second Methodist church inside the city limits. It was 1916 and there were 148 charter members. Rev. A. W. Quillian, Jr. was appointed as the pastor, and in the next two years the church was built. By 1919 a parsonage had been secured and Rev. Silas Johnson, later President of Wesleyan College, was appointed pastor in 1920. The church is named for its location. 1982 Membership: 484 Members Entering Ministry: David A. Duck, Herbert Owen, Joay L. Robertson AMERICUS, MORNINGSIDE CHARGE Warren Williams, Pastor MORNINGSIDE 1207 Crawford Street, Americus Begun as a joint venture of the Con- ference Board of Missions and First Church, this church was officially named Morningside Methodist on April 4, 1965. The first services were held in the Masonic Temple, rented by First Church for the new group. Rev. Ellis Miller, district superintendent for the Americus District, preached the first sermon to 34 persons. By the time that the first pastor, Rev. Homer Grimes, arrived in June, 1965, a parsonage had been bought and furnished and soon the first unit was built. September 26, 1965, this church was officially constituted with 90 members. By 1973 the indebtedness was paid, and an additional unit built and ad- ditional improvements have followed. This church has been involved with a Day Care Program and the pastor has been working with the Wesley Foundation at Georgia Southwestern College. 1982 Membership: 120 Members Entering Ministry: Gil Tripp. Mission Field: Martin Wilson Liberia BENEVOLENCE US Hwy. 19 7 Miles S. Americus, Ga. The early history of this church is not available, but in 1861 Benevolence was host to the first Quarterly Conference of the Sumter County Circuit which in- cluded 11 churches from Tabernacle (Plains first name) on the west to Plea- sant Grove on the east. For many years it was part of the Plains Circuit and in the 1940s this church was closed. In September 1947 Rev. T. E. Davenport, a retired Methodist minister, began services to replace those held by an Episcopal priest. A Sunday School was reorganized and gradually the church rebuilt both its membership and its property. An annex was named the Thomas Edwin Davenport Memorial Annex, dedicated May 8, 1955, by Rev. Edward Carruth, pastor. At this time this church was with Lee Street, Americus. Later again on the Plains Circuit, in 1978 it was placed with the Morningside Church. Recently the interior of the sanctuary has been redecorated with carpeting, chancel furniture and pews being added. 1982 Membership: 61 Members Entering Ministry: Harold Eubanks AMERICUS, SALEM Lynwood Roberts, Pastor Rt. 1, Americus, Georgia Preaching services were held in a brush arbor until a pine log meeting house was raised. In 1866 this was torn down and a larger church of sawed wide-board timber was built. The present building was built in 1895. It is said that at the beginning the Presbyterians were concerned to be meeting with the Methodists. One lady told her mother in N.C. about it. Her mother replied: Our board says if you can get as many as 200 souls to form a church we can send you a preacher for three months each year, but I advise you to go with the Methodists, they have a preacher everywhere. So Presbyterians joined the Methodists as founding fathers of Salem. 1982 Membership: 218 ANDERSONVILLE CHARGE W. A. Allen, Pastor ANDERSONVILLE Oglethorpe Street, Andersonville The beginning of Methodism here is unknown, but their building, on the lot of the present Primitive Baptist Church, was the rebel headquarters in the Civil War. Before 1880 that building iwas moved to Mountain Spring with the members joining Bethel on Bump Head Rd., 5 miles from town. In 1886 a new church was built in Andersonville. Later Bethel closed and its members joined Andersonville and County Line. On March 3,1904, the 1886 building was blown down by a storm. Rebuilt in 1905, it was used until 1928 when it became unsafe. As the membership was so small, they accepted the hospitality of the Baptist Church until 1938, when a new building was 137 built on the present site. C. A. Johnson gave the lot, and materials from the old church were used. A tornado damaged this church April 17,1947; again they rebuilt and had paid the total $10,272.93 by Sept. 4,1949, when it was dedicated. By 1951 the membership had grown to 56; stained glass windows were added in 1971 and a fellowship hall, classrooms and pastors study finished in 1982. 1982 Membership: 52 Members Entering Ministry: Milton Huie Holloway COUNTY LINE R.F.D. Andersonville, Georgia In the 1860s near the Lee, Marion, and Macon County lines, this church was begun by Rev. Henry Scarboro and his wife, Hulda. A cemetery is at that site. In 1873, 2 miles from the Scarboro site, a second wooden building, un- ceiled, was erected on land given by Harrison and Cynthia Kent Holloway. Candles on wall shelves provided the light. A large wooden cross with candles in the cross-arms hung from the roof. In 1892 remodeling was replacing the solid wooden board benches with slatted ones! To raise funds they had squirrel hunts and squirrel suppers; today it is fish fries. An early open-air shelter became an enclosed social hall. On June 25,1955, a new block church was dedicated. In 1959 the Harrison house was moved to the church for added rooms. In 1977 it was paneled leaving the beams exposed. A steeple was added in 1979, and the fellowship hall was again enlarged and air-conditioning added in 1982. This time funds were raised by sale of king size quilts. In 1923 ser- vices were held on Saturday and Sunday; Sarah Peters walked 4 miles to be present each service. 1982 Membership: 67 Members Entering Ministry: John Hudson, Perry Holloway, W. W. Cheney, Leonard Freeman ANDREW CHAPEL S. B. Alexander, Pastor S. of Ellaville on US Hwy. 19 In 1860 Rev. Dennis ODriscoll was holding regular preaching services in a brush arbor on the road to Americus from Ellaville, now US Highway 19. Just how long the arbor served as a church is unknown, but the present building was built in 1871 and was so well con- structed that only regular care has been needed. Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Strange in giving the land stipulated that no cemetery should ever be established on the land. There is some question for whom the chapel was named, whether the Apostle An- drew or Bishop James O. Andrew, the first Georgian to be elected a bishop and whose slave became an issue in the split of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 138 1844. This chapel was on the Ellaville Circuit until 1975, when for a year it was on the Andersonville Charge, before becoming a station church in 1976. 1982 Membership: 144 ARABI NANCY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL Lee Welling, Pastor I 1 ARABI US Hwy. 41 The early beginnings of this church are rooted in the Harmony Grove Church with this church being organiz- ed in 1896. Rev. R. P. Fain was the first pastor, and the first building was on the east side of the Southern Railroad. At this time the church was part of the McRae District, then the Valdosta District. In 1925 the Arabi Charge was dissolved ind the parsonage moved to Warwick. In 1967, Arabi again became head of the charge when Warwick became a station. In 1966 two new classrooms were added, and in 1971 new carpet and new pews were placed in the sanctuary. A new roof was also needed for this 1918 building. Additional classrooms have been added. L982 Membership: 101 Members Entering Ministry: Royce Story Members Entering Mission Field: Mrs. Winton Jenkins China; Miss Mary Lou Barnwell deaconess. NANCY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL Raines, Georgia This church is a successor to Union Church organized following a tent revival in 1906 during the pastorate of Rev. Moody Booth with Rev. W. A. Jackson preaching. Nancy Williams Memorial stands in a lovely wooded tract which was a grant to the old Union Church by Isaiah Williams, a lifelong Baptist who nevertheless served as Unions first Sunday School Superintendent. The new church was dedicated April 21,1957, | during the pastorate of Rev. Byron C. Davis. 11982 Membership: 19 ASHBURN Thomas E. Barrett, Pastor US Hwy. 41 Methodism began in this thriving saw-mill community as a mission Sunday -School in 1888. The Sunday School became an organized church in July 1889. A frame building, now in commercial use, was built 1890-1. By 1895 the church had ;rown from a mission circuit of five churches to a station church. The present ouilding, one of the finest brick structures of its period, was erected during the pastorate of Rev. J. C. G. Brooks. Ready for services in November 1911, Rev. W. E. Towson was the first pastor to hold regular services in it. Although remod- eled in 1950, the arched balcony and the wood panels of intricately carved scrolls and flowers were preserved; the stained glass windows were repaired and a larger window replaced the original rose window. The memorial chapel, planned and furnished by Dr. G. C. McKenzie, is to the soldiers who died in World War II. A bronze plaque lists their names. 1982 Membership: 419 Members entering ministry: Rowland Burgess, William J. Stanford, Hatton Towson, George M. Anchors, Charles H. Smith, Paul Kendall, Rembert Burgess Members Entering Mission Field: Manie Towson, Anita Morgan Board, Mamie Myers, Sammy Smith Vore, Arthur Smith, Jr., Sue Marie Pitts BRONWOOD SMITHVILLE CHARGE M. Huie Holloway, Pastor BRONWOOD Geise Street, Bronwood, Georgia Camp meetings held at Coneys Head on Kinchafoonee Creek in the 1850s in- spired the organization of Salem Church and the erection of a building in 1857. When the new church, Browns Station, was built in 1883, Salems membership declined and its building was sold to the African Methodist Church. Bronwood Church is of virgin pine cut from the area forests with a concrete annex added in recent years. Because this town is in Terrell County, this circuit was called Terrell Circuit. Bethel, five miles south of Bron- wood, was one of the circuit churches; when it closed in 1963 its few members joined with Bronwood. Since 1963 Bronwood has been a half station with Smithville. 1982 Membership: 121 SMITHVILLE Whitaker Street, Smithville, Georgia The first official records for this church begin in 1878 with its first building erected in 1881. In 1919 Smithville was head of the circuit of five churches: Sumter, Smithville, Leesburg, Benevolence and Adams. In 1933 when Adams was discontinued, its remaining members united with Smithville. 1982 Membership: 97 Members Entering the Ministry: 0. L. Evans Members Entering the Mission Field: Mrs. Alma Leonard McLane China 140 BYROMVILLE LILLY CHARGE James A. Sharpe, Pastor BYROMVILLE Ga. Hwy. 90 Before Byromville was incorporated, this church was organized as Friendship M. E. Church by Mr. Thomas Sweatinger, an early land owner. It was located on the east side of Turkey Creek. In 1852 a second building was erected on a new site, a third in 1855 on the site of the present building. That wooden building was moved and a brick one erected in 1908, being dedicated in 1912, Classrooms, social hall and kitchen were added in 1949. Between 1965 and 1970 the entire building was renovated, stained glass windows repaired and an impressive historical marker added. 1982 Membership: 140 Members Entering Ministry: A. Jason Shirah, Samuel S. Buchanan DRAYTON 10 Miles West of Vienna, Georgia When this church was built, Drayton was a village of several stores, saloon, post office, and courthouse. In 1840 the present church was built with land deeded in 1848. Mrs. Temlie Brooks recalled that as a nine-year-old in the 1880s she attended regularly sitting in the balcony; and when the church for black members was built across Turkey Creek, the same preacher served both churches for a time. Today asbestos siding protects the outside; electric lights replace the two kerosene lamps, (one for the preacher, the other for the people) and the pump organ is silent. In the 1940s the pulpit was relocated making three classrooms at the end of the building. In 1980 a wooden annex was added. Though often discontinued, the Sunday School has been restarted just as often, also the womens work. This church has been on different charges, such as 1919 Lilly Circuit with Lilly, Drayton, Shiloh and Pleasant Valley and Smyrna added in 1930; Byromville-Lilly Charge with Drayton, Pleasant Valley and Bakersfield. When Bakersfield closed in 1961, its members joined Drayton. In 1905 when Dooley County divided, the town fell apart, but this church survives. 1982 Membership: 38 LILLY Church Street, Lilly, Georgia This church was organized in a school in 1904 with 29 members. Services con- tinued in the school until the church was built in 1905. For years the Methodist and Baptist churches were located side by side with Sunday School being held in the morning in one and in the afternoon in the other. Since 1970 much has been done to update this building with stained glass windows being given as memorials in 1976. In January 1981, the few remaining members of Pleasant Valley asked to merge with Lilly. Their building and furnishings are being donated to Dooly Campground for con- tinued use. 1982 Membership: 89 CHAUNCEY BENEVOLENCE CHARGE Don Carpenter, Pastor CHAUNCEY In 1875 the operator of a large shingle mill built a church for use of all denominations. Rev. D. G. Pope, a sup- ply pastor, preached for the Methodists. During the early years the stewards made regular visits to the members each quarter to collect money for the preachers salary and the askings (conference benevolences). The Chauncey Church was organized in 1882 and the building burned in 1892 and was immediately rebuilt. Rev. George Thompson, the pastor at the time, did much of the carpentry. In 1940 it was moved to the present site and brick veneered. In 1960 when the Rhine-Chauncey Charge was formed, the parsonage was moved to Rhine. In 1978 Chauncey again became head of the charge and the parsonage was returned. 1982 Membership: 58 Members Entering Ministry: Max Harrell BENEVOLENCE This churchs roots go back about one hundred years when a group of people including Mr. and Mrs. Mason L. Davis and Mr. and Mrs. James W. Flanders organized a church, known as Refuge. In 1902 on land given by Mr. Davis a new church was built and the name changed to Benevolence. In 1915 the conference MINUTES give Chauncey and Benevolence as a Charge in the McRae District, Rev. B. F. West as pastor. In 1942 it was an afternoon appointment with First Church, Eastman; in 1960 it was on the Rhine-Chauncey Charge. In 1983 the ceil- ing was lowered and the outside painted. 1982 Membership: 43 142 MOUNT OLIVET RFD 1, Helena, Georgia This church is located in Telfair County on the old Helena to Dublin road near the Dodge County line. No ex- act dates are known about its beginning, but tradition says that the first meeting was inside Indian territory in a log cabin. In the early 1890s the congrega- tion moved to the present location. J. B. Purvis gave timber from his own land, cut, sawed, dressed and hauled it to the building site. Along with Robert Clark, William Henry Clark, and C. Clark he worked many nights by the light of a fire to complete the church. For a long time it was not heated; later wood burning stoves were used. Long before it was the policy of the church, women served on the Board of Stewards. 1982 Membership: 84 Members Entering Ministry: Charles Cravey COCHRAN CHARGE FIRST Although this church was organized in a brush arbor in 1866, its first building, built in 1868, was jointly owned by the Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. They began with seven members and by 1868 had bought property. The present building was erected in 1916, a very fine model with a sanctuary and classrooms. At first this church was on the Hawkinsville Circuit, but in 1883 the Cochran Circuit was formed. Antioch, four miles north on the Old Cochran-Cary Road, was on the Cochran Circuit also. The members of that church have merged with First and their building was sold during 1982. 1982 Membership: 580 Members Entering Ministry: Lewis W. Strickland, Stephen Grantham, Thomas H. Wimberly LONGSTREET 8 Miles North of Cochran, Georgia In 1812 the first cross-state road from Augusta to just below the present city of Columbus was opened and called the Federal Road. It was very narrow, two stagecoaches had difficulty passing, and stumps still stood in the middle of the road. That section of the road that ran between Hawkinsville and Milledgeville was called Longstreet Road, hence the name of the church and its location. This church was organized in 1812 also. Although no date is given for the construction of the Rudolph Grantham, Pastor 143 CORDELE CHARGE present building, it is the original one. Its brick foundation and brick floor in- dicate its early date. 1982 Membership: 32 Vance Mathis, Pastor FIRST 12th Avenue East at 5th Street South Cordele First was organized in 1887 in The Cordele Academy where services were held until the first building was ready in 1891. A simple white frame building, it was large enough to host the 1891 session of the South Georgia Con- ference. The present brick building was erected in 1914. The outgrown building at 7th Street was given to Bethel C.M.E. Church; the lumber went into the foundation of the new Bethel while the bell was given to Holsey-Cobb Institute, a Methodist supported mission. In 1922 this con- gregation helped to establish Midway and in 1958 Peavy Memorial. It has been host to the annual conference in 1915 and 1941. 1982 Membership: 1,049 Members Entering Ministry: Palmer Greene, Clyde Smith, Orion Hunt, Jimmy Womack Members Entering Mission Field: Miss Helen Rosser 37 Years MIDWAY Crisp County While Rev. Tom Standford was pastor of the Cordele Church, he organized a Sunday School and church services in an unused Free Will Baptist Church in the Midway Community. He was assisted by Palmer H. Greene as superintendent of Sunday School. When Rev. 0. B. Chester was assigned to this charge, he helped to formally organize Midway and to purchase the property from the Free Will Baptists. The building was a tall wooden structure with a high steeple and bell; in 1926 it was completely demolished by a storm; only the organ was unharmed. A new building was soon under construction and services were held: in a nearby school until the new building was ready. It was dedicated the first Sun- day of November 1927 by Rev. Standford. Memorial stained glass windows have: 144 recently been installed. Services are held each Sunday with Lay Speakers speaking on the three Sundays that the pastor from First Cordele does not come. 1982 Membership: 31 Members Entering Ministry: W. Benny Dowdy PEAVY MEMORIAL CHARGE Ralph Haywood, Pastor PEAVY MEMORIAL Cordele, Georgia This church is named for Rev. Melvin E. Peavy who was pastor of First Church, Cordele, when he died sudden- ly. Four years later in this new subdivi- sion of Cordele with the help of the con- gregation of First, the Peavy Memorial Church was organized on September 12, 1958. Fred L. Maddox, a student at Candler School of Theology and a probationary member of the conference was assigned as pastor. There had been 64 members at the organizational meeting in the cafeteria of Blackshear Trail School. By March 12,1961, the first unit was complete and Rev. Theo Gee was assigned as pastor. To- day they have a sanctuary, educational unit and fellowship hall. 1982 Membership: 261 Member Entering Ministry: Eddie Braswell SEVILLE Organized in 1887 this church had a neat wooden building within the year. Preaching services were held only once a month in the afternoon, and the church almost died. But after World War II many of the sons of the members returned to the community. Miss Katherine Ezelle was the first Rural Worker for the Charge, followed by Miss Ruth Beasley, and things began to change. Seville was named Church of the Year for the Americus District in 1960, and a World Citation for 100% payment on World Ser- vice and Benevolence. In 1964 the old building was torn down and the new building erected on the same site. Services were held in the upstairs of Mr. Waters store during the construction. 1982 Membership: 26 DAWSON Charles P. Adams, Pastor Stonewall Street and Seventh Avenue In a one-room log cabin on the farm of Mr. Alfred Breedlove this church was organized March 5, 1857. While the first building was being built, they worshipped 145 in a blacksmith shop. The present brick structure was built in 1892 and in 1908 a brick annex was added. Later the stained glass windows of the sanctuary were replaced with scenic windows depicting major events in the life of Christ. This church has been in several Districts: Americus, Lumpkin, Columbus and Dawson. When Dawson was head of a district, the presiding elder had his home here and for a while after Dawson was reassigned to the Americus district. 1982 Membership: 471 Members Entering Ministry: J. W. Weston, J. W. Patterson, Charles Hillis, Sanford Brown, Fred McClendon and W. G. Griffin, Jr., John Richard Irwin IV Members Entering Mission Field: Miss Lillie Cheatham Mexico, Miss Lucille Lewis Cuba, Miss Johnston Korea EASTMAN CHARGE James H. Snell, Pastor John R. Bargeron, Associate FIRST Eastman, Georgia In Sugar Creek Meeting House, 44 persons began this church in 1871. Ser- vices were held in the meeting house through the kindness of the Baptists until a building was erected in 1878-9. In 1910 when the first building was replaced, Rev. Walter Anthony was the; pastor. Fire in December 1939 destroyed the beautiful stained glass windows and: all records. The present building dates from the rebuilding. 1982 Membership: 500 Members Entering Ministry: David Haygood, Joe Buff aloe, Marion Davis, Kirk G. Loyless FRIENDSHIP 2 Miles SE of the Duboise Community The first services for this church were held in a tenant house in February 1916. The first building was blown down before it was completed; the present building was built in 1916. This church has been a part of several circuits: Em- pire Circuit, Hawkinsville Circuit, Eastman Circuit, 1969 to Pineview Cir- cuit, 1970 to Cochran Charge and presently Eastman, First. 1982 Membership: 52 146 ELKO SNOW CHARGE Eddie Braswell, Pastor ELKO Ga. Hwy. 26 The organization date for this church is thought to be 1892. The first building, a small frame structure, was struck by lightning and destroyed. In 1910 brick was ordered for a new church, but when the railroad car of brick came, the members couldnt agree on where to locate the church and it looked as if the railroad would take back the brick. The pastor, Rev. E.E. Gardner, a member, and a Negro man unloaded the entire lot of brick. The story has been told and retold how they caught the brick until their hands were streaming with blood. 1982 Membership: 41 GROVANIA Houston County Located a short distance west of Haynesville on US Highway 341, is a church building that was moved from Haynesville to its present location in the early 1900s. A Bible presented to the Haynesville Church in 1860 by Mrs. Harriett L. Riley is part of their past history. The exact date for its beginning is believed to be before the Civil War. 1982 Membership: 14 HENDERSON Junction of US Hwy. 41 and Ga. 26 Methodism has a rich heritage in the area of Houston County associated with Elko, Grovania, Snow, and Henderson. When this church was first organized in the 1830s, it was named Wesley Chapel, but in 1858 it was changed to Hender- son. This church was on the Perry Cir- cuit 1840-1867, the Haynesville Ct. 1867-1885 when it returned to the Perry Cir- cuit. In 1901 it was placed on the Elko Circuit. The present building was built in 1842. Among the local preachers from this area are J.A. Henderson, J.D. Clark, J.S. West and Dr. E.T. McGehee whose 3 sons entered the South Georgia Conference. 1982 Membership: 42 Members Entering Ministry: John B. McGehee, E.A. Howard McGehee, J.B. McGehee, E.J. Rentz, P.H. Crumpler, H.R. Felder 147 SNOW Ga. Hwy. 230 This church grew out of a camp meeting and was organized in April 1843. It is between Unadilla and Byrom- ville in Dooly County. The log church has been replaced with the present building. In 1919 Snow was on the Unadilla Charge in the Cordele District, 1939 on the Pinehurst Circuit in the Americus District, since 1962 on the Elko-Snow Charge. 1982 Membership: 57 ELLAVILLE CORINTH CHARGE William R. McCellan, Pastor ELLAVILLE US Highway 19 The early beginnings of this church are centered around the preaching of Jimmy Stewart, Billy Stewart, and Billy Cheney, two of whom became itinerary ministers. This church was organized in 1857 and met in a log building until the present building was erected. This building is a testimony to the skill of the carpenters and the quality of their materials as the original timbers, hand hewn, are still in good shape. One of the pastors, Rev. Robert F. Williamson, in addition to his help in building this building, was instrumental in the organizing and building of Hopewell and Andrew Chapel. Rev. John B. Bright was the first pastor assigned by the conference after its organization. 1982 Membership: 230 Members Entering Ministry: Bishop W. N. Ainsworth CORINTH Ga. Hwy. 26 East of Ellaville This church was organized in 1872 about two miles from the present loca- tion. The original building was moved to this site, but it was destroyed by a tor- nado in April 1957. The present building was then built. Corinth was for many years on the Oglethorpe-Ideal Charge, but in 1981 was placed with Ellaville as a charge. 1982 Membership: 39 148 GRAVES SASSER CHARGE GRAVES US Hwy. 82 W On the Jefferson Davis Highway in Terrell County is a brick church with a 26 ft. steeple and a white brick cross in- set over the entrance. This is Graves Church rebuilt in 1943 after a tornado ;otally destroyed it during service; no one was killed. The first service in the new church was one year, less a day, from the day of the storm. In rebuilding, it was elocated making possible the addition of the steeple in 1981. This church began in 1870 being organized in a building used for both church and school. The preacher -rom Dawson came out for service once a month until 1877 at which time Rev. J. M. Austin was assigned as pastor. The land was given by Dr. Iverson Dutton Graves. In L973 Graves Charge was chosen as The Charge of the Year for the Americus District. An Endowment Fund was begun for use with mission and education orojects. Eugene Scott, Pastor i982 Membership: 114 Members Entering Ministry: Hershel H. Heisler DOVERAL Ga. Hwy. 45,5 Miles S. Graves Doveral is one of the oldest set- tlements in Terrell County beginning between 1830-1840. In 1848 a post office was established as Herod Town, later changed to Dover, then to Doveral in 1870. In this area in 1859 a Methodist Church was organized; land was bought or $5 from William Hayes. In 1923 the present building, also of wood, was built on and deeded by the heirs of Alice Mathews. L982 Membership: 37 NEW PROSPECT Randolph County On the old Brookville-Morgan Road ;here has been a Methodist church tamed Prospect since the 1850s or lefore because New Prospect, built in L866, stands across the road from the ;emetery and the site of the first ;hurch. In the cemetery are very old raves of both white and black persons, some believed to be slaves. This present 149 building has walls of wide virgin pine still visible to the eye, and floors of wide board. The acoustics are great; just a few sound like a crowd. An outstanding revival is still remembered as Ballards Big Meeting which lasted 2 weeks. 1982 Membership: 69 SASSER US Hwy. 82 W This church takes its name from that of town which was named for J. Abraham Sasser. When this church was organized in 1914, the present brick building was erected on Main Street. Rev. W. S. Johnston was the first pastor assigned to this new church. Some of the persons making up the first members of this church were members of Chickasawhatchee Church which had only a few remaining members. Just when that congregation began is unknown. Sunday School rooms and a fellowship hall were built and dedicated in 1958. The sanctuary was remodeled and new pews purchased; this was dedicated in 1965. Recently an organ has been given as a memorial and a study for the pastor provided as a memorial gift. 1982 Membership: 53 Wayne Defore, Pastor E. off Ga. Hwy. 90, Crisp County This church was organized in the ear- ly 1900s in the Baptist Church, which the Methodists continued to use on the Sundays when the Baptist services were not held. In 1919 it was part of the' Seville Circuit with Seville, Pitts,. Hatley and Zion, Rev. C.W. Jordan, pastor. In 1926 the present building was- built, with a donation from the Board of Church Extension of $300. In 1950s ther Sunday School was revitalized and space was needed. The larger of these rooms can serve for a fellowship hall. In 1930 this church received 13 persons on profession oft faith and had a total of 79 members. It was on the Rebecca Charge in the McRaes District, Rev. C.M. Ledbetter, pastor. The next year it was part of the Americus- District and the churches on the Rebecca Ct. were Arp, Hatley, Live Oak, Pro- vidence, Rebecca and Youngs Chapel. In 1978 this church became a station. HATLEY 1982 Membership: 49 Members Entering Ministry: Fred Maddox, Eugene Maddox 150 a A WKIN S VILLE Tom P. Watson, Pastor US Hwy. 341 at US Hwy. 129 This churchs beginnings date to the early circuit rider visiting the settlers. It was on the Ocmulgee Circuit of the South Carolina Conference in 1808, and on the newly formed Houston Circuit in L825. The first building was at Hartford and in 1819 another church was built on Longstreet Road, the post road between Hartford and Milledgeville, with the first in the new village of Hawkinsville being built in 1825. In 1832 another was built and the first brick church in 1895. The present church building complex was built in 1950. A prominent Methodist layman, Henry Dearborn, was Secretary of War in President Thomas Jeffersons Cabinet and negotiated the treaties between the Federal Government and the Indians. 1982 Membership: 550 Members Entering Ministry: Durwood Foster, Teegler Greer, Henry Thomas, Jelks Taylor, Gordon 'Rainey Members Entering Mission Field: Miss Mary Culler White China 35+ Years J. Wayne Reece, Pastor HELENA US Highway 341 A Sunday School was held during 1893-4 in a room over a blacksmiths shop with planks placed across nail kegs for benches. Following a tent meeting, in 1894, the first building, gothic in style with stained glass windows and made of yellow pine painted white, was erected. Known first as Helena Mission, it was part of a circuit of churches. Rev. C. D. Adams was the first pastor. Several of the circuits were: 1899 Helena-Lumber City; 1913-1923 Helena Scotland, changed then to the Americus District with Dodge Chapel, Mt. Olivet and Helena; 1960 Helena, Scotland and Mt. Olivet. At present Helena and Scotland are a two point station. In 1977 Helena-Scotland was the Americus District Charge of the Year. 1982 Membership: 126 HELENA SCOTLAND CHARGE SCOTLAND The Minutes of the Second Quarterly Conference of the Spring Hill Charge, Eastman District, states that four churches, Spring Hill, Shiloh, McVille (now Scotland) and Morrisons were holding regular services with a Sunday School in each church. In 1886 Walter F. McArthur deeded the present site to the church 151 stipulating that it must be a two-story building with the Masons having possession of the second floor. In 1923 the Masons deeded their claim to the Methodists and the building was remodeled. Fire totally destroyed the building on December 6, 1974, but on the 11th a mobile chapel was placed on the site and rebuilding began. The present building was consecrated July 25,1976. 1982 Membership: 47 HOPEWELL CONCORD Joe F. Johnston, Pastor HOPEWELL Ga. Hwy. 26 In Schley County on the Buena Vista-Ellaville Road is Hopewell Church organized in 1842. The name is said to have come from a traveler on horseback who came by when the men were working on the building and hoped them; thus the name. The first building was of logs cut from the virgin forests; this was replaced by a better building, and the present building, built on the same site, was built sometime after the Civil War. In 1960 stained glass windows were put in as memorials to members. 1982 Membership: 159 CONCORD Ga. Hwy. 240, Schley County Organized in 1850, this church was part of the Ellaville Circuit along with Andrew Chapel, Hopewell, and Lacross. The early frame building was replaced by a concrete block building in 1961. On July 10th the old building was being torn down so the new building could be built on the same site. The new one was completed and the first services held September 17, 1961. In 1981 carpeting central heat and air conditioning were added. 1982 Membership: 43 issp ipi PSP * Snnnr n ii ii br 152 IACKSONVILLE CIRCUIT Ted Marsh, Pastor JACKSONVILLE Junction of US Hwy. 441 and Ga. 117 Jacksonville is on the big curve of the Ocmulgee River in Telfair County. The roots of this church are found in the beginning churches started in this area when it was opened to settlers. This church in Jacksonville was organized in 1868 in the courthouse, and the old milding was torn down and the present one built on the same site. Jacksonville has >een the head of a circuit of as many as 15 churches in pre-Civil War time. As it was me of the places where the river could be crossed, it was an important place to the :arly circuit riders. '982 Membership: 61 BETHEL Ga. Hwy. 117 This church is at China Hill on the oad between Jacksonville and Rhine on the big bend of the Ocmulgee River about eight miles from Jacksonville. This church was organized in 1881, and services were held in a school room until 1895 when a building was erected. Rev. Bascomb Anthony was one of the early pastors. In April, 1957, a tornado complete- \y demolished the building but left unharmed the pulpit furniture, piano, pews, col- section plates and songbooks. The foundation for the new building was laid July 9, 1957. This church has been first on the Jacksonville Circuit and then on the Rhine Circuit and is again with Jacksonville. i982 Membership: 65 BETHLEHEM Sand Hill Community About two miles west of US Highways 141 and 319 on Sand Hill Road is Bethlehem Church. It isnt known just when this church was begun, but the First services were in a log building after i brush arbor meeting. One or more Frame buildings, one in 1850 and 153 another in 1875, preceded the present concrete block building constructed in 1960. 1982 Membership: 44 MT. CARMEL Rt. 1 Jacksonville, Georgia There are conflicting stories about the exact beginning of this church. One account from a photostat copy shows a quarterly conference was held on September 6,1837, with W. G. Parks, P. E. in charge. The other account says that the oldest record of Mt. Carmel states a quarterly meeting was held on September 6, 1851. When the wooden building was replaced by a brick building in 1964, the original pulpit furnishings were used and also the lecturn and altar rail made by James Clements (1805-1898). This church was the first church on the Jacksonville Charge to organize a Womans Society of Christian Service, May 22,1940. 1982 Membership: 30 NEW UNION US Hwy. 319 This church is located V2 mile west of the Coffee and Ben Hill County Line, and it was organized in 1946. Its heritage goes back, very probably, to the fork between Big and Little Sturgeon Creeks in Irwin County in 1840, when an interdenominational church building was built. First the Primitive Baptist organized their group; later the Holiness Group organized their church. The re- maining Methodists asked the Bishop to send them a preacher. Later the younger members wanted to build away from the cemetery, and after the church was built, the older members decided to stay with the older building. 1982 Membership: 13 LEESBURG Marcus Tripp, Pastor US Hwy. 19, Leesburg, Georgia 1974 was the centennial year for this church, and at homecoming 300 persons at- tended services under an old-fashioned brush arbor. The conference began assign- ing preachers to this church in 1872. Rev. C.T. Clark was one of the early pastors. A. wooden building was built in 1894. In 1919 Rev. H.H. Heisler was the pastor of the Smithville Ct. which had these churches: Smithville, Leesburg, Sumter, Adams, 154 and Benevolence. In 1940 the charge was Leslie-Leesburg with Desoto. In 1956 Leesburg became a station church. 1982 Membership: 295 ^Members Entering Ministry: Francis Smitty Cannon LESLIE DESOTO CHARGE James R. Mcllrath, Pastor LESLIE US Hwy. 280 In 1890 under the shade of a large oak tree this church was begun. By November 18, 1892, the new congrega- tion was in a neat wooden building; the present building was finished in November of 1927. The first sanctuary with its belfry and bell were torn down iso that the new church could be built on the same site. The brick for this church 'were hauled to the site on wagons. In 1928 Mt. Zion and Anthony Churches were on this charge. In the early beginnings of union services of the Methodist and Baptist Church, each person took his chair and each family a lamp. 1982 Membership: 251 DESOTO US Hwy. 80 This church was organized in 1910 'with Rev. M. B. Ferrell, the pastor of Leslie, serving as its first pastor. From 1911-1933 Desoto was on the Leslie-Mt. 'Zion Circuit, 1933-56 the Leslie- Leesburg Charge, 1956-64 Leslie- Smithville Charge, 1964-84 Leslie- Desoto. An interdenominational Sab- bath school was held until 1927. The church building was used for services by 'Methodists, Baptists, Lutheran, Primitive Baptists, and Presbyterians for many 'years. 1982 Membership: 60 155 LUMBER CITY CHARGE C. Lee Bennett, Jr., Pastor Clyde Lee Jordan, Associate LUMBER CITY US Hwy. 341, Telfair County The date for the beginning of this church is unknown, but it is at present in its fourth building. The first building was on the Boyd Plantation, the second, a church building of sawed lumber, and the third, built in 1868 was a white painted one. Fire destroyed one of the buildings, but the pulpit furniture was saved and is at use in the present building completed in 1965. It has 20 stained glass windows that are complete and the history of them is still available. In 1879 this church was part of the Dublin District. In 1898 it was with McRae in the McRae District. In 1919, still in the McRae District, it was head of a circuit that included Lumber City, Dodge and Sheltons Chapel with Rev. H.L. Pearson, pastor. 1982 Membership: 134 Members Entering Ministry: Clarence Lee Bennett DODGES CHAPEL This church was built in 1886 on land given by the Dodge Lumber Co. and this probably where the name originated. It is thought that the timber for the church was cut from trees on the land given for the site. Rev. W.D. McGregor was the first pastor. This original building was destroyed by a wind in the early 1920s and immediately rebuilt. It is interesting to note that this is the same company that owned the land where Epworth-by-the-Sea is now located. Timber from this section was rafted down the Ocmulgee River and held in a holding pond there on St. Simons that is the oxidation pond for Epworth-by-the-Sea. In 1919 this church was on the Lumber City Circuit, but in 1920 it was placed with Helena. In 1962 it was transferred to Lumber City again. It was a part of the McRae District during the time it existed. 1982 Membership: 37 SHELTONS CHAPEL No date is given for the start of this church, but it is believed to be in the mid- 1840s in a crude log cabin about 2 miles from the Ogeechee River. It was organized by Rev. Charles I. Shelton, a local Methodist minister, who served as its pastor. A second building was built and used by the Methodists Baptists until Fishing Creek Baptist built their own building. A unique feature of the early church was its board shingle roof. In 1919 this church was on the Lumber City Circuit as it was in 1931, 156 though Scotland instead of Dodge Chapel was the third church then. It was part of the McRae District until it was dissolved. It has been in the Americus District since 1940. 1982 Membership: 64 McRAE . College Street at 2nd Ave., McRae, Ga. This church was organized in 1879 with 17 persons who had become members as the circuit riding preacher made his regular preaching appoint- ments. By the end of the first year there were 54 who joined. Rev. W.F. Roberts was one of the early preachers. The first building was located on Parsonage and Telfair Streets, the second in 1899 on Telfair. The present building was built in 1928. Various educational units have been built since, the most recent a fellowship hall in the 1970s. A recent fire did damage to the electrical system, so some renova- tion took place and the air-conditioning system has been replaced in 1982. McRae became a station church in 1900 with Rev. S.W. Walker, pastor. At the 1904 session of the Annual Conference which this church hosted, the cornerstone for the newest building of South Georgia College was laid. The report states that in the year over i$6,000 had been raised toward this much needed enlargement and that most of it had been raised in McRae. At this time there were 470 enrolled in the college. Rev. T.G. Lang was the host pastor for the 1904 annual conference. Ronald L. Culpepper, Pastor In 1894 this church was organized in a church built by the members. This church was built from trees donated by the people of Milan. The present building was begun in 1944 and finished in January 1950. It has colored glass windows, each of which depicts a dif- ferent Biblical symbol. The pews and the pulpit were brought from the old church. This church was one of the four 1982 Membership: 586 Members Entering Ministry: Guy W. Parrish, Jr. MILAN MT. ZION Calvin C. Hayes, Pastor MILAN US Hwy. 280, Telfair County 157 churches on the Chauncey Charge. In 1956 a new brick parsonage was built in Milan adjacent to the church. Mt. Zion had shared equally in the building of the parsonage, and so in 1960 they became a station between them with Midway havingi 2 afternoon services a month. In 1919 Rev. J.W. Domingos was the pastor of the: Chauncey-Milan Circuit that had Chauncey, Milan, Reidsville and Mt. Zion as the: charge. In 1960 Rev. C.T. Lawhorn became the pastor of this new charge. 1982 Membership: 58 MIDWAY Rt. 2, Cordele, Georgia This church began in a revival meeting held in the Quinn Schoolhouse1 in 1891. There were 30 members, and services were held in a brush arbor while the first building was being built in the mid-1890s. Rev. J.S. Funderburke and Rev. H.C. Fentress were the earliest preachers. This church was on the Jacksonville Circuit in 1896 when it paid more than any other one of the churches on the Jacksonville Circuit that year: $25 while its total budget was $150. This church was a part of the Jacksonville Ct. in 1919 with Jacksonville, Mt. Carmel, Midway, Bethlehem and Bethel, L.E. Brady, pastor. This charge was in the McRae District. In 1940 it was still on the Jacksonville Charge but in the Americus District. In 1965 they were anxious for services morn- ing and evening, but have been having two afternoon services instead. 1982 Membership: 28 MT. ZION This church was organized in 1879. Its first building, a one-room log structure built from logs cut in the nearby forest, peeled, notched and pegged together, had shutters at the window openings. In 1889 a larger one-room frame building was erected and glass windows were in- stalled; the building was curtained off for the Sunday School classes. By 1942 the membership had grown to 300 so more building was required. The old building was moved back and brick veneered and its roof altered. Through the proceeds of the Lords Acre Program, gifts of a calf, a litter of pigs, some money and some labor, additions were made in 1959. Since 1911 this church had been on the Chauncey Charge until it with Milan became a half-station each in 1960. 1982 Membership: 150 158 MONTEZUMA Thomas H. Mason, Pastor Ga. Hwys. 26 and 90 The beginnings of this church center around the brush arbor built by two pioneer women, who were determined to have a church. In this arbor this church was organized on February 17, 1867, with 81 members. This was followed by a one-room wooden building which was replaced by a larger building in 1887 that served for 30 years. The third building, the present one, was opened for service on March 25, 1917. It has been renovated in recent years. In the erecting of this juilding the Baptists were generous with their time and substance to help build the Methodist building, and they shared the building until the Baptists had their own. The colonial chandelier was given by Mr. C.G. Haugabook, Sr. in honor of his oarents who had been life-long members of this church at a service conducted by ilev. C.G. Haugabook, Jr. By 1900 Montezuma had been a station church for many /ears. It was in the South Macon District, then in 1905 the Cordele District was created and it was in that, then the Macon District. 1982 Membership: 493 Members Entering Ministry: William H. Hurdle, C.G. Haugabook, Jr., James C. Kenney OGLETHORPE IDEAL OGLETHORPE Randolph and Church Streets, Oglethorpe, Ga. This church was begun in 1852 with the circuit preacher, Rev. James Brad- ford Smith, as the first pastor. The present church was built in 1892. It had hand-hewn pews and lamps suspended from the ceiling. In the very beginning, the women sat to one side of the center aisle and the men the other. There was a special place provided for the Black members. In 1865 the Confederate government requisitioned all the metal, and this church bell was ready to be shipped, but the war ended and the bell was put back in the tower. In 1876 all the Black members withdrew to form their own church. In 1919 Oglethorpe and Ideal and Mission in- cluded Oglethorpe, Ideal, Garden Valley and Corinth, Rev. L.B. McMichael, Pastor. In 1940 the charge included the same churches except, Garden Valley was replaced by Pine Level. 1982 Membership: 135 Members Entering Ministry: Roy Gardner, W. Park Smith, Wm. Ansley 159 IDEAL Hoke Smith Avenue, Ideal, Georgia In the schoolhouse of Ideal this church was organized in 1904. Rev. A. Lester wasi pastor of the Oglethorpe and Liberty charge when this church was formed and probably was its first preacher. Some of the members from Turner Chapel, which had closed, transferred to Ideal. The first building was built in 1907 when Rev. M.F. Beals was pastor on the Oglethorpe Circuit. When it was organized thisi church was in the South Macon District and by 1907 it was in the new Cordele District. Currently it is in the Americus District. 1982 Membership: 59 had a membership of 75 at that time. 1982 Membership: 46 PARROTT CIRCUIT PARROTT Ga. Hwy. 55 On the third Sunday in February, 1892, the first service of worship was conducted in the new church built on faith and by pledges. Rev. George Culpepper was the pastor. The land had been donated by Mr. J.L. Parrott. This church was the result of a tent meeting held by three preachers, Rev. John B. PINE LEVEL Rodgers Mill Road, Oglethorpe, Ga. This church was organized in 1869 and some of these members were former members in Lanier County and they brought the name with them. In 1931 Pine Level was on the Oglethorpe Cir- cuit with Corinth, Ideal, and Oglethorpe with Rev. W.E. Dennis as pastor. They C. Gilbert Tripp, Pastor 160 McGhee, Presiding Elder of the Americus District, Rev. E.M. Whiting, pastor of Dawson Methodist Church, and Rev. John West, a local preacher living in Cuthbert. This August 1891 tent meeting saw the organization of the Parrott Methodist Church with thirty earnest workers. In 1919 Parrott Circuit had the following churches: Rural Hill, Preston, Mt. Olivet, Enterprise, Parrott and Pierce Chapel with Rev. J.E. Summer as pastor. 1982 Membership: 19 ENTERPRISE RFD, Dawson, Terrell County Prior to the purchase of land in January 1873, this church met an was organized in a brush arbor. The land originally was Lee County, but is now Terrell. Between 1850 and 1873, ser- vices were held in the brush arbor with circuit riders preaching when they came on their rounds. Rev. George Clark was pastor at Dawson and he, with the Presiding Elder, Rev. J.M. McGhee, are the organizers of this church in 1871. By 1873 it was a part of the Terrell Circuit which included Bronwood, Enterprise, Bethel, Capers Chapel, Dover, Smithville, McLains, Graves, New Hope, Rural Hill, Sasser, New Prospect and Parrott. The preacher held service in different places every day but Monday; that day he was to rest and fast. Sunday School was reorganized by Rev. Geo. Erwin, pastor of Hamp Stevens in Columbus, in June 1946. A brick building replaced the old wooden church and was dedicated August 22,1948. A brick annex was completed in the mid 1960s. 1982 Membership: 35 MT. OLIVE Ga. Hwy. 55, Terrell County One of the early settlers to this area was James Foreman; there was no church near and Jane Foreman prayed for a church in which to raise her children. She always believed this church was the answer to that prayer. Begun in 1840, about the time of the Mexican War, in the Spring Hill Schoolhouse, it was called Spring Hill. Two local preachers, Rev. Homer Mulky and Rev. Jimmy Ball, were the organizing preachers. When it joined the Georgia Con- ference, a circuit rider preached there on a week day. In the heyday of camp grounds, this church joined with Weston Camp Ground and then had one of its own. After the Civil War the Spring Hill Church was moved to the present site and named Mt. Olive, October 3, 1871. The beams in the roof of the present church (1898) were the joists of old Spring Hill Church. The land was given by J.L. Bolton. It has been recently repainted, with a new altar rail, new pews and hardwood floors. 161 The underpining has been strengthened and a gas heating system added. At one time it withstood the effort to consolidate it, even to being left without a preacher for a period of time. A future project is an annex and improvement of the grounds. 1982 Membership: 29 PIERCE CHAPEL Terrell County In 1832 on the James Whaley planta- tion in Terrell County a wooden building was erected and called Mt. Zion. It was located at the head of a branch that flowed into Turkey Creek. The first services were held in brush ar- bors until the church was built. It served as a school as well. When a larger church was built the old church was given to the Negro members. This second church was built on what is now D. E. Pinkston property. In 1873 it was moved to its present site, the land being deeded by Mason H. Bush, a planter of Webster County. The church was named Pierce Chappell for Rev. Lovick Pierce and Rev. George A. Chappell. 1982 Membership: 34 PERRY, CROSSROADS W. Grable Page, Pastor 634 Forrest Avenue, Perry, Georgia Organized April 1, 1968, in the sanc- tuary of old First Baptist Church in Perry with 94 charter members, this church was a project of the Conference Board of Missions and Church Exten- sion, Rev. Carlton Carruth as director, and Perry Methodist Church. The first building was consecrated October 1, 1971. The new sanctuary was opened for worship in 1983. Rev. C. Dick Reese was the first pastor. Recently this church has sponsored the resettlement of a Viet- namese family in Perry. 1982 Membership: 253 Member Entering Ministry: Gene Ylverton PERRY, FIRST Larry B. Roberts, Pastor 1002 Carroll Street, Perry, Ga. This church was organized in 1826 as part of the Houston Mission. Its first building was at the current site of Evergreen Cemetery. The second building was erected in 1860 and remodeled in 1906 with front porch and columns added. In 1946 the interior was redecorated and the steeple, removed in 1907, restored; a Sun- day School annex added to rear of sanctuary in 1950, and new educational building completed in 1960. It became a conference historical site in 1980. The Sunday 162 1982 Membership: 1,148 School begun in 1828 has been con- tinuous since, and at the 13th annual session of the South Georgia Con- ference, 1879, the Conference Womans Missionary Society was organized. This church has been a part of the Perry Cir- cuit in 1860 and a station church for over a hundred years. It has been in the Macon, South Macon, Cordele, Americus, Macon and again Americus Districts. Members Entering Ministry: Robert Hicks, Daniel Smith, David Ogletree, William Whipple, James R. McMath, Douglas Volk, Thomas Johnson, Jr. Mission Field: Bessie Houser Nunn, Margery Short Zorko, Nell Rogers, Pearl Edwards DOOLY CAMPGROUND/PINEVIEW FINELYSON L. H. Brazell, Pastor PINEVIEW || FINLEYSON Ga. Hwy. 112 This is the story of two churches that joined together in 1962 to build a new church together at a site between the two towns. Pineview is just inside the north edge of Wilcox County and Finleyson is just inside the south edge of Pulaski County. Pineview was organized in 1904-5 in a school and then met in a store before a store was remodeled into a church. Finleyson was organized in 1904 in a store, and in 1905 had built a church building. Rev. A. P. Segars was the pastor for both churches. Both of these original buildings were damaged by storms; Finleyson began construction on a new building which was dedicated in August 1918, and Pineviews was destroyed by a storm in 1918 and the new church built, paid for and dedicated in 1920. In 1951 the discussions began about a joint church. 1982 Membership: 65 Members Entering Ministry: S. Vaughn Foster from Wesley Chapel DOOLY CAMPGROUND Near Vienna, Georgia, Dooly County Since 1873 this campground has been in use by Methodists for camp meeting and youth groups. The first Tabernacle was built in 1874 while George T. Embry and E.T. Smith, Jr. were serving Vienna and Dooly Mission. Modern housing has replaced the first brush tents and a dining hall the individual cooking fires, but the spirit that refreshed the people then still continues. Rev. J.N. Peacock, presiding elder of the Americus District, is credited with keeping this spirit alive in the midst of the great depression. In 1970, an old church begun in 1888, St. Paul, was 163 reconstructed on the campground. In 1963 when it became necessary, through the decline of available members, to close it, the movement was already alive to move it to Dooly to house small worship services. The building was not moveable, but as much as possible was used to reconstruct a replica of the building, the doors, win- dows, altar and furnishings. This church that had first met in a two-story tent until the building was built was again open for worship. During its active days, this church had a strong, youth and womans program and in 1929 was a half-station with Pinehurst. The following from St. Paul Church entered the ministry: Clinton M. Ward, V.D. Ward and Melvin Peavy. PLAINS CHARGE Mira Barrett, Pastor PLAINS US Hwy. 280, Sumter County This church was begun at a meeting held in a wooden building in March 1848. First known as Tabernacle, it was located 3 miles north of the present town of Plains. The first building was built in Plains in 1888, a one-room church with a steeple. In 1865 the members of Tabernacle gave the earliest building to the Black members, and by 1888 the white members had transferred to Plains. A Womans Missionary Society began in 1889. In 1928 a night missionary circle, believed to be the first in the con- ference, was organized. The 1888 building was replaced by the present brick building in 1910. At each side of the sanctuary and at the rear is a 3 sectioned stained glass window and 2 in the choir. In this sanctuary Rosalyn Smith and Jim- my Carter, the 39th President of the United States, were married July 7, 1946. Plains has been on several circuits, Americus and Sumter. In 1919 the Plains Cir- cuit had Plains, Rylander, and Concord with Rev. T.W. Tinley, pastor. In 1940 it had Plains, Rylander, New Point and Concord with Rev. C.L. Glenn pastor. RYLANDER Ga. Hwy. 308, Plains-Smithville Hwy. This churchs actual beginning is not known, but there were two older churches that united to establish Rylander, which was named for Emory Rylander of Americus. The 1800s building was of wood and was destroyed by fire in 1933. Rev. J.E. Channell was the pastor during this time and worked with the members to rebuild in 1934. They met during the time of the rebuilding at Thompson School. An annex has been added and repair done on the sanctuary. The land on which this building stands was given by Dr. Hershal Logan. 1982 Membership: 50 164 REBECCA R. Randall Ray, Pastor Ga. Hwys. 112 and 90, Turner County The earliest building was a simple frame structure in which the church was organized. In 1906-7, the first building was erected, and this church was part of the Sycamore Charge with Rev. L.B. McMichael, the pastor. In the 1906 MINUTES of the conference there is a grant of $125 to Rebecca, Turner County, Valdosta District from the Conference Board of Church Extension, which meant that it would speedily open a church free of debt. In 1919 Rebecca was head of the Rebecca Circuit with Rebecca, Youngs Chapel, Providence, Arp and Felder, Rev. Aaron Kelly pastor. In 1954 the present brick building was erected. The ladies were first organized into a Par- sonage Aid Society in 1910 and through the years have grown with the various changes. Youngs Chapel, built in 1895 in Ben Hill County, had been on the charge with Rebecca until 1974 when it was closed. That church had begun to repair the 100-year-old building, but the membership had grown too small to be continued. Rebecca became a full sta- tion in 1976. 1982 Membership: 78 RHINE OAK GROVE Eugene M. Maddox, Pastor RHINE US Hwy. 280, Dodge County The first building for this congrega- tion, organized in 1870, burned and was immediately rebuilt. This church was first known as Austin and Bay Spring Ct. In 1905 the new church was built in Rhine on First Avenue. Prior to the building of this building the Negro members, though free, still continued to worship together with their former owners. So in 1891, that church was given to the Black members and the others moved to the new church in town. The pulpit was made by S.B. Floyd. For a period of time the Sunday School rooms were rented for use by the county during the week. In 1919 Rhine was head of a circuit with Rhine, Concord, Benevolence and Godwinville, Rev. D.B. Merritt, pastor. In 1940 the Rhine Charge was Rhine, Benevolence and Oak Grove. 1982 Membership: 47 165 OAK GROVE Near Rhine, Georgia On March 17, 1934, the State Board of Education deeded this property, school building and three acres, to D.C. Yancey, who deeded it to the church on September 15, 1937. This church had been organized in the school building in 1929 with 30 charter members; Rev. J.O. Stanland was pastor of the Rhine Cir- cuit and Rev. J.N. Peacock was presiding elder of the McRae District. In 1930 it became a part of the Americus District. 1982 Membership: 24 ROCHELLE PITTS CHARGE James S. Spooner, Pastor ROCHELLE US Hwy. 280 In 1888 monthly services were being held in the schoolhouse when Rev. D.F. Miles, pastor at Abbeville, organized this church with 6 men and 8 women. By 1890 the first building was erected on land given by J.J. Williford of Rochelle Land & Lumber Co. In 1918 the present church was paid for and dedicated by Bishop W.N. Ainsworth assisted by Rev. W.F. Smith, p.e., and Rev. J.M. Foster, pastor. In 1944 a new parsonage replaced the one that burned. The sanctuary was remodeled in 1960 and a new an- nex completed in 1970. In 1890 this church was a part of the Abbeville Circuit; then in 1896 the Rochelle Charge of the McRae Dist. was created with 6 churches: Rochelle, Oak Grove, Pitts, Seville, Wesley Chapel, Pleasant Hill, Rev. J.T. Lowe pastor. In 1899 the charge had 2 churches, Rochelle and Ocilla, with Rev. J.P. Dickenson living in Rochelle; but, by 1908, the charge had Rochelle, Pitts, Liberty Hill, Kramer, Seville, Penia, Hatley and Youngs Chapel. In 1940 there were Rochelle, Kramer, Pitts, and Seville, and in 1968, Rochelle, Pitts and Kramer. 1982 Membership: 162 KRAMER US Hwy. 280, Wilcox County The community of Kramer, halfway between Rochelle and Abbeville, was built around a sawmill, which, shortly after the church was completed in 1910, burned and half the town with it. Many families moved away. The church had been built with volunteers on land given 166 by R.J. Fleeman and M.C. Guest. In 1946 classrooms were added and gas heaters replaced the wood stoves in 1956. Kramer has been on the Rochelle Circuit since it was organized. In 1918 Rev. H.C. Ewing was the pastor, Rev. Linwood Jordan in 1940, and Rev. Warren Grimes in 1968. 1982 Membership: 23 PITTS US Hwy. 280, Wilcox County Officially organized in 1902 by Rev. C. W. Littlejohn, pastor from Rochelle, with 49 members, this church actually began in 1896 when a group of 25 Methodists began services in their homes. Records show that they paid the preacher $17.50 the first quarter, $5.25 the second, $2.75 the third, and 0 the fourth, $6.90 for 1898 and $1.25 for 1899. After the new influx of persons from North Georgia, services were held in an old unapinted schoolhouse. The seats were long school desks made of slats. In 1904 the first building was erected on land given by W. B. Greeson, an owner of land and a cotton gin. By 1929 the church was declared unfit for worship, and by 1930 a brick building with classrooms and a flat roof over the foyer for a steeple was built. In 1956 a social hall annex was built. In 1964 it was renovated and the steeple added for homecoming. As none of the complex had been dedicated, the pastor, Rev. John Carroll, and Dr. Ross Freeman held the service, Nov. 30,1964. 1982 Membership: 58 SYCAMORE CHARGE Qary SfarreU) Pastor SYCAMORE US Hwy. 41 Turner County This church is believed to have begun before the Civil War, for there is indica- tion that much effort was put into teaching the young people along Chris- tian lines, and the membership, black and white, increased tremendously through the years. Schools and homes were used, and several churches were organized. This makes the beginning difficult to discover. It is believed to have been on Little River Mission in its earliest days. A building committee was ap- pointed to see about building a church on April 15,1890, but it does not say when it was completed. Nearby in 1900 Rev. Will Massey had a tent revival and people came in wagons, ox-carts, and even walked to service. Newtons Chapel, named for Jep Newton who gave the land for a church, was the result. A wind storm blew it off its block, but it was repaired. Another church was Prospect organized in 1907 by persons who transferred from Chamblee, Georgia. Rev. E.J. Nottingham was the 167 pastor. A church was built in 1908. This church merged with the Sycamore Church in 1979. The Sycamore Circuit in 1919 had Clements, Prospect and Sycamore churches with Rev. J.W. Conners, pastor. 1982 Membership: 122 CLEMENTS CHAPEL 6 M. From Sycamore in Turner County This church was organized during meetings in a brush arbor prior to 1891. It was named for Mr. Wm. N. Clements who gave the land for the church. The first church was about 4 miles south of the present location. The present building has been remodeled with Sun- day School rooms, rest rooms, and storage area added. Each year it celebrates with an annual homecoming, the fourth Sunday in March. It begins with 11 oclock preaching followed by dinner at 12:30 and then more good singing. 1982 Membership: 60 UNADILLA PINEHURST Robert B. Pickney, Pastor UNADILLA US Hwy. 41, Dooly County This church was organized October 30, 1891. A wooden frame building was built in 1891, and in 1906 the present white brick building was erected. Mr. Alex Graves was the builder of the original church of plain wood with glass windows of six panels and a high gabled roof. He also built the pews. The later church contained a steeple with a belfry; a storm destroyed the steeple leaving the bell in perfect shape on the ground. It has been placed in a frame on the grounds. In the church is a plaque giving the names of the children and the money made to honor children for the building fund. Rev. T.I. Nease was the first pastor. In 1919 Rev. W.A. Brooks was pastor of Unadilla and Snow with Unadilla, Snow and Smyrna. At one time this charge was the Snow Spring Ct. In 1974 Unadilla and Pinehurst became a two-point charge. 1982 Membership: 256 PINEHURST US Hwy. 41, Dooly County This church is located on the corner of Pines and Fullerton Avenue and was built in 1928, the second building for this church organized in 1890. The first building was a wooden structure with a belfry in the steeple (and pigeons). Rev. T.I. Nease was the first pastor. In 1919 Pinehurst was head of a circuit with Rev. B.F. West, pastor, including these churches: St. Paul, Shiloh, Pinehurst, and Pleasant Valley. 168 In 1940 Rev. C.L. Wall was pastor for Pinehurst Circuit which included Pinehurst, Henderson, Snow, Smyrna, and St. Paul. In 1974 Pinehurst and Unadilla became a two point charge after many years as stations. 1982 Membership: 76 Members Entering Ministry: James O. Langston, Paul Dupree VIENNA CHARGE Joel H. Dent, Pastor This church was organized in 1849 and in 1907 the brick building was erected. Rev. L.A. Hill was the pastor. In the MINUTES of the conference for 1907 Vienna received a grant of $400 from the Conference Board of Church Extension, which meant that a new church would speedily open for service free of debt. In 1919 Rev. Reese Griffin was on the Vienna Charge which had Vienna, Marvin, and Pleasant Valley. In 1940 Rev. J.M. Yarbrough was pastor to Vienna and Shiloh. VIENNA US Hwy. 41, Dooly County 1982 Membership: 401 SHILOH Near Vienna, Georgia This church began meeting in a brush arbor in 1847 with a building program beginning in 1848. Mrs. J.T. Brown (Sally) suggested the name for the church. Rev. B.F. West was pastor of the Pinehurst Circuit, in the Cordele District in 1919, that included these churches: Pinehurst, Shiloh, St. Paul and Pleasant Valley. In 1930 Shiloh was on the Lilly Charge with Drayton, Lilly, Pleasant Valley, Smyrna and Shiloh with Rev. D.B. Merritt the pastor. In 1950 the men of this church pledged an acre of corn to the church for a building fund. 1982 Membership: 138 WARWICK Ga. Hwy. 313, Worth County J. Lewis Hill, Pastor 169 In the 1913 MINUTES of the annual conference in the report of the Board of Church Extension it states that a grant of $250 is made to Warwick, Worth County, Valdosta District. This meant that a new building was about to be finished as the money was not granted until the church was to speedily open for services free of debt. In 1919 Warwick was on the Oakfield Circuit with Rev. G.E. Clary Sr., pastor, and these churches: Doles, Union, Warwick, and Oakfield. This was then the Cordele District. In 1947 the first building was damaged by fire and the present building was built on the same site later in the year. Stained glass win- dows and 4 columns were added. The story is told that Rev. W.E. Hightower, pastor when the first building was being built walked from the parsonage to the W. D. Etheridge place to pick cotton to pay his part on the new building. In 1967 Warwick became a station. Hollis E. Cherry, Pastor US Hwy. 41, Crisp County This is the third building that this church has built since it was organized in 1906 with Rev. R.M. Booth, the pastor of the Arabi Circuit helping to organize it. The first building was blown down by a wind in 1908 and had to be rebuilt. For this rebuilding, the con- ference Board of Church Extension granted them $100 which meant that it would soon be open for worship debt free. In 1941 the old church was torn down and the new one built in its place. In 1919 Rev. C.L. Wall was the pastor of the Arabi Circuit which had Arabi, Wenona, Mt. Carmen and Zions Hope. In 1940 Wenona was on the Warwick Charge with Arabi, Warwick, Union Oakfield and Wenona. At one time it was with Seville. It became a station in 1972. 1982 Membership: 67 1982 Membership: 137 WENONA 170 COL UMBUS DISTRICT Alvis A. Waite, Jr., Superintendent 3434 Hilton Woods Drive, Columbus In 1829, a year following the settling of this area, the Columbus District was formed. Its size and shape has varied greatly over the years, for at one time the section of Alabama around Girard was part of this district. Except for 1866, when the Georgia Conference had a LaGrange District and a Lumpkin District instead of a Columbus District, there has been a continuous Columbus District. While the oldest churches in this area were part of the early Athens, Augusta and Milledgeville Districts, most of the churches have been in the Colum- bus District for 154 years. Those churches along the boundary line of the con- ference were in the LaGrange and Griffin Districts when the South Georgia Con- ference was organized. The churches in the southern section have been in one or more of these districts Thomasville, Bainbridge, Americus and Dawson. In 1983 this district had 37 charges with 73 churches and 16,681 members. BUENA VISTA Owen B. Williams III, Pastor Ga. Hwy 26 and 41, Marion County Originally located in the community of Tazewell, this church was begun in 1844. Rev. David N. Burkhalter, the first pastor, furnished the material for the first building. When the church moved to Buena Vista, he gave five acres of land for the cemetery and church grounds. The church has often through its history enjoyed dynamic preaching as illustrated by this account from 1854. After a revival held by Rev. Blakely Smith, managers of three saloons joined the church and closed their barrooms. This revival also brought about the building of the new church in 1858. In 1908 the church building was moved from near the cemetery and placed on the corner lot north of the parsonage. 1982 Membership: 218 BUTLER Donald L. Adams, Pastor Highway 96, Butler, Georgia Before the first church was organized, the Methodists in the community were served by Rev. Zachariah Stearns, a local Methodist minister. In 1840, his son, Rev. 171 Harris Stearns, organized the church and served as its first pastor. The church was originally called Red Level Church and was located a mile from the present courthouse. The first building was erected in the 1840s. In 1858, a violent storm came up and lifted the building from its foundation and carried it some distance. But no one was hurt and the building was undamaged. The present building was built in 1920. The missionary giving in 1958-1960. 1982 Membership: 290 COLUMBUS, ALDERSGATE church was named a four-star church in Wayne E. Moseley, Pastor 4323 Primrose Road, Columbus This church was organized on May 14, 1964, in a building provided by the Col- umbus District Board of Missions. It had 93 charter members, and the first pastor was Rev. James T. Trice, Jr. The first unit of the planned facility was erected in 1966 and consecrated on September 11. Expansion of the building was begun in February, 1976. Dedication of the present building took place on Sept. 29,1976. 1982 Membership: 244 COLUMBUS, ASBURY Charles Rooks, Pastor Broadmoor and Ellen Streets This church was constituted on November 6, 1960 with 114 members. Sponsored by St. Luke, the first services were held in a storefront at Lumpkin Terrace Shopping Center. Called Broadmoor at first, it was renamed Asbury after the first Bishop of American Methodism, Francis Asbury. Rev. H. B. Doc Underwood was the first pastor. In 1961 the first building, of brick construction, was begun and soon in use for services. Several additions were made until 1963. Located in South Columbus near Ft. Benning, it is the first Methodist church off the base. In 1973 the temporary sanctuary was converted into a permanent sanctuary. The altar area was enlarged, carpet and pews installed, and the interior repainted. Stained glass windows were installed as memorials in 172 1981. One window, given by Asbury United Women, was dedicated to the wives of ministers who had served the church. All indebtedness on the church was relieved in 1981 with Bishop Joel McDavid dedicating the building in May, 1982. 1982 Membership: 307 Members entering ministry: Robert E. McDaniel, Robin Fitch, Robert V. Sneed COLUMBUS, EAST HIGHLAND W. Paul Whitlock, Jr. Pastor 13th Avenue and 17th Street This church was organized in a one-room building on the 23rd of April, 1889, with 20 members. According to the 1898 MINUTES it was a mission with Hamilton with Rev. J. A. Smith, the pastor. They had made progress with 76 additions and had paid the preacher $560 and all other purposes $1,738.35. The next year Upatoi was on the mission with East Highlands, Rev. L.W. Colson pastor, and they reported needing a parsonage. The present building was begun in 1927 and dedicated October 10, 1937. In 1948 the educational section of the church was added. This church began a mission in Morningside in 1953; today it is Striplin Terrace. In the 1960s two ministerial students were sponsored by a scholar- ship fund. Recently the church has been painted white and the interior redecorated. A public address system-intercom with individual hearing aids has been installed. 1982 Membership: 421 Members entering the ministry: Minns S. Robertson, Jack Bentley, Bruce M. Wilson, James T. Pennell, Larry B. Roberts, Ronald L. Culpepper, Jerry Bain Newsome COLUMBUS, EDGEWOOD George W. Herndon, Pastor 3969 Edgewood Circle The beginning of this church starts with a lady across from the church recalling that it was the district superintendent whom she met clearing the lot of this church. Rev. Roy McTier was the district superintendent and Rev. H. D. Doc Underwood was the first pastor. On April 18, 1954, Edgewood was organized in a six-room dwelling on the property. The house had been adapted to use for services until the first unit was built. That unit is now called Hazen Hall. The present sanctuary was built in 1970. All structures are brick. On July 8, 1974, an arsonist set fire to the church facilities and left it heavily damaged. By January 173 1975 the church was completely restored with some important modifications to the educational unit. 1982 Membership: 506 COLUMBUS, EPWORTH C. Dick Reese, Pastor 2400 Devonshire Drive This church was begun in a rented house in May 1960 with Rev. Lamar Ball, pastor. The congregation worship- ped in the following places before the first unit was ready: chapel of St. Paul, Sherwood Methodist Church, rented house at 4006 Warm Springs Road, and Open Door Community House. The name, Epworth, was chosen after the boyhood home of John Wesley in England. The first unit, a sanctuary-fellowship hall, kitchen and 8 classrooms was opened for Easter services, April 10,1963. An additional wing was consecrated on Sunday, Oc- tober 11,1970. 1982 Membership: 569 COLUMBUS, HAMP STEVENS TRINITY Earl Seckinger, Pastor HAMP STEVENS 35th Street at Third Avenue In 1901, this church began services in an old street-car barn located on Second Ave. Rev. E.D. Phillips was assigned to this mission. The 1901 MINUTES show Brother Phillips was assigned to Pearce Chapel and North Highlands. The 1905 assignment read, North Highlands and Broad Street, W.T. Lambert and I.F. Griffith The first building, a wooden one, was erected in 1906. The present building was erected in 1925 during the pastorate of Rev. John Sharpe and was named for a former pastor, Hamp Stevens Memorial. Mr. Stevens served this church twice for a total of 11 years and died while it was under construction. The church, free of debt, was dedicated Easter Sunday 1930. In the early years, this church provided a place where the millworkers could have a shower after work. Here a day nursery was begun by Miss Lizzie Evans in 1924. This was the beginning of todays Open Door Community House. In January 1983, Hamp Stevens and Trinity began some combined activities. 1982 Membership: 320 Members entering ministry: Curtis Barnes, Jack Gorham, Joe Barnes, Gaston Pollock, Harry Smith, Henry Erwin, Roscoe Spann, Jim I. Summerford, Mira Barrett, J. H. Reid, W. H. Sealy, Rudolph Dixon, Earl Dukes, John M. Barrett, Irie M. Cyree, D. Eugene Pollett, Hugh E. Shirah 174 TRINITY 4105 Beal wood Avenue As the name indicates, there are the pasts of three churches united in this congregation. They have Methodist Protestant and Methodist Episcopal South roots. In 1953 this church was organized from the Earline Avenue and Bealwood churches. Old Pearce Chapel . *** had merged with Earline Ave. earlier. A certificate of organization was presented to the new church by Bishop Arthur Moore on March 27,1953. Services were held in a large tent until the present building was ready for services on November 18, 1954. Rev. William Peed was assigned as the first pastor. In 1983, Trinity became a two- point station with Hamp Stevens Church. 1982 Membership: 95 Members entering ministry: Rudolph Starling Dennis E. Stalvey, Pastor 4442 Buena Vista Road The roots of this church reach back to 1820 before there was a town of Colum- bus. It was located about 8 lh miles east of its present location before the expan- sion of Ft. Benning during World War II caused it to be moved. The old cemetery is still in the military reservation. Records begin with 1910 when Rev. W.H. Ketchum was the pastor. The 1910 MINUTES give his appointment as the Midland Circuit. The first building was destroyed by a storm, but was rebuilt. It was white frame with windows on each side and rear, a chimney in the center and steps running across the front. While the church was being relocated, the congregation worshipped in the home of Fletcher Elliott on Buena Vista, Rd. The present church, erected in 1947, is made of as much of the former building as possible and brick veneered. A gymnasium and educa- tional facilities have been added. In this churchs long years it has been on several charges: Wynnton, Cusseta, Rose Hill and St. Mark. 1982 Membership: 224 COLUMBUS, M.L. HARRIS CHARGE William B. Howell, Pastor M.L. HARRIS 4601 Old Cusseta Road In 1972 the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference. The early history of this congregation goes back to Simpson Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1872, formerly located COLUMBUS, MIDWAY 175 at the corner of 6th Avenue and 7th Street. It was a part of the Savannah Conference before the merger of the Methodists in 1940, then it became a member of the Georgia Conference. One of the earliest known pastors was Rev. J.H. Hankins. In 1963 a new location, the present one, was chosen on which to build a new church. At this time the name was changed to honor the presiding bishop of the Georgia Conference at that time, Bishop M. Lafayette Har- ris. By April 1966 the new building was ready for services. This church carries on an STEPHENS CHAPEL Singer Heights, Lumpkin, Ga. This church was organized as a Methodist Protestant Congregation in 1915 after a split from Bluff Springs A.M.E. Church. A one-room wooden building was located just off Ga. Hwy. 390 about 5 miles from Lumpkin. It was named for Rev. G.W. Stephens who was the pastor at the time of organization. The land was given by Mr. H. Walton of Shady Grove Baptist Church. Since most of the membership had moved to town and the church was in need of major repair, it was decided to relocate in town. In 1981, with the help of Rev. Art Bishop, pastor of the Lumpkin Church and Rev. W.B. Howell, pastor of Stevens Chapel, a lot was secured in Singer Heights and a mobile chapel, belonging to the conference, was placed on the new lot and opened for services. Plans are being made for building a permanent building. active day care and scouting program. 1982 Membership: 237 1982 Membership: 32 COLUMBUS, ROSE HILL wood, burned in 1895 and was rebuilt pastor. IN the 1898 MINUTES of the Mission, city of Columbus, Rev. W.W. S Bobby E. Davis, Pastor 2101 Hamilton Road This church was organized in 1889 as a mission of the Broad Street Church. It was temporarily located at the old pavilion at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and 20th Street. Later the church was located across the street on the corner of 21st and Thomas Street, now Sixth Avenue. The first building, of in 1896. Rev. J.G. Harrison was the first conference we find this quote Rose Hill sale,-pastor. This charge has had gratifying 176 success. Additions 30. Paid the preacher $400 and for all purposes $871.44. We think that by extending aid to it one more year, it will, at the end of that time, be made self sustaining. It is continued. In 1919 Rev. J.C.G. Brooks was pastor and it was a station church. The present building is of Grecian architecture with a blend of brick and stone and completed in 1914. The frame building of 1896 was brick veneered for Sunday School rooms when the church was completed. 1982 Membership: 389 Members entering ministry: Emmett S. Davis, John E. Horton, Jr., John D. Quillian ICOLUMBUS, ST. ANDREW E. Jarrell Lillard, Pastor 5304 Hurst Drive In 1955 as part of the outreach program in the Columbus District, Rev. Edwin Grimes was assigned to work in establishing new churches. This church was organized at a service in a home on December 9, 1956. The first meeting place was a furniture store at 3906 River Road. Following a sermon about the disciple Andrew, the congregation voted to name their church for this disciple. St. Andrews first building was ready for services in November 1957; it was located on River Road. As the church program expanded more space was needed, so the present site was purchased. The first unit with a fellowship hall/sanctuary was ready for service July 4, 1971. The church is free of debt and making plans for a permanent sanctuary. 1982 Membership: 397 Members entering ministry: Warren Williams COLUMBUS, ST. JOHN William L. Strickland, Pastor 6507 Moon Road at Weems On another site in the rapidly growing NE section of Columbus, the District Board of Mission purchased land for another new church. In a brick dwelling on this site, this church was organized in October, 1966, with 14 members. Rev. Richard Robertson was assigned to the church in 1967, and the report at the end of the year was 80 members, 10 on profession of faith and 35 by transfer of cer- tificate. The average attendance at morning worship was 62. During Rev. Bob Borums pastorate the first unit was begun in June 1971 and the first service was held January 16,1972. 1982 Membership: 307 177 COLUMBUS, ST. LUKE Donald M. Kea, Pastor Larry E. Bird, Associate 1104 Second Avenue at 12th St. With the opening of this area to settlers Methodism was here. Rev. James Stockdale, a circuit rider, preached to the people in a brush arbor on the site of the present church in 1828. The log meeting house in 1829 was the first church building in the new town. Rev f\. Arthur Hammil was the first preacher :J:. assigned specifically to St. Luke. In ||| 1836 the first brick building was erected. A second brick building, erected in its place in the late 1890s, was destroyed by fire on May 10, 1942. The present building is Georgian architec- ture, portico supported by graceful columns, a tall spire with cross on top. The 8 windows in the sanctuary depict incidents from creation to establishment of the Methodist Church in America. It was officially opened in 1948. The Turner Chapel and education facility was dedicated April 14,1965. St. Luke has hosted the annual session of the South Georgia Conference in 1871, 1881, 1892, 1910, 1928, 1936,1949,1961 and 1973. This church has been involved in the beginning of many of the new churches in individual support and through the District Board of Missions. 1982 Membership: 2,482 Members entering ministry: Edwin J. Grimes, G. Lee Ramsey, David Harris, G. Thomas Martin, III, James Rush COLUMBUS, ST. MARK James F. Jackson, Jr., Pastor; Norman K. Dunlap, Associate 6795 Whitesville Road The early beginnings of this church blend with the history of Wesley Chapel and Girard across the river as well as the time of the great revival in the 1850s, Mis- sionary zeal was high and new churches were started. From 1865, the record is clearer. A wooden chapel stood where Eagle-Phenix Mill now stands; this lot was swapped for the Broad Street site. The building still stands in the 1500 block of Broadway. For several years this congregation had only the basement to use, then they were able to build the two-story church that was used until the early 1900s. In the 1911 MINUTES the name Methodist Tabernacle appears for this church; it is there until 1914 when the listing is St. Mark. In 1912 the brick building on Third Avenue was built and the name changed. Educational units were added. It was remodeled and additional education space added in 1954. The present location is the fourth. In 1974 the present Sanctuary/fellowship hall was opened for services. 178 The windows from the old building were put in this building. Double sessions of church and Sunday School are now held and plans are in process for beginning the permanent sanctuary. 1982 Membership: 763 Eric L. Sizemore, Pastor 39993 St. Marys Road at 1-185 This churchs first location was at the old Muscogee County Prison on Ten- nessee Avenue. For three months Rev. Vance Eastridge, a student at Chandler School of Theology, served as pastor under the guidance and financial assistance of St. Luke. Rev. Pledger Parker, St. Luke Associate, assisted by Rev. Olin W. Mintzer continued the work, and the church was established in Oc- tober 1955 and chartered April 1,1956, with 75 charter members. In June 1956 Rev. James Chester was assigned to St. Marys Hills Church. Under the guidance of E. Oren Smith, architect, the prison quarters were redesigned to meet the needs of a church. The main quarters became the sanctuary and administrative building was converted into classrooms, nursery, and fellowship area. A room was used for a par- sonage with Mr. Chester as the first fulltime pastor. The church has been relocated to its present site and the first unit of sanctuary and classrooms was ready for ser- vices June 1966. 1982 Membership: 266 Members entering ministry: John Bacher COLUMBUS, ST. PAUL 2101 Wildwood Avenue In 1858 there was already a growing need for a second Methodist church in this developing city, when a great revival meeting was held and many joined. St. Paul was organized following this event. The first building was built at Troup (3rd Ave.) St. and Bryan (13th) St. and dedicated on October 9, William 0. Powell, Pastor Stephen Waldorf, Associate Arthur L. Bishop, Min. of Educ. COLUMBUS, ST. MARYS ROAD t 4. 179 1859. Rev. Lovick Pierce was the first pastor. Lightning struck and destroyed the church on September 14,1901. It was immediately rebuilt on the same site. In 1949, the church was relocated to the present site. The new sanctuary, designed by Oren Smith, is brick with stately columns across the portico. Four of the stained glass windows are from the old church; the rest are memorials. A recent gift is the mosaic over the altar. The bell tower and chapel, given by the Illges family as a memorial to Abraham and Mary Lou Barnett Illges, has intricate imported wood carvings. Four other windows from the former church are in the fellowship hall. Recently plans have been made to enlarge the office and fellowship areas. 1982 Membership: 1,486 Member entering ministry: Stephen Waldorf Hunter Bassett, Pastor 3503 17th Avenue at 35th Street On the lawn of Chester Murrays home this church was organized on August 24, 1947, with 17 members. Rev. W.E. Scott, pastor of St. Paul, gave assistance to Bill Calhoun, a ministerial student, in this first period. Rev. C.E. Ned Steele was assigned as the first pastor in June 1948. The first unit of the building was completed June 17, 1948, with the second begun in 1949. Both were dedicated, as they were free of debt, on December 21, 1952. On April 18, 1953, a tornado destroyed one unit and seriously damaged the parsonage and the first unit. While the sanctuary roof and walls were gone, the music open on the organ and the organists shoes still stood as she left them shortly before. The Columbus Boys Club served as a place of worship until the building could be replaced. In June 1954 architectual plans were approved for the permanent sanctuary and work begun. All church debts were paid, and the mortgage burned on July 25, 1965 and church dedicated by Bishop John Owen Smith 1982 Membership: 445 Members entering ministry: J. David Hanson COLUMBUS, SOUTH COLUMBUS Riley K. Middleton, Jr. Pastor 1213 Benning Drive In 1941 when this church was started on a vacant lot, there were two large housing complexes, one government, the other city-owned, where many military families lived, adjacent to the church property. Rev. Albert Hall, associate at St. Luke, was COLUMBUS, SHERWOOD 180 given the responsibility of starting this church. Rev. Frank Robertson was the pastor who helped with the first building. The sanctuary with a two- story educational unit was completed in October 1942. At this time there was lit- tle development beyond Victory Drive, so the church was named Baker Village. Two additional wooden buildings were added, and two morning services were held each Sunday with more than 700 visitors signing visitor cards in a year. Plans were underway to build a new plant in place of the wooden units. The new sanc- tuary was built between the parsonage and the old sanctuary. The new church was ready in August 1967. Then the army changed its recruiting policies and training policies at Ft. Benning and fewer persons brought their families and many were transferred. Yet in 1982 the last educational unit was dedicated by Bishop Joel D. McDavid. 1982 Membership: 266 (COLUMBUS, STRIPLIN TERRACE Charles L. Dennis, Pastor 4170 Miller Road In the fall of 1952 on Miller Road in Morningside a lot was purchased from S.H. Striplin. This was to be the new church, sponsored by East Highlands. The first service was held under the trees November 30, 1952. A tent was purchased and pews loaned from another church; the tent was used until (February 1953. Rev. Leland Moore, pastor of East Highlands, preached each Sun- tday at 10 a.m. then rushed to East Highlands for 11 oclock service. Rev. Roy 'McTier, the superintendent, filled in some. Prayer meeting was held in the homes. The Church was organized April 9, 1953, as Striplin Terrace with 59 charter members. Rev. Emmett Davis, a ministerial student at Candler School of Theology, was assigned as pastor, and began on Sunday May 19,1953. The present sanctuary was ready for service on Palm Sunday 1954. Educational units were added in 1957 and second between 1959-62, with the third unit during the pastorate of Rev. Burns 'Willis. Next the sanctuary was remodeled and pews added. The final addition was the fellowship hall in 1972-76. 1982 Membership: 512 COLUMBUS, WESLEY HEIGHTS Zephoe Belcher, Jr., Pastor 5603 Luna Drive [In April 1962 a survey was conducted by Rev. F.J. Beverly, director of the con- rcerence Board of Evangelism and Church Extension, to determine if there was a need for a new church in the Wesley Heights area. With the help of the District Board of Missions and the help of Chester Murray, Sr., a temporary building was 181 put up in 5 days time to be ready for the first service on May 20th and the revival to follow. This was the beginning of the church that was named for the com- munity. The land, site of the old Moon Dairy Farm overlooking 6 subdivisions, was purchased for a nominal sum. Mr. Moon later gave additional land. Rev. John Horton was assigned as the first pastor in June 1962. Laymen of the church added an educational wing and restrooms to the first structure by December 1962. Groundbreaking for the first brick unit was October 6, 1963. It opened for use in February 1964. This structure is a one-story building that houses a temporary sanc- tuary, classrooms, fellowship hall and offices. 1982 Membership: 418 COLUMBUS, WYNNTON James T. Pennell, Pastor William C. Beasley, Associate Wynnton Road at Lawyers Lane This church begem in a one-room wooden church building on November 27, 1927. As it was the only church in this community it was named for the community. The first building of wood was erected between September and Oc- tober 1927 on the present site. During 1935-6 the present Youth Building was constructed, in part, of used bricks. The present sanctuary and offices were built in 1949, and painted white for a period. They have been returned to the natural brick finish. Rev. Edwin J. Grimes was the first pastor and in January 1983 the latest education building, dedicated by Bishop Joel D. McDavid in November 1982, was named the Edwin J. Grimes Building. Extensive building plans are underway that involve the closing of the street behind the present complex. In 1957 and again in 1973 this church hosted the annual session of the S. Ga. Conference. Over 1,000 delegates attended plus visitors and delegates spouses. 1982 Membership: 1,896. Members entering ministry: Gordon C. King, S. Larry King, Al Grumpier, Rudolph E. Grantham, S. Benson Parker, Jr, M. Creede Hinshaw, Bonnie Gray Ogie, Pamela Gail Ledbetter, James T. Trice Mission field: Dr. and Mrs. David L. Stevens Kenya 182 CUSSETA CHARGE Timothy E. Paulk, Pastor CUSSETA US Hwys. 27 and 280, Chattahoochee Co. Before the Methodists formally organ- ized a church here, they built a brush ar- bor for services at Bald Hill Camp- ground. Early records indicate that this arbor, about a mile west of Cusseta, was in use prior to 1851. Somewhat later, Duncan H. Burts gave an acre of land for a house of worship, and the building erected on this lot was used until a larger building was required in 1897. This second church was struck by lightning and burned in the early summer of 1944. After some controversy, the congregation decided to rebuild on a different lot; so the Lee Harp house and lot were purchased as a site and the present structure built. While rebuilding the congregation held services in the Baptist Church and met jointly with them for Sunday School. Until 1891 the church had been led by a layman, Col. E. G. Raiford; at that time Rev. R. L. Allison became the pastor. The present building has had an annex added, as well as an organ, a stained-glass window, and other improvements since 1944. 1982 Membership: 143 MARVIN US Hwy. 27, Louvale, Georgia In this town in Stewart County three white clapboard churches and a school stand in a row. Only the Baptist and Methodist Churches are still used, and the school is now the community center. This church, named for Bishop Enoch Marvin, was built in 1899. A grant from the conference Board of Church Extension for $100 indicates that it would soon be opened, free of debt, for service. The land the church is built on is covered by a Warranty Deed dated December 6,1899. In 1919 it was on the Cusseta Circuit with Liberty Hill, Harmony and Cusseta, Rev. J.C. Saville, pastor. At this time it was listed under the name Louvale. It has been on the Lumpkin and Omaha Circuits m the past. 1982 Membership: 21 OMAHA Ga. Hwy. 39, Stewart County Built in the 1890s when Omaha was founded on the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in the western part of Stewart County, this church was the successor to the Florence Church. On Nov. 18,1895, The Omaha Improvement Company sold to J. H. Carter and Arthus Allen as Trustees of the church nine lots of land to be used for a church and parsonage. Both were constructed at that time. The church continues in use, but the parsonage has not been used since 1930. It was sold and razed in the early 1940s. The pews of the church are said to have come from St. Luke Church in Columbus many years ago. Though the fact has not been authenticated, the large church bell is said to have come from England a long time ago. 1982 Membership: 12 CUTHBERT CHARGE James R. Webb, Pastor CUTHBERT Lumpkin and Church St., Cuthbert In 1828, Rev. Morgan Turrentine was appointed to serve the Lee Mission in the territory between the Chat- tahoochee and Flint Rivers recently ceded by the Creek Indians. In 1830, the Randolph Mission was formed, and in 1833 Rev. J. T. Talley was appointed its first pastor. The name was changed to Cuthbert Charge in 1837 or 1838. Under the leadership of Rev. Tillman Purifoy, the congregation built its first building of logs in 1844 at Shady Grove Campground. That site, located on West Hamilton Avenue, is now the Greenwood Cemetery. The present church was built in 1851 of wood and in the style of the day. It was remodeled in 1907 and brick veneered in 1917. A social hall was added in 1947 and a Sunday School annex in 1956. The sanctuary was completely renovated in 1971. The South Georgia Annual Conference has been held in Cuthbert in 1869,1886, and 1900. 1982 Membership: 339 BENEVOLENCE Benevolence, Georgia This church, located nine miles northeast of Cuthbert, was one of the first places of worship in Randolph County. On land given by Jonathan Fentress in 1852, a small log house was built for church services. Since that time three other church buildings have been erected successively on the same site at the center of the small rural communi- ty. In 1928 the church became a member of its present charge. 1982 Membership: 30 184 GENEVA CHARGE Walter S. McCleskey, Pastor GENEVA US 80, Geneva, Georgia On March 1, 1875, indenture was made in the Talbot County Court House between Mr. C. B. Leitner and the first Board of Trustees of this church: John R. Jordan, Ansel Turner, H. H. Cosley, W. T. McBride, and Richard Lumpkin. The deed was recorded on June 4,1877. The church was erected shortly after. Early records indicate that Geneva has been on a circuit. In 1898 Rev. W. E. Ar- nold was pastor. In 1919, the first year of circuit records, the Geneva Circuit in- cluded this church, New Hope, Box Springs, Juniper, and Brown Springs. In 1940 it was part of the Talbot Circuit. In the 1960s, Geneva participated in the special research and work of the Conference Commission on Town and Country as part of the Geneva Larger Parish. L982 Membership: 25 BOX SPRINGS US 80, Box Springs, Talbot County 'This church was built in 1897 by Mr. Will C. Patterson. Records do not show the first pastor, but among the earlier pastors were Rev. Monroe Yarbrough, Rev. A. A. Waite, Sr., and Rev. Kenneth 'McGregor. In the spring of 1920, a storm destroyed the church. Lumber from the church and the school building, which was also destroyed, was used to rebuild. In 1944, additions were made to the building. In 1960, the church was moved from its original site down near the railroad to the highway, and a new brick building was erected. The church was earlier part of the Midland Circuit. 1982 Membership: 44 JUNIPER Georgia 355, Talbot County Located near the Marion County line, this congregation dates Tom the 1880s. The Lummus Company factory, now in Columbus, was located at Juniper for a short 185 OLIVE BRANCH Georgia 315, Talbot County time in the late 1880s and early 1890s. In 1892, the Lummus family erected a frame church in memory of one of their family. That building has since housed this church and retains its original stained-glass windows. It was the site of early church camps, and in the 1930s hosted the first Childrens Workers Assemblies for the conference. The church was originally part of the Talbot Circuit. 1982 Membership: 23 This church was established in the 1830s. Its present location, west of Talbotton, is the third for the church. The present building was the school building of the Old Farmers Academy which operated in the community prior to the advent of public schools and school consolidation. The earliest records of the church were destroyed by fire in the home of a member in 1927. Olive Branch was for many years part of the Talbot Circuit. 1982 Membership: 71 GEORGETOWN CHARGE Robert E. McDaniel, Pastor Prior to 1901, the Methodists and Bap- tists of Georgetown worshipped in the Community Church. In 1900, Mr. R. G. Morris gave the land on which the church was built. This frame building, still in use, was erected in 1901-1902 by Mr. Albert N. Surles. In 1950-51, Sun- day School rooms were added. About that same time, the parsonage was moved from Springvale to Georgetown, and the name of the charge was changed also from Springvale to Georgetown. In 1979 a Fellowship Hall was added. Some of the in- teresting features of the church are its elaborate, hand-carved, light-wood pews; the original chandelier, once kerosene, now electric; and the stained-glass windows. GEORGETOWN U.S. 82, Georgetown, Georgia 1982 Membership: 71 Members entered ministry: Henry Gary 186 SHARON Northwest Randolph County, Georgia Located in Randolph County at the edge of Quitman and Stewart Counties, this church came into existence in 1831 as a Methodist Protestant Church. The first church structure was a log building which remained until 1870 when a clap- board building was constructed. In 1909, the present wooden building was erected with John Pearce, Stonewall Bryant, and Walter O. Phillips as trustees. In the 1960s, under the leadership of J. D. Spence, the church was renovated with aluminum siding, landscaping, and new sanctuary furnishings. A well-known SPRINGVALE U.S. 82, Springvale, Georgia In the late 1850s and 1860s, the Springvale schoolhouse with a large chapel served as an ideal place of wor- ship. Soon Methodist ministers came and preached. Rev. Tom Stewart, Rev. Oliver Anthony, and Rev. Morgan Callaway, later president of Andrew, were among those. In the summer of 1865, Rev. J. R. Owen, who had been preaching here regularly, held a meeting in the chapel which was attended by huge crowds. The following year, 1866, the church was organized. Rev. W. W. Scaifi was the first pastor sent by the Conference. In 1871-72 the present building was erected. A parsonage was later built, and for several years the circuit was known as the Springvale Charge. 1982 Membership: 12 UNION Junction County Rds 84 and 39, Quitman County Located in Quitman County about four miles north of the Morris Community, this church was organized in 1837. Since it was a non-denominational church founded to serve the whole community, it was called Union. The church began as a brush arbor and later built the first building. The exact date that the church became a Methodist charge is unknown. The present building is not the first. The education building was formerly the one- room school house which many of the older members remember attending. cemetery adjoins the church. 1982 Membership: 24 1982 Membership: 62 187 HAMILTON CHARGE John A. Bacher, Pastor HAMILTON South College Street, Hamilton This church was organized in 1834 in a frame building in the western part of town. The first pastor is believed to have been Rev. W. A. Farley. This original building, erected in 1834, was sold to a black congregation and a new wooden frame building erected on the present site in 1880. Plans for this church were drawn by Rev. M. M. Marshall, then pastor of Rose Hill Church, who had been an architect prior to entering the ministry. This church burned in 1926, and the present building was constructed in 1926-27. 1982 Membership: 98 BIGHAMS CHAPEL Fortson Road, Mulberry Grove, Georgia Organized in 1847 at a campground, this church was named for Rev. Robert W. Bigham, pastor of Whitesville Circuit in 1847, who had been instrumental in forming the new church. Property was deeded for Mulberry Methodist Church on June 25, 1847, and the first church was built probably in 1849. In August 1883, the church was torn down and moved to the present site which had been the campground of old Central Church. At that time, the name was changed to Bighams Chapel. 1982 Membership: 19 CATAULA US Hwy. 27, Cataula, Georgia This church was originally organized in 1829 in a log building and was named Clowers for a leading lay member. The first pastor was Rev. Andrew Hamlin. In 1834 a frame building was erected, and in 1857 the present building was built on the present location. Although Clowers is its earlier name, it has been Cataula since the late 1880s. In the 1860s it was a part of the Muscogee Circuit. From 1860 to the early 1900s it was on the Catula Ct. In 1898 Rev. H.M. Morrison was the pastor, followed by Rev. W.T. Stewart in 1899. In 1908 the Cataula Circuit is not listed in the conference MINUTES. Separate listing of the churches on the 188 circuits appears in the 1919 MINUTES, where Cataula is part of the Midland Ct. with Rev. M.W. Flanders, pastor. 1982 Membership: 105 HOWARD CHARGE Dale Thornton, Pastor HOWARD Georgia 96, Howard, Georgia This church was organized in 1870 under the leadership of Rev. Robert Williamson, then pastor of the Butler Charge. He and Judge W. D. Grace were the financial pro- moters for the building which was to be erected. One acre of land for the site was donated by Marshall Patrick Brown, William Mathews, and Freeman Mathews. In the early days of its existence, the church conducted a Union Sunday School with the Baptists. The pulpit Bible still in use was given to the church on Feb. 6, 1871, by Dr. James Griffith, M.D. In 1952, work on the road which runs by the church necessitated moving it four feet. At this time, a new lower founda- tion was built, the front of the church was repaired and remodeled, and Sun- day School rooms were added. The church has previously been part of the Geneva, Mauk, Wesley, and Butler Charges. 1982 Membership: 83 CHARING Charing, Georgia This church is believed to have been organized as early as 1886 as the Plea- sant Hill Church. The earliest building, a one-room log structure, was used as a church and school and was located on the southwest side of Garrett Pond near the little community of Flem. Flem, which began with the establishment of a cotton gin about 1890, became Charing on Nov. 4, 1908. The church was previously part of the Buena Vista and Mauk Circuits. 1982 Membership: 19 MAUK Ga. Hwy. 90, Mauk, Georgia Although little is known of this church, it was in 1919 head of the Mauk Circuit which included Mauk, Rupert, Charing, Howard, Pine Level, and Liberty. Of these, 189 Rupert and Liberty are no longer active. The parsonage was near the church. In this year, the church held a large revival led by the famous Downing sisters of Columbus or Phenix City. A large tent was pitched beside the church; Ruth and Mary Downing were the evangelistic preachers and Catherine led the singing. Great crowds came and many joined the church. The church was later part of the Butler charge; it received its present assignment in 1955. The building has been recently renovated. 1982 Membership: 15 PINE LEVEL South of Junction City, Georgia In the late 1860s the people of the com- munity organized a church and con- structed a brush arbor. The first perma- nent building was erected around 1875 a few hundred yards from the present site. The current building was erected in 1901-1902, and Sunday School rooms were added in the early 1960s when the church was remodeled. The frame structure of these rooms, formerly a store in Norwich, was donated by Will Turner. The first recorded minister of the church in 1888 was Rev. John T. Mims. The church was previously part of the Geneva, Marion, and Mauk Charges. 1982 Membership: 46 UNION Off U.S. 19, north Taylor County, Georgia Before the Civil War, when services were discontinued, the congregation worshipped in a building about one mile north of the present church. Following the war, Rev. James Hayes, a local Methodist preacher, began holding ser- vices once monthly in the old Primitive Baptist Church building. The congrega- tion met there until the spring of 1883 when the present church was completed. The old building was used as a school until it burned in 1896. Some of the impetus for the establishment of this church came from the Hays Camp Ground which may have begun holding services as early as 1840. It continued until 1896, building a large tabernacle in 1875. The church has previously been part of the Butler Charge. 1982 Membership: 52 Members entering ministry: W. W. Peed 190 WESLEY CHAPEL Georgia 208, Taylor County, Georgia In 1897, Stephen Bazemore, a good Baptist, organized a Sunday School at- tended by both Methodists and Bap- tists in the school house. Then in August 1900, Rev. R. N. Wesley, pastor of the Butler Church, organized a Methodist Church. The congregation continued to meet in the school house, which was across the road from the present church, holding only evening services until they completed a new building in 1904. The church has been a member of the Butler, Geneva, and Talbot Circuits. 1982 Membership: 29 LUMPKIN CHARGE O. David Karlbom, Pastor LUMPKIN Church and Broad Streets, Lumpkin, Georgia The roots of this church can be found in the work of the Lee Mission. The earliest historian of Lumpkin Methodism, Mr. Loverd Bryan, moved to Lumpkin in 1830 and in 1831 met Rev. George Chappell who had been ap- pointed as a missionary to the area. He was succeeded by Rev. W. Bedell and Rev. W.N. Sears in 1832 and 1833. These men held meetings all over the county wherever they could collect a congregation. In 1833, the mission was constituted the Stewart Circuit and in 1834, Rev. Joseph T. Talley and Rev. Anderson Watson were sent to the work. The Lumpkin church was organized in 1837 and acres were bought from the Boyntons for a church and cemetery. The first building was wood. In 1859, a more elaborate wooden structure was built on the corner of the property near Church Street. This was used until 1909 when it was sold to a black Baptist church and moved to Trotman Rd. where it is still in use. The third and present building was erected in 1910. The cornerstone contained letters from former pastors and the history of the bell given by Dr. Bedingfield in 1843. The builder in 1836 of the Bedingfield Inn, now on the National Register of Historic Places, Dr. Bryan Bedingfield had been converted at a camp meeting preached by Judge Barry. He made his inn home for traveling ministers, became an exhorter and preacher himself. 1982 Membership: 201 Members entering ministry: Jimmy Duke PROVIDENCE Georgia 39, Florence Road, Stewart County Established in 1832-1833, this church first built a log building which stood on the south side of the road directly below where the main part of Providence Canyon 191 State Park is now located. David Lowe donated the land for a church and a school, Providence Academy. At that time this was the site of a thriving com- munity. The present building was built in 1859 on land donated by David Clements Moore and dedicated in November 1860. The old building was left to rot away. It has been moved as the Canyon encroached. The clapboard building is built of hand-planed virgin timber; the pews, made by country cabinet makers, had a divider down the center to separate the men and women who also entered by separate front doors. The old fixtures remain but have been converted to electricity. A cemetery adjoins the church. To maintain this historic church, ser- SARDIS Weston/Trotman Road, southeast Stewart County Until approximately 1830, the territory where Trotman community is was a vast wilderness. About that time, Joseph Session from Washington County set- tled two miles north of the original village. Later around 1850, he donated the land and material and supervised the building of this church. The material was brought from Richland by ox-cart and one-horse wagons. The building was ceiled with hand-planed lumber and had a center divider more than three feet high with pews on either side. The women and men sat separately until the 1920s when the practice began to die out. A tall rail, later modified to make the altar rail, enclosed the pulpit. The original handmade pews of wide pine boards are still in use. A cemetery across the road has graves bearing dates as early as 1848. When termites and rot had caused extensive damage to the church by the late 70s and early 80s, the congregation decided to restore rather than rebuild. They did so in 1982 with support from the members, communi- ty, and the Committee on Missions and Church Extension. vices are held only on fifth Sundays. 1982 Membership: 9 1982 Membership: 27 WESLEY CHAPEL Old Eufaula Road, Stewart County, Georgia Organized in 1840, this church built a clapboard building with brick pillars on two and a half acres sold to the church by J. A. Everett for one dollar. Thomas House deeded the adjoining cemetery to the church. The furnishings heart pine pulpit, altar rail, pews, and table w are original. There is a low stone wall around the church which is referred to as Sims Wall. A tornado destroyed the two-story Masonic lodge and school which stood adjacent to the church but spared the church 192 and cemetery. This church has earlier been part of the Americus and Cusseta charges. 1982 Membership: 34 Homer Taylor, Pastor BETHEL County Rd. 50, off Ga. 41, N. Marion County Located on a sand road in the northern part of the county, this church was organized in 1925. The first pastor was probably Rev. J. W. Connors. After a decline in membership due to the shift of population, a unique organization known as the Bethel Family was formed. This organization consists largely of former residents who gather at the churchs monthly services and make up a congregation numbering more than the resident members. 1982 Membership: 16 BRANTLEY Brantley Road, Marion County, Georgia Originally called Mt. Gillard, this church was organized sometime around 1850. The earliest records show that it was a part of the Buena Vista Charge in 1854. Its first building was a wooden structure. It became a part of its present charge in 1907. 1982 Membership: 53 TAZEWELL Ga. Hwy. 137, Tazewell, Georgia This church is located in Marion Coun- ty and was originally organized in the 1830s. Its first pastor, Rev. David N. Burkhalter, helped to build the first church. This was moved to Buena Vista at the time the county seat was changed from Tazewell to Buena Vista, in the MARION CIRCUIT 193 late 1850s. The frame building, which preceded the present building erected in 1966, was located to the north of the present site across the highway. 1982 Membership: 69 UNION Junction of Ga. 41 and 30, Marion County Although no written records have been found to document the exact dates, there are a number of recollections gathered in 1940 which indicate that there was a Methodist church made of logs located near the present Union Church in the 1830s. The building was said to have also been used as a school, and there were apparently no regular ser- vices held. On September 9, 1857, Daniel James deeded the land for the New Union Methodist Church, locating it so that he could look from the front door of his house, he said, at the front door of the church and receive some blessing. The church was not apparently a regular appointment of the South Georgia Conference until the early 1880s. Among the earlier volunteer local preachers who served the church were Rev. W. B. Merritt, Rev. W. J. Short, and Rev. Malcom Hair. Although many changes have been made to the original building, the original flooring re- mains. Siding was added in the 1940s, additional rooms in the 1950s and 60s, new pews in 1971, a steeple in 1973, and a porch in 1974. The pulpit stand is believed to be unchanged. 1982 Membership: 122 Members entering ministry: M. M. Pierce, L. E. Pierce MIDLAND CHARGE MIDLAND Warm Springs Road, Midland, Georgia This church was organized in 1891 with 107 persons and businesses subscribing from $50.00 to 10 289 Church and Robert Mclntire, a prominent layman, had a great part in the effort. The name Wesley Monumental was first used on the occasion of laying the cor- nerstone, August 10, 1875. The congregation moved into the basement of the un- finished building on May 12, 1878, almost three years after the groundbreaking. The building, which the Savannah Morning News called a magnificent monu- ment, was dedicated on March 31,1890. 1982 Membership: 1201 SAVANNAH, WESLEY OAK J. LeRoy Hendrix, Pastor Mechanics and Dale Avenues, Thunderbolt This church was formed when the Methodists who worshipped at the Union Church asked the South Georgia Conference to assign them a pastor in 1910. At that time the Meldrim-Wesley Oak Charge was formed. The first: pastors were Rev. T.D. Strong and John: Swain, a supply. The congregation at: first met in the Union Church and then constructed a tabernacle with sawdust oni the ground. The present building was erected in 1913-1915. The church was named! because of the large live oak tree near the river where John Wesley was said to have: preached to the Indians and early settlers. 1982 Membership: 139 SAVANNAH, WHITE BLUFF 11119 White Bluff Road, Savannah The Savannah Board of Missions bought the property on White Bluff Road in December 1958 for the purpose of organizing a new church. In March, 1959, a revival was held with Rev. W.A. Kelley preaching to launch the church. And on March 29,1959, the church was formally organized with 114 members. Rev. Thomas H. Johnson was the first pastor. The congregation first met in a block building, then on June 18,1961 broke ground for the first unit of their plan, a social hall to be used initially as a sanc- tuary. The second unit was built in 1971. 1982 Membership: 1701 Members entered ministry: Roy Smoak, Rentier L. Brady III, Joan Edington William E. McTier, Jr., Pastor' Jerry M. Woodbery, Associate: 290 SAVANNAH, WHITEFIELD 718 East 55th Street, Savannah A. Carl Bishop, Pastor This church was organized on Oct. 10, 1948, with 164 charter members. In that year the Board of City Missions and Dr. H.T. Freeman, District Superintendent, secured the site and bought from the United States Government the Main Post Chapel at Hunter Air Force Base. The building was moved to its present site with difficulty it had to be sawed into two pieces, moved, and reconstructed. The first pastor was Rev. Edward H. Carruth. The church was named in honor of the evangelistic work in Savannah of Rev. George Whitefield, in 1740. 1982 Membership: 345 SAVANNAH, WILDWOOD-SILK HOPE Dwight Bishop, Pastor WILDWOOD 5528 Garrard Avenue, Savannah This church is the result of a Sunday School begun by a Methodist lady and a Baptist lady in the Wildwood area. It began officially as an interdenomina- tional effort to teach the many children in the area. On a rainy Sunday after- noon, Mrs. Wildes gathered 15 youngsters in her car and with 10 others they had the first meeting in Mrs. Whites home. Though all denominations were invited to the official start on September 23,1928, only Rev. B.A. Pafford, pastor of Asbury Memorial Methodist and Rev. Mathis of Emmanuel Baptist Church came. The church was organized from this start 11 years later. Meeting in the Wildwood Community Center Wildwood Church was organized in 1939. Rev. James W. May was the first pastor. An educational building was added to the original building in 1960. Membership: 118 SILK HOPE Ogeechee Road, South Savannah The Silk Hope Community is on the site of the old Silk Hope Plantation about 5 miles south of Savannah. In the summer of 1939, Rev. James W. May, a theology student, was assigned by the Savannah District superintendent, Rev. James R. Webb, Sr., to begin a Sunday School in this community. On June 25, 1939, in a borrowed building, Munns Tavern, all 41 persons in the community came to the 291 organizing of the Sunday School. Dr. Knight, from Trinity, had sent out 30 chairs and later offered to pay for the lumber to build benches and buy hymnals. By the end of the summer the enrollment of the Sunday School was 60. That fall at the an- nual conference a pastor was assigned to the Pierce Memorial Circuit which in- cluded Wildwood, Silk Hope, Pierce Memorial and Isle of Hope. Rev. P.T. Hollo- way was the new pastor. By the end of the summer, the owner of the Silk Hope Sub- division had promised a one acre lot across from the tavern for the church. 1982 Membership: 111 SAVANNAH, WILMINGTON ISLAND James B. Jensen, Pastor John Beck, Associate 216-A Wilmington Island, Road, Savannah In December 1959, under the sponsor- ship of Aldersgate Methodist Church with Rev. Harry Moore, pastor, and the Savannah Methodist City Board of Mis- sions this church was begun and official- ly constituted on January 24,1960, with 41 members including children. Rev. Robert E. Barnes was assigned as the first pastor. Land was purchased and the first unit begun. By the report to the con- ference in 1961, there were 110 members, 38 having come by certificate from other Methodist churches with the average attendance of 65 at worship service. There were 11 known tithers, 89 members of the Sunday School with an average attend- ance of 55. The W.S.C.S. had 19 members and Methodist Men 22 members. The church building was valued at $3600. 1982 Membership: 936 SAVANNAH, WOOD LAWN U.S. 80 West and Talmadge Ave., Savannah Rev. Tom Johnson, Rev. Gilbert Ramsey, and Rev. Anthony Hearn met March 1957 with laymen to discuss establishing a church in the Woodlawn Terrace subdivision. The first services were held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Murphy and the church was for- mally organized on July 27,1957 with 70 members. Rev. J.E. Bazemore con- ducted the first services, and Rev. Henry Thomas was the first full-time pastor. The congregation first met in a tent until the church was finished in April, 1958. The building was dedicated in 1965 and remodeled in 1971. 1982 Membership: 171 Robert E. Daniel, Pastor 292 SPRINGFIELD John Deas, Jr., Pastor This church may have been organized as early as 1831, but was definitely in ex- istence by 1835-1836. The conference records show that Rev. T.C. Benning was the pastor in 1835-36, though it is believed that Rev. Lewis Myers was the first and earlier pastor. These early records also record 284 white members and 166 black members in 1836-37. In 1919, this church was part of the Springfield Circuit with Rev. S.W. Brown, pastor, and these churches: Springfield, Silver Hill, Mizpah, Turkey Branch, and Union. In 1940 the circuit was composed of the same churches except Union. Clyo replaced Union. In the 1962 Springfield became a sta- tion church. Ga. Hwy. 21, Effingham County 1982 Membership: 469 ' Members entered ministry: James C. Varnell, Jr., Ernest Seckinger, Marion Edwards, William G. i Edwards, Vernon Edwards TURKEY BRANCH Richard N. Webb, Pastor Middle Ground Road, 4 VI M NW Springfield In 1785 in Effingham County this church was begun by Gideon Mallette. The first building was of logs and about 30 yards South of the present location. The present church was built in 1858 of lumber sawed by water mill. It was a frame house just weather-boarded, floored and ceiled overhead. In 1894 a committee was named to complete the church and paint it. In 1940 the pews were changed and a center aisle made. Sun- day School rooms, a porch over the entrance, and a metal roof instead of shingles were also added. In 1951 it was renovated inside and out with new pews and funishings and new siding and steps outside. Additional classrooms and a social hall were added. This later was enlarged in 1954. Among the first preachers serving this church were Hope Hull, Hezekiah Arnold, Samuel Dunwoody and James H. Millard. It was on several circuits, Savannah Town, Burke and Savannah Circuit and Springfield Ct. 1982 Membership: 55 Members entering ministry: Tom Morgan, Thos J. Morgan, J.C. Giner, J.B. Griner, O.G. Mingledorff, Clifford J. Mallette, Cooper Rahn, Loy Scott, Leon Edwards, George Giner TYBEE ISLAND Enoch L. Hendry, Pastor TRINITY CHAPEL Butler Ave. at Tenth St., Savannah Beach This church was organized in 1939 under the leadership of Robert Price, an Emory 293 student. The first pastor was Rev. Leon Edwards. The first building, erected in 1924, was the first Protestant church on the island and used by Methodist, Bap- tists, Christians, and Presbyterians. It was built by public subscription on a lot given by the Tybee Beach Company. In 1947 the Methodists constructed the present building. Just six weeks after it was open for services, a hurricane destroyed the original building, which had ceased to be used as a church and was deconsecrated on October 26,1947. This church has gone by several names in the records of the conference, Savannah mission, Tybee, Trinity Chapel, Savannah Beach and in 1983 as Tybee Island. 1982 Membership: 159 294 STATESBORO DISTRICT Elick S. Bullington, Superintendent 106 N. Edgewood Drive, Statesboro This is the newest district in this con- ference, having been created, in 1963, from portions of the Savannah, Dublin, Macon, Americus and Waycross Districts. Some of the churches in this district are among the oldest in the con- ference and have had many districts since the early Oconee and Ogeechee Districts. Other churches in the area have been in one or more of these districts, Athens, Augusta, Mil- ledgeville, Oconee, Altamaha, Sandersville, Hinesville, North Macon, South Macon, Dublin, Macon, McRae, Savannah and Coastal. Once in the early 1900s there was a Statesboro District for one year. Since there were no district parsonages at that time, it is assumed that this was the town where the superintendent was boarding. In 1983 this district had 44 charges with 93 churches and 15,534 members. BAXLEY FIRST Henry K. Erwin, Pastor FIRST Main and Anthony Streets, Baxley, Georgia This church was organized in 1881. The first building was small and boxlike, and Rev. J.W. Stallings was the pastor. In 1894, a frame building with stained glass windows was built. In 1927, more land was bought adjoining the church and in 1929, during the pastorate of Rev. M.A. Shaw, the present sanctuary and a three-storied educational building were completed. In 1954, a new parsonage was completed. Under the pastorate of Rev. Thomas H. Johnson a new chapel and educational building were completed. The church was the Church of the Year in 1964-65 and 1967-68. This church was in the McRae District until it was dissolved in 1931, then in the Waycross District un- til 1963 when the Statesboro District was formed. 1982 Membership: 573 295 GRAHAM Ga. Hwy. 289, Appling County The Graham Methodist Church was organized around 1885. The first building was erected in 1885-86. In 1918, this church was head of the Graham Circuit with Rev. S.W. Snead, pastor. It had five churches: Graham, Zoar, Philadelphia, Hearns Chapel and Rocky Branch. In 1940, Graham was on the Hazelhurst Charge, Rev. T.N. Tinsley pastor, with Hazelhurst and Philadelphia in the Waycross District. In 1946, the church was put on the charge with Baxley First, with Rev. A.W. Quillian, Jr., pastor. In 1962, with Baxley it became a part of the newly formed Statesboro District and Rev. L.E. Williams con- tinued to serve as the pastor for the fourth year. 1982 Membership: 127 NORTH BAXLEY CIRCUIT Lamar Rabun, Pastor ASBURY North Baxley Drive, Appling County Organized in 1912 in the Moody School House, this church, was named for Bishop Frances Asbury. When more room was needed, a brush arbor was added to a shelter on J.M. Hutchinsons farm. In 1917, a one-room frame building was erected. It was painted in 1941. In 1939, Rev. J.A. Godfrey held the first Vacation Bible School. He rode all around the community picking up pupils until his car, running boards, and fenders would be overflowing. He planted the seed for a concern for Christian education. During the mid 1940s, a Methodist Youth Fellowship and WSCS were organized. Five new Sunday School rooms were built and dedicated in 1948 and new pews given as memorials. 1982 Membership: 178 Members entering ministry: Pearly Beasley, H.H. Edenfield, and J.B. Hutchinson. MELTONS CHAPEL Northern part of Appling County Organized in 1886 as a Union Church, the church first included Methodists and Baptists. Later the Baptists withdrew, and the church was named Meltons Chapel for Mr. G.T. Melton. In 1886, the first structure was destroyed by a tornado. In 1904, a perfect example of rural church ar- 296 chitecture was erected. Sunday School rooms, fellowship hall, kitchen, and shrub- bery have been added. For several years the church has had a Lords Acre pro- gram using the money for improvements to the church. In 1918, Meltons Chapel was on the Baxley Circuit, McRae District with Rev. Ike Chambers pastor. There were five churches: Crosby, Asbury, Meltons Chapel, Hopewell and Midway. In 1940, Zoar was added to the circuit. 1982 Membership: 134 ZOAR Appling County This church was the second established in Appling County. The little log building was used for some time as a schoolhouse as well as a church. Old records show that Negroes and whites were members. An old record states that in 1870 there were 56 infants baptized. The present building, the third one, was put up in 1897. The pews were built in Macon, shipped to Graham, and hauled to the church in wagons. In 1918, S.W. Snead was pastor on the Graham Circuit, McRae District. He had Graham, Zoar, Philadelphia, Hearns Chapel and Rocky Branch. In 1940, Zoar was on the Baxley Circuit, Waycross District, with Asbury, Crosbys Chapel, Hopewell, Melton and Midway. Rev. J.G. Godfrey was the pastor and Rev. F.M. Gaines the District Superintendent. 1982 Membership: 52 SOUTH BAXLEY CIRCUIT Jack Taylor, Pastor CROSBY CHAPEL South of Baxley, Georgia In 1916, a revival was conducted by Rev. Horace Freeman in a brush arbor. The result was a spiritual awakening. Ten people organized the Methodist Church. Mrs. Ada Crosby gave the land for the church; so it was named Crosby Chapel. Rev. R.P. Fain was the pastor on the Baxley Circuit and Mr. Freeman pastor at Baxley, First. These churches were in the McRae District. In 1918, Rev. I.K. Chambers was the pastor with five churches: Crosby, Asbury, Melton, Hopewell and Midway. In 1940, Zoar was added to these and the McRae District had been dissolved. This circuit was now in the Waycross District. By 1968, these churches had been divided into two circuits with Crosby, Hopewell and Corinth Churches on the South Baxley Charge, Statesboro District. Rev. Tom Oliver was in his fifth year 297 as their pastor. In 1982, Corinth United Methodist Church merged with Crosby Chapel. 1982 Membership: 50 Members entering ministry: E.D. Willard, W.R. Douglas HOPEWELL South of Baxley, Georgia After the church was founded in 1860, the original building was used as a school as well as church. This burned in 1880 and a second building erected. The present church was built in 1904, Rev. J.P. Dickinson was the pastor. Hopewell was a pioneer in the modern budget system of the Baxley Circuit in 1943. In 1918, Rev. I.K. Chambers was pastor of the Baxley Circuit with Crosby Chapel, Asbury, Meltons Chapel, Hopewell, and Midway. Zoar was added later. This cir- cuit was in the McRae District until 1930 when it was dissolved and this charge was placed in the Waycross District. In 1927, the MINUTES show a junior preacher, Rev. Albert Outler, assigned to the Baxley Circuit; Rev. E.A. Sanders was the pastor. In 1957, the Baxley Circuit was divided into two circuits: North Baxley Cir- cuit Asbury, Melton, Zoar; South Baxley Circuit Crosbys, Johnson, Bobby Norwood, Pastor BELLVILLE Ga. Hwy. 169 and US Hwy. 280, Bellville, Ga. In 1891, twelve people organized the church in a schoolhouse. A year later, a frame building was built at a cost of $1,000. Rev. E.A. Sanders was the first pastor. In 1946, during pastorate of Rev. R.E. Liorens a brick church was fin- ished. During the four years that Rev. C.H. Donaldson was the pastor a social hall and steeple were added in 1961. Between 1975-80, stained glass windows have been installed. In 1957, Bellville became head of the Bellville Charge with Sikes and Union churches. Bellville was in the Savannah District until the Statesboro District was formed in 1963. 1982 Membership: 113 Hopewell, Midway and Milligan. 1982 Membership: 157 Members entering ministry: Edward E. Deen BELLVILLE CHARGE SIKES CHAPEL Off Ga. Hwy. 169 Sikes Chapel, in North Evans County, was organized in 1907 in a schoolhouse. It 298 was named for the E. Hamfie Sikes family. The first building was a wooden building which was blown down in 1932. In 1961 a brick church was erected on the same site. A porch was included for after service fellowship. In 1968, dur- ing Rev. Leland Collins pastorate, new pews, piano, as well as, tables and chairs for the fellowship hall, were purchased. Sikes Church was on the Hagan Charge before it was placed with Bellville, in 1957, when the Bellville Charge was formed. 1982 Membership: 89 BETHEL BRICK John Powell, Pastor Route 1 near Burton Ferry, Sylvania, Ga. Officially named Bethel when it was organized in a plantation home, it is bet- ter known as Brick, so called by the slaves who built the church from native clay. The brick building was erected to replace the first building of logs. Prob- ably these slaves who actually built the building were also members, for the 1859 MINUTES of the Conference members. The first preachers were the evangelists and circuit riders who came this way to cross the river on Burton Ferry. Bishop Francis Asbury preached here in this building, as did Bishops McKendree and Andrews after him. This church has a long history on the circuits of this area, and is probably the oldest church in Screven County with continuous services. In 1981, it became a station church. It is one of the Conference Historical Sites. 1982 Membership: 76 Members entering ministry: W.C. Lovett, James M. Lovett, W.C. Wade, Olan W. Stubbs, Jr. BROOKLET-HUBERT Richard Earl Turner, Pastor BROOKLET US Hwy. 80, Brooklet, Georgia In 1904, some of the members of Har- mony Church who lived in the new town of Brooklet organized a new church. Later Harmony was abandoned. The first building was of wood. The present brick building was open for service on January 27, 1952. In 1957, during the pastorate of Rev. Ernest Veal, an organ was purchased and, while W.E. Chappie was pastor, a Sunday School annex built. During 1974, the church was redecorated and the stained glass windows added. In 299 1919, Brooklet was listed in the MINUTES as Brooklet-New Hope with Harwell as part of the charge. In 1940, the Brooklet charge was Brooklet, New Hope, Egypt and Oliver. In 1968, when Brooklet became a station, New Hope and Nevils formed a separate charge. In 1969, they purchased a new parsonage. 1982 Membership: 248 HUBERT River Road, Bulloch County The roots of this church reach back to 1877 when the MacDonnell Church was established on Old River Road at which time Rev. G.G.N. MacDonnell was the Presiding Elder of the Savannah District. In 1884, he gave a Bible to the MacDonnell Church as a token of ap- preciation for the churchs name. Hubert Church still has the Bible. Yet the 1898 Minutes of the MacDonnells Womens Foreign Missionary Society tells of a letter from our own Mrs. Robb MacDonnell in which she recounts her visit to Mexico and the work there. This led members of the Hubert Church to believe that the church may have been named first for this woman missionary from the area. In 1893, the MacDonnell church building was moved to Hubert community and renamed for the community. In re- cent years it has been completely remodeled, inside and outside, and a social hall and educational unit added. Services are held each Sunday. 1982 Membership: 55 Aubrey Bishop, Pastor BUCK CREEK Hwy. 24, out from Sylvania, Georgia Named for the nearby creek, this church was organized in 1875. The first church was a small log building. The first pastor was Rev. J.W. Flanders. Lumber for the second building was hauled from town on two wheeled carts. In 1939, Sunday School rooms were added. Later improvements included deep well, gas heating, piano, organ and new pulpit furniture. In 1968, the church was brick veneered and more Sunday School rooms added. Music was always a joyful addi- tion to the life of this church. In 1933, the Sunday School supported a singing school for the community. They enrolled 40 pupils who paid fifty cents each. For two weeks a schedule like public school was held in the one room church, the pupils bringing their lunches. A Mr. Peavy from Jesup taught the notes, rote singing, and a chorus. 1982 Membership: 248 300 McBRIDE Hwy. 24 On April 21, 1870, sixteen men and twenty-eight women met in a brush ar- bor to organize this church. The first pastor was a Rev. Adams. The church was named for a Mr. McBride. The present wooden structure has been enlarged. In 1919, McBride was on the Bascom Circuit with Trinity, Bascom, Union, McBride, Wesley, Hiltonia, Harmony, and Alexander. Rev. F.J. Jordan was pastor. In 1940, it was on the Hiltonia Charge with Hiltonia, Bascom, Harmony, Trinity, McBride, Wesley and Union. 1982 Membership: 157 Members entering ministry: E.B. Joiner, Leo Weaver BULLOCH COUNTY CIRCUIT Jody Robertson, Pastor EUREKA Route 2, Statesboro, Georgia After this church was organized in 1890 in a school, some of the teachers served as pastors. In 1910, Eureka was head of the Eureka Circuit; Rev. Jesse Ford was the pastor. In 1949, the individual churches on the Eureka Circuit are listed as Eureka, Langston, Marion, and Williams Chapel with Rev. E.L. Padrich as pastor. In 1940, Eureka was on the Rocky Ford Charge. 1982 Membership: 25 LANGSTON RFD, Statesboro, Georgia In 1903, this church was organized under a large oak tree near the site of the present church. The first pastor was Rev. John P. Bross. The first building was erected in 1903 and burned in 1910. The present building was built in 1912. In recent years it has been renovated with an annex added for classrooms and a fellowship hall. In 1919, this church was on the Eureka Circuit, Savannah District, and in 1940, the Bulloch County Circuit, Savannah District. It became part of the Statesboro District when that District was created. 1982 Membership: 85 Members entering ministry: Horace Bird, Larry Bird, Gary Carter 301 UNION Route 2, Old River Rd., Statesboro, Ga. Tradition says that Francis Asbury, the first bishop of American Methodism preached here, as well as the hell-fire and damnation preacher, Lorenzo Dow. Both are known to have been in this very area. The roots of Union church go back into the beginning of settlers in this area. Organized about 1790, Union was the first Methodist church in Bulloch county. The present building is a white frame structure. In 1919 Union church was part of the Bascom Circuit, Savannah District, with Trinity, Bascom, McBride, Wesley, Hilltonia, Harmony, and Alexander. Rev. H.G. Shearouse was assigned as pastor for 1920. In 1940 it was on the Hilltonia Circuit, Savan- nah District, and in 1968 on the Bulloch County Circuit, Statesboro District. 1982 Membership: 9 CLAXTON Carroll Crosby, Pastor US Hwy. 301, Claxton, Georgia Twenty-five members from the Brewton Church first organized this church in 1892 in a masonic building where they had been having prayer meetings and Sunday School. It is the oldest con- gregation of any denomination in the city. The first pastor was Rev. C.S.J. Strickland. In 1912 the present brick building was erected with the following additions: 1940 education annex, later addi- tional classrooms, a game room recreation hall and pastors study. Claxton became a station in 1912 with Rev. C.T. Clark as pastor. It was in the McRae District with Rev. L.A. Hill, P.E. Sunday School was closed from October 6, 1918, to December 29,1918, on account of the flu epidemic. The Senior Citizens of Evans County were organized and sponsored by the Claxton Methodist Church. Claxton was the Church of the Year for the Savannah District in 1961 and the Church of the Year for the Statesboro District in 1971. 1982 Membership: 603 Members entering ministry: W. David Blalock COBBTOWN-COLLINS Lucien Miller, Pastor COBBTOWN Ga. 23-121, Cobbtown, Georgia On June 1, 1897, in a tent revival in Quince, Georgia (later to become Cobbtown) five charter members formed a church. They were Mr. and Mrs. J.I. Davis, and daughter, and Dr. and Mrs. J.H. Bowen. The first pastor was Rev. C.B. Cashwell. In 302 1897, the first church building and par- sonage were built. In 1911, the present church was erected. The first parsonage was destroyed by fire and a new one was constructed in 1948. In 1953, an educa- tional building was completed. A new sanctuary was built adjoining the educa- tional building in 1965. A new par- sonage was completed in 1970. In 1974, a Fellowship Hall was added. In 1902, Rev. Thomas Williams was pastor of the Quince Circuit, Dublin District, at which time the Collins Church was organized. In 1919, Cobbtown Circuit, McRae District, has five churches: Hebron, Cobbtown, Eason Chapel, Rogers Chapel and Roxie; Rev. J.E. Channell, pastor. In 1940, Cobbtown was on the Tattnall Circuit, Savan- nah District, with Collins, Mt. Moriah and Oak Grove and 1968 Cobbtown-Collins with Roxie Memorial, Statesboro District. 1982 Membership: 108 Members entering ministry: Jerry T. Lott COLLINS Ga. 121-23, Ward and Holland Streets Collins, Georgia In 1902, eight people organized the Methodist church in a Baptist church which was used until a new church was built. Rev. Thomas Williams of the Quince (Cobbtown) Circuit preached. The first building was frame. The lumber was given by Uncle Luda Walling, a lumberman in Collins. In 1950, extensive repairs were made to the church. In 1956-57 a new two-story educational building was constructed. In 1964- 65 the sanctuary was remodeled. Collins has been on the same charge with Cobb- town (Quince) since it began. It has been in the Dublin, Savannah, and Statesboro Districts. 1982 Membership: 77 Members entering ministry: William A. Ellenwood. EMORY CHAPEL-HARPERS CHAPEL David L. Rooks, Pastor EMORY CHAPEL Second Street, Jesup, Georgia This church was organized under a brush arbor in 1880. The first building was on Hwy. 301. Later this was torn down and moved to its present location. This church was part of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Con- ference and in June 1972 merged with the South Georgia Conference and 303 became part of the Statesboro District with Rev. D.L. Rooks as pastor and Rev. C.C. Edmundson as district superintendent. This church was in the Georgia Con- ference, Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church prior to the 1972 merger. 1982 Membership: 149 HARPER CHAPEL 207 Allen Street, Baxley, Georgia In September 1873, twenty-five people organized the church which was named for Mrs. Haggi Harper who gave the land. The first building was blown down twice by storms. Each time the twenty- five trailblazers rebuilt it. On April 25, 1967, due to urban renewal the church moved. At this time it was brick veneered, and mosiac windows, organ, piano, pew cushions, and carpeting were added. This church became a part of the Statesboro District in June, 1972, when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference. Back in 1940 when the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Churches united to become the Methodist Church, this church became part of the Georgia Conference. 1982 Membership: 192 Members entering ministry: N.H. Horne, H.R. Formay, Sr., John Peyton, C.A. Clark, W.M. Beaton, David Rooks, Burlester /. Tillman, Jr. FAIR HAVEN-HABERSHAM Douglas H. Mays, Pastor FAIR HAVEN Jenkins County near Millen, Georgia After this church was organized early in the nineteenth century, the first building was dedicated on November 29, 1857, by Bishop George F. Pierce. The present building is the third to house the congregation. When first organized, services were held once a month. In those horse and buggy days, the preacher and his family came and stayed a week with one of the members. In 1919, this church was on the Midville Circuit, Dublin District, with Rev. A.P. Segars, pastor. The churches on the circuit were: Fair Haven, Almire, Summer- town, and Midville. In 1940, it was in the Savannah District on the charge with Millen. In 1968, still with Millen, Rev. W.H. Ansley was the pastor. 1982 Membership: 89 304 [IS HABERSHAM Perkins, Georgia Although the church was organized in 1860, the first building was not erected until 1864. When they began the building, it was the beginning of the Civil War, and this partially built building was one of the few not burned. It was thought the church was spared because the contractor left a masonic symbol on his work. That building burned in 1949 and was replaced by the present one. In 1979, a steeple was added to the church. A new parsonage was built in 1952. In 1919, this church was on the Lawtonville Circuit, Savannah District, with Ellis Chapel, St. Mark, Lawtonville, Rev. J.C. Griner, pastor. In 1968, it was on the Sar- dis Charge with Sardis and Ellis Chapel in the Statesboro District. D.R. Parker, Sr., Pastor GARFIELD Ga. Hwy. 23, Garfield, Georgia In 1905, this church was organized and Rev. E.C. Wills was the first pastor. Ac- cording to the 1905 MINUTES of the Conference, Garfield was a circuit with three preaching places, but only two houses of worship. It had one Epworth League with 10 members; three Sunday Schools with 18 officers and teachers and 183 pupils; one Foreign Missionary Society with 16 members; and one Home Missionary Society with four members. 29 persons joined on profession of faith with 10 adults being baptized; 32 joined by certificate; 10 were removed by death or otherwise. They had no parsonage and owed $65 on one of the houses of worship. 1982 Membership: 83 PAYNES CHAPEL RFD, Garfield, Georgia The beginnings for this church go back to the first Methodist Societies in this area, perhaps to meetings before American Methodism was organized in 1784. Tradition says that Lorenzo Dow probably preached at Jones Church around the early 1800s and this church was moved to Skulls Creek. This is the third site of this early group of Methodists and perhaps the third name. Paynes 1982 Membership: 109 GARFIELD CHARGE 305 Chapel, named in honor of Rev. Lewis B. Payne, appears in the 1919 MINUTES of the Conference as being on the Garfield Circuit, Dublin District, along with Gar- field, Union Grove and Mt. Pleasant, Rev. T.E. Murry was the pastor. (When Gar- field was organized in 1905, it became the head of a circuit that already had two churches with buildings; one of these probably was Paynes Chapel, though no names are given.) In 1921-24, Paynes Chapel, was on the Rocky Ford Circuit in the Savannah District. In 1925, it was placed again with Garfield and has been on that charge since. In 1940, Canoochee Modoc and Pleasant Hill, Garfield and Paynes made up the Garfield Circuit. Rev. Chester Gilbert was pastor. 1982 Membership: 94 GIRARD CHARGE Dan C. Wilson, Pastor GIRARD Ga. Hwy. 23, Girard, Georgia In the MINUTES of the Conference there is a Girard Circuit in the late 1800s before there is a church by that name. This community between the Savannah River and Brier Creek was an important relay station during the Revolutionary War, and after the war, the station was renamed Girard, for a Revolutionary leader. In 1909, the year that the Girard Church was organized and its first building erected, the Girard Circuit had 567 members, 24 additions on pro- fession of faith, 17 adults baptized, four houses of worship, one parsonage, and $1,750 spent on a church building and/or parsonage. One member of the church building committee gave the benches for the church, another the brick, and another hauled everything to the site. The building committee became the first trustees of the church. Rev. C.W. Littlejohn was the first pastor. In the late 1950s the church was remodeled, the bell being put in the front steeple. The sanctuary was renovated in 1980. This church has been head of the Girard Circuit with Bethany and Bethesda since 1909; and with Bethel until 1981, when Bethel became a station. 1982 Membership: 35 BETHANY Girard, Georgia The deed to the land on which to build this church is dated June 30, 1830; so the organization of this church was near this date. The first building was made of logs. In June 1856, a new building was erected for $1600. In 1945, the need for more space activated a building pro- gram that included a basement, classrooms, kitchen and social hall. Colored glass windows, carpeting, and heating 306 and cooling systems have been added, also. Another addition is being planned. In 1919, the first listing for the churches on circuits, the Girard Circuit had: Bethel, Bethany, Bethesda and Girard. Rev. H.J. Graves was pastor, and Rev. Osgood F. Cook was the Presiding Elder of the Savannah District. These four churches were on the same charge for more than three-quarters of a century. 1982 Membership: 102 BETHESDA Burke County near Waynesboro, Georgia Although this church was organized in 1827, no records of its early building and beginning were kept. In 1856, 2.5 acres of land was given for a new church, and a wooden building was erected. In 1924, fire destroyed this building, and for several years services were held in the school building. Since the school building had been given to the church, they tore it down and used the material to build the present building. This was in 1935 during the four year pastorate of Rev. Roy L. Gard- ner. The records for this Conference show that this church has been on the Girard Charge since 1919 and probably before that time, but the records do not give individual churches earlier. 1982 Membership: 34 GLENNVILLE CHARGE Leland C. Collins, Pastor GLENNVILLE 116 S. Caswell Street, Glennville, Georgia In 1890-91 in a school, twenty-seven members organized the church. Rev. S.F. Weitman was the first pastor. The first and present wooden building was erected in 1891. The Report of the Board of Missions at Annual Con- ference in 1899 gave this account: Glennville Mission, served by Rev. J.M. Rustin reports a successful year, 21 additions, paid pastor $215, and for all purposes $788. An elegant new parsonage has been built. The Mission is con- tinued. Glennville has been in the Dublin District, McRae District, Savannah and Statesboro Districts. In 1919, the Glennville Circuit had three churches, Glennville, Harmony and Hopewell with Rev. C.R. Phillips pastor. In 1940, there were the same three churches and Mt. Pleasant; in 1968, only Glennville and Hopewell. 1982 Membership: 317 Members entering ministry: Terry DeLoach (Glennville-Hopewell Charge) 307 HOPEWELL RFD, Glennville, Georgia The Hopewell Methodist Church grew out of a prayer meeting conducted by Mother Stafford. Ezekiel Stafford and his wife, Mary Jane, were born in South Carolina about 1800. About 1825, they came to Georgia and settled on the banks of the Altamaha River, six miles from the nearest neighbor. Ezekiel was an infidel. Mother Stafford was raised decidedly Christian. She saw the religious needs of her distant neighbors and began prayer services among them. She would walk the distance, often alone. On one oc- casion a forest fire was sweeping through the community and their humble homes were doomed. After they fought until exhausted, with no success, Mother Stafford said that they had done what they could and now must call on God. Down on their knees they went. In less than thirty minutes a heavy rain was falling and the cabins were saved. Eventually Ezekiel was converted and joined the church. A log home was built in 1860. The present building was erected in 1890. Hopewell and Glenn- ville have been on the same circuit for nearly 90 years. 1982 Membership: 53 HAGAN CHARGE Clarence Cawthon, Pastor HAGAN US Hwy. 280, Evans County The roots of Methodism in this area go back to 1835, when Ben Brewton, at the request of his mother, built a log chapel near Shumans Pond. Called Free Church, it was open to all denomina- tions. In 1854, the Methodists in Free Church joined others to build a new building in Brewtons Cemetery. Ben- jamin Brewton gave the lumber. In 1899, when 40 members moved from Brewtons Chapel to organize a church nearer their homes, Hagan Church was started and a building erected. Rev. R.M. Booth was the pastor. In 1944, the old building was torn down to make way for the new one, but during the eight years before it was finished, the Methodist held services in the Hagan Baptist and Christian Churches. Hagan has been in the McRae, Savannah, and Statesboro Districts. In 1940, the Hagan Circuit had seven churches: Hagan, Bellville, Daisy, Eason, Manassas, Sikes and Union. 1982 Membership: 125 Members entering ministry: H.C. Brewton, Asbury Brewton, M.C. Conley, Joe Parker 308 DAISY US Hwy. 280,5 miles east of Claxton This congregation was organized in 1894 in a Presbyterian Church. When they later bought the old Daisy School for $4,000, they named the church for it. Rev. R.C. Norman was the first pastor. The school was renovated, and the first services were held in the sanctuary in December. Today, the church is brick with large white columns in front. Stained glass windows, an organ, and Memorial Fellowship Hall have been added. In 1919, Rev. S.A. Hearn was pastor of Claxton and Daisy. In 1940, Daisy was on the Hagan Circuit of seven churches including Hagan, Daisy, Easons Chapel, Manassas, Sikes, Union and Bellville. It was in the Savannah District and Rev. G.R. Partain was pastor. 1982 Membership: 192 EASONS CHAPEL RFD, Hagan, Georgia On February 14,1880, in a log cabin this church was organized. When the first church building was completed, the log cabin church was turned into a par- sonage. The frame building burned in 1927 and was replaced by another frame building. In 1961, the present building was built. Rev. J.D. Aycock was the pastor. Easons Chapel was on the Cobbtown Circuit in the McRael District in 1919, on the Hagan Circuit, Savannah District, in 1940 and in 1968 on the Hagan Circuit, Statesboro District. Easons Chapel was Charge of the Year for the Statesboro District in 1965. 1982 Membership: 104 Members entering ministry: H. Justin Eason, Henry Eason HARMONY-MANASSAS CHARGE HARMONY Tattnall County This church was begun in a brush arbor in 1815. It is located two miles east of Mendes, Georgia. The earliest listing of individual church in circuits appears in the 1919 MINUTES. That year Har- mony is on the Glennville Circuit in the McRae District with Hopewell and Glennville. In 1940, it is on the Glenn- Lyndal C. Hurley, Pastor 309 ville Circuit in the Savannah District with Mt. Peasant Church added to the three others, Rev. J. Loy Scott, the pastor. In 1957, the Shiloh-Harmony Circuit was begun and in 1968 the Shiloh-Harmony Charge with Rev. John G. Ivey had Har- mony, Manassas, Mt. Carmel, and Shiloh. From 1963, the charge was in the Statesboro District with the Harmony Circuit being made in 1973 including Mt. Carmel, Harmony, and Manassas. Rev. Don Sparks was pastor. 1982 Membership: 203 MANASSAS Ga. Hwy. 292, Tattnall County In 1897, 30 people gathered in the Eudora school to organize this congrega- tion. The first pastor was Rev. I.C. Jenkins. In 1902, the church moved to Manassas just west of town. Manassas is the only Methodist church in the county tfSjifiiiliiii ~r ' "i i i 'ifr---Pf with an Indian name. Rev. J.T. Budd was the pastor of the Hagan Circuit in 1919 when Manassas is listed as one of the three churches on that circuit. Bellville and Hagan are the other two. For one year in 1926, Manassas was placed on the Cobbtown Charge with Rev. J.S. Willis, pastor. In 1940, the Hagan Circuit was placed in the Savannah District; there were seven churches: Hagan, Bellville, Daisy, Manassas, Sikes, Easons Chapel, and Union. In 1957, the Shiloh-Harmony Charge was formed with four churches: Harmony, Manassas, Mt. Carmel, and Shiloh, Rev. R.L. Carter, pastor. In 1973, in the Statesboro District, it was on the Harmony Cir- cuit with Mt. Carmel, Harmony and Manassas. 1982 Membership: 37 HAZELHURST CHARGE Robins Dorsey, Pastor FIRST US Hwys. 341 and 221, Hazelhurst, Georgia Until they formed their own church in 1871, the Methodists were worshiping in an old building called the Old Union Church with the Baptists and Presbyterians. Since the Methodists owned the old Union Church, in 1880 they tore it down and built a new wooden church. By 1910, this building was too small and delapidated to serve. While the present brick Gothic style was being built, services were held in a tent. In the mid-1970s this building was heavily damaged by fire. Hazelhurst has been a station church since its early organization; in 1919, Rev. C.W. Hutchinson was the pastor and the church was in the McRae District. In 1940, it was in the Waycross District, Rev. T.H. Tinsley the pastor. Graham and Philadelphia were attached as afternoon appointments. In 1968, Rev. 310 W.H. Hurdle was pastor, and in his sixth year. Since 1963, this church has been in the Statesboro District. It was the home church of Rev. Silas Johnson, President of Wesleyan College for a time. 1982 Membership: 623 Members entering ministry: Silas Johnson, Homer Taylor PHILADELPHIA Jeff Davis Comity On August 4, 1849, this church was organized. It was the second Methodist church in Appling County. The first building was erected in 1850. Since the building was in bad shape after the Civil War, they built a new one. At the time this church began, the county was Appl- ing and the first work was Appling Mis- sion established by the South Carolina Conference in 1822. Rev. Jeremiah Freeman was the first circuit rider to serve this mission. This church has been on several cir- cuits, but most of its years it has been associated with Hazelhurst Church. In 1919 it was on the Graham Circuit, McRae District, with Graham, Zoar, Hearns Chapel, and Rocky Branch. Rev. S.W. Snead was pastor. In 1940 it was in the Waycross District with Hazelhurst and the Statesboro District in 1963. 1982 Membership: 75 HILLTONIA CHARGE Rodney Body, Pastor HILLTONIA Ga. Hwy* 24, Screven County In 1915 Rev. Robert Rouse, pastor of the Bascom Church, saw the need for a church in Hilltonia, so plans were made. A frame one-room building was erected. In 1950 Sunday School rooms were added. In 1958, as part of the National Board of Missions U.S.-2 Program, Ms. Jane Keesling (Mrs. Russell Jacobs) was assigned to the Hilltonia Charge to assist Rev. R.E. Harvey. Under her leadership the Sunday School outgrew the space. A new lot in the heart of Hilltonia was given to the church. In June, 1961, with $2,500 in the building fund the members voted to launch out in faith and build. With much material given and much work done by dedicated members, the first service was held in the social hall, December 30,1962. The final payment on the church, furnishing, piano and organ was made November 26,1966. Together with the other churches on the charge a new parsonage was built in 1968. 1982 Membership: 143 311 HARMONY North Screven County Before 1845 a group of families felt the need for a place to worship and set up a brush arbor on the banks of Brier Creek about one-half mile from the present town of Hilltonia at Meeting House Landing. On May 15, 1845, Mrs. Sara Nicholson gave land to build the church. In later years the Christian Church of Sylvania has had a camp at the arbor site. About 1913 the church was moved from the landing site to U.S. Highway 301 about 10 miles north of Sylvania. In 1919 Har- mony was on the Bascom Circuit with Trinity, Bascom, Union, McBride, Wesley, Harmony, Hilltonia, and Alexander. Rev. F.J. Jordan was pastor and the circuit was in the Savannah District. In 1940, still in the Savannah District, this church was on the Hilltonia Circuit with Bascom, Wesley, McBride, Trinity, Hilltonia, Harmony, and Union. Now in the Statesboro District the Hilltonia Charge has Har- mony, Wesley, and Hilltonia. 1982 Membership: 156 WESLEY Near Hilltonia, Georgia Sometime before 1900 this church was begun in a home. The first building was of logs. About 1903 the church was moved to its present site, and a big one-room, high ceilinged, frame church was built. In 1956 this church was taken down and the material used in the present building. Since Bascom church building was not in use, Wesley bought it and moved it to use Bascom Circuit, Savannah District, with Trinity, Union, McBride, Hill- tonia, Harmony, and Alexander. In 1940, it was on the Hilltonia Ct. with all the same churches except Alexander; Rev. Simon Peter Clary was pastor. In 1968 the Hilltonia Charge was in the Statesboro District and had only Hilltonia, Harmony, and Wesley, Rev. Jack Bentley, pastor. 1982 Membership: 66 JESUP, EPWORTH CHARGE an annex. In 1919 Wesley was on the Willis H. Moore, Pastor EPWORTH Jesup, Georgia For a time, Bishop Arthur Moore, asking for a nucleus of 100, had urged First Church to establish a new church on the west side of town. Land was bought; a tent borrowed from the conference, sawdust placed for the floor, chairs, piano. 312 songbooks borrowed from First, they started a revival. Rev. Bill Kelley came and preached. Rain and wind tore the tent, so services were moved to Orange Street School. March 1956 the new church was organized with 56 members. By ballot the congregation chose the name, Epworth, for John Wesleys birthplace. The first unit was built in 1957 with Rev. Burns Willis, pastor. The sanctuary with a beautifully designed altar, long narrow red glass windows, and laminated beams was finished in 1966. Each building was paid for as it was built. In 1982, Satilla Church, organized March 17,1912, in the home of J.P. Shedd, merged with Epworth. Satilla was first built in the southwest part of Wayne Coun- ty in 1914 and moved to the Empire community in 1925. They had 6 members in 1981. 1982 Membership: 239 AKIN MEMORIAL US Hwy. 341,5 miles S. of Jesup In the eastern part of Wayne County a church was organized in 1888 and named Mt. Pleasant for the community it served. A building of virgin-heart, yellow pine was erected in 1892. The in- terior described as one of the most lovely county churches in this section. When, in 1945, the building was restored by the Akin family, the church was rededicated, October 7, and named Akin Memorial. An educational unit was dedicated in 1961 and a new assembly room added in 1966. In 1919 this church was on the Granberry Ct., Waycross District, with Rev. J.A. Cook the pastor for Mt. Pleasant, Taylors Chapel, and Everett City. In 1921 it was on the Darien-Townsend Charge with Rev. L.E. Williams, pastor. In 1929 it was on the Brunswick Ct. with 5 churches, back to Darien Charge in 1946, and in 1961 it was placed on the new Epworth Charge. In 1963 the Epworth Charge received the Circuit of the Year Award. 1982 Membership: 53 Members entering ministry: Samuel V. Taylor JESUP, FIRST Julian Tucker, Pastor Jesup, Georgia This church was organized in 1872 two years after the town was incorporated. The first pastors were Rev. John I. Willis and Rev. William Kennedy. In 1873 a Sunday 313 School was organized by the Methodists and Baptists together. The church served for a public school also. The first church was a square wooden building with a steeple. An old letter written by a member told of moving to Jesup in 1889 when the new church was being built. She wrote, There were not many peo- ple and money was scarce, so there was scarcely a week but we had ice cream festivals, oyster suppers or cake and pie sales. When the congregation outgrew this building it was converted to use for the parsonage. In 1924-5 a Sunday School an- nex was added, and in 1930 the old sanctuary moved to build the new sanctuary. Early after its organization Jesup became a full-time (station) church. In 1919 Rev. J.H. House was pastor and they paid him $200 above his salary; there were 229 members. 1982 Membership: 727 Members entering ministry: Frank H. Harris, Jr. METTER Metter, Georgia In 1903 fourteen members organized this church in the town of Metter. Serv- ices were held on the second floor of a blacksmith shop. Rev. John Broun was the first pastor. In 1904-05 with members giving the logs and the work of sawing and carpentering, a church was built. Hired laborers were paid seventy-five cents a day. In the panic of 1930-31 this church made its greatest achievements when it launched a building program to build an annex. In the conference MINUTES, Metter Circuit appears for the first time in 1916 with Rev. Silas Johnson as pastor. In 1919 the circuit had 4 churches: Metter, Register, Adabell, and Sikes. Rev. M.M. Marshall was pastor and it was in the Dublin District. In 1940 it was a station, Metter and Portal, in the Savannah District with Rev. Bernard Brown as pastor. 1982 Membership: 381 MIDVILLE CHARGE Eugene Cochran, Pastor James C. Kenney, Pastor MIDVILLE Ga. Hwy. 17, Burke County This church was organized on March 18, 1876, in a masonic hall. There were twenty-nine members. The first building, a rectangular frame, was built in 1878. In 1932 Sunday School rooms were added and remodeling done. It was brick veneered in 1939, and a new fellowship hall was added in 1976. In the 1917 MINUTES the 314 Midville Circuit appeared for a first time. Individual churches were listed in 1919 as Fair Haven, Midville, Almire, and Summertown. It was in the Dublin District and Rev. A.P. Seagers was pastor. Between 1940 and 1968 the Mid- ville Charge had three churches, Union Grove, Summertown, and Midville. Rev. J.E. Wilson was pastor in 1940. 1982 Membership: 153 SUMMERTOWN Ga. Hwy. 56, Summertown, Georgia In the mid-1800s people who lived in towns, especially those near swamps and lowlands, built summer homes and established seasonal villages on higher land to escape the deadly fever, malaria. Such was the beginning of Summerville, its original name, in the 1850s. Well-to- do families in Burke county built elaborate homes, established the Summerville Academy, the post office, and church in this community. The first church was probably a union church. In 1881 the Methodists established the Summertown Church. In 1919 it was one of four churches on the Midville Circuit in the Dublin District; the other churches were Fair Haven, Almire, and Midville, Rev. A.P. Segers, pastor. From 1940 to 1983 it has been a part of the Midville Charge with Midville and Union Grove. When the Statesboro District was formed in 1963, the Midville Charge was placed in the new district. 1982 Membership: 33 A small group of pioneer families began this church in 1885. The present building was built in 1918. In 1950, dur- ing the pastorate of Rev. L.R. Lancaster it was carefully restored. This church first appears on the conference MINUTES in 1919 when it is on the Garfield Circuit with Paynes Chapel, Mt. Pleasant, and Garfield. Rev. T.E. Murray was pastor. Since 1940 it has been on the Midville Charge. UNION GROVE Emanuel County 1982 Membership: 147 Members entering ministry: Fred Roberts 315 MILLEN Charles Conway, Jr., Pastor US Hwy. 25, Jenkins County In 1869 Methodism began in this area as a mission which included a number of young struggling churches. Millen church was organized prior to 1882. In 1909 a beautiful church edifice of pressed brick with stone trimmings in the Gothic style was built. The corner-stone for the church was the first one laid in Millen. A large crowd at- tended the ceremony. The same sanctuary is in use today, and other buildings in the appropriate style have been added. In 1954 a large educational unit was built. By 1919 Millen was a station church with Rev. W.W. Joiner as pastor. This church was placed in the Statesboro District in 1963 when the new district was formed. 1982 Membership: 336 Members entering ministry: R.E. Boone, Ed Reeves, John R. Bargeron Mission field: Dr. R. Sasser; Ardelia Robinson, Deaconess MT. MORIAH Harold Sheppard, Pastor Keysville, Georgia, Jefferson County In the early 1800s Rev. Pharah of the Carolinas preaching in Jefferson county, established a church in a one-room school. A church was built in 1826 and a camp meeting begun under a brush ar- bor in 1827. Fire in 1829 destroyed church, tabernacle, and tents; the church was rebuilt and the camp meetings continued; again, fire destroyed all buildings. By 1857 the church was rebuilt, but destroyed by a tornado in 1875. Again they rebuilt. By 1911 Wrens and Mosely Chapel had been added, so the parsonage was moved to Wrens. In 1940, Keysville was added to the charge. In 1947 the church was remodeled and in 1952 the Sunday School reorganized. In 1956, when Wrens became a station, a new parsonage for the Mt. Moriah, Mosely Chapel, and Keysville Charge was built at Matthews. To celebrate the 175th An- niversary of Methodism, Rev. W.W. Flournoy re-enacted services in the homes complete with the circuit rider on horseback. In 1962 Mosely Chapel was forced to close as its membership was gone. Mt. Moriah added an annex in 1963 and redecorated and added new furnishing to sanctuary in 1968. 1982 Membership: 98 Member entering ministry: Herbert T. Parker 316 Burlester L. Tillman, Pastor MT. ZION Ga. Hwy. 46, Pulaski, Georgia In 1895 this church was organized in a brush arbor meeting. There were twieve members. Rev. G.H. Chole was the first pastor. In 1910 a wooden building was constructed. It was destroyed by a twister. In 1964 a new building of ce- ment blocks was erected. In 1972, the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference and this church was as- signed to the Reidsville Circuit. The Circuit included Dixie Grove, Ebenezer, Mt. Zion and Oak Grove, Rev. Lee Jones as pastor. In 1983 Mt. Zion and St. Marys became a 2 point charge. 1982 Membership: 71 Members entering ministry: Prince Johnson, Sherman Hanes, Blitch Holloway, W.R. Boney Entering mission field: Lear McClain ST. MARYS East of Brooklet, Georgia In 1868 this church was organized while meeting in a brush arbor. After that they met in homes for a while. The first church that they built burned. The present church was built in 1907. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference, this church was assigned to the Statesboro District and the Brannen Charge with Charlestown, Goloid, and Springhead. In 1973 it was placed on the Reidsville Cir- cuit, and in 1983 with Mt. Zion for a two-point charge. 1982 Membership: 18 NEW HOPE-NEVILS CHARGE Donald N. Fogal, Pastor NEW HOPE Statesboro-Oliver Rd., Bulloch Co. Organized in 1801, this churchs first pastors were Samuel Mills, Samuel Cowles, and Lewis Myers. In 1804 a small wooden building was erected on the present Brooklet-Clyo Road. This building was sold for $418 to the county for use as a school in 1904 and a beautiful painted building with plaster walls, sloped floor in the sanctuary and early glass windows was erected. The building included six Sunday School rooms. Upon its dedication, Dr. Lovett wrote in the ADVOCATE, this is the best country church I have seen in this or any other state. An early en- try in the records noted we have had no preaching this year and it shows in the 317 MT. ZION-ST. MARYS CHARGE lives of the members. In 1885 the Milray Circuit with New Hope and 3 other churches entertained the District Conference. For that meeting the preacher and his family moved to a va- cant house near the church for the meeting, which lasted 3-4 days. Two churches have grown from New Hope: Harmony and Brooklet. 1982 Membership: 184 Members entering ministry: William A. Kennedy, W.M. Kennedy NEVILS Ga. Hwy. 250, Bulloch County In 1938, in an old abandoned railroad station, twelve people organized this church, which was placed on the Bulloch Circuit, Savannah District. At the conference session, Rev. Carl Sampey was assigned for the circuit which included Nevils, Langston, and Register. In 1939 a brick church was erected. Additional class rooms, kitchen, and fellowship hall were added about 1979. In 1948 Nevils was placed on the Brooklet-New Hope Charge, Savannah District, with Rev. J.B. Hutchinson, pastor. As part of the Brooklet Charge it became a part of the Statesboro District in 1963. William W. Flournoy, Pastor 1982 Membership: 100 NEWINGTON CHARGE NEWINGTON Ga. Hwy. 21, Newington Georgia In 1909, the same year that a charter for the town of Newington was issued, the railroad was built. Since there was no church in town, the few Methodists held Sunday School in a shack until it burned and then on the platform of the depot. By 1913 with the growth of the town, the Methodists decided to build a church. Mrs. Jean Carter, in charge of getting donations for the church, asked Mr. Brinson, owner of the railroad, for the first donation. Thinking it a joke, he gave a dime. Mrs. Carter published all dona- tions in the county paper. When Mr. Brinson realized the entire county knew of his ten-cent donation, he was embarrassed and made a sizable gift. The brick church was built and memorials and individual gifts have furnished it. In 1919 Newington 318 was on the Oliver Circuit; in 1940 on the Newington Ct. with the same churches: Newington, Black Creek, Blue Springs and Lee Memorial. In 1968, Rev. Charles Dennis was pastor of Newington Charge which included Newington, Black Creek, Blue Springs, and Oliver. 1982 Membership: 159 BLACK CREEK RFD Sylvania, Georgia In 1854, in an old Baptist church that had been bought for $70, this church began. The church, as well as the com- munity that grew up around the grist mill on the creek, were named for the creek. Rev. T.R. McMichael was the first pastor. In 1919 Black Creek was on the Oliver Circuit, Savannah District, along with Blue Springs, Newington, Lee Memorial, Mizpah, and Oliver, Rev. J.D. McCord, pastor. When the Statesboro District was formed in 1963, Black Creek was on the Newington Charge with Blue Springs, Lee Memorial, Newington, and Oliver, Rev. Fred Glover pastor. 1982 Membership: 91 BLUE SPRING RFD, Newington, Ga. The land for this church was given by Miss Evelina Downing, October 1,1888. She asked that no cemetery be on the land for as long as she lived. This re- quest was honored. The first building used was an old cotton gin. Once during a service in the old building, a wind storm came up and rocked the church on its pillars. The preacher said, Ive been telling you we need a new church, now the Lord is telling you. In 1944-45, the building that had replaced the gin was torn down and the present building was built and brick veneered. In 1951 class-rooms, a kitchen, and central heating and air conditioning were added. 1982 Membership: 71 Members entering mission field: Miss Lizzie Pryor ^deaconess OLIVER Ga. Hwy. 17, Oliver, Georgia In 1898, when Mrs. Columbia Powell Huggins with her two children moved to Oliver from North Carolina there was no Methodist Church in Oliver. Together with a fellow Christian they started services in a vacant wooden building. This church was organized with five members. By 1907 the membership had increased enough for them to build the present church, a painted wooden structure. It is still 319 in use but has been modernized. Oliver Circuit first appears in the 1904 MINUTES in the Savannah District with Rev. N.S. Kemp, pastor. On 1919 Oliver Ct. had Oliver, Blue Springs, Black Creek, Mizpah, Lee Memorial, and Newington. In 1963 it was placed in the new Statesboro District on the New- ington Charge with all the same churches except Mizpah. 1982 Membership: 35 ODUM CIRCUIT W.A. Alsobrook, Pastor ODUM US Hwy. 341, Odum, Georgia This church was organized in 1888. Rev. W.T. Rea was the pastor. The first building was erected about 1890. In 1930 the present building, a wooden frame, was finished. The annex was added in 1967. In 1919 Odum was on the Surrency Circuit, McRae District, with Neva, Surrency, Piney Grove, Bethel, and Satilla, Rev. C.A. Morrison, pastor. In 1940 Odum was head of the Odum Cir- cuit, Waycross District, with Bethel, Odum, Neva, Piney Grove, and Surrency. Rev. S.J. Brown was assigned as pastor for 1941. In 1968 the Odum-Piney Grove Charge, Statesboro District, was composed of Odum, Piney Grove, and Screven. Rev. Ralph Spivey was pastor. 1982 Membership: 50 PINEY GROVE 6 Miles from Odum, Georgia Organized in 1860, this church was located in a pine grove. Its first building was log and its second building was made of lumber pinned together with large wooden pegs. A block building has been added for a fellowship hall and kitchen. This church has been on various charges with Odum across the years. It has been in at least three districts: 1919 Surrency Circuit, McRae 320 District; 1940 Odum Circuit, Waycross District; and 1968 Odum-Piney Grove Charge, Statesboro District. 1982 Membership: 20 SCREVEN US Hwy. 82, Screven, Georgia About 1880 this church was organized and the first building was where the Screven Cemetery is now. In 1902 that church was sold and a new church relocated closer to the members. This church burned February 14, 1940. Following the fire a new brick building was erected in 1941 with an educational building in 1961. A new parsonage had been built in 1949. Screven has been on several circuits in the Waycross District and was placed in the Statesboro District when it was formed in 1963. In 1919 Screven was on the Ludowici Circuit with Ludowici, Wesley Chapel, and Fleming, Rev. W.W. Meeks, pastor. In 1940 Screven was head of the Screven Circuit with 6 churches Bristol, Broadhurst, Effies Chapel, Mershon,. and Patterson, Rev. F.E. Linder, pastor. For 11 years 1955-66 Screven was a station; then in 1967 it was placed on the present charge. 1982 Membership: 58 PORTAL Kenneth Odum, Pastor US Hwy. 280, Portal, Georgia There were twelve members when this church was organized in the home of W.E. Parsons in 1909. Rev. Harry Stubbs, pastor of the Graymont Circuit, was the first pastor. In 1910 a wooden church was built. In 1970 a new brick church was erected in the wooden churchs place. In 1919 Portal was on the Graymont Circuit, Dublin District, with Graymont and Zion, Rev. C.B. McDaniel, pastor. By 1940 the charge was Met- ter and Portal, Savannah District, with Rev. Bernard Brown, pastor. In 1956 again in the Dublin District, Portal became a station. Rev. David Hudson was the pastor. 1982 Membership: 162 i Members entering the ministry: Ben Williams, Donald J. Sparks IREIDSVILLE-SHILOH CHARGE Clarence F. Knight, Pastor REIDSVILLE, FIRST US Hwy. 280, Reidsville, Georgia Organized in 1858, the congregation held services in the courthouse until 1885. The first pastors were Rev. W.F. Conley and Rev. J.L. Gilmore. After the Civil War in 321 1885 the present building of red brick with stained glass windows was erected. In 1919 Reidsville was on the Chauncey-Milan Circuit, McRae District. The charge included Chauncey, Mt. Zion, Milan, and Reidsville, Rev. J.W. Domingos, pastor. In 1940 Reidsville-Shiloh Charge was in the Savannah District, Rev. T.H. Thomson, pastor. In 1963 this charge was placed in the newly formed Statesboro District. In 1979 Mt. Carmel Church was merged with the Reidsville congregation. Mt. Carmel was organized in 1808 and its first building was 18 x 20 feet of unpeeled pine, and Rev. William Eason was their first pastor. In 1889 Mt. Carmel built a frame building. It has been on several circuits in 3 districts. 1982 Membership: 499 Members entering ministry: W. David Hendrix, Wayne E. Moseley, James W. Smith, Jr. SHILOH 4 Miles South of Reidsville, Ga. This church was organized about 1812. The first building was a log chapel about 20 x 30 feet. Rev. William Eason was the first pastor. In 1858 a painted wooden building was erected. In 1919 Shiloh was on the Spring Hill Circuit which included Shiloh, Towns, Bay Springs, and Spring Hill. This was in the McRae District. In the 1920 MINUTES, the appointment listing reads i Reidsville and Shiloh, R.F. Dennis. From then on the two have been together as a charge. In 1963 when the new Statesboro District was formed, the charge wasi placed in that district. 1982 Membership: 33 Members entering ministry: Raymond L. Bittner (Shiloh-Harmony), S.L. Mayo ROCKY FORD CHARGE Glenn Martin, Pastorr ROCKYFORD Ga. Hwy. 17, Screven County In the late 19th century the people of the Rocky Ford community worshipped together in a small school house. Services were occasional. Rev. C.T. Clark con- ducted a revival out which the Methodist and Baptist churches developed. In thej one-room school the services resembled a spelling bee. Rev. Clark stood on on side of the room and the Methodist lined up by him. Rev. Arnett stood on the otheij side and the Baptist lined up by him. A church was built and dedicated in 1900. AJ Sunday School had begun in 1898. The parsonage, built in 1892, was rebuilt in 1959. In 1966, an educational building with a fellowship hall was completed. In 1967, the sanctuary was remodeled with addition of stained glass windows and ar 322 organ. In 1919, Rocky Ford Circuit with Oak Grove, Woodcliff, Scarboro, Mt. Carmel, and Rocky Ford, With Rev. J.W. Patterson, pastor, was in the Savannah District. In 1940, the Rocky Ford Circuit included Rocky Ford, Oak Grove, Union, Eureka, Goloid, and Woodcliff, Rev. Leon C. Edwards, pastor. In 1968, Rocky Ford was in the Statesboro District. 1982 Membership: 70 GOLOID South of Sylvania, Ga. This church was organized in the 1890s in the Goloid community in Screven County. The G.H. Sharpe family gave the land for both the Methodist and Baptist Churches in 1892. Today the churches continue to stand side by side with a joint cemetery between them. In 1919 Goloid was on the charge with Sylvania, First, and Buck Creek. Rev. R.E. Bailey was pastor. In recent years it has been on the charge with Rocky Ford. 1982 Membership: 67 OAK GROVE US Hwy. 17 near Dover, Georgia In 1854 this church was founded and a building was built on this site. The present building was built in 1923. Dur- ing the 1950s two additions were made that included classrooms, fellowship ball, and kitchen. Recently, in 1982, the sanctuary and fellowship hall have been renovated with the addition of paneling land new carpeting. In 1919 Oak Grove was a part of the Rocky Ford Circuit with IRev. J.M. Patterson, pastor. The churches on the circuit were Oak Grove, Woodcliff, Scarboro, and Mt. Carmel. This circuit was in the Savannah District. In 1930 the charge had Eureka, Goloid, Oak Grove, Rocky Ford, Union, and Woodcliff; Oak Grove reported a hundred and one members, four less than Rocky IFord, the largest church. 11982 Membership: 83 323 ST. ANDREWS-HORSE CREEK Henry Joyner, Pastor ST. ANDREWS Sylvania, Georgia When some members of Simpson Church found that Simpson was too far from their homes, they organized St. Andrew. Simpsons Chapel is one of the older churches in this section and was probably organized by Bishop Matthew Simpson while he was at the home of Mrs. Matilda Crawford for preaching services. In the early days of heavy burdens and non-freedom, the people wanted a place to sing and pray. They first met under a tree, then a brush arbor. When they outgrew the brush arbor, they built a larger arbor with logs rolled in for seats. A log cabin was followed by a small wooden building in 1904. In 1970 present brick veneer church, consisting of sanctuary, social hall, kitchen classrooms, office, and pastors study, was built. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference, this church became a part of the Statesboro District. Rev. Raymond King was pastor. 1982 Membership: 227 HORSE CREEK Screven County, Georgia This church was organized in 1867 in Brother Dembo Kittles home. The first pastor was Rev. Tom Baker. When the congregation outgrew the Kittles home, they were allowed to build a brush arbor on the Bud Miller place. They held day services in the arbor and night services in the Kittle home. In 1872 they started building a church, but in 1880 it was destroyed by fire. But a child of God never knocks off till God says no. With this in mind they built another brush arbor. In 1883 with $50 from the Board of Church Extension they started another church. In 1974 when Grace Chapel merged with this church and the new rooms added to Horse Creek, it was agreed that Grace Chapel members would help tear down the old Grace church, if Horse Creek would provide the meal. They tore down Grace and added space to Horse Creek, which the 4-H Club landscaped. A bus has been purchased to bring children to Sunday School. These churches were formerly members of the Georgia Conference and in 1972 with the merger of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference with the South Georgia Conference, this church became a part of the Statesboro District. 1982 Membership: 170 324 SARDIS CHARGE Charles W. Sampley, Pastor SARDIS Ga. Hwy. 24, Sardis, Georgia In 1901 thirty-six members of the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church started St. Marks nearer Sardis, so that they would not have to travel for far. Rev. A.H. Bazemore was assigned to Mt. Zion-Old Church which was close enough for him to help start this church. In 1919 the MINUTES lists St. Marks as on the Lawtonville Circuit with Habersham, Lawtonville, Ellis Chapel, Rev. J.C. Griner, pastor. In 1923 the movement to relocate the church in Sardis was successful. The church name was changed to Sardis. Even before there was a church at Sardis, there was a circuit named for the area, for the 1923 MINUTES note that Alexander and Munnerly and Habersham are taken from Greens Cut and placed on the Sar- dis Ct. 1982 Membership: 253 Members entering ministry: George W. Herndon ELLIS CHAPEL SW Side of Beaver Creek Dam, Screven Co. Mt. Pleasant Church was organized about 1900 in a brush arbor with about a dozen members. In 1905 a wooden building was erected across from the brush arbor. The name was changed to Ellis Chapel. With the help of neighbors and a carpenter, Mr. Mobley, the members salvaged the usable lumber from the Old Mt. Pleasant Church to build the new frame building. When the building was finished in 1906 the members had failed to pay Mr. Mobley in full, so he put a padlock on the door. On Saturday afternoon, one of the stewards passed the church and saw the lock. He was so furious that he visited the members and by that night had raised the money and paid Mr. Mobley. Services were held on Sun- day as planned. 1982 Membership: 64 Member entering ministry: B.H. Smith SIMMONS CIRCUIT Miss Essie Simmons, Pastor LEETS CHAPEL RFD, Hilltonia, Georgia In the early 1800s this church was organized in a home. Later land was given for a building to be used as a church and school. The first church was called Old Mt. Zion. In 1892 a wooden building was erected. The lumber from the first church and 325 an old house were used in this building. About 1912 the church was moved to Hilltonia and renamed Leets Chapel. This building has been renovated with lights and windows changed and a small social hall added. At present a new en- trance and steeple are being added. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference and the South Georgia Conference merged this church was placed in the Statesboro District and the charge was called Leets Chapel-Oak Grove Charge. Rev. Miss Essie Simmons was pastor and Rev. C.C. Ed- mundson district superintendent. In 1974 Nan Williams Memorial was added to this charge. 1982 Membership: 29 Members entering ministry: George Comer Zeigler, Levi Wilson NANNIE B. WILLIAMS MEMORIAL Old Waynesboro Road, Millen, Georgia This church, originally called Trinity, was organized in a home in Belcher Quarters by two members and a preacher. They had 2 plank buildings and the foundation for a third building, which was to be brick, laid in 1877. Eight years later the rest of the church was complete. Then they discovered that some of it was on the wrong land, but the owner of the land, gave it to the church provided the church would be named Nannie B. Williams. That building is still in use but has been brick veneered. In 1974 a social hall was built with the help of the South Georgia Work Team. Recent improvements include furniture, carpeting, a new piano and new lights. In 1972 this church was placed on the Waynesboro Ct. in the Statesboro District when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference. In 1974 it was placed on the Simmons Circuit. 1982 Membership: 61 OAK GROVE RFD Sylvania, Georgia This church started under a brush arbor in 1876 and organized in a home with five members. The first pastor was Rev. E.D. Giddens. The first building was completed in 1919 near Millhaven, Georgia. That building is still being used. In 1978 it was painted, and new heating, lights, and furniture have been added. In 1977 the Leets Chapel-Oak Grove Charge changed the name of their 326 charge to Simmons Circuit in honor of their pastor, Rev. Essie Simmons. This church had been placed on the Leets Chapel-Oak Grove Charge in 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference and the South Georgia Con- ference merged. This church is a former member of the Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church. 1982 Membership: 122 STATESBORO, FIRST ?! r Carter Berkeley, Pastor William G. Neely, III, Associate Diane S. Neely, Min. of Edu. US Hwy. 301, Statesboro, Ga. In 1886 or 7 nine Methodist organized this church. Rev. J.L. Gilmore was the first pastor and services were held in the courthouse until the church was built. It was a frame building with a steeple completed in 1888. In 1902 during the pastorate of Rev. Whitley Langston a brick building replaced the frame one. Then in the fall of 1959 the first service was held in the present Gothic building designed around the three-part plan of the Biblical Temple in Jerusalem. It has been in three districts; it began in the Dublin, then in 1907 it was placed in the Savannah and in 1963 when the new Statesboro District was created it became the head of the district with Rev. Tom Watson as the district superintendent. Rev. Dewitt Shippey was the pastor. In its fellowship hall in 1956 the new church, Pitt- man Park, was organized. 1982 Membership: 1,026 STATESBORO, PITTMAN PARK William W. Oliver, Jr. Pastor US Hwy. 301, Statesboro, Georgia This church was organized in May 1956 in the Fellowship Hall of First Church, Statesboro, with 104 families. Rev. Lawrence E. Houston, Jr. was the first pastor. The first services were held in the Marvin Pittman School. Rev. An- thony Hearn was superintendent of the Savannah District at this time. On May 31, 1959, the church was completed. In 1963 when the new Statesboro District was formed, this church was changed to that district with Rev. Gilbert Ramsey assigned as pastor. 1982 Membership: 879 Members entering ministry: Richard F. Varnell 327 STATESBORO CIRCUIT BRANNEN CHAPEL Statesboro, Georgia James E. Swanson, Pastor In 1892 in a private home, fifteen people organized this church. The first pastor was Rev. S.H. Jordan. A wooden building was built in 1892 and served until the present building was built in 1977. This church is an A-frame building with split chancel, stained glass window and a large cross over the altar. Two sessions of the Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church met at this church in 1940 and 1948. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference this church was placed on the Statesboro Circuit in the Statesboro District. The other churches on the charge were Charlestown, Goloid, and Springhead. Rev. James White was assigned as pastor and Rev. C.C. Edmundson was the district superintendent. 1982 Membership: 119 CHARLESTOWN Ga. Hwy. 17, Screven County In 1868 this church was organized under a brush arbor. Charles Evans gave the land for the church, so it was named in his honor. The first pastor was Rev. Thomas Baker. The present wooden building was erected in 1909. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference this church was placed on the Statesboro Circuit in the Statesboro District. The other churches on this circuit were Goloid, Springhead, and Brannen, Rev. James White, pastor. 1982 Membership: 54 GOLOID US Hwy. 301S. of Sylvania, Ga. The church was organized in 1900 just off the road from Statesboro to Sylvania in the Goloid community. A wooden church was built, but it was destroyed by fire in 1941. The members were determined to have a church so they worked to rebuild it. In 1979 the present building was remodeled, the walls 328 paneled, new seats, light fixtures, and carpeting added. Restrooms were built, also. This church was placed on the Statesboro Circuit, Statesboro District, in 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference. The other churches on this charge were Brannen Chapel, Springhead, and Charlestown. These churches were all part of the Georgia Con- ference of The Methodist following the 1940 merger of the Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal Church, South and Methodist Protestant Churches. 1982 Membership: 96 SPRING HEAD Near the Ogeechee River, Sylvania, Georgia In 1868, this church was organized in Oak Grove Church. Since they were without a building of their own, the Oak Grove pastor and trustees allowed them to worship in the Oak Grove Church once a month. Since this was not satisfactory, they held services beside the Louisville Road with the women sit- ting on logs and the men on the fence. Though discouraged, the members continued to trust in God. They asked Mr. Warner to sell them two acres, instead he gave them four acres for a church and cemetery. They worshiped under a brush arbor until cold weather, they they built a log cabin with a chimney of clay and sticks. This was 1870 and Rev. Thomas Baker was their pastor. Later they built a bigger building. In 1981, a dream came true, a new brick church! When the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged in 1972, this church was placed in the Statesboro District on the Statesboro Circuit. Previously it has been part of the Georgia Conference, The Methodist Church before 1968. 1982 Membership: 81 Members entering ministry: E. W. Williams, S.A. Burns, R.L. Nunnaly, Jr., O.A. Burns, Joshua Reddick, Roy Roberts, Harmon Kent, W.R. Robinson, John Robinson, Charlie Grant, R.F. Nunnaly, Issac Benton, W.M. Benton. SURRENCY-BETHEL CHARGE Randolph E. Sayre, Pastor SURRENCY US Hwy. 341, Appling County In 1903 this church was organized by Maggie Eason Middleton who came to this community when she married John Overstreet. The first building was of logs which the members gave, cut, and laid to build the chapel. The building that followed is the present one. In 1919 Surrency Circuit, McRae District, had Odum, Neva, Surrency, Piney Grove, Bethal, and Satilla with Rev. C.A. Morrison pastor. When the McRae District was dissolved in 1931, Surrency was placed in the 329 Waycross District and in the new Statesboro District in 1963. 1982 Membership: 31 BETHEL (Crooked Branch) Surrency-Lane Bridge Road, Appling Co. The Crooked Branch Methodist Church was organized as part of the Appling Mission in 1830 by the South Carolina Conference. Rev. Jeremiah T. Freeman was the first pastor. The first crude building was the first church in Appling County. In 1840 the name was changed to Bethel, the house of the Lord. This church is located 8 miles from Surrency. In May 1840, Felix Eason organized a Sun- day School. Since then Sunday School has been held at Bethel for 133 years. Church services were held once a month until about 1960 when a parsonage in Sur- rency was bought for the charge and preaching is held twice a month. From the earliest listing in the MINUTES of the conference of the individual churches on the circuits, Bethel has been listed with Surrency, 1919 being the first such listing. 1982 Membership: 152 MILLIKIN 9 Miles South Surrency, Ga. This church was organized with ten members in 1957. The name, Millikin, is for the family cemetery; this family was one of the early settlers and gave the land for the church. Rev. Howard Sanderford was the first pastor. In 1960 this church was on the Surrency Bethel Charge with Rev. Homer Taylor as pastor. 1982 Membership: 27 SYLVANIA-FIRST Joseph R. Porterfield, Pastor US Hwy. 301, Sylvania, Georgia In the beginning the Methodists in this area attended Jacksonboro Church, where Lorenzo Dow in the early 1800s preached and placed a curse on the com- munity because of the evil he saw. When Sylvania became a town in 1847, they began to have services in their homes. The church in Sylvania was organized in 1853 with Rev. Albert Rowland as the 330 first pastor. The first building was frame with a tall spire. The present sanctuary is brick with tall columns in front, constructed in 1935-38. A steeple was added in 1982. An educational unit was built in 1959. In 1900 Sylvania Circuit appears in the conference MINUTES with Rev. R.R. Norman, pastor; the Sylvania Ct. in 1919 had Buck Creek, Goloid and Sylvania. In 1940 Wesleyana was an afternoon ap- pointment along with First, Rev. J.B. Smith, as pastor. 1982 Membership: 620 UNION H. W. Stephens, Pastor Near Claxton, Georgia In the early 1900s in a tent near Smiths Pond, this church was organized, and called Union because of the mixture of Methodists and Baptists in the con- gregation. The first pastor was Rev. Hamp Stevens. Services were held in a tent until a storm demolished it; then services were held in Deloach School nearby. In 1919 a church was built at the present location. In 1959 this building was moved to one side as a fellowship hall and class rooms when the present brick church was built. In 1965 a brick fellowship hall was completed. This church was on the Springfield Circuit in 1919 with Spring Hill, Mizpah, Springfield, and Turkey Branch, Rev. S.W. Brown, pastor. In 1940 it was on the Rincon Charge with Bethesda, Goshen, Marlow and Rincon, Rev. M.M. Pierce, pastor. In 1963 when the new Statesboro District was formed it was on the Bellville Charge. Placed with Claxton in 1977, it became a station in 1982. 1982 Membership: 116 VIDETTE CHARGE James A. Cason, Pastor VIDETTE Ga. Hwy. 24, Burke County This church was organized on March 13, 1908 in a home. There were eleven members. Rev. Coleman was the first pastor. The original building is still in use. In 1919 Vidette Circuit was Dublin District with the following churches, Vidette, Keysville, Clarks Chapel, and St. Clair, Rev. C.L. Rogers, pastor. In 1940, Vidette was with Louisville and in 1963 in the new Statesboro District the Vidette Charge included Vidette, Clarks Chapel, Greens Cut, and Friendship, Rev. C.L. Mincey pastor. 1982 Membership: 59 331 FRIENDSHIP Burke County near Vidette In 1940 some members of Cokes Chapel formed Friendship Church closer to their homes. For several years it met in the homes. Rev. L.W. Walker, pastor of Louisville was the first pastor. In 1940 Cokes Chapel with Greens Cut were on the Burke County Ct., Savannah District, and by 1943 this church was on the charge with Louisville, Vidette, Oak Grove, and Clarks Chapel in the Dublin District. In 1968 Vidette Circuit had 4 churches, Friendship, Vidette, Clarks Chapel, and Greens Cut. 1982 Membership: 57 GREENS CUT Route 4, Waynesboro, Georgia Greens Cut was a place where the railroad had cut through hills on land owned by Mr. Green, hence the name. On November 19, 1901, this church was organized during a meeting in a home. There were fifteen members. The present building is that original building to which an educational unit was added in 1958. The priginal pews were hand-hewn. In 1919 Greens Cut Circuit had five churches: Greens Cut, Mt. Zion, Old Church, Ciles Chapel, and Smiths Chapel. In 1940 Burke County Circuit had Cokes Chapel and Greens Cut. In 1963 when it was placed in the new Statesboro District, it was part of the Vidette Circuit with Friendship, Vidette, and Clarks Chapel. 1982 Membership: 74 WAYNESBORO CIRCUIT Comer Zeigler, Pastor ASBURY 6 Miles West of Munnerly, Ga. This church, organized in 1867 in a brush arbor, is located in Burke County out from Waynesboro and is among the oldest Black congregations with Methodist roots. In its beginning it had twenty members: Rev. Bell was the first pastor. In 1891 a wooden building was built. The present building, built in 1896, has colored glass windows, a brick foundation, and steps. For years camp meetings were held in October each year, and families and members camped at the church for a week or more attending services day and night. In June 1972 the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference. This church was placed in the Statesboro District on the Waynesboro Circuit with Haven Memorial, Munnerly and Nan Williams Memorial. In 1974, Nan Williams was 332 placed with Leets Chapel in this same HAVEN MEMORIAL Waynesboro, Georgia With fifteen people in 1866 this church was organized while meeting in a brush arbor. It is named Haven for Bishop Gilbert Haven, who was the presiding Bishop at that time. The first pastor was Rev. James Jackson. Very near this church a school, Haven Institute, was built to educate teachers and preachers. In August, 1888, the first wooden hut was erected. In 1891 the present wooden building was finished. It has stained glass windows and the ceiling is elevated to allow for a balcony. This church has hosted District conferences and Sunday School Unions. In 1972 the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference. This church was placed in the Statesboro District on the Waynesboro Circuit with Asbury, Munnerly, and Nan Williams. This Church was in the Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church prior to merger in 1968. 1982 Membership: 87 MUNNERLY Burke County, Munnerly, Ga. In 1874, five people meeting in a brush arbor organized this church. Rev. Samuel Williams was the first pastor. The present church is a wooden building of simple design built many years ago. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Con- ference merged with the South Georgia Conference, this church was a part of that District. It was placed with Haven Memorial and Asbury on the Waynesboro Circuit in the Statesboro District. 1982 Membership: 30 district. 1982 Membership: 215 333 WAYNESBORO-FIRST Tegler Greer, Pastor US Hwy. 25, Waynesboro, Ga. Between 1812 and 1815 two families established this church. The first building was an unsightly unceiled shell of a house which was soon aban- doned, the services being held in the Presbyterian Church. In 1858 a self- constituted committee of one decided to build a new church. He did this, using his slave laborers to cut logs, saw the timber, and erect the church. It is said that in the 1880s the Sunday School teachers gathered at the church on Tuesday night to study the lesson for the next Sunday. In recent years a brick church has replaced the early wooden church buildings and in 1980 the chapel was dedicated. This church has long been a station church; in 1919 Rev. J.P. McFerrin was pastor and they raised $3,165.50 for the Centenary Fund, the campaign to raise funds for missions and church extension to celebrate a hundred years of missionary giving. 1982 Membership: 672 Members entering ministry: Becky Veal, R.O. Edenfield, Thomas F. Oliver, J. Hyatt Smith ALEXANDER Ga. Hwy. 24,9 Miles Waynesboro This churchs beginning is not known, but is believed to be in the early 1850s. It was organized at services being held in a masonic lodge. The pews in this church were first in an Anglican church; when it burned, all the pews were saved and have been used by the Methodist ever since. Across the years this church has been part of many circuits, in 1919 on the Bascom Ct., in 1940 on the Sardis Circuit, 1963 with Habersham, with First since 1969. 1982 Membership: 23 Members entering ministry: Grover G. Bell 334 THOMASVILLE DISTRICT Thomas H. Johnson, Sr., Superintendent 817 N. Dawson Street, Thomasville The oldest churches in this area were first a part of the Tallahassee District of the South Carolina Conference and, in 1831, of the Tallahassee District of the Georgia Conference. When the Florida Conference was organized and the southern part of Georgia was placed in that conference, the churches in this area of Georgia were in the Ft. Gaines and Tallahassee Districts. Then in 1862, for the first time Thomasville becomes one of the five Florida Conference Districts along with Madison, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Tampa. In 1863 the two districts in Georgia were Thomasville and Quitman, and in 1864 the three districts in Georgia were Thomasville, Bainbridge and Waresboro. Then in 1866 when the churches in Georgia were reasigned to the Georgia Conference, there were seven years before Thomasville became a district in the South Georgia Conference. For many of those years the churches, now in the Thomasville District, were part of the Bainbridge, Americus, Brunswick or Colum- bus districts. In 1983 this district had 40 charges with 83 churches and 17,208 mem bers. ALBANY, AVALON C. G. Haugabook, Pastor 1100 Whitney Avenue, Albany After a series of tent meetings with Rev. W. A. Kelley preaching, this church was organized on August 24, 1952. 110 peo- ple became charter members. Rev. Harold A. Raines was the first pastor. The present congregation first met in William Binns Recreation Hall until a church complex was built in 1952. Mem bitTenti^i'ng ministry: Thomas Lee Curtis, R L Herrinton, Cecil E. Hazen, Steven Ray Lloyd, As bury B. Walton CHRIST Edwin M. Cooper, Jr., Pastor 2405 Byron Plantation Road, Albany, Georgia -~ars ago, during Rev. Frederick Wilsons pastorate at First Church, Dr. C. -ve land for a new church. It had been held in trust until this new I -vr, October 13, 1979. Additional land was given by C. R Hodges, Jr. In the fall of 1980 an after- noon service was held on this site and an altar of promise was erected from stones gathered on the property. The men walked the land and claimed it for the Lord. The new unit was dedicated on December 5, 1982. The progress of this new church is due to the financial sup- port of First Church, the Albany Methodist Mission Board and Porter- field and the sizable contributions available for the new building. There were 132 members at the organization. While the building was being built services were held in Deerfield-Windsor School. Rev. Edwin Cooper, Jr. has been the pastor for this beginning. 1982 Membership: 300 JohnE. Horton, Pastor Cynthia Ann Hooks, Associate Glenn A. Martin, Associate 301-311 Flint Avenue, Albany This church was organized in 1841 in a Meeting House at the corner of Jackson and Residence Streets. Rev. George W. Farabee was the first pastor, and Albany is listed in the Fort Gaines District of the Georgia Conference with 263 white members and 41 black members. When the Florida Conference was created in 1844, Albany was in the part of Georgia that was needed to make a new conference. In 1845, Albany was in the Quincy District. By 1866, Florida had grown large enough to support its own conference, and the lower part of Georgia was returned to the Georgia Conference and the subsequent division into the North and South Georgia Conferences. In 1844, in the 100 block of Washington St. a frame building was erected and used un- til a new church was built on Flint Avenue in 1854. This church was used until 1901 when a new brick church was erected on the corner of Flint and Jackson Streets; in 1960 it was torn down to build the current fellowship hall and chapel. The present sanctuary is a masonry construction of modified Gothic design. In 1966-7 new stained glass windows, designed by H. L. Wise Associates, were given in honor of living members and as memorials. Construction on this building began on November 13, 1950. This church has hosted the annual session of the South Georgia Conference in 1868, 1882, 1917, 1932, 1954, 1964 and 1978. In missionary effort, this church has helped with the beginning of these churches: Grace now Palmyra, Trinity and Asbury, now Trinity, Avalon, Morningside, Porterfield, and Christ. In 1982 it began a television ministry. 1982 Membership: 2,447 ^ Members entering ministry: A. E. Hancock, David F. Cripps, Benjamin R. W. Knowles, Paul Wohlgemuth, C. W. Hancock, J. Parke Renshaw, W. H. Littleton, Paul L. Harwell, Jr., L. E. Roan, Jr., James McCoy Calhoun, W. Max Hill, Roy Dial III, Dale Dorman, Joe Porterfield, Gary Starrett, 336 ALBANY, FIRST James Hughes, Greg Berquist, Thomas Curtis, John Lough, Richard Bragg, Thomas Hill, Charles Harper, Cynthia Hooks, Beverly Arnold, Charles A. Culbreth, Jr. Entered Mission Field: Dr. Marvin Harper, Parke Renshaw, Thomas H. Curtis ALBANY, MORNINGSIDE Paul W. Dupree, Pastor South Mock Road at Five Points, Albany Following a period of services and a revival held in a tent, this church was organized on November 2,1952, with 71 members. Rev. Robert E. Wilcox was the first pastor. The first church, erected in 1952, was frame and addi- tions were made in 1953 and 1955. By 1958 the plant was inadequate for the growing congregation. In addition, the location was in the flight pattern of Turner Air Force Base. Mrs. Spencer Walden and her sister, Miss Loretta Haley, gave a new lot as a memorial to their father, J. T. Haley. The present building was built in 1958. 1982 Membership: 318 Members entering ministry: Clarence E. Knight, Clarence Gardner ALBANY, PALMYRA ROAD 1600 Palmyra Road, Albany Organized as a mission of First Church in 1925, the church was originally named Grace. It met in a community house owned by Flint River Cotton Mill until the first building with sanctuary and five Sunday School rooms was com- pleted in 1926. A. C. Knight was con- tractor. In 1952 the church voted to move, and in 1953 a new church was constructed at the present location. In 1955 a new classroom building and kitchen and recreation hall were added. The church was brick veneered in 1964 and expanded in 1967. The steeple was built in 1974, a gift of Mrs. C. D. McKnight as a memorial to Mr. Joel T. Haley. 1982 Membership: 247 ALBANY, PORTERFIELD Gilbert L. Ramsey, Pastor Frank M. Parr, Associate Nancy Jane Scarbrough, Associate 2200 Dawson Road, Albany Organized on September 11, 1955, this church first met in the Air Force Reserve Center on North Slappey Drive and then in the Masonic Temple on Pine Ave. The church was named in memory of Rev. Ralph W. Porterfield. Rev. C. W. Hancock was the first pastor. Ground for the first building was broken on Easter Sunday, 1956; the five acre site was given by Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Haley, Sr. The first unit, the educational building, was completed and dedicated in 1957; and services were held there until the completion of the sanctuary in late 1965. It was dedicated on December 19, 1965. A chapel was constructed in 1970 and named the Mabel Haley Chapel. The church hosted the South Georgia An- nual Conference in 1972. 1982 Membership:'2,516 ALBANY, PUTNEY Richard Chandler, Pastor Putney, Georgia This church was organized in 1960 under the leadership of Franklin Springer, a certified lay speaker and member of Morningside church. Feeling that Putney community would be a good location for a new Methodist church, he stopped one day and talked to some of the people about the need for a church. As a result of the interest generated, a tent was erected in a grove owned by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Williamson and services were held. Ground was broken for the first building on an acre of land given by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Giddens. The first pastor was Rev. Earle E. Hart. In 1973 the Kingdom Builders gave the money to purchase additional land and sup- plied a portable building to use while the new sanctuary was completed. The pres- ent building was occupied on November 7,1976. 1982 Membership: 326 ALBANY, TRINITY Guilford C. Prickette, Pastor 1012 Moultrie Road, Albany This church was organized on June 10, 1973, as a result of the merger of Trinity Church and Asbury church. The older of the two congregations, Trinity was first organized in 1925 and A. E. Han- cock became the first pastor. First known as East Side Church, Asbury was organized in 1961 in a V.F.W. club. 1982 Membership: 147 Asbury Walton was the first pastor. 338 ARLINGTON CHARGE J. Ralph Foster, Pastor ARLINGTON Ga. Hwys. 216 and 62 First organized in 1873 in a school house, this church erected its first building, a white wooden structure, in 1876. Its first known pastor, in 1902, was Rev. G. W. Thomas. In 1908, the cornerstone was laid for the present brick structure; its art glass windows are original. An organ was installed in 1947, a new parsonage built in 1957, and a fellowship hall added in the mid-sixties. The church was named Rural Charge of the Year in 1957-58. In 1978, there were 20 members who had been members for fifty or more years. 1982 Membership: 189 1982 Membership: 15 ATTAPULGUS CHARGE ATTAPULGUS US Hwy 27, Attapulgus, Georgia In 1818, John Slade, a missionary from South Carolina, was sent to Early Coun- ty. It is believed that some time around 1830 he organized this church and served as its first pastor. The first building was erected on or by November 10, 1869. On July 18, 1927, ground was broken for the present brick building which was dedicated on April 17, 1928, Ainsworth was a member of this church CHRIST CHURCH Bethany and Arlington Road, Arlington, Ga. Organized in 1899 in a brush arbor, this congregation built its present building, a wooden structure, in 1900. The first pastor was Rev. N. H. Wiliams. Later asbestos siding was added. Before join- ing its present charge in 1937, the church was a member of the Newton Charge. E. Larry Land, Pastor by Bishop William N. Ainsworth. Mrs. when they were married. An educational 339 building was dedicated on March 4,1956. The church at one time was a member of the Decatur County Circuit. 1982 Membership: 130 Members entered ministry: M. O. Williams, N. H. Wiliams, Theo Gee HANNATOWN RFD, Attapulgus, Georgia Organized in 1940, this church met in a brush arbor for about a year until it con- structed its first building in 1941. The timber for this building was donated by members from this property. The pres- ent concrete block building was erected in 1947. The first pastor was Rev. B. K. W. Knowles. The pews of this church, which were purchased from a church in Tallahassee, Florida, are over 100 years old. The church was formerly a member of the Facevile Charge. 1982 Membership: 17 BACONTON Greg Bergquist, Pastor Walton and Church Streets, Baconton Organized at Raiford, now Lester, in 1870, this church was earlier known as Shiloh. Its first wooden building, lighted by beef tallow candles placed on wooden strips around the walls, also served as a school. In 1875, the site was moved and a large log church and school building was built. Preacher Russell was the first pastor. In 1882 the site was moved four miles west of the 1875 site and a wooden building was erected and fur- nished with long benches with solid backs and lighted by oil chandeliers. In 1902 the present gothic structure was erected. A fellowship hall was added in 1967. 1982 Membership: 104 BAINBRIDGE, FIRST James T. Trice, Jr., Pastor Shotwell and Florida Sts., Bainbridge This church was organized in 1823. Dr. David L. White, a physician and local preacher from Quincy, Florida, was the first minister. In 1840 a first building was erected on the present site; it was replaced by a larger building in 1854. That year, the charge hosted the Florida Annual Conference. In 1899 a new brick building was erected. When it burned in 1906, the present sanctuary was built. The South Georgia Annual Conference met here in 1911, 1924, and 1946. In 1964 a new par- sonage was built, and later the J. O. Smith Activities Building was added. In 1977, 340 the church was named Church of the Year of the Thomasville District. 1982 Membership: 1020 Members entered ministry: Mercer B. Ingram, Jerry M. Woodbery, Hugh L. Davis, Eugene C. Cochran, Marcia J. Cochran, Charles A. Jackson, {Jr. BLAKELY CIRCUIT Russell A. Elkins, Pastor CENTERVILLE Three Notch Road, Centerville, Georgia Organized in 1860 in a brush arbor, this congregation built its first log structure that same year on land given by Ezekiel DuBose. The church was first called DuBose Church in honor of the donor. The first pastor was Rev. J. T. Lowe. From 1860 to 1885, the Methodist | shared the building with the newly formed Baptist Church. In 1896, the congregation chose a site nearer the center of the community and during 1896-1898 erected the present building. Built of wood sawed in the area, the church has floor joists and ceiling trusses made of whole pine logs. In 1976 a new social hall was added and the original building was given vinyl siding and new windows. The church has been a member of both the Jakin and Ear- ly County Circuits and was formerly in the Americus District. 1982 Membership: 39 HILTON Hilton, Georgia This church was organized in the 1860s by a group of Methodists from Pleasant Grove. It first met in a brush arbor. On November 1, 1889, E. Hilton gave land for a building stating in his deed that the land belonged to the church so long as no intoxicating liquors of any kind were allowed on the premises. Any breech of contract would return the land to his heirs. The present building was erected on this land in the 1890s. A social hall was added in 1973. 1982 Membership: 57 341 WESTVIEW Westview Drive, Blakely, Georgia 1982 Membership: 165 BLAKELY, FIRST John L. McGowan, Pastor During the pastorate of Rev. W. E. McCord, Sardis, Pleasant Grove, and Langston Chapel churches were consolidated into a new church, Westview. A red brick building was erected in 1963 and Rev. Harold Jennings was assigned as pastor. In his HISTORY OF EARLY COUNTY Joel Perry states that Pleasant Grove was the first church built in Early County. All three existed before 1919 and are listed in the Minutes of that year as being on the Blakely Circuit with Rev. M. M. Pierce, pastor. Hilton and Freemans Church were also on this circuit. In the 1930s Langston Chapel had an influx of persons who came to work for the mills and enjoyed a period of new life. 301 College Street, Blakely, Georgia Organized in 1840, this church first met in a building erected in 1852-53 and shared with the Presbyterians. The first pastor was Rev. Hilliary Phillips, and at that time the church was in the Florida Conference. In 1866, it was returned to the Georgia Conference when that con- ference divided into the North and South Georgia Conferences. In 1871, the first church building was torn down, and between 1871 and 1873 a new wooden building was erected. This sanctuary had a wooden partition down the middle to separate the mens and womens seating. The EARLY COUNTY NEWS, in 1878, noted that Blakely had both a Methodist and Baptist preacher resident for the first time. The present brick church with stained-glass windows was built in 1901. It was renovated in 1938 with an educational annex added in 1948. 1982 Membership: 580 Members entering ministry: George Pullen BOSTON-BARWICK CHARGE Thomas H. Newberry, Sr., Pastor BARWICK Barwick, Georgia This church was organized in 1904 and the first building erected the same year. Rev. John M. Outler preached the dedicatory sermon, and the first pastor was Rev. Tom Kemp. In October, 1904, following a revival meeting, a young man, M. J. Bar- rett, announced that a prayer meeting would be held in the church on Wednesday night. Prayer meeting has been held every Wednesday night since that first one. 342 The present brick building was erected in 1939 and dedicated on August 20, 1940. An educational building was added in 1954. In 1973, the Boston- Barwick charge was named Charge of the Year for the Thomasville District. 1982 Membership: 48 BOSTON Main Street, Boston, Georgia The exact date of organization is not known, but this church erected its first building in 1872. The first pastor was Rev. Watts. After the first building was destroyed by storm in 1876, a new wooden structure was built. Members worshipped in the Presbyterian church during construction. In 1909 the building was brick veneered, but was partially destroyed by fire in November, 1945. Under the leadership of Rev. Albert W. Ray, the present brick building was erected in five months. The congregation worshipped in the Primitive Baptist Church dur- ing this time. 1982: Membership: 152 GROOVERVILLE Brooks County In 1833, William H. Ramsey organized this congregation under a brush arbor on his home place. Later the members built a log church on the main road to St. Marks, Florida. The first church was called Lebanon and was served by the circuit rider from Albany. In 1856, the church moved to Grooverville (then called Key) which was on the Stage line from Tallahassee to Troupville and to Thomasville. That same year, the present wooden structure was built of wide planks handsawn from heart pine and hand planed. The pine was cut on the prop- erty of Mr. M. W. Linton. In 1933, the church observed its centennial during the pastorate of Rev. J. O. Stanaland, a great grandson of the founder, Mr. Ramsey. 1982: Membership: 16 Members entered Ministry: Thomas Kemp, Ralph Ramsey, Guernsey Ramsey, J. 0. Stanaland. (Gilbert Ramsey (S.GA) and Robert Ramsey (N.Ga) are sons of Guernsey Ramsey.) 343 OAK GROVE Dixie-Morven Rd., 11 miles east of Dixie This church was first organized in 1830 in a brush arbor and was originally part of the Tallahassee District. Rev. Isaac Boring was the first pastor. In 1832, a wooden building was erected at a loca- tion 2 miles west of the present site. During the early 1870s, fire destroyed the original building along with the academy at the same location, and the church became inactive. In 1904, Rev. Wal- steen McCord held a tent revival near Mule Creek School and reorganized the church. Church services were held in the Mule Creek School until 1906 at which time one acre of land was given to the church by the Hodges family and the present building was constructed. Mr. Carter Johnson built the church with funds and lumber contributed by the local citizenry. 1982 Membership: 29 Members entered ministry: J. Neely Peacock BRINSON CHARGE BRINSON Brinson, Georgia This church began as the Spring Creek Mission and was organized in 1867 in a field with 20 members. Rev. Willis M. Russell, a local preacher, was the first pastor and served for the four years the church was known as Spring Creek. The first building was constructed of logs and had no window shutters or doors. The church was next named Mt. Zion, and at some time a second building of frame construction was built. During this period, the people came to church in wagons and buggies, and the ladies dismounted on a special Stepping Stone, hewn from ai rock for this purpose. This stone has been moved to the present church yard. The present building was built in 1901; the pulpit and choir loft were remodeled and: Sunday School room were added in 1933. In 1963 a social hall, named Wade Hodges' Hall, was built and dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the church, August 20, 1967. The first parsonage burned in 1918, but was rebuilt as a gift of Mr. C. S.. Hodges. 1982 Membership: 36 IRON CITY Iron City, Georgia In the office of J. L. Dickensons store, this church was organized with nine members on Feb. 14, 1897. That same year land for building was purchased from 344 the Trustees of Iron City School, and in 1899 a building was begun. The first pastor was Rev. E. E. Rose. In 1928, the building was re-roofed and electrical fixtures were installed. Sunday School rooms were added in 1933 and 1945. The steeple was added in 1950-51. The church was earlier on a charge with Donalsonville. 1982 Membership: 28 JAKIN Jakin, Georgia Organized about 1894, this congregation met in a small frame building erected that same year by Messrs. Duke and Bivins. Rev. Street and Rev. Johnson from Dothan, Alabama, were brought by the Flowers, owners of a large lumber mill in town, to hold periodic services. In 1898 Rev. I. P. Tyson was appointed ipastor. In 1899 a larger frame building with Sunday School rooms was erected. In 11959, it became necessary to move the church from its noisy site between the irailroad and the busy highway. The new concrete block building was dedicated on August 9,1959. In late 1965 and early 1966, an annex housing dining room, kitchen, land classrooms was erected. A heating and cooling system was installed in 1970. IThe church was earlier on charges with Cedar Springs and Donalsonville, but has been on its present charge since 1929. 1982 Membership: 65 CAIRO CIRCUIT BOLD SPRINGS This church was organized in 1863 in the home of Robert B. McCord, and the building was erected in 1867. The church was named for the founders home church in Walton County. In 1888 Bold Springs had more than 800 members; and three churches were organized out of its membership ^9 Ochlochnee, Pierce Chapel, and Woodland. James D. Aycock, Jr., Pastor 1982 Membership: 62 Members entered ministry: Howard McCord (youngest son of founder) 345 FRIENDSHIP llth Ave. and Ochlochnee Rd., Cairo Started as a mission Sunday School sponsored by some of the members of First Church and begun in March, 1958, this church was formally organized on May 1,1959, with 27 members. The first pastor was Rev. James E. Odum. It met in a large tent for nine months until the building was completed in 1960. The building had a chapel for 4 classrooms; subsequent additions have created a plant that has a large sanctuary, social hall, adequate classrooms, and playground. The church was composed primarily of children in the beginning and continues to offer special service to them through a full-time day care center. 1982 Membership: 83 Members entered ministry: Mike Dollar, Leland Collins, W. A. Collins, Mary Rineer WOODLAND Woodland Church Road, Grady County The first services in the community were held by Rev. L. B. Wilson, a Con- gregationalist Methodist minister, in the school building that was erected in 1885. In 1887, Mr. Will Ison gave the land for a church and a wooden building was erected. In 1893 the congregation reorganized as a Methodist Episcopal church. Older members remember that in the early part of the century revivals lasted two or three weeks, and the church would be so full that children were lined up in the aisles and men sat in the window sills during services. The present building was completed by September 13,1953, and dedicated in 1961. 1982 Membership: 48 ' CAIRO, FIRST William G. Brown, Pastor: 300 South Broad St., Cairo, Georgia This church was first organized as a Sunday School in 1867, which met in the home of Mrs. Julia Hall and had twenty members. In 1873, the first building, a one-room white frame structure with arched windows, was erected. The first pastor was Rev. T. J. Colquitt. A second building was erected in 1902 and re- placed with the present building in 1927. The sanctuary has a rose window behind the pulpit. In the seventies a large fellowship hall which contains a 346 dining room, recreation room, classrooms, and chapel was built under the leader- ship of Dr. Loy Veal. In 1959 the church helped to organize Friendship Church in (northeast Cairo. A number of members of the church have participated in 'Volunteers in Mission since 1980. Until 1900 the church was a member of the Bold Springs charge; it became a station in 1904. 11982 Membership: 773 .'Members entered ministry: H. Eugene Barlow, Maxwell Eldridge Barlow, Edge Dixon, William L. 'Oliver, Jr., Charles B. Whatley, Jr., Ike Powell, Jeffry Daniel Jones. lEntered Mission Field: Ike Powell (Egypt) TIRED CREEK 2 miles north of Cairo, on old Hawthorn Trail Since the early records of this church were destroyed in a parsonage fire in the early twenties, the exact date this church was organized is not known. However, it was in existence and on the Bold Springs charge at the time Cairo First was organized in 1867. The first building was also erected prior to 1867. In 1875 the old building was torn down, moved by wagon to the present site, and reassembled. The original site was near Tired Creek, south of the Cairo-Bainbridge Road, about three miles from the present site. The move brought the church closer to the homes of the majority of members. The church has previously been part of the Cairo Circuit and Bainbridge District. 1982 Membership: 18 Members entered Ministry: Russell Reid Members entered Mission Field: Rev. Samuel A. Belcher (Brazil, 1907-1937) CALVERY-BETHEL CALVARY Calvary, Georgia Organized in 1908, this church began in a tent meeting. 91 members joined B 38 on profession of faith and 53 by transfer of membership. The first pastor was Rev. R. W. Cannon. The first building was also erected in 1908. The trees were given by Joseph Herring and were sawed by H. I. Clay without charge. In 1944 the building was remodeled and 5 Sunday School rooms were added. In 1951, the extension of S.R. 179 necessitated moving the building. This was done in 1952 and an annex added. The present building was erected in 1958-1959. 1982 Membership: 71 Members entered mission Held: Rev. E. W. Anderson went to Korea from this appointment. (Brazil, 1907-1937) Marshall K. Singletary, Pastor 347 BETHEL Reno, Georgia This church was organized in 1882 and erected its building in 1885. The original structure is still in use. The first pastor was Rev. J. S. Johnson. The Womans Society of Christian Service was organized in 1945 with 9 charter members, all of whom are still active. Though small, the church has been very active in this work; in 1983, a member, Mrs. Tom Hopkins, is President of the Con- ference United Methodist Women. The church has previously been a member of the Cairo Circuit, Attapulgus Charge, and Metcalf Charge, and Whigham-Bethel Circuit. 1982 Membership: 41 CENTENNIAL Grady County, 6 V2 miles south of Cairo First known as Possum Schuffle, this church was organized in 1872. Its first building was a log structure used also as a school. The first pastor was Rev. William Powell, who was assisted by Sam Cassels, a layman. Rev. Walter C. Jones was the first ordained minister of the Metcalf Circuit, this churchs earlier charge. In 1884 the present building was erected across the road from the log struc- ture by the laymen and named in honor of the 100th anniversary of the first Methodist Conference in America, 1784. The sanctuary was divided by a lattice rail, men sitting on one side and women on the other. Nail holes are still visible down the backs of center pews where the rail was attached. Before 1961, the building was heated by wood; each member brought a few pieces for each service. The outside walls have been covered with cypress shingles. 1982 Membership: 38 CAMILLA Frank H. Harris, Jr., Pastor 39 S. Harney Street, Camilla Begun as a mission appointment by the Florida Annual Conference, this church was organized in 1859 in a little wooden county courthouse. The first pastor was Rev. James W. Jackson. The first building, a square frame structure painted white with green blinds and two front doors, was located in the center of what is now Harney Street, a little northeast of the present building. A second building was erected in 1897; it was brick veneered. The present building with balcony and stained glass windows was erected in 1928. This was the home church of Bishop William N. Ainsworth, who came home to preach the Methodist SequiCentennial 348 Celebration, September 18,1897. 1982 Membership: 499 Members entered ministry: William Newman, Ainsworth, Leon 0. Lewis, William S. Heath, James H. Wilson, George McDonnell Acree, Millard Carson Cleveland, James Frederick Wilson, John Elbert Wilson, Weyman Reeves ,Cleveland, Thomas Acree Whiting, Pledger Wilson Parker, Joe K. Dunagan COLQUITT CHARGE Claud S. Cook, Pastor COLQUITT 453 E. Main Street, Colquitt The first available record of this church was reported in the 1857 Florida Con- ference. That year Rev. John M. Hen- dry was assigned as. pastor. In 1878, a one-room structure was erected at 206 W. Main St. In 1903-1904, a new frame church was built at the current location at a cost of $175.00. In 1938-1942, the building was brick-veneered. On July 26, 1976, this building was completely destroyed by fire. The work of the church continued in temporary quarters while the present building was built. It was finished in 1978 and dedicated in 1980; it is built of Old South Range II brick. In 1956, the church was named Church of the Year in the Thomasville District; that same year the giving to missions exceeded the pastors salary. It was also Church of the Year in 1963 and 1978. 1982 Membership: 487 Members entered ministry: L. De Witt Shippey, Sarah Ann Wilkin Members enter mission field: William Elmo Tubb HARMONY Phillipsburg Road, Colquitt, Georgia First called Mt. Harmony, this church grew from Coleman Hill Church and was organized around 1900. The first services were held in a tent across the road from the present site, which is about five miles northeast of Colquitt. Pews for the tent were made by placing wide boards from one round block to another; kerosene lanters provided light. In 1905 the building was erected on an acre of land purchased for $10.00. The first known minister was Rev. T. A. Mosely in 1910. About 1914 the church became inactive. Then in 1920 during June and July, the laid-by season for crops when farmers could take some time off, a 349 month of protracted meetings were held. All denominations attended the meetings held in succeeding weeks at Macedonia, Mt. Olive, Mt. Hebron, and Har- mony. Services were held at 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. As a result of a spiritual revival, the church became active again. The building was renovated in 1936-38 and 1942-46. A dining room and kitchen were added in the mid-fifties and brick veneer in 1976. 1982 Membership: 114 DIXIE-OZELL Don J. West, Pastor DIXIE Highway 364, Dixie, Georgia This church was organized in 1876 with 12 members under the leadership of Rev. Templeton. A building was erected on property which adjoined the Dixie cemetery and was given by Jacob Moody, Jr. It was frame, with a steeple, a bell, and circular steps. When the second larger building was erected in 1891-92, this church became home for the Baptists. The new church was also frame and was built on a lot given by Mrs. S. E. Winter and adjoining her property. Fall 1925, this building was destroyed by fire; the Baptists invited the Methodists to worship in their former building during rebuilding. The present structure was erected in 1927-28; a fellowship hall was added some years later. 1982 Membership: 60 Members entered ministry: Orson Branch, Tom Kempt, Tom Stewart, George F. Austin, Stewart Austin, Ralph Ramsey, Henry Stipe, Warren Stipe. OZELL Ozell Road, Thomas County, Georgia This church was organized in 1909 in a tent meeting. The, same year it erected the present building from pine siding given by area members. The original wooden ceiling and the original altar are still in place; the tin roof was replaced in 1982. The original pews, still in use, were manufactured in Thomasville. The first pastor was Rev. F. A. Ratcliffe. Previously, the church has been part of the Dixie-Barwick and Barwick charges. 1982 Membership: 20 DONALSONVILLE, FRIENDSHIP Albert C. Joiner, Pastor US Hwy. 84, Donalsonville, Georgia This church began with 4 members, Mr. 350 and Mrs. James Jackson Harris and Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Pitts, in 1850. Rev. James C. Stafford served until Rev. Ira Potter was assigned. This church was in the Florida Conference until 1866 when those churches in the lower part of the state were returned to create the South Georgia Conference in the division of the Georgia Conference. The earlier log building was replaced by a larger log building in 1870 which also served as the school. In 1922, the frame building was replaced by the present brick building. It has been renovated and remodeled several times; the most recent was in 1971. During the pastorate of Rev. Clyde Harvard, 1945-48, Friendship sponsored the establishment of two churches in the county, Trinity and Reynolds Chapel. 1982 Membership: 434 Members entering ministry: Ted Marsh, Marshall K. Singletary EDISON CHARGE Richard Trawick, Pastor EDISON Edison, Georgia In the mid-1850s some families moved from South Carolina to the newly created Calhoun County. The Methodists and Presbyterians built a church at Dickey which was later moved across the creek and called Philadelphia. In 1902, when the com- munity of Edison was incorporated, the Methodists built a new church and called it Friendship because other denomina- tions also used it. The pastor at that time was Rev. N. H. William. A new church was erected in 1905 but was destroyed by fire in 1926. The present brick church was then erected. An educational building was built in 1969. In 1975, the church was named District Charge of the Year. Also on the Edison Charge until it was closed in 1959 was Carnegie Church, founded in 1906. The building, which was erected in 1913 with funds donated mainly by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Andrews, was sold to a black congregation and is still in use in a new location. 1982 Membership: 99 BLUFFTON Bluffton, Georgia After organizing in 1870, the Methodists of the community jointly with the Baptists and Presbyterians built a church building. When the Presbyterians moved to north Georgia, the building was sold to the Baptists, and the Methodists erected a new building in 1880 and dedicated it in 1886. The earliest pastor remembered was Rev. Charles L. Hayes. In 1891 after a tent meeting, sixty new members joined the church. In November 1917, however, the church building was destroyed by a storm; the present building was erected in 1918 and the bell from the old church placed in it. Additions were made in 1946 and 1951. Central heating and cooling were added in 1976. In 1959 the membership of Lovett Church was added to Bluff- ton, when Lovett closed. Lovett was organized on August 17, 1924, following a 10-day protracted meeting held in a tent at Farrells Crossroads. Named for Rev. W. C. Lovett, the church built its first building in 1925 with lumber from an old house; and after a storm destroyed it in 1943, the congregation rebuilt with the help of a grant from the Board of Church Extension. 1982 Membership: 75 MORGAN Morgan, Georgia After organizing their church in about 1886, the congregation erected the present frame building in 1888. The pews, floors, and altar are all as they originally were though the building has had to be turned because of a change in the highway. The building was remod- eled and refurbished in 1958. The first pastor, in 1892, was Rev. 0. B. Chester. The high steeple was once the site of a heroic deed. When a man painting the steeple slipped from the scaffolding, George Dozier, who was helping, caught and held the heavier man until help arrived, thus saving his life. 1982 Membership: 78 VINCENT 3 miles east of Bluffton, Bluffton-Edison Rd. This church was organized in 1923 as the result of a brush arbor meeting. First named Lucile Chapel Church in honor of the youngest daughter of Mrs. Mills from whom the land was pur- chased, the church was later named Vincent in honor of its founder and first pastor, Rev. Marvin Vincent. The first building was erected at the forks of the road near Spring Creek; in 1954 the present building was erected. Its art glass window above the pulpit was a gift from Mrs. Ramus Freeman, wife of the pastor. During the pastorate of Rev. Bob Dorsey, the church received the Rural and Small Town Church Award. 1982 Membership: 60 352 FACEVILLE CHARGE Edwin B. ONeil, Pastor FACEVILLE Faceville, Georgia When the Greenshade Methodist Church was disbanded, one group of members went to Fowltown and one group came to Faceville and in 1887 organized this church under the shelter of a turpentine still. The congregation worshipped in homes and with the Presbyterians until they erected their building later that same year. Rev. J. T. Ainsworth was the first pastor. The wooden structure was destroyed by fire in 1904, but another frame building was erected the same year. In 1926, that building was torn down and replaced with the present stucco building which was built by members working with their hands and small tools. Two women members remember carrying the mortar mix in buckets to the men who were laying the block and applying the stucco. In 1956-57, a fellowship-recreation hall with kitchen was added. During 1978, a complete renova- tion included the addition of a steeple, brick veneer, and stained galss windows. 1982 Membership: 63 HOPEWELL Bettstown Road, Decatur County Originally located in Florida, this church was organized as early as 1892. It held services in Hopewell School until 1904, when the congregation voted to move the church across the Florida line into Georgia and to unite with another church. At this time the Quarterly Con- ference asked the Presiding Elder to ar- range to have the pastor give a regular monthly Sunday Morning service and pledged $60 a year for the pastors support. In 1904 the present church of Dutch Gothic Colonial design was erected. The first pastor was Rev. C. B. Ames. The Church school annex was added in 1946. In 1980, a large pine extensively damaged the church when it fell across the roof but repairs were immediate. The church was earlier part of the Concord Charge and the Tallahassee District. 1982 Membership: 32 RECOVERY Recovery Road, Decatur County Organized in the late 1800s, this congregation first met in Whiddon School House. In 1901, John R. Gholson deeded one acre of land for the church building which was built of prime lumber. The sills were pure fat lightered; the blocks were chipped off rocks at Hutchinson Ferry on the Flint River. This church was sold in 1951 and 353 services were moved to the Recovery School House, which had been built in 1923. This building is still in use. 1982 Membership: 60 SYLVANIA Organized before 1890, this church first met in a log school house. The first building, erected in the mid-1890s, was built with funds solicited by Billy Gray as he travelled his turpentine work over south Georgia and north Florida. In 1953-54, this structure was replaced by the present brick building. Rev. J. B. Smith preached the first sermon on March 7,1954. In the late 1950s a steeple was added, and in 1971 a social hall was built by the men of the church who worked on Saturdays. The women brought din- ner to the workers. The church has a cemetery. 1982 Membership: 74 FORT GAINES CHARGE Asbury B. Walton, Pastor FORT GAINES Fort Gaines, Georgia Under the leadership of Elder Samuel Johnson, this church was organized in 1822 in the home of General Dill. The South Carolina Conference assigned Rev. John J. Trigg as its first pastor. In 1830 a house of worship was built for use by all denominations; it burned in 1836. In 1840 first wooden building was erected by the Methodists, a year after the church was incorporated under Georgia law. 1982 Membership: 172 COLEMAN Coleman, Georgia Founded in 1875, this church erected its first and present building, a frame struc- 354 ture, in 1887. From the beginning it has been on the Fort Gaines Charge together with New Lowell. In 1919 the pastor was A. W. Quillian. In 1931, the church was the second largest on the charge with 95 members and that year added 9 new members by profession of faith. It has been with its charge part of the Americus, Columbus, and Thomasville Districts. 1982 Membership: 8 NEW LOWELL 15 m. N. Ft. Gaines, Clay County Organized in 1840, Old Lowell Church was destroyed by fire in about 1865 and the property passed from church owner- ship. From 1865 to 1898 there was no place to worship; then the Methodists and Baptists built a union church, Mid- way. The Methodists in 1890 began to worship at Salem Church where they continued until New Lowell was built in 1900 on property given by W. T. Credille, Sr. The site is that of Old Lowell. In May, 1951, Sunday School rooms were added. Mr. G. K. Reeney of Columbus gave the art glass window, The Good Shepherd. In 1963 when the waters of the Walter F. George Lock and Dam came within yards of the church and cemetery, the road to the church had to be moved five miles. As farms of many member families were flooded by the lake, they moved and member- ship declined. 1982 Membership: 44 WESLEY CHAPEL Ga. Hwy. 37, Clay County First called Bald Hill after its location, this church was organized in 1840 by nine families and for 28 years was served by a group of loyal local preachers. In 1872 Rev. H. Stubbs was the first conference appointed pastor. Although the first church was built on the Bald Hill site, in 1852 Simon Tyner gave 5 acres of land for a new building. When it was erected, the name of the church was changed to Wesley Chapel. In 1885 a second building was erected on the present site; the pulpit, still in use, and altar were made of native walnut by Irwin S. Saunders. In 1897 a camp meeting, known as Tyner Springs Camp Ground in honor of the family who gave the land, was organized, a tabernacle built, and ser- vices held until 1913. Early church records show strict standards of living; atten- dance was kept at monthly meeting, and some were expelled for the crime of 1982 Membership: 60 LEARY CHARGE John S. Mathis, Pastor LEARY N. Morgan Hwy. and Arlington Hwy., Leary This church was organized in 1877 in a room at the Leary Hotel as a study group. Eleven members then built a brush arbor for services on two acres of land. Lumber for seats was brought from Dawson, Georgia, and sawdust for the floor. The first preacher was Un- cle Billy Stewart. He was followed by a Mr. Culpepper, a traveling evangelist, and Miss Annie Bagley, a sanctified woman who prayed and spoke in the church, though records show that many members did not approve of a woman speaking in the church. The first church, nailed together with wooden pins 3 inches in diameter, was completed in 1878. In 1908, the first building was sold, and another lot was given for a new building which was built, paid for, and dedicated in four months. Rev. E. W. Gray was pastor then. When this building burned in 1956, the present building was erected. 1982 Membership: 66 Members entered Ministry: James McLendon 9sg - CORDRAY Gillionville Road, (S.R. 234) Although the exact date of organization is unknown, conference records indicate that the church was active by 1924, for in that year the Conference Board of Church Extension was helping them build a church. The church is named after Cordrays Mill, a grist mill located nearby. The present church was built in 1974 and dedicated in honor of James Suddereth. Though not a member, James at- tended services regularly; during his senior year in high school, he was killed when a tractor overturned. Many memorial gifts were sent to the church and used to build the present building. 1982 Membership: 62 DAMASCUS North 45, Damascus, Georgia The exact date of organization for this church is unknown. It first appears in the Conference records in 1906 on a charge with Colquitt which Rev. E. M. Overby was appointed to serve. In 1912 it became head of the Damascus Circuit. The first building, which was sited on a block with the Baptist Church and the Methodist 356 parsonage between, burned. The fire also destroyed the parsonage and Bap- tist church. The churches were rebuilt but the parsonage was not. 1982 Membership: 46 MILFORD Leary-Milford Road, Milford, Georgia This church was organized on September 19, 1900. The present building, formerly, a Baptist school building, was purchased from the Bap- tists in 1921. Many of the older members learned to read and write in the building where they now worship. 1982 Membership: 61 MEIGS-OCHLOCKNEE CHARGE Ernest W. Bass, Pastor MEIGS East Marshall Street, Meigs Organized in 1889, this church first met in members homes, then with the Bap- tists under a mill shed, and then in a one-room school. There were nine charter members. The first pastor was Rev. E. M. Mahone. In 1895, the con- gregation erected a one-room frame building which was renovated many times and served the congregation until it burned on September 14,1977, after be- ing struck by lightning. All the efforts of area firemen could not save it. The con- gregation met in the old parsonage, then vacant, for two years while the new church was built on a new site. It was consecrated October 28,1979. The old parsonage was then renovated and made available as a home for a retired minister. The present building includes the sanctuary, 10 Sunday School rooms, social hall, and offices. 1982 Membership: 127 OCHLOCKNEE S.R. 3, Ochlocknee, Georgia In October 1883, twenty-four members organized this church which first met in a small log school. The first pastor was Rev. L. B. Bouchelle. In 1884 a one-room white frame building was erected. It underwent expansion and extensive renova- tion until 1949 when the present building in a new location was built. The old building was sold. The first ser- vice in the present building was held April 10, 1949, and it was dedicated November 12,1950. 1982 Membership: 121 Members entered ministry: H. P. Stubbs, J. M. Clark NEWTON CHARGE Charles J. Harper, Pastor NEWTON Old Highway 37, West, Newton, Georgia In the same year that it was organized, 1871, this church erected its first frame building on an acre of land given by W. D. Williams to the trustees of the Methodist church to be used as a meeting house for all Faiths. This lot was probably located in what is now the southeast part of the Newton Cemetery. The building featured a steeple and bell. It was sold and used as a tenant house when the Methodists moved into a building on the Flint River which had been vacated by the Presbyterians. This building was built around the turn of the cen- tury, and the Methodists began to hold services there around 1902 although the property was not deeded over until January 2, 1924. The first known pastor was Rev. S. D. Clements iii 1882. In 1925, a flood carried water four feet up into the church severely damaging pews and pulpit which were restored. In 1967 the church was moved to its present location on a lot given by Mrs. Suzanne Odom; a complete renovation at this time added Sunday School rooms, Fellowship hall, and brick veneer. In August 1979, lightning set fire to the sanctuary destroying the roof, decorative ceiling, and walls. The building was rebuilt and restored; the decorative ceiling was restored and the original pews refinished. ||982 Membership: 33* BETHANY R.S.R. 112, Mitchell County, Georgia First called Bradfords Meeting House after its first pastor, Rev. Joseph J. Bradford, this church was organized in 1857. It met in homes and brush arbors for ten years until a log church was built in 1867. The present church was built in 188341884 and is located on The Hawthorne Trail blazed in 1814 by William Hawthorne. In the la fifties, a benefactor, Lawrence J. Montgomery, 358 gave a generous endowment for the upkeep of the church and cemetery which has made possible many improvements and additions. On the 110th anniversary of establishment, the youth of the church erected a historical marker commemorating the organization. The church has previously been part of the Meigs-Ochlocknee, West Bainbridge, Sale City and Baconton Charges. 1982 Membership: 38 BRANCHVILLE Branchville, Georgia First called Turkey Pen Church, this congregation was established in 1868; land for the church was donated by Steve Hurst. The first pastor was Rev. W. M. Kennedy. In 1874 Wyche Mc- Elveen and B. H. Gee built an arbor at the present location given by Mr. Gee. Due to controversy about the location, it was decided to build the church one mile north on land given by Mr. McElveen. The man who lived across from the proposed location opposed it bitterly, saying that a church should not be built in front of a gentlemans house, J. M. Bell then gave land V2 mile northeast of the present location and a building was started; before completion a tornado destroyed it. A church was then built on the present location and used until it burned in 1884. The church again moved to a site given by Mr. Bell and Dr. Faircloth; this building was used until 1914 when it was razed and a new building erected. Shortly after completion, the building was blown down by a tornado; rebuilt immediately, it was again blown down. Deciding that the location was not right, the members relocated to the present property given by Mr. Gee and erected the present church in 1915. Sunday school rooms were added in 1945 and a social hall, library, and other improvements at later dates. 1982 Membership: 69 Member entering ministry: Albert L. Joiner SUTTON CHAPEL Vada Road, Bainbridge, Georgia Under the leadership of Rev. Louis Sut- ton, its first pastor, this church was organized in 1898. It first met in a brush arbor until it erected the present church later that same year. Sunday School rooms were added in 1941, a Social Hall was built in 1969, and in 1979 a com- plete renovation of the sanctuary which included new pews and pulpit furniture was finished. 1982 Membership: 58 359 PA VO CHARGE James E. Davis, Pastor PAVO Pavo, Georgia This church was organized in 1869 in a brush arbor under the leadership of Rev. Nicholas Moses Reddick. First called Lebanon Church, it erected a wooden building in 1870-71. When the town changed its name to Pavo, the Latin for peacock, in honor of pioneer citizen D. D. Peacock, the church name changed. In 1902, the present building was erected on land given by Dr. J. Frank Harris. It was remodeled in 1941 and 1945; an educational building was added in 1942. The first reported Quarterly Conference in 1905 noted that powerful revivals held in Pavo and Barwick had added 26 new members to the Pavo church. 1982 Membership: 99 Members entered ministry: Olin C. Cooper COOLIDGE 1 block south of S.R. 188, Coolidge, Ga. This church was organized in a tent meeting in either 1901 or 1906. Its first pastor was Rev. Otis Smith. In 1907- 1908, the first building was erected. It was damaged on three different occa- sions by wind; that property was sold and a new church and parsonage were 1982 Membership: 21 built on the present location. IONE lone Community, Brooks County, north of Pavo This church was organized in 1909 as the result of a three weeks revival tent meeting conducted by Rev. R. P. Fain. The first building, a wooden structure, was erected the same year. Rev. Reese Griffin was the first pastor. In 1946 a day was set aside to begin work on a new church building. Members met and tore down the old building, stacked usable lumber, and burned all trash in one day. It took several months of hard work to erect the present building, during which time services were held in lone School and an old dwelling house. A Social Hall and kitchen were added in 1963 and extensive renovations made to the sanctuary and Sunday School rooms in 1965. 1982 Membership: 80 360 PATTEN GA 122, Patten Community, Thomas County This church had its roots in the Sunday School organized in the 1890s in Martin School and in subsequent Sunday Schools. In 1909 the church was organized as a result of a six-weeks revival held under a tent by Rev. F. A. Ratcliffe. During the meetings, 231 joined the church and 123 were baptized. At a later revival, 84 more joined. The church was erected in 1909 and is still in use, though it originally had two front doors which have been remodeled into a double central door. Rev. Reese Griffin was the first pastor. The church has earlier been part of the Coolidge Mission and the Barwick- Preston Charge. Since the community of Patten has disappeared,, the member- ship of this once large church has dwindled. 1982 Membership: 13 PELHAM, HAND MEMORIAL Hugh L. Davis, Pastor 398 Hand Avenue, Pelham, Georgia This church was organized following a protracted meeting conducted in a brush arbor by Rev. J. T. Ainsworth in, it is thought, 1878. The first pastor was Rev. S. W. Stubbs. The same year a rough, unceiled wooden structure, 30 x 50 feet, was erected on Castleberry Street. It was later sold to a black con- gregation and moved to Cotton Street, where it is still in use. In 1918, the present building was erected; Mrs. J. L. Hand gave half the funds in memory of her husband, Judson Larrabee Hand, for whom the church is named. On September 29, 1981, fire destroyed the roof and ceiling of the building. Since renovation was already underway, scaffolding inside caught the collapsing roof and saved the floor, walls, and stained glass windows. The organ and furnishings had also been removed. The church sent the insurance refund check to the building fund of the new Christ Church in Albany. 1982 Membership: 429 Members entered ministry: Gus Jordan SALE CITY CHARGE Herman A. Howell, Pastor ANTIOCH Pebble City, Georgia In 1860 this church was organized and first met in a log school house. Its first pastor was Rev. Moses Smith, a local preacher. In 1881 J. L. Hand gave the land on which 361 the present church was erected in 1882. It was remodeled in 1892. In 1980, the membership of Sale City Church merged with this church when it was closed. The Sale City Church had been organized in 1905 and Rev. J. W. Wells served as its first pastor. The building was erected in 1906 on land given by A. T. and H. H. Jones and W. T. Barnes. The sanctuary was remodeled and Sun- day School rooms partitioned from it in 1937. 1982 Membership: 38 Members entered ministry: S. R. Bractcher This church was organized in 1946 to replace the Cotton Church whose members had disbanded after a wind storm destroyed the church in 1923. The twenty charter members first met in the Assembly of God church and then moved to the school until the building was erected. The first pastor was Rev. G. W. Bates with Nathan Williams assistant. During reorganization, Rev. Bernard Brown came from Pelham one Sunday afternoon a month. The church was named to honor the memory of Dr. M. M. Burns of Pelham who gave much time and money to the organizing of the church and erecting the building. In 1961 when hail extensively damaged the building, additions were made when it was repaired. The church was completely renovated in 1969. BURNS MEMORIAL Old Stage Rd., off S.R. 93, Cotton, Georgia 1982 Membership: 92 Members entered ministry: Jeffery Beasley HARTSFIELD Hartsfield, Georgia The exact date of organization is unknown, but on September 20, 1908, Mrs. Florence Hartsfield deeded the property for the church to the Trustees. Rev. C. A. Norton was the first pastor. In 1908, the present building was erected; through the years it has been extensively remodeled. Electric lights have replaced the oil lamps which hung from the ceiling, and the entrance had been remodeled. In 1952 a library, social hall, kitchen, and more classrooms were added. 1982 Membership: 56 362 THOMASVILLE, DAWSON STREET Virgil R. Lee, Pastor 1132 North Dawson Street, Thomasville, GA This church was organized in 1944 with 63 charter members. Sponsored by First Church, it met there until it erected its first building, a small frame structure with white asbestos siding. Rev. A. Jason Shirah was the first pastor. The present building was begun in 1953; it includes sanctuary, education, ad- ministrative, and fellowship facilities. 1982 Membership: 541 Members entered ministry: Jack Smith, Timothy Bagwell, William Bagwell THOMASVILLE, FAIRVIEW W. Edward Huff, Pastor 218 Law Street, Thomasville, Georgia Organized on November 7,1951, with 40 charter members, this church first met in a tent. Its first pastor was Rev. J. Ralph Foster. Ground was broken for the church on March 16, 1952, and the building was complete by June 1. The building was dedicated on March 29, 1953. A Sunday School Building was added in November, 1965. 1982 Membership: 48 THOMASVILLE, FIRST Lawrence E. Houston, Jr., Pastor Broad Street, Thomasville Organized in 1840, this church was the first of any denomination in town. The first pastor was Rev. James Woodie. Built in 1840, the first building was a plain wooden structure with two front doors, one for men and one for women. This church hosted the Florida Con- ference in 1851 and 1857. In 1867, the building was torn down and a new frame church with a steeple built. Though later bricked, this building is still in use. In 1848, Fletcher Institute, sponsored by the Florida Conference, was built on 100 acres and became part of the churchs ac- tivities. The church and Fletcher institute were used as a hospital for the overflow of Union soldiers from Andersonville. The dead are buried under the present church and front sidewalk. In 1901, the Methodist women organized the other churches to secure a social worker for the city; Miss Annie Heath, who filled the 363 position, was one of the first 5 women consecrated Deaconess by the Womans Home Mission Board. In 1903, the Womans Home Missionary Society was given a thirteen-room house and four acres on which they established the Vashti Blas- ingame Home to provide a home for girls whose home conditions were unbearable. The present Vashti School grew from this. In 1872, 1916, and 1930, the church hosted the South Georgia Annual Conference. In the fall of 1949 the church was ex- tensively renovated and the J. L. Turner Memorial Organ was installed. The large educational building was erected in 1957-1958. 1982 Membership: 1,073 Members entered ministry: Jimmie Allen Callahan, Reese Turrentine, Jack Inman THOMASVILLE, METCALF-BETHPAGE R. V. Sneed, Pastor METCALF Metcalf, Georgia This church, organized on December 1, 1890, was an offshoot from Spring Hill Church. The first pastor was Rev. J. T. Ryder. A frame building was erected in 1890-91 on the present site. In 1934, or early 1935, a tornado blew down the original church leaving only the pulpit standing. The church was rebuilt im- mediately with gifts from members and much help from Mr. L. S. Thompson, owner of Sunny Hill plantation, who furnished his carpenters. The church has previously been on the Spring Hill, Ebenezer, Bethpage, Bold Springs, and Metcalf-Fairview Charges. 1982 Membership: 89 BETHPAGE Thomas County First organized about 1830, this church was a member of the Florida Conference until 1867. The first listed pastor was Rev. Robert W. Flourney in 1866-67. The first building of logs and hand hewn timbers was built on a hill. After it was gone, services were held in the two-story Masonic lodge. The Masons gave the building to the church in 1875, and it was converted into the present struc- ture. It too has hand hewn timbers and hand planed wide boards. Since 1949 when a Sunday School building was added, a front porch and a new altar have been added. The pews and floors are original. Behind the church is the Spring from which several generations have drunk, using goards and glasses and even magnolia leaves as dippers. 1982 Membership: 27 364 THOMASVILLE, MORNINGSIDE S. Benson Parker, Jr., Pastor MORNINGSIDE 2007 Smith Avenue, Thomasville, Georgia Originally named Sunrise for a year, this church was organized in 1965 with 105 members. It met in an old two-story house located on the lot until it built the first unit of its plant, the educational building, in 1968. The sanctuary was built in 1980. The first pastor was Rev. Arthur Fussell. 1982 Membership: 210 Members entered ministry: Larry.Sauls, Edward Huff EBENEZER Nine Mile Post Road, 5 miles of U.S. 19, Thomas County This church was organized in 1905 with 55 members. It first met in a school, but erected its building the same year. Rev. W. C. Embry was the first pastor. The church was originally part of the Met- calf charge. 1982 Membership: 29 TRINITY-REYNOLDS CHAPEL TRINITY Hebrew Road, Donalsonville, Georgia First organized in 1856, the church relocated in 1910. Then due to the decline of turpentine and lumber business, the population dwindled and the second structure was abandoned and the congregation disbanded in 1922. Rev. L. Clyde Harvard began to hold services in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bragg in late 1946; in February the present site was donated and a block building was erected. The church was formally organized in the Bragg home on May 22, 1947. The present building was erected in 1968. Like the 1947 building most of the labor was done by the members themselves. The 1968 building was constructed under the leadership of E. D. (Bob) Fiveash, chairman of the building com- mittee. In 1979, on land given by Bar- 365 tow Gibson, a parsonage was constructed and the church became a full-time church. 1982 Membership: 91 Members entered ministry: Graton Helms, Richard Trawick REYNOLDS CHAPEL Ga. 374,12 miles south of Donalsonville A church called Lake Hinton was first built in this area on August 31, 1891. However, that congregation disbanded and the site is now under Lake Seminole. The present congregation was organized in 1945 under the leadership of its first pastor, Rev. Clyde Harvard. The church met in the old R.D.R. school, until it erected its present building on that site in 1949. A fellowship area and dining room and many other improvements have been added since. The church was earlier on the Donalsonville Charge. 1982 Membership: 47 WEST BAINBRIDGE CHARGE William K. Bagwell, Pastor Jeffery D. Jones, Associate WEST BAINBRIDGE Dothan Road, Bainbridge, Georgia Under the leadership of Rev. J. A. Smith, pastor of First Church, this church was organized in 1906 with 37 charter members transferring from First Church. That same year a wooden frame building with Sunday School rooms was erected on Miller Avenue in what was known as Digger, Georgia. Rev. D. B. Meritt was the first pastor. In 1955, construction started on the present building which was finished in 1957 during the pastorate of Rev. R. C. Kale. 1982 Membership: 83 COOKS UNION Rt. 3, Colquitt, Georgia Though formally organized on September 7, 1947, the roots of this church go back to 1868. In that year William Henry Cook and his wife Annis Kelley Cook were building a new home when their twelve-year-old daughter died and was buried in the yard of the new home, the beginning of Cooks Cemetery. Through the years, though the family moved away, they returned to inter family members in the cemetery. They often spoke of the need for a church on the spot and twice started. 366 On July 4, 1946, Charlie Willis Cook suggested to a family gathering that another start be made; when the com- munity learned the family was serious, they too contributed. The Babcock Brothers Lumber Company, which then owned the land, gave the site. During building, Rev. J. W. Patterson and Rev. Nath Williams came from Colquitt to hold services under the pines. Rev. James W. May was the first pastor. In 1963 a new sanctuary was built and the old converted to Sunday School rooms, Social Hall, and kitchen. In 1973 a parsonage was built. In June, 1982, a full-time pastor was appointed and an associate for West Bainbridge. The charge was chosen Charge of the Year in 1970. 1982 Membership: 105 WHIGHAM-CLIMAX CHARGE WHIGHAM U.S. 84, Whigham, Georgia This church was organized in 1869 with 8 members in a school. A wooden two- story building was built the same year on land given by W. W. and John T. Harrell; the top floor was to be used by the Masons who never did so. Instead, the Grangers used it until they dis- banded. In 1875, this building was blown down by a storm and its remains sold to a local Methodist preacher and teacher, Mr. Latamore, who used the timber to build a house. The present building was erected in 1876 and originally had a steeple with bell which was torn down. The church was earlier on the Bainbridge-Whigham charge. 1982 Membership: 99 Charles B. Whatley, Pastor CLIMAX Church Street, Climax, Georgia In 1902, the Cedar Grove church spon- sored a brush arbor meeting in Climax. At the close of the meeting, July 7,1902, the members voted to move the church to Climax. In 1903, a one-room struc- ture large enough to seat 600 was con- structed; during building the members met in a blacksmith shop. The first pastor was Rev. E. L. Patrick. In 1937, the old building was torn down and the present one erected on the same lot. 1982 Membership: 88 367 SPRING HILL 8 miles north of Whigham on the Bainbridge cutoff road Named for its site atop a clay hill with a spring at the foot, this church was organized in 1873. On land unofficially given by Robert E. Whigham, the first log building with wooden shutters and one center door was erected. When it rotted away, a larger partitioned sanc- tuary with two entrances was built; it also served as a school. In the 1890s, a new building was erected across the road of hewed logs and sawmill timber, pegged together. The entrance had two doors and high steps. During the pastorate of Rev. Marvin Vincent, the present building was begun with faith and $1.00, and the members contributed the labor. It has two stories with the lower one used for Sun- day School and recreation activities. More Sunday School rooms were added during the early fifties. The sanctuary was renovated in the late sixties. 1982 Membership: 78 368 VALDOSTA DISTRICT C.E. Ned Steele, Superintendent 806 Millpond Road, Valdosta The district line for the older churches in this area constantly changed until the Valdosta District was formed in 1889. Between 1844-1866 these churches were in the Florida Conference in one or more of these districts, Tallahassee, Ft. Gaines, Bainbridge, Thomasville, Brunswick and Quitman. For example, in 1863, the Quitman District had these churches Quitman, Valdosta, Nashville, Ir- win, Waresboro, Holmesville, Doctortown and Brunswick. The next year these were divided between the Bainbridge and Waresboro Districts with other churches added. In 1866 these churches became a part of the South Georgia Conference. The district lines changed often, and those, churches adjacent to other districts were swapped back and forth until 1889 when the Valdosta District began. In 1983 this district had 49 charges with 71 churches and 17,067 members. ADEL CHARGE Thomas F. Oliver, Pastor ADEL 214 S. Hutchinson Ave., Adel, Georgia The Methodists were having services in this area before Adel became a town. In 1886 the Stella Circuit of 6 churches held its quarterly conference at Antioch, five miles from the present city of Adel. The other churches were Trinity, Salem, New Hope, Wesley Chapel, and Shiloh. With the coming of the railroad and a large sawmill, the Methodists began services in a railroad shanty. Rev. J.M. Hendry organized Adel Church in 1888. The first building was erected in 1889, and painted in 1891 with a bell and new seats added. Two buildings in different loca- tions were built before the present building was begun in 1916, but not finished un- til 1925. The flu epidemic of 1918 was so severe that those who gave themselves without thought for their own safety were very rare, such was the Methodist preacher, Rev. A.H. Robinson. He ministered to all races and kinds as doctor, nurse, maid, and priest. In 1949 the educational building was erected and later enlarged. In the 1970s much of the church was renovated with new equipment purchased. 1982 Membership: 505 Members entering ministry: V.L. Daughtrey, Thomas E. Barrett, Vance Mathis, Emily Sessions 369 CECIL Main Street, Cecil, Georgia In the latter part of 1891 in the town of Oxmoor, known today as Cecil, this church was organized. The original church was a large wooden building erected by the members. The pulpit fur- nishings were all handmade as was the altar rail. A pot-bellied stove gave heat, and kerosene wall and hanging lamps gave light. In 1949 the original building was torn down and a new sanctuary built on the same site, moving the original altar and pulpit furnishings. In October, 1972 these were replaced as a memorial to Mrs. Maude Kennedy Byrd, a life-long member. This church has been part of the following charges: Hahira, Lenox and Adel. In 1977 the church received a World Parish Citation and the Four Lane Ad- vance Certificate for missionary giving and financial support. Marshall B. Strickland, Pastor ALAPAHA US HWy. 82, Berrien County The date for the organization or building of this church is not known, but the property for the present loca- tion was deeded in 1882. In the 1888 MINUTES of this conference, Rev. J.G. Ahern was assigned as pastor of the Alapaha Circuit. The parsonage was in Alapaha. Except for two one-year periods, 1894-5, 1907-8, Alapaha was the head of a circuit until 1926, at which time the parsonage was sold and the funds used to repair the circuits churches. Since 1944 Alapaha, Enigma and Glory have been on the same charge, with Alapaha head of a charge again in the 1950s. During the pastorate of Rev. J.C. Ivey this church has had services twice a month. A Womans Missionary Society began in 1933. In the 1940s an annex was built from lumber purchased from the old Baptist church as it was torn down. In 1960s a tornado damaged the sanctuary, so it was remodeled. A fellowship hall and parsonage have also been built. In the very early beginning there were few men members; so the lady stewards went from store to store asking for donations to pay the preacher on each preaching day. ENIGMA US Hwy. 82, Berrien County In 1886, a Mr. Foster laid the foundation for the first building of this church, a rough-board structure. On August 10,1887, an acre in front of the first building was given by Mrs. Mary A.S. Ball and a second church of simple design with stained 1982 Membership: 28 ALAPAHA CHARGE 370 glass windows was built by John C. Hires, a Canadian architect. Rev. J.G. Ahern was the first pastor in 1888. This church has rotated between the Willacoochee, Chula, and Alapaha Charges. During Rev. N.H. Olmsteads pastorate a tornado demolished the church. Although much lumber was salvaged, the original beauty was not recovered. In 1957 remodeling began with the members and pastor doing the work. The building was moved back from the street, new interior walls, ceiling and indirect lighting were added along with new pews. With the growth of the Sunday School again the members, with aid from the Conference, added classrooms. Recently a fellowship hall, kitchen and rest rooms were added. 1982 Membership: 53 GLORY Off US Hwy. 82 East of Alapaha In July, 1915, Rev. F.A. Ratcliff, one of the conference evangelists, brought a tent revival to the farming and sawmill community not served by any church. By the end of the revival eighty-two persons had taken vows of the church. The church enthusiastically organized itself. With the donation of an acre of land by Mr. Shade Dorminy construction of the tall wooden building began. Rev. S.S. Kemp, Alapaha Ct. pastor, preached once a month until conference when Rev. J.Q. Pinson was sent to serve Willacoochee, Beulah, Glory and Roberts churches. He lived 8 miles away and came by horse and buggy once a month for afternoon services. People moved away when the sawmill closed and Glorys numbers shrank. In 1949 under pastoral leader- ship of Rev. Earl Duke, in a new loca- tion three miles away next to Gopher Hill Cemetery a new church was built from the old lumber. Land for this was given by Mr. Elijah Brogdan. Services are held twice a month and an increasing number of young people are again attending. 1982 Membership: 62 Members entering ministry: Louis Dubose, James A. Brooks, Harold Tucker A. Brooks, Harold Tucker BERLIN-WESLEY CHAPEL CHARGE Howard T. Moody, Jr., Pastor BERLIN Ga. Hwy. 33, Colquitt County The original New Hope Methodist Church, located three miles southeast of Berlin, was a log structure erected in the 1800s and replaced in 1890 by a wooden frame 371 building. In 1910 the church was moved into Berlin, enlarged and remodeled with four Sunday school rooms added. On September 18, 1952, ground was broken for a new church which was dedicated on April 5, 1953, by Bishop Arthur Moore. That year Berlin was chosen Charge of the Year for the Valdosta District. The earliest known pastor was Rev. J.W. Wells, the supply pastor appointed to Moutrie Mission, Waycross District, in 1881. This church has been in the Valdosta District since 1911. In 1918 the 5 point circuit included Lens (Berlin), Oak Grove, Wesley Chapel, Barney, and Evelyn. In 1939 it was the same, and in 1968 only three: Evelyn, Wesley Chapel, and Berlin. 1982 Membership: 72 Member entering ministry: Howard T. Moody, Jr. WESLEY CHAPEL Route 2, Pavo, Georgia The deed to Wesley Chapel was made in 1880, and it was named in honor of John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Rev. R.B. Bryan was the pastor of this church in 1882 and it was a part of the Morven Circuit, Thomasville District. In 1953 the church was remodeled and three Sunday school rooms added. Rev. W.A. Sedwick was the pastor. During the pastorate of Rev. James Harris additional renovation was done including a new roof and siding, kitchen and rest rooms. Recently additional classrooms have been added in the attic, and new pews and carpeting installed in the sanctuary. Since the 1930 Wesley Chapel and Berlin have been on the same charge. 1982 Membership: 123 Members entering ministry: Claud Croft, C. Heyward Heirs BROOKFIELD J. Dan Robinson, Pastor US Hwy. 82, 5 miles East of Tifton In 1878, Rev. J.J.F. Goodman organized a church on land given by Mr. Mat- thews. It was named Bethesda and served as a school as well as a church. A cemetery was started adjacent to the church. Then in 1903, when Rev. S.S. Kemp was pastor, it was decided to move the church three miles into the village of Brookfield, the boyhood home of Bishop Arthur Moore. In the 1940s a new church was built with help from many people and memorial gifts. In 1958 Brookfield, which had been on the Chula Charge for years, became head of a circuit that included Herring Memorial and Mt. Calvary. The lot next to the church was purchased from the railroad and the sec- tion house where Bishop Moores parents had lived was bought and moved in for the parsonage. In 1969 the parsonage and all the records were burned. The parasonage was immediately rebuilt and dedicated May 16, 1971. In 1970 Mt. Calvary was placed with Trinity, Tifton and the new charge for 1970 was Brookfield, TyTy and Oak Ridge. 1982 Membership: 137 CHULA CHARGE Charles E. Wallace, Pastor CHULA 1-75 5 Miles North of Tifton This church began in a school building, built by A.B. Hollingsworth, first as a Sunday School and then later with services conducted by Rev. J. Shirah. In 1904 the church was built by the members with timber given by Mr. Hollinsworth. In 1919 Chula Circuit in- cluded Chula, Bethel, Harding, Mt. Calvary, and Damascus with Rev. W.D. Rabun, pastor. In 1921 a parsonage was built across the street from the church. It burned in 1943 and was immediately rebuilt. Rev. Joe H. Bridges was the pastor, and the charge included Chula, Enigma, Harding, Mt. Calvary, Brookfield, and Oak Ridge. In 1968 the charge in- cluded Chula, Harding and Oak Ridge, and in 1972 only Chula and Harding. 1982 Membership: 31 HARDING Route 4, Tifton, Georgia In May 1915, Rev. F.A. Ratcliffe, district evangelist, began a three week tent revival. The result was 44 persons joined the church, and this was Har- dings beginning. At first they wor- shipped in a building at Paulks Cross- ing, but by 1916 the present sanctuary was built on land given by Captain H.H. Tift. Later a vestibule and steeple were added. A building fund was started at Harvest Day in 1959 to remodel the sanctuary putting in new pews and pulpit fur- niture. In 1962 the old classrooms were torn off and a new two-story block unit con- taining classrooms, social hall, and library were added. The well-stocked library honored a teacher and leader, Mrs. Atella Caudill Sutton. Brick veneered in 1972, the church is surrounded with dogwood trees planted to honor the local service men. In 1915, Rev. R.W. Cannon, assigned to the Poulon Circuit, was the first 373 pastor. The newly created circuit had 6 churches: Chula, Damascus, Mt. Calvary, Bethel, Wrights Chapel, and Harding. 1982 Membership: 63 MT. CALVARY 4'/2 Miles NW Tifton, Georgia Deed for this churchs property is dated November 4, 1914, and a building was begun shortly after the organization of the church following a brush arbor revival by Rev. F.A. Ratcliff, the district evangelist. In 1919 Mt. Calvary was on the Chula Circuit and in 1940 but on the Brookfield Circuit in 1968. It was placed with Trinity Tifton in 1970-80, on the Ty Ty Charge for 1981, and to the Chula Charge in 1982. With the change of charges in 1970 it became possible to have services each Sunday at 9:30 from 1972. A Sunday School was organized in 1973 and renovation of the sanctuary began. By 1974 a new multi-purpose building had been completed. 1982 Membership: 63 Members entering ministry: James Walker, S.V. Taylor W. Anthony Collins, Pastor CLYATTVILLE Ga. Hwy. 31, Lowndes County Shady Grove was located just off the Valdosta-Madison, Fla., highways at Horns Ferry Bridge over the Withlacoochee River and had 65 members in 1902, the first building hav- ing been built by Sidney J. Cook in 1898. Just when this church moved to Clyattville is uncertain, but the two babies who were baptized according to the records of Shady Grove are the oldest members of the Clyattville Church. The 1912 MINUTES note that $25 was given to Clyattville for its church building. In 1919 Clyattville was part of the Lake Park Circuit with Rev. E.C. Dowdy pastor and included Lake Park, Wrights Chapel and Mt. Zion. In 1957 a new building was ready for service; additional improvements were made in 1960 and a new education building in 1975. The first parsonage was built and Rev. Reed Sessions family were first to use it. It was damaged by fire in 1981, but was redone and enlarged. 1982 Membership: 137 Members entering ministry: Richard Soper, Brett Cantrell CLYATTVILLE-MT. ZION 374 MT. ZION 6 Miles SW, Route 2, Valdosta, Georgia This churchs first register shows 17 members in 1842. The first church was a one-room log cabin between the spring and cemetery which was replaced by a larger wooden frame building. In 1928 John H. Bray gave the land for the present church which he built as a memorial to his parents. The Mt. Zion Campground, 6 acres deeded in 1862, was at the head of Pines Wood Creek bounded on the north by Old Mt. Zion Road. A tabernacle, on the northeast of the cemetery, was surrounded by 8-10 frame tents, where members lived the two weeks in August during the annual camp meeting. These were discontinued in 1928. In 1882 Mt. Zion was part of the Lowndes and Echols Circuit, Thomasville District, including Wrights Chapel, Ocean Pond, St. John, Wesley Chapel, Antioch, and Olivet. In 1953 Mt. Zion was placed on the Clyattville Ct. Beginning in 1958 ser- vices were held morning and night each Sunday instead of twice a month. Im- provements were made gradually; the social hall begun in 1958 was finished inside in 1968. For years an annual event occurred here until 1980; each second Sunday in November the Lowndes Singing Convention was held. 1982 Membership: 114 DOERUN Frank A. Appel, Pastor Ga. Hwy. 133, Colquitt County Rev. H.C. Jones helped to organize this church in 1899 in the home of Mrs. E.M. Adkins with about a dozen members. That first year it was a mission on the Camilla Charge, Thomasville District. In 1900 it was part of the Bold Springs Ct., Thomasville District. Rev. John Swain assisted with the building of the church in that year, and in 1901 Doerun Circuit was formed with a parsonage being built under the guidance of Rev. C.A. Norton. In 1936 this church became a station. In 1952 during the pastorate of Rev. Albert Hall a new church plant was built on the present site. A brick veneer par- sonage was built in 1954. A fellowship hall was added in 1964. 1982 Membership: 163 FITZGERALD, CENTRAL Donald J. Sparks, Pastor West Central Ave. and N. Lee Street On November 12, 1939, this church became the first united church in this con- ference following the 1939 Unification of the Methodist Episcopal, Methodist 375 Episcopal, South, and Methodist Pro- testant Churches to form The Methodist Church. Zion M.E. Church, S. begun in 1888 in a school house was the first Methodist church in what was to be Fitzgerald. In 1895 it had a one- room building with a three-room par- sonage with a cemetery behind the church. Rev. J.M. Glenn was pastor with a membership of 25. 1895, the year of colonization, saw Rev. J.F. McGregar preaching to members of First Methodist Episcopal first in a tent, then school, then room over a store. By 1901 a larger and more substantial building had been built. The church was organized with 5 members. Meantime, during the summer the M.E. Church, South held services in a tent, then a crude wooden structure until the brick building was built in 1898. The present sanctuary was built on that site in 1926. In 1959 a new education building was finished and dedicated in 1963. In 1974 the sanctuary was renovated and the educational building in 1976. 1982 Membership: 845 Members entering ministry: Julian Tucker FITZGERALD, ST. PETERS N. Merrimac and W. Sultana Drives In May, 1966, following a survey by Rev. F.J. Beverly, director of the conference Board of Church Extension, plans for a new church in Fitzgerald were an- nounced by Central Methodist officials. The first worship service, Sunday, May 15, 1966, was conducted in a mobile Chapel, a gift to the conference by Hawkinsville Methodists. The chapel was used until October, 1967. Rev. Zephoe Belcher was assigned as the first pastor in June, 1966 and September 25, 1966, the church was constituted and named St. Peters at suggestion of Rev. Albert Trulock, district superintendent. The first building was in use by October 1,1967. It was constructed out of Mystic Methodist Church, which was moved in and renovated. The sanctuary is that of Providence Methodist Church, moved in and renovated by 1968. 1982 Membership: 60 Mrs. Judy White, Pastor FUNSTON Robert L. Coleman, Pastor Ga. Hwy. 37, Colquitt County Begun in 1905, a one-room frame building was erected adjacent to the Baptist Church with 33 charter members. Rev. G.F. Hendry was the first pastor. In 1919 Funston and Ellenton were listed with Sigobee, Rev. R.A. Coleman, pastor. In 1950 376 the church property was sold and a new building erected on the Moultrie- Camilla highway. By 1955 all in- debtedness paid, it was dedicated by Bishop Arthur Moore, February 13, 1955. A Sunday School and Womans Missionary Society have continued through the years. 1982 Membership: 44 Members entering ministry: Henry Ellis Wells, Peter Manning, Hoyle Pitchford HAHIRA Madison Morgan, Jr., Pastor 1-75, Lowndes, County Three years after the town of Hahira was chartered, the Macon Construction Co., a contracting firm for the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad, donated a lot for this church. Shortly after it was built, it burned and rebuilt the same year. Three years later it again burned. It was relocated to the present corner of North Church and East Stanfill Streets. The 1896 structure was modified in 1931 to add classrooms, making an L shape. The material used came from Webbs Chapel which had closed in 1900. The addi- tion of an additional wing turned the shape to a U in 1954. It was brick veneered in white with a steeple added in 1956. A new brick parsonage was finished in 1960. Rev. J.O. Branch was the presiding elder and Rev. John M. Hendry and Rev. J.D. Clark the first pastors of Hahira. This unusual name is for a river in Liberia. 1982 Membership: 362 IRWINVILLE R.G. Middleton, Pastor Ga. Hwy. 32, Irwin County This church is the 1965 union of the congregations of the former Irwinville and Mystic Methodist Churches. Both begun in the late 1880s, they are 4 miles apart. Mystic began as Bethel in a blacksmiths shop near Bussells Pond. The first services were joint ones with the Baptist in a one-room log cabin. The first building was called Bethel; later when the church began in town, Bethel members transferred to the new church. In 1935 old Georges Chapel, Ben Hill County, was moved in to make an annex to the church. In 1967 Mystics building became the educational building for St. Peters, Fitzgerald. Irwinville began as a mission in March, 1891 started by the presiding 377 elder, Rev. J.O. Branch. The first church, built in 1902, was enormous so as to hold the annual singing convention. In 1937 a new church was built on the highway. As the courthouse had just been torn down, they got the lumber free, but the hired carpenter left, so the members had to finish it. It was completed in 1939 and remodeled in the 1960s with new furniture, heating, and pews. An annex had been added too. In 1945 the two churches had organized a joint W.S.C.S. 1982 Membership: 71 Randall B. Nease, Pastor KINGS CHAPEL Ga. Hwy. 122 The land for this church was bought and the church built shortly after November, 1894. This church was on the Hahira Circuit in 1919 with Rev. R.P. Fain, pastor. The churches on the circuit were: Hahira, Salem, Shiloh, Webb, and Kings. In 1930s the present building was built. When the highway was paved through this section, it passed right behind the church; so the pulpit and door were changed to face the highway. In 1943 class rooms were added, in the 1950s the inside was remodeled, and in 1980 the outside repaired and painted. In 1940 this church was on the Ray City Charge with Ray City and Community. In 1968 it and Community were one charge. 1982 Membership: 21 CAMP TYGART Route 1, Ray City, Georgia This is a campground for the Valdosta District. It was given by J.D. Tygart of Nashville as a center for Methodist adults, youth, and children to worship and play together in district and church groups. There is a tabernacle, cabins, guest house, dining hall and kitchen, pool and restrooms, and a prayer chapel. The parsonage that serves this and Kings Chapel is located at the entrance to the grounds. It is IIV2 miles south of Nashville on the old Valdosta Hwy. Woody Jackson was the superintendent for 12 years. LAKELAND W. Eugene Allen, Pastor KINGS CHAPEL/CAMP TYGART 332 West Main Street, Lakeland, Ga. This churchs first building in 1856 was on the site of the City Cemetery. At that time, the town was called Milltown, Ga. When a tornado destroyed the building, the church met in the school behind the courthouse. A second building was erected on Church Street in 1884. At the 1939 Vacation Bible School the children began the building fund for the present church by bringing a brick (donation) a day. This building, completed in 1949, was dedicated by Bishop Arthur Moore in the 1950s. In 1967 a library was established as a memorial to Geo. Emory Swindle. The present parsonage, the fourth, was dedicated by Bishop John Owen Smith in 1968, Rev. W.G. Brown the pastor. The second parsonage had become Rev. L.D. McConnells retirement home. Since 1907 the women have been actively organized through each organization to the present. In 1867 as Milltown, this church was in the Brunswick District. In 1882 on the Nashville Ct. Waycross District, with Shiloh, Naylor, Antioch, and Salem. Since 1894 it has been in the Valdosta District and a station since 1959. 1982 Membership: 376 LAKE PARK Cotton Street, Lake Park, Ga. When John M. Glenn was pastor of the Lake Park Circuit in 1894, it included Wrights Chapel, Statenville, Mt. Zion, Clyattville, and Lake Park. At that time members of the church, called Ocean Pond, moved the building with mules and logs to its present site from the oak grove site in Oceana nearby. There had been a church in this area since the 1840 for the many circuits Troupville, Gra as well as the districts Tallahassee, Madison, Thomasville, Quitman, Brunswick, Waycross and Valdosta indicate earlier records of a church in this area. It even indicates that for a time it was in the Florida conference. Since 1900 the church has had an active Sunday School and womans group, first a Missionary Society and now a United Methodist Women. In 1938 it organized a Charge Laity Group which had Laity Day each fifth Sunday. A recent fellowship hall was named Mac Pierce Hall in honor of a former pastor. The portico on the front was added in 1978. In 1974 Lake Park became a station church. John M. Barrett, Pastor Bay, Valdosta, Lowndes and Echols H 1982 Membership: 204 Members entering ministry: William A. Howell LELIA-WEEKS CHAPEL CHARGE Saunders E. Pinckard, Pastor LELIA Route 1 near Omega, Georgia This church, named for the wife of an early pastor, was first located in a log school 2 miles north of the present site on a hill between Warrior and TyTy Creeks. Rev. Flournoy Clark is probably the first pastor. A second building was 2 miles north and used for 22 years before mov- ing to the present site. The 1902 building was replaced by the new brick building in 1951. In 1892 when Rev. J.J. Williams was the pastor of Worth Cir- cuit, Valdosta District, he received a donation of $50 for this work from the Board of Church Extension. Lelia has been on several circuits: 1919 Omega Ct. with Lelia, Paulks, and Crossland; 1931 Norman Park Ct. with Crossland, Ellenton, Lelia, Norman Park, Omega, Paulks Chapel, and Weeks Chapel; 1939 Omega Ct. with Ellenton, Paulks Chapel, and Lelia. 1982 Membership: 98 Members entering ministry: Paul Sauls, Sr. WEEKS CHAPEL E. Colquitt County off Moultrie-Lenox Rd. In 1854 a few settlers peeled pine logs to build a public meeting house. It served as the church and courthouse until a frame building replaced it in 1885. For 13 years the new church was called Lost Ball, because a young boy, J.W. Weeks, lost his ball in the construction while the members were working on the building. The late Minnie Weeks declared she didnt approve the name. One Sun- day, as the people gathered, behind the pulpit they saw a fresh sign, Weeks Methodist Chapel. In 1925 that building was razed and the present building erected. Additions have been made since then so that it has five class rooms and a social hall. In 1940 it was on the Norman Park Ct. with Norman Park, Crossland, and Kimball. Since 1951 Lelia and Weeks have been a charge, with Ellenton with them for 1953-55. 1982 Membership: 110 LENOX-ANTIOCH CHARGE George D. Fuller, Pastor LENOX Off 1-75 on US Hwy. 41, Cook County From a union Sunday School at Mogal, a sawmill camp, this church began March 22, 1891. The Adel Pastor, Rev. J. Shirah, preached once a month; the first building was erected in 1898. In 1902 it was part of the Worth Circuit. In 1924 times were hard. A new piano was needed; so to pay this big $300 debt, the ladies took to the streets selling ice cream, candy and cakes. A new church, begun in 1930, was dedicated in 1932. The Womans Society was organized in 1938 and in 1946 the ladies again bought the needed new pews and pulpit furniture. Classrooms were needed; Curtis Roberts, the Sunday School Superintendent, spearheaded the drive. As the rooms were added, a new roof was needed for the sanctuary, a gift from R.H. Robinson. In 1951 the first resident pastor, Rev. Zephoe Belcher, had to live in rented rooms. With the help of the Lords Acre program, a new parsonage was built and dedicated in 1960. In 1968 the sanctuary was remodeled and a vestibule with a very special stained glass window added. Lenox has been on the following circuits, Worth, Eldorado, Sparks, Omega, Hahira. In 1960 it became a two-point charge. ANTIOCH Antioch Road, Adel, Georgia Originally in Berrien, now Cook, County in a brush arbor meeting Antioch was organized in 1874. First in a log building north of this site, then in a wooden frame structure built in 1880, services were held once a month. In 1913 the church was enlarged, a choir loft, spank- ing room and steeple added. Rev. C.W. Curry was the pastor. While Brother Theo Pharr was pastor, a carbide light plant was installed, replacing the kerosene lamps. In 1921, Rev. Herbert Ethridge taught Bible at Sparks College as well as served this charge; he asked for help and John Shell, a ministerial student at Sparks, helped out. After an earlier building fund failed to raise enough, a former carpenter turned preacher arrived. Rev. Tyler Rauls saw a new sanctuary built from the actual cutting of the timber for lumber to the service of dedication in March, 1949. Bishop Moore preached the sermon, but it was the preachers triumph. Antioch has been on many charges: Good Hope, Barney, Hahira, Adel, Berlin, Sparks, and with Lenox since 1960. In 1968 it was Circuit of the Year for the Valdosta Dist. 1982 Membership: 197 Members entering ministry: Jim Handcock, Emmerson Crosby, Nathaniel Griffin, Clayton Griffin MORVEN CHARGE Kirk G. Loyless, Pastor MORVEN Ga. Hwy. 94, Brooks County The town of Morven is 17 miles northwest of Valdosta, and the church organized here in 1907 with 30 members has been in the Valdosta District ever since. In 1907 Rev. Paul Kendall was assigned to the Morven Circuit and Rev. W.W. Stewart in 1908. According to the MINUTES of the conference, in 1906 Member entering Ministry: Curtis Roberts 381 and 1907 grants were made by the conference to Morven in Brooks County for com- pletion of a church. One member writes in 1908, Morven has nearly completed a beautiful church, comfortable in appointments and is quite creditable to the people there. Another remembers that before they got pews, they sat on boards laid across boxes. A Morven Circuit, but not a church called Morven, appears in the records of the Georgia Conference before 1867, first in the Brunswick District, then to the Thomasville, then Valdosta District. The pastor to that Morven Circuit in 1867 was Rev. J.J. Giles. In 1882 the Morven Circuit had the following churches: Pine Grove, Concord, Bethlehem, Mt. Zion, Wesley Chapel, Tallokas, and Lebanon but no Morven. In 1919 it had Morven, Union, Mt. Zion and Concord. 1982 Membership: 111 BARNEY Junction of Ga. Hwys. 76 and 122 Barney, in Brooks County, is 20 miles southeast of Moultrie. It was settled in 1897 and Rev. J.O.A. Cook, Valdosta District Presiding Elder, sent Rev. W.W. Webb to see about a church for the new town. In 1898 Rev. W.C. Glenn, appointed to Morven and McDonald, organized Barney Church on August 1, 1899, with 13 members. Later 17 transferred from Mt. Zion when the church was built. While the church was being built, services were held at Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Roziers, who gave the land and lumber for the church. A storm destroyed it when par- tially built, but it was rebuilt and ready for service on November 30, 1900. This building with added classrooms and other improvements is still used. The first pews, a gift from Bethlehem Church, were replaced in 1952. The curly pine pulpit, made by Jim Chambers, is still used. In 1901 Barney was part of the Morven-Pavo Circuit with Mt. Zion, Concord, Lebanon, Oak Grove, and Pleasant Grove. In 1909, 1910, 1913 it was head of the Barney Circuit. Since 1931 it has been on the charge with Morven. 1982 Membership: 72 Members entering ministry: Lloyd Rogers Mission field: Mrs. Frances Rogers Zellers 382 MT. ZION Ga. Hwy. 761 mile N. Morven, Ga. Methodist activity in this area began at Mt. Zion Campground in Lowndes County, now Brooks, in 1828 as an an- nual campmeeting. When this began the Indians had just moved leaving their tent pole and mortar in which they mixed their sofkas scattered over the campus. In 1831 the land was deeded to the church and a building was erected after fire destroyed the brush arbor. The annual camp meeting continued until 1881 when the present church was organized. In 1881 it was on the Morven Circuit, Thomasville District, with Concord, Pine Grove, Bethlehem Tallokas, Wesley Chapel, and Lebanon. In 1919 Rev. T.F. Drake was pastor with Concord, Union, Mt. Zion, and Morven. In 1940 it had the same churches but with Barney added. In 1968 Concord was not on the charge, but the others have been the Morven Charge since. 1982 Membership: 50 UNION Ga. Hwy. 33 5 Miles NW Morven, Ga. This church, located in Brooks County, began with services held in a tent. In 1904 Rev. R.P. Fain was appointed to the Morven Circuit. That same year the conference Board of Church extension made a $100 gift to Union Church in Brooks County with the understanding that it will speedily open the house free of debt. That wooden frame structure is still in use today, having been added to and improved over the years. Ever since its organization this church has been on the Morven Circuit. Mrs. Myrtle Morrison Bethea, who joines Union in 1909 at the age of nine, writes, have been a faithful member ever since. 1982 Membership: 46 Member entering ministry: Stephen Lee Webb R. V. Williams, Pastor Spence Field Road, Moultrie, Ga. Old church minutes indicate that this congregation was once Oak Grove Methodist Church when it was located in Kingswood, a sawmill center east of Moultrie. About 1905 it was moved to a triangle of land at the junction of Hopewell Road and Quitman Highway. Evelyn claims 1905 as its date of organization with Rev. W.T. Rouse the first pastor. In 1916 after a storm blew down the building, it was relocated to the east side of Spence Field Road. In 1940-41 when military flight training was established at the base, the building was moved V? mile to the west side of Spence Field Road. New pews were the gift of Rev. H.E. Wells; the pews were made from lumber sawed from trees on his farm. In 1976 a gift from the Strozier Harris Estate made many improvements possible. In 1919 Evelyn was on the Berlin Circuit with Oak Grove, Berlin, Wesley Chapel, and Barney. Except for 1921 it has been on the MOULTRIE, EVELYN 383 Berlin Circuit until it became a station in 1973. Across the years it has had the help of the ministers from First Church when it was without a preacher. 1982 Membership: 131 MOULTRIE, FIRST Weyman R. Cleveland, Pastor John E. Brodess, Associate US Hwy. 319, Colquitt County This church celebrated its 100th an- niversary in 1970, but the name Moultrie appears in the conference MINUTES in 1868 with Rev. Mather H. Fielding assigned to Moultrie, Brunswick District. The other districts have been Altamaha, Thomasville, Brunswick, Waycross, and Valdosta since 1898. As a mission this church began and in 1878 a group, led by Mrs. Caroline Culpepper Cooper, put the church on a more permanent basis, from the crude wooden structure of the first to this second building on this site in 1900. This building was the first brick church building in Moultrie and drew 5,000 to the laying of the cornerstone. In 1916 the present building was built on the site of the Piney Woods Hotel, the land a gift of Mr. and Mrs. M.M. Kendall. The parsonage built by the side has been replaced by an educational unit. In 1918 during the flu epidemic, the Sunday School rooms were a temporary hospital. In 1920 Moultrie was host to the annual meeting of the South Georgia Conference. In the 1950s the sanctuary was remodeled and a balcony added; an educational building was completed in 1965 and a chapel in 1962. 1982 Membership: 1,272 Members entering ministry: Diane S. Neely, William Glenn Neely, III. S. Luanne Childres, Pastor Sylvester Drive, Moultrie, Georgia In 1925 North Moultrie Church at North Main and Ninth Avenue was disbanded after only 5 years; its members merged with First. Rev. I.P. Tyson, pastor of First, saw this as a mistake. So upon retirement in 1939 he returned to Moultrie to live. Deter- mined to reestablish a church in that area, he began a building fund, giving much of his own money. After his death in 1949, First Church voted to sponsor a new church. In June, 1950 Rev. Clarence Weeks was assigned to the North Moultrie Charge which was composed of the new site, Funston and New Elm Churches. With a rented parsonage, a meager amount of donated furniture, and a tent for a revival, the new church began. At the end of the revival 35 members joined. An improvised 384 MOULTRIE, TYSON MEMORIAL church in a store served until the first unit was built. At the opening of the building 54 more joined. It grew and improvements were made, then in 1976 fire destroyed the sanctuary. Immediately clearing the rubbish began. Many worked and many gifts were given; in seven months time a new sanctuary, without debt, was ready for services. 1982 Membership: 156 Members entering ministry: J. Brooks Partain, Eric Sizemore NASHVILLE John Bagwell, Pastor 306 S. Berrien St., Nashville, Georgia Union services in the courthouse for all denomination began in 1860 and were moved to the Hansell Hotel where a union Sunday School was started. In 1868 the Methodists constructed a crude building of hand hewn lumber with some of the first glass windows in this section. In 1901 the present sanctuary was built on the present location, Rev. M.B. Ferrell, pastor. It was remodeled in 1943 while Rev. A.A. Waite, Sr. was the pastor. A modern educational building was completed in 1952 and dedicated in 1954. In 1965 the sanctuary was completely rebuilt inside and refurnished; a larger entrance was constructed, Rev. James Agee, the pastor. All indebtedness was paid in 1967 and dedicated February 11, 1968, Rev. A. Ray Adams, pastor. The Womans Missionary Society was organized in 1892. In the MINUTES for 1870, Nashville and Allapaha Mission was in the Brunswick District, W.H. Thomas, pastor. In 1872 it was in the Hawkinsville District, 1873 the Altamaha District, 1874 Thomasville District, 1876 Brunswick Jack G. Atkinson, Pastor NORMAN PARK US Hwy. 319, Colquitt County Norman Park, Georgia, was originally Obe, Georgia. In 1902 the town was in- corporated and re-named Norman Park. Methodism is the outgrowth of Old Shiloh Church. The land on which the church was built in 1903 was given by Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Norman. Rev. J.W. Wells was assigned to the Colquitt (county) Ct. in 1903 in the Valdosta District. Members of the church cut the timber for the church. In 1918 four classrooms were added. In 1925 the church was renovated and new pews and chancel furniture added. In 1958 a new fellowship hall and classrooms were added. Across the years they have been repaired so as to main- 385 District with Rev. B.S. Key pastor. 1982 Membership: 657 NORMAN PARK-KIMBALL tain the buildings as fresh sis possible. While the Lamar Glenns were serving here, they felt called to go to China as missionaries (1917). In 1919 Norman Park was a station church. In 1940 Kimball, Crosslands, and Weeks Chapel were on the charge. Since 1956 Norman Park and Kimball have been a two-point charge. 1982 Membership: 99 Members entering ministry: J. W. Herndon, Richard Mitchell, Sr. KIMBALL Ga. Hwy. 33 Anderson City In 1816 a log building served for a school during the week and a preaching place on Sunday in the community around the present Kimball church. It was served by circuit riders and was a link between Brunswick and Camilla. With the growth of the turpentine in- dustry and the coming of a sawmill, in 1886, a wooden church was built on land given by Mr. F.C. Kimball. Rev. J.H. Taylor was the first pastor. In 1902 a larger church was built; then a storm, in 1936, damaged it so it was rebuilt using as much material as could be saved. Four classrooms were added at that time. Rev. John Lough was the pastor and Kimball was on the Doerun Charge. In 1937 it was on the Bridgeboro Charge until 1939 when it came to the Norman Park Charge. In the 1940s this church grew from 54 to 154 members; so a new wing was added. In 1965 a new sanctuary was ready for ser- vice on June 20th. The old sanctuary was kept and brick veneer to complement the new buildings. It is the fellowship hall. In 1973 a new parsonage was built for the charge near Kimball Church. It was dedicated Nov. 18,1973. 1982 Membership: 105 OCILLA Curtis C. Roberts, Pastor 4th Avenue at Beech Street, Ocilla, Ga. In the 1890 Ocilla was a turpentine camp and two stores, but in 1897 Mr. J.F. King and five families had begun a Sunday School in a small school. The next year the church was organized. Rev. N.T. Pafford, pastor at Irwinville, began preaching once a month in 1897 and the next year Rev. E.F. Register was sent to Mystic Circuit and he continued the services Rev. Pafford had begun. The first church was a commodious frame building, and it served until 1912 when the present brick and granite building was erected at a new site. Although classrooms had been built in the first unit, an addi- tional annex was built in 1950 and dedicated by Bishop Arthur Moore. In the early history of this county the 1840 Richardson Methodist Campground was incor- porated by the legislature. It was named for Rev. Simon Peter Richardson whose 386 leadership had been felt in the early years of history in this area. He was the presiding elder of a district that reached from Brunswick to St. Augustine, Florida, and across to Albany, Georgia. 50 years later this church was organized. 1982 Membership: 259 Members entering ministry: H. Levy Rogers II. OMEGA Thomas M. Field, Pastor US Hwy. 319, Tift County The church in Omega has its roots in the Shiloh church that began in the 1800s about 3 miles from the present town of Omega. The first building was wood and the first building in Omega was wood. In 1952 the present brick building was built at Maple and Florida Streets. In 1960 classrooms and a fellowship hall were added. A brick par- sonage next door to the church was built in 1960. In its history five persons have entered the ministry and one has gone into the mission field. 1982 Membership: 214 Members entering ministry: Bill Harris Mission Held: Elena Slayton PINE LEVEL Old Minnie Road, Irwinville, Georgia In Irwin County in Bishops School this church was organized in 1883. The school was a crude building with sawed log seats and earthen floor. Here services were held until the frame building was built in 1904. Rev. B. Erasmus Ras Willcox, a local preacher, was the first preacher. It was on the Mystic Circuit around 1900 which included Mystic, Irwinville, Pine Level, Wesley Chapel, Georgias Chapel, Osierfield, and Reedy Creek. Rev. R.M. Booth was one of the first pastors assigned by the conference. The MINUTES for 1884 states that the Board of Church Exten- sion assisted Pine Level, Eastman District, with $33.20 toward the completion of their building. In 1979 the interior was repainted and new pews and cushions added. The fellowship hall, built in the 1960s, was too small; so it has been con- verted to a nursery and classrooms. A new fellowship hall has been built, a choir loft added, and the front remodeled and paid for. 1982 Membership: 178 John C. Miller, Pastor 387 POULAN Thomas R. Cotton, Pastor US Hwy. 82, Worth County In 1893 Rev. E.L. Padrick was appointed to the Sumner and TyTy Circuit, Cordele District, which included five churches: Sumner, Ty Ty, Damascus, Poulan, Damascus, and Shingler. Poulan is located 21 miles west of Tifton and 3 miles east of Sylvester and became a station church in 1983. The church was begun in 1895 and a wooden building first constructed. The present brick church stands at the corner of Cotton and Church Streets, on property donated by Mrs. T.L. Ousley. The Board of Church Extension in 1895 made a grant of $70.15 to Poulan as to other churches that will speedily open the house to use free of debt. Another grant was made in 1895 for $50. There has been a Poulan Circuit in the Valdosta District since 1910, in which year the circuit had Poulan, Ty Ty, Sumner, and Shingler. In 1931-1948 Bethel was added to this circuit. Since 1965 this circuit has been composed of Poulan, Sumner, Damascus, and Shingler. 1982 Membership: 120 Members entering ministry: S.A. Douthit, Kenneth Odum C. Graton Helms, Pastor PROVIDENCE Ga. Hwy. 94, Brooks County Providence is located between Valdosta and Morven. In the early 1900s services were held under brush arbors and later in a schoolhouse. In 1906, following a fruitful tent-revival, Providence Church was organized with 20 members: 8 on profession of faith and 12 by transfer of certificate. Aleph Simmons (Harrell) suggested the name Providence; others agreed that the church had come through Divine Providence. The first pastor, Rev. W.S. Heath, was on the Remberton Circuit, Valdosta District. He was followed by Rev. M.A. Shaw, who was on the Morven Circuit 1909-12. The building completed in 1907 was given a grant of $75 provided they would speedily open the house free of debt. In 1959 this old building was torn down so that a new one could be built on the same site. The regular services continued under the trees until in February, 1960 they met in the unfinished sanctuary. In 1963 more improvements were made and the church was the chosen the Church of the Year for the Valdosta District. Recently a fellowship hall has been added. In 1979 this church became a station after 77 years on the Remerton Charge. 1982 Membership: 170 388 QUITMAN Aaron Sellers, Pastor Screven Street at Clay The Brooks County courthouse was a small frame building of rough un- painted lumber situated on the site where the Methodist church now stands when, in 1859, this congregation began holding services. They purchased the building from the county with Con- federate money on March 3, 1864. Rev. R.W. Flournoy was the pastor of the Brooks Circuit and he preached in Quitman once a month. Rev. O.L. Smith, after 6 years as President of Wesleyan, moved to Brooks County and preached in the courthouse once a month until 1869. Quitman was the first church between Savan- nah and Thomasville to become a full-time station. This was 1868. In 1895 a new sanctuary replaced the courthouse. The high vaulted ceiling, intricately built, enhanced the sound of the pipe organ installed in 1911. In 1935 the church was brick veneered. In the 1950 it was renovated and a brick education building and chapel added. It was the Valdosta District Church of the Year in 1963 and 1968. The Mite Society, begun in 1874, changed its name to Nickle Club and then to the Parsonage Aid Society. In 1908 Quitman was host to the South Georgia Conference Annual Conference. 1982 Membership: 560 Mission field: Ruby Lilly Hitch Korea RAY CITY-COMMUNITY CHARGE Thomas W. Davis, Jr. Pastor RAY CITY US Hwy. 129 and Ga. 37 On land, given by R.D. Swindle, a tent was pitched and Rev. F.A. Ratcliff, district evangelist, held a revival. Five persons joined the church during the meeting and 21 more when the wooden church was built. For some time prior to the revival, the pastor from Remerton, Rev. W.E. Hightower, had been holding services in the Masonic Hall in Ray City. On October, 10, 1910, the church was organized. This was replaced, in 1955, with a new building which had a sanctuary, three classrooms, and a kitchen. In 1964 Swindle Fellowship Hall was added. A porch and two more classrooms were added in 1973 and other improvements have been done since. Ray City was on the Milltown Circuit (Lakeland) in 1919 with Concord, Ray City, Stockton, Milltown, and Trinity; Rev. John S. Sharpe was pastor. In 1940 Ray City became the head of the charge which included: Kings Chapel and Community. Later Bemiss and Unity were a part of this charge. 1982 Membership: 184 389 COMMUNITY Cecil Road South of Nashville This church is located six miles south of Nashville on the Old Coffee Road, now the Cecil Road. When services began they were using the Old Parrish School deeded to Berrien County Board of Education by W.J. Parrish in 1918. A Sunday School was held regularly on Sunday evening with preaching when a preacher was available. Rev. W.A. Kelly organized the church in June, 1926. A revival in September added 48 persons to the 7 who had joined in June. The prop- erty was bought from the county in 1935 and became the Community Methodist Church; Bishop W.B. Beauchap was the bishop of the area and Rev. C.W. Curry the presiding elder. Rev. C.L. Nease served the first year. This church has been on the Ray City Charge since 1940. 1982 Membership: 50 SALEM C.V. BillyPowers, Pastor Cecil-Folsom Bridge Road, Hahira This church, located about 3V4 miles west of Cecil and 5 miles west of Hahira, was organized in 1856. Land for this church was deeded by Eli D. Webb. When the school, located in front of the church, was moved, the Board of Educa- tion deeded that land to the church. The original building is still in use with added Sunday School rooms and a fellowship hall. In 1919 Rev. R.P. Fain was pastor on the Hahira Circuit which in- cluded Salem, Shiloh, Hahira, Cecil, Webb, and Kings. In 1940 the Hahira Charge had Hahira, Salem, Shiloh, and Cecil. In 1959 Salem was part of the Lenox-Antioch Charge. 1982 Membership: 95 SHILOH Randall E. McLain, Pastor 4Vfe M. SW Hahira, Lowndes County The actual date for the beginning of this church is not known, but land, given by John Bradford, was deeded in 1879 for the use of a school or church. A school was built and there the church was organized. A later deed shows that Frank and John Hall sold the same land to the church for $5 an acre; this deed was recorded Oc- tober 15, 1903. The oldest grave in the cemetery is 1894. This building was destroyed by a tornado in 1948. The sale of pines on the property helped with the cost of rebuilding. In 1965, after a 20 year absence, Sunday School was again being 390 held. Since March, 1968 the church has been remodeled with new classrooms, kitchen and social hall added. In 1960s Shiloh and Salem became a two-point charge. In 1980 it became a full-time station. 1982 Membership: 80 SPARKS-ELLENTON CHARGE Ralph Spivey, Pastor SPARKS US Hwy. 41 A small group meeting in a school organized this church in 1888, but it was not until 1890 that the first building was erected. Rev. J.W. Wells, then serving at Bayboro a sawmill town between Sparks and Moultrie, was the first preacher. Rev. J.M. Foster was assigned in 1889 and stayed 8 years. This early building had stained glass windows and classrooms added in the early part of the 1900s. At- tendance increased with the building of Sparks Collegiate Institute in 1902. Dr. Comer Woodward was the first president. Rev. A.W. Reese, the third president, was also the pastor of the Sparks church. In 1925 the college, as it had grown to be, closed. In 1960 a large educational unit was begun containing 11 classrooms, kit- chen, and social hall. In 1971 a new sanctuary was begun and completed in 1972. Rev. Truman Thomas was the pastor. 1982 Membership: 280 Members entering the ministry: Charles Davis ELLENTON Colquitt County off Ga. Hwy. 37 This church had begun sometime before 1919, for it was on a three-point circuit with Rev. R.A. Coleman, pastor. The charge was Funston-Ellenton with Sigsbee. In 1921 that circuit was dissolved and Ellenton was placed on the Berlin Ct. until 1924 for a year with Norman Park, then back to the Berlin Charge. This church has been on many circuits across the years. In 1940 it was on the Omega Charge with Omega Lelia, and Paulks Chapel; on the Funston Charge in 1968 with Funston and New Elm. From 1972 it has been on charges with a single church: Omega, Ty Ty, and since 1979 with Sparks. 1982 Membership: 20 391 STATENVILLE-FARGO Larry W. Sauls, Pastor STATENVILLE Ga. Hwy. 94, Echols County This town is located on the Alapaha River near the Georgia-Florida line about 20 miles southeast of Valdosta. The church is believed to have begun in 1885 while Rev. J.M. Foster was pastor of the Lowndes-Echols Ct. which in- cluded Wrights Chapel, Ocean Pond, Mt. Zion, St. John, Wesley Chapel, An- tioch, and Olivet in Echols County. This last church was only about 2 miles from the present town. In 1885 this circuit was in the Waycross District. In the MINUTES for 1887, Statenville received $54.76 from the Board of Church Exten- sion, which required that a church should speedily open free of debt. On the site of the present post office, a frame building was used for services before the church was built. In 1912 land was given by Samuel Staten for a new church. In 1948 a brick church replaced the one completed in 1915. A fellowship hall was added in 1961 and other recent improvements began in 1973. This church has been in at least three districts, Waycross, Brunswick, and Valdosta. It has been on the Lake Park and Remerton Circuits and since 1969 with Fargo as a charge. During Rev. Ralph Spiveys pastorate it was the Church of the Year. 1982 Membership: 152 FARGO US Hwy. 441 and Ga. Hwy. 94 Fargo, near the edge of the Ga.-Fla. line in Clinch County, is the western en- trance to the Okefenookee Swamp. Records of Methodism in this area are few, but it is said that in the 1830s just after the Indians were driven out by the U.S. government and homesteading was permitted, there were Methodist meetings, but no records have been found. In the late 1890s the Baxter (Timber) Company built the Hamby Masonic Lodge, named for the company doctor, and the community and church used the lower floor. When the depression came the Baxter Company turned the lodge into a hotel. The church moved to the school; when the hotel failed, the church moved back into the lodge. Until the fifties when paved roads came, the train was the link with the outside world. The preacher arrived by train on Saturday p.m., preached, took the noon train to St. George, preached and returned to preach at Fargo again at night. During the 1940 Sunday School Atten- dance contest between Statenville and Fargo, the superintendent had to wire Statenville when Fargo hit the 100 mark, as there were no phones. 1982 Membership: 69 392 SUMNER CIRCUIT William O. Harris, Pastor SUMNER US Hwy. 82 6 M West of Sylvester In 1839 or 1840 Rev. William (Uncle Billy) Clements, a local Methodist preacher, settled in Worth county about a mile northeast of the present site of Sumner. The house he built for worship was also used as a schoolhouse, and, perhaps, was the first Methodist church built in Worth County. The original building served until 1880, when the building for the Sumner Church was relocated in Sumner. The lumber for this church was a gift from Dan Garrett. In 1956 the present church building was remodeled after the chapel at Epworth-by-the Sea, Lovely Lane Chapel, St. Simons Island. The name Sumner Circuit appears in the Conference Minutes from 1884 to 1909. In 1882 Sumner was on the Worth Ct. which included Shiloh, Antioch, Sumner, Pucketts, Wrights, Ty Ty, and Frame. It was in the following district: Waycross 1881-1889; Thomasville, 1890-92; Cordele 1893-94; and Valdosta 1895-1983. It has been on the Poulan Circuit 1909-1983 when it again heads a circuit. 1982 Membership: 45 DAMASCUS Damascus Community, Worth County This church was organized by Rev. Robert P. Fain, one of the five district evangelists for the conference. It was July, 1909 and they met in the schoolhouse. This church was one of the seven Rev. Fain reported as organizing during the year. Rev. W.T. Belvin was the first pastor sent by the conference to serve the Sumner Ct. on which Damascus was a new mission. In 1914 in a two-week revival preached by Rev. F.A. Ratcliffe 63 members were added to the Damascus church. In 1915 the newly created Tifton Mission had 6 churches: Chula, Damascus, Mt. Calvary, Bethel, Wrights Chapel, and Harding. In 1919 the circuit, with the exception of Wrights Chapel, was the same churches. Since 1948 Damascus has been on the Poulan Cir- cuit until 1983 when the Sumner Circuit was formed. 1982 Membership: 62 SHINGLER Ga. Hwy. 112,5 M. NE Sylvester, Ga. In 1904 this church was organized in a building moved to Shingler from Oak Grove. This church iis located in Worth County on Old Shingler Road, 12 miles southwest of Ashburn. In 1919 the South Georgia Conference MINUTES show Shinger on the Poulan Circuit with Sumner, Ty Ty, and Poulan, Rev. E.O. Heath, pastor. In 1931 393 Bethel Church was added to this charge, otherwise these same 4 churches have been the same charge until 1983 when Poulan became a station. 1982 Membership: 34 TYTY Church Street, Ty Ty, Georgia In Worth County there is a town named Ty Ty which probably came from a cer- tain shrub called by the Indians ti ti. The church is named for the town. Its earliest beginning is not known, but the conference records show that the Worth Circuit in 1882 had 7 churches: Shiloh, Antioch, Pucketts, Sumner, Wrights, Ty Ty, and Frame with Rev. James E. Rorie, pastor. In 1919 Ty Ty was on the four-point Poulan Circuit with Poulan, Ty Ty, Sumner, and Singler. It has been at other times on the Sumner Circuit, Brookfield Ct. and Poulan Ct. In 1979 it became a station, except for 1980 when the charge included Mt. Calvary. Beside the Valdosta District, it has been in the Waycross District in 1888-89, and Cordele District 1893-94. 1982 Membership: 34 SYLVESTER CHARGE C.E. Cariker, Pastor PINSON MEMORIAL Main and Pope Streets, Sylvester, Ga. This church, named for T.J. Pinson whose heirs donated half the cost, was dedicated on March 3, 1913, by Bishop W.A. Candler. In 1893, when Rev. E.L. Padrick was sent to the Sumner-Ty Ty Ct., Cordele District, a small group of Methodists in Sylvester asked him to preach for them one evening a month. In a school, on the site of Sylvester Banking Company, the first services were held. In 1894 the church was organized by Rev. W.C. Glenn. It was part of the Sumner- Ty Ty Circuit with Ty Ty, Sumner, Beulah, Wesley Chapel, Isabella, and Poulan, then in the Valdosta District. The first building was completed in 1898 and later sold to the Presbyterians. Today it is the Worth County Library. In 1949, the educational building, a memorial to those who served in World War II, was dedicated by Bishop Arthur Moore. Other additions and a complete redecorating of 394 the sanctuary were done in 1969. In 1970 and 1982 it was Church of the Year for the Valdosta District. Sylvester became a half-station in 1900, and a full station in 1905. In 1982 reconstituted Beulah Church became part of the charge. 1982 Membership: 588 Member entering ministry: Thomas P. Watson BEULAH County Line Road, S. of Acree This church is located on the Worth and Daugherty County line, one mile off the County Line Rd. south of the Acree community, U.S. Hwy. 82. This church has had a rebirth. Originally organized in 1903, it was discontinued in 1969; the building was rented to the Free Will Baptists and later the Primitive Bap- tists. In 1978 some former members including Rev. Allen M. Booker, who had retired to his home community, met and decided to reorganize the church. In July, 1979 Beulah was reconstituted with 30 members. Rev. Aaron Sellers, Pinson Memorials pastor, served as pastor. When the first Beulah was organized it met in homes before a building was built. It was on the Bridgeboro Circuit for many years. In 1961 it was placed on the Morningside Charge, Thomasville District, until it was Ben F. Williams, Pastor Central Avenue at 12th Street Before the church was organized a group met in a shanty east of Tifts lumber yard. In March, 1882, with 7 members, J.J.F. Goodman, a Justice of the Peace, later a local preacher, organized the church in a two-story building used for church and school on the lower floor and mason on second floor. The first building, begun in 1888 was hit by arson three times and finished in 1889 by members standing guard. A brick building was next built in 1901 on Love Avenue. In 1947 the church was too small; so they began building two units on the present site. August 31, 1962, the first services were held in the new facility. In 1882 Tifton was part of the Brookfield Ct., Rev. W.P. Babcock, pastor, which included Alapaha, Bethesda and Brookfield, Grange Hall, Pine Grove and Tifton and Riverside. In 1896 Tifton became a station church. This church has been host to four sessions of the South Georgia Con- ference: 1921,1943,1967,1979. In May, 1955, reaching out in a mission project, this discontinued in 1969. 1982 Membership: 46 Member entering ministry: Allen M. Booker TIFTON, FIRST church purchased lots for a new church, Trinity, which started with 92 members, many of whom came from First. In 1963, it helped Herring Memorial relocate. 1982 Membership: 1,486 Members entering ministry: Charles Zimmerman, Jr., J. Sedwick Wetzel TIFTON, HERRING MEMORIAL CHARGE E. Steve Bullington, Pastor HERRING MEMORIAL 901 Lower Brookfield Rd., Tifton In the early 1930s the Woodlawn Mis- sion was conducted by lay persons. One of those was John Green Herring and in recognition of his devotion the name was changed. In 1945, Rev. J.A. Roundtree took charge for a year, holding services twice a month. It was placed on the Sycamore Charge in 1945 and Rev. Kell Hinson was the first assigned pastor. It has been on the Chula Ct. and the Brookfield Ct. and for a period was served by the associate pastor of First, Tifton. The original wooden shelter in which the mission began was replaced with a wooden sanctuary located at Bellview Ave. and Poplar St. until 1941 when it moved to present location on a lot given by Miss Pat Martha Fulwood. Its characteristic has been an outreach program of children and youth in the Woodlawn community, and in 1973 in outreach to an isolated nearby Black community. 1982 Membership: 68 OAK RIDGE Eldorado Road and Oak Ridge Church Rd. Following services in a brush arbor, this church was organized in the Oak Ridge School in 1912 and took the name of the school for their name. The Board of Church Extension granted $100 to the building of the church provided it would speedily open the house for use free of debt. In 1917 it was ready and Rev. Aaron Kelly, the pastor. This church has been on the following circuits: Lenox, Chula, and Brookfield. The original building was torn down in 1976 and the con- gregation is using a mobile chapel on loan from the conference. A member recalls the big tent revival that the Cochran brothers, Leonard and Charles, held back in 1928, and the time that Mr. Will C. Ireland talked so effectively to the Lord that the Presiding Elder stood up only to say, Mr. Ireland has said all that is needed. 1982 Membership: 24 Members entering ministry: Roy McTier, William McTier Sr., Sam Douthit, Emory Buchanan, Henry Abbott 396 TIFTON, TRINITY Charles L. Ricks, Pastor 6th Street and Belmont, Tifton In 1955, First Methodist, under leader- ship of Rev. Claude Fullerton, made plans for a new church in Tifton. Lots were purchased. Rev. W.A. Kelly, Secretary of Evangelism for the con- ference, pitched a tent and began revival services. In April temporary of- ficers were selected and in May the Sun- day School began under Jack Ratcliffes direction. On May 22, 1955, Rev. Nor- man Lovein, Superintendent of the Valdosta District, organized the church with 92 members. By popular vote the church was named Trinity. While Rev. George Coppage was assigned as the first pastor, Rev. Vernon Edwards arrived in time for the ground breaking for the first unit, a fellowship hall with classrooms. The first services were held on Christmas Day and the tent was lowered and returned to the district. The building was paid for and dedicated on March 4, 1956. Ground was broken for the sanctuary on November 9, 1958; Rev. Bernard Brown, the district superintendent, preached the first service, March 6,1960, Rev. Aaron Sellers, pastor. 1982 Membership: 285 UNITY-LIVE OAK CHARGE UNITY East of US Hwy. 221, Lanier County Unity Church is located four miles northeast of Lakeland. In 1926 it was formed by the consolidation of two older churches: Bridges Chapel, dated from 1888, and Concord, 1890. In 1911 Bridges Chapel was on the Pearson Ct., Waycross District, with Wesley Chapel, Live Oak, Sweetwater, and Kirkland. Concord was on the Milltown (Lakeland) Ct. with Ray City, Trinity, Milltown and Stockton. From 1920-26 they were part of the same circuit. A grant of $500 by the Board of Church Extension in 1927 indicated a new building being completed. In 1931 Unity was a part of the Lakeland Ct. with Kings Chapel, Ray City, Lakeland, and Live Oak. In 1955, by a memorial gift from Adelbert Greene, son of Rev. A.L. Greene, in honor of his father renovation on the church began. In 1956 the aban- doned Crisp School lunchroom building and equipment was moved to the church. 397 Robert W. Poston, Pastor In 1960 as memorials a steeple and lighted cross were added. The old fellowship hall was sold and removed and replaced by a new and more adequate hall, com- pleted in 1968. In 1961 Unity became a station church building a parsonage in 1962. 1982 Membership: 220 LIVE OAK Off US Hwy. 221, Atkinson County This church is located in a setting of live oak trees about 15 miles southwest of Pearson. This is the original building used both for church and school as directed in 1896. Probably the first preacher to hold services there was Un- cle George Hadsock, a local preacher. It has been part of the Lakeland and Willacoochee Charges and since 1963 Unity and Live Oak have been a charge. A new fellowship hall with classrooms has recently been finished. 1982 Membership: 37 Members entering ministry: James W. Herndon, Sr. VALDOSTA, BEMISS Ga. Hwy. 125 Moody Field Road Located in Lowndes County, about 10 miles northeast of Valdosta, Bemiss Church was first known as Antioch and located in Piney Woods 2Vi miles southeast of Bemiss community. The church, organized in 1840, was a one- room structure which doubled as a school and church. Two brothers, An- tioch members, cut timber from their land and built a larger building with pews of hand-cut and dressed yellow pine. By 1920, after the railroad came to Bemiss in 1911, Antioch was torn down and moved to Bemiss. As Bemiss, in 1935, a one-room building, ceiled, with electric lights, and painted was erected on a new site. In 1961, on this present site with members doing most of the work, the concrete block building was built. Improvements have followed. Since 1840 this church has been in 4 districts: Brunswick 1868, Thomasville -1873, Waycross 1885, and Valdosta since 1890. In 1882 it was on the Lowndes and Echols Ct. with Wrights Chapel, Ocean Pond, Mt. Zion, St. John, and Wesley Chapel. For over 20 years Bemiss was on the Remerton Ct. In 1942 it was on the Ray City Charge until 1971 when it became a station. 1982 Membership: 203 Members entering ministry: Douglas Mays, Roger Mays William B. Willis, Jr., Pastor 398 VALDOSTA, FIRST C. Wilburn Hancock, Pastor John A. Haney, Associate 220 N. Patterson at Valley Since 1842 Troupville had been served by Methodist preachers of the Georgia Con- ference. In 1859 the citizens of Troupville moved their town to the newly arrived railway and changed the name to Valdosta. The Methodists held services in the Masonic Lodge and courthouse until 1866. In the 1861 MINUTES, Valdosta ap- pears for the first time with Rev. Samuel E. Randolph appointed pastor of the cir- cuit. Associated with the early days are Rev. Wilkins of Naylor, and Major A.J. Bes- sant, a lawyer and lay preacher, who began the Sunday School. In 1896 the original wooden building was replaced by a brick building which burned in 1904. Immediately the present sanc- tuary with classrooms and bell tower were begun. The Strickland Memorial Education Building was completed in 1941, later expanded. In 1960 the church was renovated and an additional unit added. After 23 years as part of a circuit, in 1882 First became a station. It has hosted the annual session of the South Georgia Conference in 1896, 1906, 1918, 1927, 1941, 1958, 1969, and 1980. This church has given leadership to establishing missions and churches: Center Hill 1898, Remerton 1901, Wesley Memorial 1904, Forrest Street 1941, Park AvenueB-1954, Westview 1957, Kelley 1962. 1982 Membership: 2,049 Members entering ministry: T. W. Ellis, Bascorn DuBose, B.E. Whittington, B.F. Smith, W.J. Noyes, James R. Webb, Sr., L.A. Harrell, Jr., Herbert Land, J.D. Barnes, C.H. Driver, Ernest Coffee, John L. McGowan, Samuel G. Rogers, William W. Oliver, Jr. Harold E. Brinson, Pastor 301 N. Forrest Street This church was organized as the result of a mission of Valdosta, First. In 1941 David R. Dixon was appointed assistant pastor of First. After five years work, on June 2,1946, Forrest Street Church was constituted with 101 members. In the beginning weekly prayer meetings were held in homes until a building was rented. The building, called East Side Tabernacle, was given by Mrs. E.Y. Fry of Quitman to the First Church mission as a gift. The first worship service was held November 30, 1941. With help from members of First, a Sunday School was begun in January of 1942. These first members sacrificed to build a sanctuary, educational unit, and fellowship hall. In 399 1948 Naylor and Stockton were on the Forrest Street Charge. In 1950 Providence and Forrest Street were a charge. In 1957 it became a staion. 1982 Membership: 332 Members entering ministry: Thomas W. Davis, Jr. VALDOSTA, KELLEY South Troupe and Conoley Avenue Kelley bears the name of Rev. W.A. Kelley by vote of the congregation as a special tribute of love and affection to the man who founded the church in 1962. The church building was a gift to the South Georgia Conference from the Presbyterians who from 1944-1962 had sponsored a church known as Southside Presbyterian Chapel then renamed Cecil Thompson Chapel. Like the Presbyterians, Kelley Methodist was known as Southside from 1962-1964. It has been a station charge except for 1974-76 when Westview was part of the charge. Since 1976 Dr. John Curtis, Professor of Sociology at Valdosta State College and a minister in this conference, has been serving them part time. 1982 Membership: 64 Marion M. Edwards, Pastor James W. Hughes, Associate Park Avenue at Patterson Street In 1953i-4 the pastor of First Church, Rev. Mack Anthony, challenged his of- ficials to begin a new church on the lots purchased in north Valdosta. 70 members accepted. The birth of Park Avenue Church was witnessed by a capacity crowd of 130 in the Garden Center on Sunday Evening, June 27, 1954. Rev. George Zorn was assigned as pastor. By January,B955 the membership was 285, of whom 235 were transfers from First. The lots were deeded to the new church in Jan, 1955, and by December, 1955, the educational unit containing classrooms and a fellowship hall for worship use as well was opened for service. Other additions followed and on November 22, 1970, the new sanctuary was open for service; First Church joined them for the ser- vice and more than 800 attended. Rev. Frank Robertson, pastor of First, preached and Rev. Thomas Johnson, Sr. was the host pastor. In 1974 this church was host to the South Georgia Conference for its annuallsession. Rev. William 0. Powell was pastor. 1982 Membership: 1,801 Members entering ministry: Crai^ Cleland, Wayne Brown, Dennis Wilkinson, Benjamin Varnell, Charles P. Adams VALDOSTA, PARK AVENUE John Curtis, Pastor VALDOSTA, REMERTON Randy J. Mosley, Pastor Suburb of Valdosta, Ga. Hwy. 94 Remerton is an incorporated suburb of Valdosta, lying south of Bay Tree and west of Jerry Jone Road. In 1900 land on Strickland Cotton Mill property was given by B.F. Strickland to build a church. First Church, of which Mr. Strickland was a member, began raising funds for a church. On February 10, 1901, Stricklands Chapel or Factory Church was organized. Services were held in a school until the first one-room building was ready. In 1930 a new church was built on the same site. Two of the six classrooms could be turned into a fellowship hall. In 1950 additional rooms were added. Rev. John Wesley Conners is considered to be the first pastor, although he was assigned as the associate to First. Remerton Circuit appears in the MINUTES for the first time in 1906 with Rev. W.S. Heath appointed to Wesley Memorial and Mission, presumably the Mission was Remerton. In 1919 Remerton Ct. included Remerton, Antioch, Providence, and Naylor. To these, in 1931, were added Staten- ville and Stockton. Since 1978 Remerton has been a station church. 1982 Membership: 144 Members entering ministry: David R. Dixon, Heyward W. Stephens Mission Field: Miss Agnes Malloy Cuba VALDOSTA, WESTVIEW Fred Foster, Pastor St. Augustine at River Road Rev. Bill Kelley, retired minister, saw the need for a church on the west side of Valdosta. With the assistance of the Fishermens Class of First Church, Bro. Bill erected a tent on the recently cleared lot and held a three-week tent revival. Out of this meeting Westview Church was organized under the tent on October 20, 1957, with 69 members. Within less than five months ground was broken for a new church building with classrooms, and on May 11,1958, the first worship service was held in the new sanc- tuary. By the annual conference in June, the members had paid off the indebtedness and it was dedicated by Bishop Arthur Moore. Rev. V.L. Daugherty, Jr. was ap- pointed as the first pastor. Fire destroyed the pulpit area on January 18, 1967, but repair began immediately. A new sanctuary was built and the old converted to classrooms. Most of its 25 years Westview has been a station except when in 1973-74 it shared charge with Camp Tygart and Kelley 1974-77 and Providence 1977-79. 1982 Membership: 209 401 WRIGHTS CHAPEL-NAYLOR CHARGE O. Kenneth Williams, Pastor WRIGHTS CHAPEL 5 Miles NW of Statenville Wrights Chapel, located in Echols County, probably was begun while Rev. Alexander P. Wright traveled the newly formed Echols and Lowndes Circuit, Thomasville District, during 1873-74. For, in 1880, seventeen acres, more or less were deeded to trustees of Wrights Chapel. At first they met in a brush arbor; then Jim and Lewis Kinsey built a pine log church with a peaked roof and shutters. This building proved too small when the Prines, Sowells, Culpeppers and Smiths began attending the church. The second building, of logs also and without windows, doubled as a school. In 1889 the conference Board of Church Ex- tension granted $50 to Wrights Chapel, which indicated a nearly completed new building. This building had glass windows and was used until the present building was begun. In 1952, using what material they could from the old building and doing the work themselves the present building was built. Later improvements include an enclosed shelter for dinner on the gounds, restrooms and a cleared area for a cemetery. 1982 Membership: 62 Member entering ministry: Robert Arthur Sowell NAYLOR Off US Hwy. 84 on Ga. Hwy. 135 In 1870 in a log schoolhouse this church was organized in the town of Naylor on the side of the railroad towards Grand Bay. Naylor, named for a Captain Naylor of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, is in Lowndes County about 5 miles west of Stockton. The first building was erected on land, given by Mrs. Asa Rooks, near the business area. Naylor shares its history with the Stockton Church which merged with Naylor in 1957. In 1870, when Naylor was begun, Stockton was on the Brunswick District with Rev. L.C. Peek as pastor. In 1882 Naylor was on the Nashville Ct., Brunswick District, with Shiloh, Milltown, An- tioch, and Salem. A grant of money toward a new building made by the Board of Church Extension indicates that Naylors church was build about 1884. The pres- ent building was being constructed with additional classroom between 1922-1925, as grants were given in those years. Over the years Naylor has been on the following circuits: Milltown, Remerton, Lakeland, Lake Park, Naylor-Stockton, Valdosta Forrest Street, Clyattville, and since 1975 with Wrights Chapel. 1982 Membership: 28 402 WAYCROSS DISTRICT William H. Hurdle, Superintendent 1401 Cherokee Drive, Waycross Although some of the churches in this district are among the oldest in the con- ference, the Waycross District was not formed until 1894. Earlier districts for this area include Ogeechee, St. Marys Hinesville, Altamaha, Jacksonville (Fla.) and Brunswick. Between 1844- 1866, all this section was part of the Florida Conference, with various district lines. For example, in 1864, the Waresboro District included Waresboro, Doctortown, Holmesville, Brunswick, Centrevillage, Coffee Mission, Ocmulgee, Irwin, Clinch, Argyle and Blackshear Mission (Black). The next year, these same churches plus a few more became the Brunswick District. In 1866 the Brunswick District was transferred to the Georgia Conference to become part of the South Georgia Conference. Although the size and shape varied, most of the churches in the Brunswick District in those years became part of the Waycross District when it was formed. In 1983 this district had 45 charges with 81 churches and 14,829 members. ALMA John M. Clements, Pastor Comer of Dixon and Fifth Streets This church was organized in 1902 at a service held in a turpentine still shelter. The first building, a one-room wooden frame, was built on 12th Street and moved in 1920 to Church Street. The second building, erected in 1940 at the present site, was traditional brick with frosted windows. The present building erected in 1976 is modern in style with hand-made brick and stained glass windows. The marble within the chancel is im- ported from Italy. In 1903 the pastor was Rev. T.D. Strong and this church was in the McRae District. In 1919 Alma was head of the Alma Circuit, Waycross District, Rev. F.A. Ratcliffe, pastor, with the following churches: Marys, Springfield, Camp Ground, and Elizabeths Chapel. 1982 Membership: 524 Members entering ministry: Bobby Coleman, Thomas Stroud, Kendrick Tillman Mission Field: Mrs. Geraldine Stout Kalso. BLACKSHEAR Freddie L. Wheeler, Pastor US Hwy. 82, Pierce County Meeting in the Old Pierce County courthouse in late 1859 or early 1860 this church 403 was organized. It met in homes and the community hall until the first building was erected in 1872. R.B. Reppard gave the material to build the church, a frame wooden building. The second, of brick, was built in 1904. Rev. R.E. Bailey was the pastor in 1904 followed by Rev. T.W. Tinley. In the 1950s this building was remodeled. The second parsonage built in 1913 became Sunday School space when a new parsonage was purchased in 1957. A screened recreation pavillion was built by the Methodist Mens Club and a new education building and fellowship hall was built in the 1960s. The pastor of the Blackshear Circuit in the early years began services for many of the neighboring towns, such as Waycross in 1873. It was a station church in 1919 with Rev. J.R. Webb, Sr., pastor. In 1912, the conference bought Presbyterian Institute for a conference high school and college, renaming it Pierce Institute. 1982 Membership: 400 Members entering ministry: C.M. Infinger, J.A. Thornton, G. Reid Smith, J. Dean Milton J.R. Hancock, Pastor BROXTON US Hwy. 441, Coffee County This church was organized as Pine Grove in 1870 and services were held in a log cabin. The name was changed to Monroe Chapel when the first building was built near J.L. Palmer home, now Dolly Barwick place, in 1886. The second name change was to honor Rev. J. Monroe Wilcox. The church moved to the present site in 1906. In 1919 the Broxton Circuit had three churches: Broxton, Oak Grove, and Union with Rev. M.B. Boykin pastor. The ground was broken for the new building on October 14, 1956, and by Oct. 10, 1965, it was free of debt and dedicated. The church bell, given by T.M. Wilcox, is still used. It weighs nearly a ton and is tuned to the key of E-flat. 1982 Membership: 76 Members entering ministry: Tharpe Byrd, Milton Leggett, R.A. Davis MARYS CHAPEL Broxton Hazelhurst Highway, Ga. 268 When this church started at Mobleys school, there were too many people to get in the building. Rev. Rich conducted a revival and more than 50 joined the church. This was in 1911 and the wooden church, built in 1911-12, is still in use. In 1975 the interior was paneled; wall to wall carpeting and new windows were installed. The name Mary was for Mrs. Mary Newbern Smith. In 1919 Marys Chapel was on the Alma Ct. with Alma, CampGround, Springfield, and Elizabeth Chapel, Rev. F.A. BROXTON CHARGE A Ratcliffe, as pastor. In 1940 it was on the Broxton Ct. 1982 Membership: 45 OAK GROVE Ga. Hwy. 107, IV2 M North of Pridgen This church was organized in 1846 in a brush arbor. A log church was built in 1850 and burned in 1910. Captain J.W. Boyd gave the land for the church and cemetery. The church served for a school during the week. In 1910 the present church was built by the Boyds, McLeans, Wilcoxes, and Dickeys and their descendants helped with the 1960 remodeling. Among the early pastors were J. Monroe Wilcox, W.K. Turner, W.F. Roberts, and Moody Booth, who held a conference in this church in 1886, as its pastor. This was probably the charge-wide quarterly con- ference. In 1919 this church was on the Broxton Ct. and Rev. M.B. Boykin was the pastor. 1982 Membership: 19 Members entering ministry: Charles Paul Bush, Jr. BRUNSWICK, ARCO Thomas H. Johnson, Jr., Pastor 12 Ross Road, Brunswick, Georgia This church is the outgrowth of a Sun- day School that met in a bunk house of the Atlantic Refining Company Plant, which was a few blocks from the present church. The church was organized March 1925 and named for the com- munity, which took its name from the plants initials ARCO. The first building was wood; the old church at Cresent was dismantled and moved to this present site and rebuilt. Sunday School rooms were built in 1942 and the sanctuary later by the side of the old building. These were renovated in 1963 and the early 1970s. In the days of the very active refinery, there were many people living in this area. Rev. J.E. Sampley, a visiting evangelist, in 1930 received 38 new members at one service and Rev. Dan Williams in 1947 re- ceived a class of 66 new members. At the beginning of this church it was part of the Brunswick Circuit and later with St. Simons. At present it is a station. 1982 Membership: 148 Members entering ministry: George Perry 405 Oscar Bell, Pastor BRUNSWICK, BLYTHE ISLAND US Hwy. 17 S. of Brunswick This church began in the home of Mrs. Mary Strickland on June 21, 1961, with 16 members. Rev. I.L. Bishop, retired minister living on St. Simons, was the first pastor and organizer. The first service was held July 30, 1961, with 22 in attendance. The present building, ce- ment block, was begun in October, 1961, and the first service was held Easter Sunday 1962 with much of the labor and materials furnished by members and friends. A parsonage was built in 1962. Classrooms were added in 1964. New lighting, windows, carpeting, and pews were installed in 1977. 1982 Membership: 59 Members entering ministry: Richard E. Dukes, Marshall B. Strickland BRUNSWICK, COLLEGE PLACE Ray A. Powell, Pastor 3890 Altama Avenue, Brunswick, Ga. One hundred and one members of McKendree Methodist Church con- stituted the charter members of this church, which began with services held in the YWCA building on Union Street. The organizing service was October 28, 1962. Various ministers supplied the pulpit until Rev. L.D. McConnell was assigned as the pastor. The first unit, brick, was a fellowship hall/sanctuary and classrooms; the south unit of the church was completed in 1964 and unit three in 1966. In 1982 services were held in the new permanent sanctuary. This unit contained a choir room, nursery and foyer. Stained glass windows are a special feature. Rev. Richard Altman was the pastor during the building of the sanctuary. 1982 Membership: 392 BRUNSWICK, EMANUEL E. Monroe Bennett, Pastor Emanuel Church Road just off US Hwy. 84 This is the oldest continuous Methodist congregation in Glynn County having been begun in 1800 on Laurel Grove Plantation with services in a home. New Hope was the name of the church until one of its moves at which time it became Emanuel. Rev. George Clark on the St. Marys and St. Ilia Ct. probably organized this con- gregation. Rev. William Gassaway also served at the beginning. The current 406 building has kept the original small building constructed after its move to this site. It has been incorporated into the building with care. Class rooms and a fellowship hall have been added in re- cent years. The cemetery was moved back from nearer the river for safety long years ago. The oldest record is that of June 20, 1829, Quarterly conference at New Hope Church. This church had the first Missionary Society organized in Glynn County in 1856. This was NOT A WOMENS organization but MEN! (The womens organization began later; this was an official body of the church that had no women officers, even if allowed to at- tend.) This church is one of the Conference Registered Historic Sites. 1982 Membership: 175 Members entering ministry: W.H. Lawton, W.G.M. Quarterman, Francis A. Ratcliff, R.G. Middleton, Gordon Dukes Jr., Randy Moseley Carlton Anderson, Pastor 1400 Norwich Street, Brunswick Organized in 1838 in the original wooden building of Glynn Academy, the city school, this church had 171 white and 60 black members. Rev. Henry T. Ritchford was the first pastor. In 1844 when the Florida Conference was formed, the lower part of Georgia was included. Brunswick was head of the Brunswick-St. Marys Ct. in the new conference. In 1866 the Georgia and Florida Conferences were realigned, and Brunswick was returned to the new South Georgia Conference as head of the Brunswick District. The wooden building, built in 1861, was enlarged in 1895. The present brick building was completed in 1907 and remodeled in 1967-68, at which time the sanctuary was redesigned with a split chancel. The front of the altar is an illuminated wood carved reproduction of de Vincis Last Supper. Centered behind the altar is an inset Cross of Passion done in facet glass. In 1953 fire destroyed the educational annex. The first unit, enlarged and rebuilt, was occupied in 1955. Bishop Arthur Moore consecrated the second unit in 1960. This church has been called First since 1886 when it became the sponsoring church for McKendree, which was the name of the First Church pastor, McKendree F. McCook. This church has hosted the South Georgia Conference in 1885,1907,1933 and 1947. 1982 Membership: 1,107 Members entering ministry: Robert Wilcox, James E. Odum, Jr. Missionfield: Diane Ramsey Criss Deaconess BRUNSWICK, GRACE Robert N. Reeves, Pastor 1707 Albany Street, Brunswick This church was organized in the old Glynn Academy School Building on BRUNSWICK, FIRST November 16, 1868. It was the first known as the Church on the Ditch as well as the Albany Street Methodist Church. The first building was wood and built in 1904. The present building was built in the early 1960s and is a modern brick with sanctuary and classrooms. Rev. J.C. Cruse was its first pastor. A member of this church, Mrs. Mary E. Dent, was the first Savannah Conference President of the Womans Home Missionary Society. In 1940 this church became part of the Central Jurisdiction of The Methodist and in 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference, this church became part of the Waycross District. 1982 Membership: 182 Nat Hamlin, Pastor Riverview Drive, Jekyll Island, Georgia This church was organized in the in- terdenominational chapel, Faith Chapel in the Millionaires Village, in September 1962. Rev. James T. Pennell was the first pastor. When enough per- manent residents settled on this island, this church was begun and the A-frame brick building was erected in 1965. The exposed beams and suspended wooden cross complement the woodsy setting on the western, riverside side of the island. By the end of 1963 the membership had grown from the original 19 to 42. Members of this church led in the effort to have the ecuminical sunrise Easter service for the Brunswick-Jekyll area held on the beach of this island. This church shares its building with St. Richards Episcopal Parish. 1982 Membership: 119 Samuel V. Taylor, Pastor US Hwy. 341, New Jesup Highway This church was organized in a tent pitched on the Jesup Highway near a lake on May 29,1960, with 75 members. The day that this church was con- stituted, Bishop Arthur Moore and all the District Superintendents of the South Georgia Conference for 1960 were present. This is probably the only church to have the Bishop and the en- BRUNSWICK, LAKESIDE BRUNSWICK, JEKYLL ISLAND 408 tire Cabinet of the conference present when it was officially constituted. The lake from which the church took its name has since been filled in, but by January 1961 a small building, the Youth Building, was ready for services. The rest of the church was erected later that year and the first services were held in August 1961. The building is of yellow brick and block construction. In 1978 a social hall and outdoor deck were built and in 1982 a new entrance for handicapped persons was added. Rev. James J. McLendon was the first pastor. For the first two years this church was sponsored and financially helped by First Church. In 1967 it was selected as Church of the Year for the Waycross District. 1982 Membership: 300 Members entering ministry: Charles Ricks, Richard Mitchell, Pam Ledbetter BRUNSWICK, McKENDREE James Thomas Gray, Pastor 905 K at Norwich Streets, Brunswick In 1891 this church was begun as a mis- sion effort of First Church with a Sun- day School in the rapidly growing sec- tion of Brunswick. The pastor of First, Rev. McKendree F. McCook, preached at both places following the organiza- tion of this church on February 8, 1891, with 4 members. The first building was erected in 1890-1 and remained in use until during the preaching service the pastor, Rev. A. A. Waite, Sr., looked toward the rear of the sanctuary and saw daylight streaming in between the corner of the church and the entry where the steeple was. He quietly dismissed the congregation and asked the officials to remain. He pointed out the crack. This unexpected need to build caused the church much work, but in 1942 the present building replaced the old wooden sanctuary. The educational annex was added where the parsonage stood. During the flu epidemic of 1893, Rev. Edmund Cook, the pastor, and one other pastor stayed to minister to the sick and dying. McKendree bought land to relocate near the new college, but the decision was made to remain in this location. Some of its members became the charter members of the new church, College Place. 1982 Membership: 320 Members entering ministry: Alvis A. Waite, Jr., Scott Douglas BRUNSWICK, TAYLORS Rudolph Starling, Pastor 326 Old Jesup Road, Brunswick This church was organized in 1810 by Rev. John Collingsworth. Through the years it has had several names: Chapel, Brunswick Chapel, The Chapel, Burnetts, Taylors Chapel, and now shortened to Taylors. In 1864, Silas W. Taylor erected and presented a new building to the church, hence the name change. This building was brick veneered when the educational unit was remodeled. This church has been on several circuits before it became a station church. In 1919 it was part of the Granberry Ct. with Everett City and Mt. Pleasant, Rev. J. A. Cook, pastor. In 1930 409 it was part of the Brunswick Circuit with Arco, Darien Emanuel, Everett City, Mt. Pleasant, and Wesley Memorial, Rev. Roy Sampley, pastor. At this time the parsonage was on The Ridge at Darien. It was during this time that the first services were preached in a tabernacle on St. Simons. In 1939 it was Arco-Taylors with Arco, St. Simons, Emanuel and Taylors. The parsonage was at Arco, and Rev. I. L. Bishop was pastor. 1982 Membership: 314 Members entering ministry: Joseph B. Andrews, Vardy Woolly, JohnE. Brodess, E. Floyd Mitchell DARIEN-MORGANS CHAPEL W. Raymond Wilder, Jr., Pastor DARIEN US Hwy. 17, McIntosh County In the beginning of the colony of Georgia John Wesley, the religious leader of the new colony, visited the Highlanders and stayed two days in January 1737. Methodism came to this area as a campground in 1802 and by 1835 this church was being served on a circuit. Rev. Thomas Williamson is among the first pastors. The early circuits were Liberty, St. Marys, and Savannah. It has been in the Brunswick, Hinesville, and other districts since its start. A wooden building, begun in 1841, was remodeled in 1874. Blown down by a storm in 1883, it was rebuilt in 1884 probably using as much of the yellow pine from the old building as possible. The ladies, having organized into a Ladies Sewing Society with 8 members in 1878, made money for the construction and furnishing of the new building by piecing quilts. The pastor assigned to Darien rowed over and preached on Sunday afternoon at the newly finished St. James Chapel, St. Simons in 1880, now Lovely Lane, Epworth-by-the-Sea. In 1919 the Townsend and Darien Ct. was made up of Darien, Townsend, Reynolds, Barrington, Davis Memorial, and Jones, Rev. J. E. Barnhill, pastor. In 1940 it was Darien, Crofton Memorial, Mid- way, Morgans, Mt. Pleasant, and South New Port. 1982 Membership: 151 MORGANS CHAPEL Off US Hwy. 17 toward Shellmans Bluff Before the turn of the 20th century all through the small settlements in McIntosh County there were small Methodist churches. When paved roads came, these churches disappeared. Reynolds Chapel before 1851, named for Rev. Andrew Reynolds, closed in 1920; Jones services discontinued in 1920s; Barrington begun in 1890 became inactive in the late 1930s. These churches were on Bishop Moores 410 first work out of Townsend. This chapel, named Morgans, has its past entwined with these churches. The wood for this churchs first building in 1925 was donated by Duke M. McIn- tosh. Fire destroyed that budding and another was built and later moved to the present site. This was dismantled after the present concrete block building was built in the late 1960s. Sunday School rooms were added after the old building was removed in the 70s. Rev. R. F. Owens was the pastor on the Townsend Darien Ct. when this church was begun. In 1933 Rev. E. F. Morgan began serving the Darien Mission, although he was retired and in ill health. The name of the chapel was for him in honor of his service to them. 1982 Membership: 60 DOUGLAS, FIRST Terry DeLoach, Pastor 300 Block of North Peterson Ave. With 5 charter members this church was organized at a service in the court- house in August 1888. Rev. Carey M. In- finger, pastor of the Broxton Circuit, was the first pastor. The old wooden courthouse was purchased and used for services for 5 years. About 1895 Mr. B. Peterson built and furnished a new building on East Jackson Street. In 1906 a brick building was erected on North Madison Street, Rev. L. A. Hill, pastor. In 1953 the whole block was purchased and work was begun on the complete new plant. While Rev. Frank Robertson was pastor, the educational building and social hall were completed and services were held in the social hall while the old sanctuary and education building were torn down. In 1959 work began on the new sanctuary, chapel, offices and classroom, and they were in use in April 1960, Rev. McCoy Johnson, pastor. Additional improvements have been made to the Social Hall building with additional class rooms, outdoor storage, and a playground. A porte cochere has also been added at the office area. This has been done during pastorate of Rev. Carlton Church. 1982 Membership: 814 Members entering ministry: Ira Dent, Joel Dent, Emory Cartrett, James Spooner Mission Field: Johnny Kitchens Chili DOUGLAS, ST. MARK W. Carl Howard, Pastor N. Gaskin and E. Walker Streets This church was a mission begun and supported by First Church. Services were 411 begun in a tent and on May 23,1954, the church was organized with 12 members. A house on College Avenue was pur- chased and the interior wall removed to provide space for worship. This present building was erected in 1961 with the educational unit being used for the sanctuary to begin with. Additional rooms and sanctuary were built in 1962. Rev. Louis O. Puckett was the first pastor, followed by Rev. L. P. Mingledorff. 1982 Membership: 228 Members entering ministry: Ralph S. Bailey, John S. Mathis Regina Santos, Pastor BETHEL Off U.S. Hwy. on old Homeland Road West of Folkston on the west side of post road from U.S. 23 to old Homeland Road is located this church called Bethel. It is on the site of Alligator Creek Church. It was organized before 1872 in a log building. In 1872 the pres- ent building was built; the lumber from a sawmill in Kings Ferry, Fla., was brought up the St. Marys River to Traders Hill and hauled to the present site by ox team. The sills were put together with wooden pegs. It is still in use. For a period of time it served as the school during the week. Bethel Cemetery is adjacent to the church. Among the circuits to which it belonged is Traders Hill and Folkston. It has been in the Brunswick District. 1982 Membership: 13 Members entering ministry: Bailey Gay HOMELAND Cotton Street, Homeland, Georgia In 1906 the town of Homeland was set- tled by a company from the north as a colony town and provisions were made for a church in the town plans. This church began in 1908 in the 1906 Colony Company Building. On February 6, 1914, 21 members from Ottumwa, Iowa, living in Homeland joined the Homeland Methodist Church. Rev. I. B. Kelly was the first pastor of the first building erected in 1912 and shared with the Baptist Church. The present wood: frame building was built in 1916. The interior was remodeled and five classrooms added in 1948. Additional rooms were added in 1979-81. When the school building 412 FOLKSTON CIRCUIT was torn down, the bell that had been used regularly for school was given to the church. During the 1930s and 40s a layman and leader of this church, Cyrus W. Waughtel and his family, organized several community Sunday Schools and a mis- sion church. 1982 Membership: 57 PROSPECT Ga. Hwy. 1216 miles S. of Folkston In 1870 this church was organized with 12 members. The first building, of logs, was located near Chesser Island on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. This building was moved to the present site, but was destroyed by fire in 1896. When it was rebuilt, the rafters and windows came from a church in Folkston destroyed in a hurricane. Rev. Emory Frank Dean served as pastor at least four dif- ferent times, beginning in 1875, and was responsible for most of the renovation. In 1918 a steeple was added to the church. Up until 1939 this church was part of a small conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia and Florida. While in that church it was in the St. Marys River Circuit. In 1940 it became a member of the South Georgia Conference. Classrooms were added as well as electricity in 1946. In 1959 the sanctuary was enlarged with new pews added. More classrooms were added then too. The parsonage for the Folkston Ct. was built beside this church in 1954. 1982 Membership: 60 Members entering ministry: G. Harrison Jacobs TRADERS HILL Off Ga. Hwy. 121 near St. Marys River About 5 miles south of Folkston and off the paved road there is a cemetery where once a church stood and where a thriving community served traders from across all of Georgia, even as far west as the early towns near Columbus. This church was begun before the middle of the 1840s, and revival services were always planned in the week of the full moon because everyone walked to church and it was easier with the light of the moon. The first church was a square, unpainted, wooden, shingled- roofed structure set high upon hewn lightwood foundation logs. Six kerosene lamps with metal reflectors along the wall were lit for evening services. In 1931 a new wooden building was erected across the road where the most recent church stood. There is no church building, but there are members on this circuit and trustees of this property. St. George is another church on this circuit that is now closed. It has had two beginnings 1908-67 and in 1975. 1982 Membership: 16 413 FOLKSTON, FIRST William E. Harrell, Pastor Corner of Oak and Third Streets, Folkston This church was organized in 1886 in the Masonic Lodge hall. The first building, built on Mills Street, was destroyed by a storm in 1896. It was rebuilt. Rev. J. M. Boland was the first pastor. During the 1880s and 1890s there was also a Methodist Episcopal Church in Folkston. In 1913 this church was moved from the first location to the present site on Third St. In 1924 classrooms were added and the outside stucco finished. This was dismantled in 1951 to make way for the current brick building. In 1919 Folkston had two other churches on the charge: Traders Hill and Homeland. Rev. L. W. Walker was the pastor. In 1946 Folkston was a station. 1982 Membership: 420 Members entering ministry: T. E. Pickren, Elmer Lamar Wainwright, Eustice L. Wainwright, David Karlbom, Emory C. Gilbert HOMERVILLE Hugh E. Shirah, Pastor US Hwy. 441 and 84 This church was organized in 1875 with services in the courthouse. The first building was on a lot called Railroad Square, given by the railroad. On this lot in 1878 the Methodists built a taber- nacle for revivals and camp meetings. It was round, open-air building that would seat 2,000. It was torn down in 1907. The Sunday School began in 1876 as an outgrowth of an interdenominational Sunday School led by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crum. The present building was built in 1913-14. In 1945 the educational building was built. The fellowship hall was built and the present building remodeled be- tween 1963-68, the outside of the church being covered with Georgia marble. A par- sonage was purchased in 1883 and used until 1914 when the present one was built. This was remodeled in 1956. Homerville was the head of the Homerville Circuit in 1919 with Rev. O. B. Talley, pastor, and the following churches: Shiloh, Manor, An- tioch, Argyle, Homerville, and Dupont Chapel. 1982 Membership: 247 Members entering ministry: Michael Jarvis KINGSLAND F.J. Beverly, Pastor William and Satilla Streets In 1896 Henry King, for whom the town was named, deeded a lot for the Methodist 414 church. Members of Zion Methodist Church transferred their membership to this new church, a one-room wooden building. As the membership increased, the Kingsland school, across the street, was purchased and used for a church. 1939 Mr. W. Chester King gave the land for the present church. While this was under construction, the Kingsland Mer- cantile building on Railroad Ave. was used for services until the building was completed in 1941. A memory chapel for members who served in World War II was included with pews from the first church, and a section of Zion Churchs altar rail was used. A two-story educational building was built in 1954, and building a kitchen and offices and renovation of the sanc- tuary took place in 1980-81. A new parsonage was built in 1978. 1982 Membership: 339 MANOR CIRCUIT Jack McCall, Pastor MANOR US Hwy. 84, Ware County, Manor, Ga. This church was organized in a newly completed church building on September 30, 1894, with 15 charter members. Rev. J. T. Ainsworth, father of Bishop Ainsworth, was pastor of Waresboro Ct. at the time; so he began preaching at Manor one Sunday after- noon a month. In November 1894 it was placed on the Waresboro Circuit and Rev. John Foye was assigned as pastor. The wood for the first building came from the nearby forests, hauled by mule and wagon to a sawmill, twelve miles away, and back to the site. The roads were trails through the woods. In 1944 the current building was built. It is designed in a T-shape and will seat 125. The chancel is raised and furnished with pulpit, communion table, chairs and pedestals for flowers. These plus the panels to enclose the choir and altar rail are made of matched oak of a shade so to absorb the refracted light from the three sectioned frosted windows. The pulpit furniture was custom made from antiques from the home of Mr .and Mrs. W. S. Booth. In 1919 Manor was on the Homerville Circuit, as well as in 1940. It has been head of a circuit for twenty plus years. 1982 Membership: 32 ANTIOCH 9 Miles South of Argyle, Ga. In Clinch County near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp among tall pines, is a small one-room, high-arched-roof building, painted red with white trim. There is no electricity or modern comforts and there is silence all about. This is Antioch, 415 begun in 1844 by a Methodist local preacher, Rev. Irwin R. Booth, who had settled in Clinch County after moving from South Carolina. For nearly 50 years he ministered in this area. The an- nual Christmas celebration is a time when everyone brings a lamp or lantern, Christmas goodies, and a gift to ex- change. There is an old fashioned tree and singing of carols. 1982 Membership: 8 ARGYLE US Hwy. 84, Clinch County When the railroad came through this section of the state, at every section a small settlement developed, and into these came Methodists beginning a church. Homerville was the end of the line at one time. In 1919 Argyle was on the Homerville Circuit with Antioch, Homerville, Argyle, Shiloh, Manor and Dupont Chapel, Rev. O. B. Talley, pastor. In 1930 it had 60 members with 3 adults being baptized on profession of faith. In 1940 the charge was composed of Homer- ville, Argyle, Cogdell, Glenmore, and Manor, Rev. L. C. Harvard, pastor. 1982 Membership: 35 NEW PROSPECT Millwood Road, Manor, Ga. This church was built in 1860 with) about 35 members meeting in a log: school house. Since this says New' Prospect, there must have been ai church prior to this whose beginnings have been lost. The first building was: log. Among the earlier pastors was Rev. Bascom Anthony who served the: Waresboro Ct. when he was a young preacher. In 1919 New Prospect was a part ofi the Waresboro Ct., Rev. J. G. Hardin pastor, with these churches: Fairfax, Glen- more, Ruskin, Axson, Milwood, and Waresboro. In 1933 Rev. S. P. Clary was the1 pastor of the Waresboro Charge with New Prospect, Fairfax, Roxie Mae, Glenmore,. and Waresboro. It was in that year that the present building was built. In the early 1950s the inside was remodeled and pews were secured by Rev. F. J. Beverly from a courthouse near Columbus when they replaced theirs. The seats all have a star design in the backs. 1982 Membership: 40 Members entering ministry: David L. Inman 416 NAHUNTA CIRCUIT To be Supplied NESBY CHAPEL Old Jesup Highway, Nahunta, Georgia This church is located in the town of Nahunta, Brantley County, Georgia. It was begun about 1940 with a meeting in a house. The first building was one- room wood built to the left of the pres- ent building and used until a mobile chapel was placed on the site in 1975. At which time the old building was torn down and services conducted in the mobile chapel until the present building was finished in 1979. This church was named for Mrs. Eliza Nesby, a charter member. This church had been in the Georgia Conference and the Savannah Conference before that. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference, this church on the Nahunta Ct. became a part of the Waycross District. The conference helped this church to com- plete its new building with plans and help from Kingdom Builders Fund. HAVENS CHAPEL US Hwy. 341 at Sterling Community This Church was organized in 1870 with 15 members. It is in Glynn County just beyond the intersec- tion with Ga. Hwy. 99. The present building replaced a wooden one- room building built around the beginning of this century. Among the early pastors is Rev. A. G. Amos. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference became a part of the South Georgia Conference this church became a part of the Waycross District. At this time it became the first church that the conference helped to plan for a new building and to help the congregation get it built. It was a pioneer in a block and brick construction with a multipurpose sanctuary and fellowship hall and class rooms. It has since built a sanctuary adjoining this first unit. 1982 Membership: 19 1982 Membership: 51 NEW HOPE Off U.S. Hwy. 84 at Brookman, Glynn County This church is located on the Old Emanuel County Road just off U.S. 82. It was begun in 1876 with the people meeting under a grape arbor at the home of Prince Wiggins. The church built of wood is probably the second building, and was built around the late 1890s. In 1972 this church was a part of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference when it merged with the South Georgia Conference. It then became a part of the Waycross District. The following summer the church was 417 painted by the Conference Work Team, a group of youth who gave their services to the conference for the summer to help repair and paint church property, working with some of the youth of this church. The thing that the youth remember about this job was the quan- tity of paint the old building absorbed, and how they sat about and talked while someone went into Brunswick for more paint. 1982 Membership: 50 This church was organized in 1854 with 20 members. Their second church was built after the Civil War and a third was built in 1911. The present building replaced the 1911 and is concrete block erected in 1969. There is a very old cemetery under the oak trees by the side of the church. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Con- ference this church, on the Nahunta Charge, became part of the Waycross District. Before this merger it was a part of the Georgia Conference and before that the Savannah Conference. It gets its name from a charter member, Mr. Jack Sheffield, SHEFFIELD Pennick Road, Glynn County Sr. 1982 Membership: 42 NAHUNTA PIERCE CHAPEL Irie M. Cyree, Pastor NAHUNTA US Hwy. 84, Nahunta, Georgia Just beyond the intersection of US Hwy. 301 on US 84 stands a small white church with a fellowship hall to one side. This church was organized in 1919 with 15 members in a meeting in a home. The site of the present building is the spot where the four-year-old son of Mr. Billie Robinson played before he died, and on the site Mr. Robinson built this church. The fellowship hall was built in 1975. This was made possible in part by the sale of the Atkinson Church, which had begun in 1890 in the Atkinson community just six miles away, but across the Satilla River. Atkinsons first building had burned and a concrete block building on 418 the highway had replaced it. Discontinued in 1970, its members transferred to Nahunta. 1982 Membership: 113 PIERCE CHAPEL Route 1, Hoboken, Georgia When this church was organized it was in Pierce County, the deed for the land was January 8, 1890. The first building was of wood structure, a simple one- room country church, but it is here that the young railroad man, turned preacher delivered his first sermon. Bishop Arthur Moore returned several times to preach in this site of his first sermon. That church burned in 1967. The present building is brick veneer, the basic building having been moved from Waycross after the fire. 1982 Membership: 40 NICHOLS CHARGE Freeman Porter, Pastor NICHOLS Ga. Hwy. 32, Nichols, Georgia The present church building is the third building for this congregation since it began as a Sunday School in the Ses- sions community in 1874. The first building, a wood structure, was located a short distance east of Meeks Cemetery. In 1900 it moved to Nicholls where in 1910 a larger wooden building with a belltower was erected across in front of the new brick school. In the 1910 MINUTES of the conference a grant of $100 was given from the conference Board of Church Extension, which meant that a new building was speedily to open free of debt. In 1961 the land for the present site was given by R. L. Lott and William M. Denton, and the new concrete block building was open for services in October. In 1979 a social hall was built and in three years completely paid for, being dedicated December 1981. In its earliest years Nichols was on the Bickley Ct.; then in the early 1900s Nicholls became head of the circuit. Among the very early pastors were J. C. Ahern, B. F. Beals, D. F. Morrison, J. D. Sayder, Aaron Kelly, R. B. Ross, I. R. Kelley, and H. L. Boyd. 1982 Membership: 79 BICKLEY Talmo to Nicholls Rd. Ware County This church was organized on March 25,1888, under the oak trees at the home of 419 William Manning Denton. The earliest members brought their own cowhide- bottom chairs to meet under the oak trees. The original building was made from wood sawed from logs at Denton Sawmill, and the same building is still in use, having been remodeled in 1935, 1954, and in 1976 covered with vinyl siding. The present pews are re-done from original hand-hewn pews of the first church. The Sunday School rooms and fellowship hall were built from Homegrown trees. The social hall was named for Alvin Carter when it was built in 1956. This church was first named Marys Chapel for Mr. Dentons wife, but then it was changed for Rev. C. T. Bickley who was the pastor at one time. 1982 Membership: 114 When this section was open to settle- ment after the Indian treaty, Methodist Societies were begun in this area. The actual meetings are not documented but began well before the dates for this church building. This church held serv- ices in a brush arbor around 1880 and then in a log cabin. The area was known as Taylor Town School and Campground. In 1905 a one-room frame building was erected. Jim Pat Tanner grew, cut, and sawed the timber for the second building, and Billie Tanner and Wade Belcher did the carpentering. The present brick building was built in 1957 and Bishop Arthur Moore dedicated it. In 1918 Camp- ground was on the Alma Charge, Rev. F. A. Ratcliffe, the pastor, with these churches: Alma, Campground, Marys Chapel, Springfield, and Elizabeths Chapel. In 1928 the Alma Charge had Alma, Rockingham, Holton, and Campground. In 1956-57 it was the Nicholls-Campground Charge. Since 1963 it has been on the Nicholls charge. CAMPGROUND N. of Ga. 32 between Alma and Nicholls 1982 Membership: 79 PEARSON John C. Rentz, Pastor US Hwy. 441, South This church was organized in 1872 and given the same name as the town, as Benaja Pearson deeded an acre of land to the church. Before the third church was built in the early 1900s, two buildings had burned, one when lightning struck the steeple, the second by vagrants using it for a shelter. In 1956 the fourth building was erected on the same acre of land. Pearson was head of a circuit for many years before it became a station. In 1919 the circuit had Bridges Chapel, Wesley Chapel, Pearson, Live Oak, Sweetwater, and Kirkland with Rev. W. C. Rahn, pastor. In 1940 the circuit had Pearson, Kirkland, Sweetwater, Millwood, Axson, and Wesley, Rev. James Agee was pastor. 1982 Membership: 131 In the 1919 MINUTES of the con- ference, the individual churches are listed and Axson is on the Waresboro Circuit with Waresboro, New Prospect, Fairfax, Glenmore, Milwood, and Ruskin. Its building is constructed of wood and is the original building although it sat further from the road originally. In the early days it had a partition down the center to separate the men and women. It served as the school for grades 1-9 until the 1920s. PEARSON CIRCUIT Ben E. Pitts, Pastor AXSON US Hwy. 82, Axson, Ga. 1982 Membership: 24 KIRKLAND US Hwy. 82 in Kirkland, Atkinson Co. This church, named for Timothy Kirkland, was begun in 1887 or 88 in a one-room log school house. The first pastor was Rev. Daniel Morrison. In 1890 the log building was replaced with the wooden building that is still being used. It was built on land deeded in 1890 by John C. Nichols. As early as 1919 Kirkland was a part of the Pearson Circuit. At that time there were Pearson, Bridges Chapel, Sweetwater, Kirkland, Live Oak, and Wesley Chapel. In 1956 Rev. Jody Thigpen, guest preacher, held a revival and 50 new members joined the church during the two-week revival. 1982 Membership: 61 SWEETWATER US Hwy. 441,22 Miles N of Pearson, Ga. Three-quarters of a mile west of the present building in a log school this church was organized in 1888 with 10-12 members. It takes its name from nearby Sweet Water Creek just north of the church. This is the original church, brick veneered, with new windows and air-conditioning added in 1979-80. The original hand-carved altar rail and pulpit are still used. It, like the neighboring church, had a door on each end and 421 both sides. Rev. H. T. Ethridge was the first pastor and Rev. K. Read the presiding elder of the Waycross District. Other early pastors included Rev. A. A. Ellenwood, Daniel Morrison, and H. W. Morrison. 1982 Membership: 54 Members entering ministry: Jeff D. Corbitt Mission field: Duvon Corbitt, Jr., C. H. Meeks, Sr. PIERCE COUNTY CIRCUIT Robert W. Hendrix, Pastor MARTHA MEMORIAL Near Bacon-Appling County Line Located south of Mershon, this church was begun in a brush arbor in the early 1900s. It is named for the founders mother, Mrs. Martha Smith. With the help of the 60 members, Alfred Smith, the founder, built the first and present building in 1935. During the 1960s in- terest waned because of only one Sun- day a month, but new life has returned in the 1970s with the dedicated work of Joe Thigpen, lay leader of Blackshear. It has a weekly worship service, Sunday School, 1 prayer meeting, and UMYF. Since 1976 a kitchen and rest rooms have been added, as well as carpeting, paneling, stained glass windows, new piano, new pews, pulpit furniture, and new lighting. 1982 Membership: 38 MERSHON Ga. Hwy. 32, Pierce County This church was organized in 1885 with 3 members meeting under the trees and in a home. The name of the church is that of the town, named for Judge Mar- tin L. Mershon. The first wooden one- room building was built in 1885. A sec- ond building, erected in 1908, stood near the railroad and was still standing for years after the new building was built on the highway in 1949. Rev. William McDonald was the first pastor. In 1917 the preacher came by train; his preaching appointments were along the railroad from Offerman to Mershon. He came on Saturday night and spent the night with one of the laymen, preached, caught the train to the afternoon appointment, then back for the night service, or on to a third 422 town. Although Mershon had been the head of a circuit since 1910, there was no parsonage on the charge. The first time a list of individual churches appear in the conference MINUTES is 1919 when the Mershon Circuit had Mershon, Bristol, Rockingham, Sardis, Wesley Chapel, and Friendship with Rev. C. E. Smith, Sr. as pastor. 1982 Membership: 45 PATTERSON US Hwy. 82 at Ga. Hwy. 32 This church was organized before the turn of the 20th century and its first church was begun in 1907, a brick building, but not completed until 1919 as the members built it and could only work in their spare time. In the early 1930s the educational building was con- structed and a new larger one built in 1958. A steeple, covered walkway and kitchen have since been added. As there was no parsonage, the preachers lived in the T. J. Dixon home and the H. C. Martin home. In 1915 Patterson was the head of a circuit with Rev. C. T. Bickley, pastor, followed by Rev. L. R. Pilcher and Rev. D. A. Cook. In 1963-4 this church received the Town and Country Award given by the conference, and in 1976 the Pierce County Circuit was awarded the Circuit of the Year for the Waycross District. 1982 Membership: 35 Members entering ministry: Archie Bob Dixon, Danny Martin WARDS MEMORIAL Blackshear, Georgia This church began with a Sunday School held on the top floor of a gin house in 1898 by Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Ward. When the Sunday School grew too large for that space, they moved to the seed room of the gin and from there to meeting in the Summerall Schoolhouse. Before the church was built, the Wards, for whom the church was named, would invite preachers to hold services. Many of the young men going to Pierce Collegiate Institute were invited to the services and to the dinner. Mr. Ward would come for them in a buggy. Among those who served before and as the church became a part of the conference were Rev. Jonathan Clough, D. A. Cook, T. N. Sweat, C. C. Buchanan. Mr. Ward served as the Sunday School Superintendent from 1898-1937. Mrs. Ward taught Sunday School from 1898-1945. 1982 Membership: 52 423 ST. JOHNS Earl Parrish, Pastor Off. Ga. Hwy. 121,M. S. of Blackshear The establishment of this church was a dream come true for Mr. and Mrs. J. 0. Ward of Blackshear who visited Mrs. Sallie Steedley Dedge to solicit her in- terest in starting a Sunday School in her home. This resulted in the organizing of St. Johns in 1902 with 15 members. Rev. R. E. Bailey, pastor of Blackshear, came for preaching as the first pastor. In 1903 the first building was built and in 1932 was moved down the road about V2 mile. Mr. and Mrs. Lawton Shuman gave the land. Sunday School rooms were built in 1952 with the interior of the church being extensively remodeled in 1962. Other improvements followed with carpeting and air conditioning in 1970-71. A fellowship hall and additional classrooms were added in 1972. The sanctuary was completely redone and the seating capacity doubled in 1974. A parsonage was pur- chased in 1978 when St. Johns became a station. In 1976 St. Johns was the Church Charles L. Houston, Jr., Pastor 106 E. Conyers Street, St. Marys While Rev. George Clark was sent to the St. Marys River in 1792 by Francis Asbury to begin a mission, it was not until 1799 when Rev. John Garvin came that this church was established. At the end of the year there were 14 members, blacks and whites. After a lot was given by the town trustees in 1812, the first building was erected. John Silva described the Methodist church as a plain wooden building ... quite in keeping with their ideas at that time, though it enjoys the luxury of a bell. The bell, in- scribed 1838, hangs in the chapel built in 1858. Further mission work (in 1822 Rev. Glenn had begun services on Amelia Island in Florida) was begun with establishing a church on Cumberland Island. Later the pastor conducted monthly meetings at Millers Bluff. Other churches connected with St. Marys Circuit are Temple, Antioch, Centervillage, Forest View, Harriets Bluff, and Zion. Services were disrupted by the yellow fever epidemic and again by the occupation of the area by Federal troops during the Civil War. In 1858 the old building was given to the Black members, Greater Trinitys beginning, and the white frame chapel built in its present location. In 1892 the gallery was removed and gas lights installed. In 1931-5 a two-story education building erected. In 1952 this church became a full- of the Year for the Waycross District. 1982 Membership: 107 Members entering ministry: J. A. Thornton ST. MARYS 424 time appointment. A modern brick educational building and fellowship hall were dedicated by Bishop John Owen Smith in 1962. Plans began for a modern sanc- tuary and the first services were held in 1966. Rev. Loy Scott was the pastor and Dr. Aubrey Alsobrook, Waycross district superintendent. The wooden education building of 1935 was razed to give needed room. In 1981 this church was designated the Conference Historical Site No. 7. 1982 Membership: 523 ST. MARYS CIRCUIT GREATER TRINITY Ashley and Osborne Sts., St. Marys, Ga. This church was organized in the 1850s in the St. Marys Methodist Church by Black members originally members of that church. The location of the first wooden building was swapped for the present location so a school could be built. Rev. T. S. Collins was pastor dur- ing the move. The present building was built in the 1970s with Rev. U. C. Dukes as pastor. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Con- ference, this church on the Woodbine Circuit became part of the Waycross District. At that time plans were begun for building the new building. J. P. Collins, Pastor 1982 Membership: 155 CARNEGIE CHAPEL Kinlaw Community, Camden County This church is located four miles north of Kingsland, Ga., in the Kinlaw com- munity where this church began under a brush arbor in 1895. Rev. T. Thompson was the first pastor. The church was named for Mrs. Lucy Carnegie of Cumberland Island in appreciation for her financial gift to get the church started. She also gave the church a Bible. The first building was a one-room wooden building, which in the mid-1970s was enclosed with block with classrooms and rest rooms added. The interior has been remodeled and the windows replaced at this time. In 1972 this church was a part of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference that merged with the South Georgia Conference. It was part of the Woodbine Circuit and became a part of the Waycross District at that time. In 1983 it was placed on the St. Marys Circuit. In the early days the choirs sang without music. One choir was invited to sing against a city church choir and won great praise in the competition. 1982 Membership: 98 425 PINCKNEY CHAPEL US Hwys. 301 and 23, Folkston, Ga. Around 1870 this church began as Spat- cher Chapel when the Black members withdrew from Traders Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The wooden building was erected on land donated by A. G. Gowen. In the middle 1950s the pastor was Nathan Charlton, who had been a missionary to Liberia in his younger days. He was instrumental in securing land and erecting the church building in Folkston. In the late 1960s remodeling began on the old building and in 1974 the present sanctuary was built with the help of conference work teams and members of the church. Before 1972 this church was a part of the Georgia Con- ference of The Methodist Church, and with the merger of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference with the South Georgia Conference this church became part of the Waycross District and part of the King Solomon Charge. In 1983 it was placed on the newly formed St. Marys Circuit with Greater Trinity in St. Marys, and Carnegie in Kingsland. 1982 Membership: 69 ST. SIMONS John B. Carroll, Pastor Ocean Boulevard, St. Simons Island, Ga. Before the organization of this church on its present site, there was an organized church on the Frederica Road meeting in a tabernacle built in the early 1930s and served by the pastor from Darien, Rev. Roy C. Sampley. It was away from the ma- jority of the full time residents, so it became a part of the community church near the present church site. Alfred Brockington, who had belonged with his father, Captain Sammy, to the first organization, desired an active Methodist Church. Rev. A. A. Waite, Sr. and Rev. I. L. Bishop, pastors in Brunswick at the time, helped to organize this church in the home of Alfred Brockington, November 19, 1938. There were 104 members. Its names have been Wesley, Memorial, St. Simons Methodist, Wesley Chapel and again St. Simons. It was placed on the Arco-Taylors Charge with Rev. I. L. Bishop the pastor in 1938. The first building was of hollow tile with the Sunday School rooms added of the same tile in 1940 and 1947. The sanctuary was enlarged in 1950. In 1954 the parsonage was built. The Davis Thorpe building was built in 1971 with memorial gifts from many other groups as Mr. Thorpe was the bus driver for the high school students. The Woman Society of Christian Service was organized in 1943 by Mrs. I. L. Bishop. During 1980-81 the church sponsored a Laotian refugee 426 family. A four-day fund raising campaign for a new sanctuary was held and the new building begun. The former sanctuary was maintained as a chapel when the new building was open for worship in 1981. 1982 Membership: 1,163 WARESBORO CIRCUIT Marvin Leggett, Pastor Roy Jacobs, Associate WARESBORO Us. Hwy. 82, W. of Waycross, Ga. Shortly after the town of Waresboro was settled there were Methodists gathered for services. In the early records the preacher from the Waresboro Circuit preached at the beginning of the church in Waycross. In the conference MINUTES OF 1842, Waresboro Mis- sion is supplied by Seaborn Childs, in the St. Marys District of the Georgia Conference. In 1845 it became a part of the Florida Conference until 1866 when those churches in the lower half of Georgia were returned to Georgia and the South Georgia Conference was formed. It was as part of the Waresboro Mission that the first services were held in Waycross. In 1888 this church was organized; Rev. J. G. Stern was the first pastor. There were 17 members and they met in a new building. The present building was built in 1935 with the youth building being added later. The inside has been remodeled and made comfortable. In 1919 the Waresboro Ct. had Waresboro, Fairfax, Millwood, New Prospect, Glenmore, Ruskin, and Axson, Rev. J. G. Hardin the pastor. In 1940 had Fairfax, New Prospect, Waresboro, Bickley, and Roxie Mae. 1982 Membership: 67 ELIZABETHS CHAPEL Route 2, Alma, Georgia This church was built in 1886 by Pete Lee who contracted to huild it for $100. It is a frame building and named for the wife of the founder, Elizabeth Taylor. This church has been remodeled inside to make it comfortable with modern conveniences. In 1919 MINUTES of the conference, individual churches appear for the first time, Elizabeths Chapel is on the Alma Circuit with Alma, Marys Chapel, Elizabeths Chapel, Camp Ground, and Springfield. Rev. F. A. Ratcliffe was the pastor. In 1940 it was on the Alma circuit with Elizabeths Chapel, Rock- ingham, Sardis, Martha Memorial, Friendship, Springfield, and Wedley. 1982 Membership: 73 427 Rockingham. In 1940 it was on the Alma FRIENDSHIP Route 3, Alma, Georgia This church began in a brush arbor in the late 1870s. Rev. C. I. Morgan was the first pastor. In 1912 the present wooden building was built. In 1919 Friendship is part of the Mershon Circuit with Rev. C. E. Smith, Sr. pastor. The other churches were Mershon, Bristol, Friendship and Circuit. 1982 Membership: 15 ROXIE MAE Off Ga. Hwy. 158, Coffee County This church is located off the Axson- Nichols county road. Organized in 1909 the first church was built on land given by Sarah Ann Davis Southerland. This is the original building with the cemetery across in front of the entrance. In 1931 this church was on the Waresboro Circuit and shows a gain of 5 members for a total of 35 that year. Rev. S. 1982 Membership: 26 WAYCROSS, BROOKS MEMORIAL superintendent of Waycross District. Waycross. 1982 Membership: 165 WAYCROSS, FIRST P. Clary was pastor. Harold W. Hankins, Pastor 400 Pinehurst Drive This church was organized in January 1955 in the home of Rev. Homer Sum- merall, and Rev. David Lastinger was the first pastor. The first unit was finished in 1955 and the church school annex constructed in 1970. This church is named for Rev. J. C. G. Brooks who served three different pastorates in Waycross: Trinity, First Church, and When he retired he lived for many years in Charles A. Culbreth, Jr., Pastor Danny Mac Smith, Associate 428 Gilmore and Reed Streets Methodism came to Waycross with the preaching of Rev. H. P. Myers in the little house that served for school and church. At the close of his message, he opened the doors of the church and 3 ladies joined by certificate: Mrs. Susan Lott, Mrs. J. H. Redding, Mrs. W. H. Thomas. Rev. Myers was pastor of the Blackshear Circuit. In 1874 the first building, wooden frame, was erected at State and Oak Street. In 1892 the membership was 500 and a new church was planned. In January 1893 ground was broken and the first services were held in October. Rev. George Matthews was pastor and at the annual conference he reported it paid for. In it was held the 1894 Annual Conference. In 1942 the Paul Harley Memorial Building was added. This contained a chapel named for Bishop Arthur Moore, who was converted at the altar of this church in 1909. In 1962 a new educational building was built. In 1971 a new sanctuary was built. It is of contem- porary gothic design featuring wood molding, antique brick, limestone and slate, soaring ceiling beams and faceted glass. The spire is 75 feet capped by a gold cross. May 1973 the Arthur Moore Chapel and Cornerstone consecration service had three participating bishops: Bishop Moore, Bishop John Owen Smith, Bishop William R. Cannon. Each had presided over the South Georgia Conference. This church has hosted the annual conference session in 1894,1922,1938 and 1945. 1982 Membership: 1,073 Members entering ministry: Eustqn Clements, H. C. Ewing, J. W. Hitch, Arthur J. Moore, John S. Sharpe, Edwin Johnson, Alton Murphy, Walter S. McCleskey, Thomas M. Lee, C. C. Long, Stanley Smith, Jr., David Clark Johnson, Mark Lanier Johnson, John C. Rente, M. C. Austin, John W. Faires, Willis Francis, Hugh Howell, Ashley Hobbs, William E. McTier, Jr., Julian Tucker, Elizabeth Copeland, Robert A. Walker, Rodney E. Moore, Jr., James B. Duncombe, Mrs. Annie Louise Johnson Lee Strother, Pastor Washington Ave. Gilchrist Park In 1910 this church was organized as the Washington Street Church, Rev. C. W. Snow as pastor. The 1910 MINUTES show that the conference Board of Church Extension gave $150 grant to this church, which meant that it would soon open for service, debt free. Rev. R. F. Owens was assigned to City Mission at that time. The next year it appears listed as Gilchrist Park, so named for the community. Rev. W. T. Blevins was assigned as pastor. The Sunday School was first sponsored by First, and the original church had dividers hanging from the ceiling which were let down by ropes and pulleys to make classrooms. Rev. John Hays, who had no car, walked from Hebardville to hold service. During the depression the church services were discon- tinued. In 1940 a white frame building was built. A concrete block education building was added and in the 1960s the present building was built. Rev. Mrs. An- nie Louise Johnson was the first woman pastor in the Waycross District, when she WAYCROSS, GILCHRIST PARK BR/BB i r / filled out the year at Dr. Basil Osipoffs death. They requested her return at conference. 1982 Membership: 215 Members entering ministry: Carl Howard, Byron C. Davis Joseph A. Newton, Pastor 509 Ware Street, Waycross Sunday School was organized in 1906 in a vacant house and the church followed in 1909. The community was named for the Hebard Cypress Company so the churchs name was changed from Deen- wood to the name of the community. For the first services they used cypress boards, borrowed from the mill, for pews. Rev. J. W. Lilly had been pastor for 4 years when Hebard appears in the MINUTES as the listing. In 1928 the womens work was organized as a Golden Jubilee Society because it was organized in the 50th year of the Womans Missionary Society. The church was remodeled in 1935, with classrooms built in the 1950s. In 1956 this church became a station church. It supported a missionary family 1964 and 1966 and assisted the Waycross District Youth Work Teams to Costa Rica in 1968 and 1969. 1982 Membership: 141 Members entering ministry: Lonzie Wester, Jr. WAYCROSS, JAMESTOWN Jamestown Section, Waycross In 1890 this church was organized as Corinth during services in the Old James Schoolhouse. Rev. M. C. Austin was the first pastor. In 1919 it was a part of the Hebardville Circuit with J. C. Jones as pastor and the following churches: Hebardville, Deanwood, and Heyward. In 1931 it was on Hebardville Charge as Jamestown with Deanwood, Hebardville, Ruskin, and Gilchrist Park, Rev. C. B. Ray, pastor. The present building was built in 1956, and classrooms with a fellowship hall were added. A new parsonage was built in 1976. In 1956 Jamestown became a station church. E. N. Bazemore served as secretary-treasurer of the Sunday School for 42 years and never missed a Sunday. 1982 Membership: 293 Lonzie H. Wester Jr., Pastor k WAYCROSS, HEBARDVILLE 430 KING SOLOMON SCOTTS CHAPEL Eugene Rogers Allen, Pastor KING SOLOMON Hicks and King Streets, Waycross, Ga. This church first met in a brush arbor when it was organized in 1872. Later it met in a house and then a church building. The first buildi.ng was erected in 1891 on a hill with steps facing the Brunswick and Albany Railroad. In 1929 it moved to the present location where the church was remodeled exten- sively during Rev. Grahams pastorate. In 1940 it was destroyed by fire. The pres- ent building was begun in 1940. When this church was begun, it was part of the Savannah Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and among the first pastors were Rev. J. H. Lenon and Rev. John Crawley. In 1940 it became a part of the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church and in 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Con- ference this church became part of the Waycross District. Rev. Robert Reeves was pastor and Rev. Alvis Waite, Jr. the district superintendent. In the very early years, the communion bread was made wafer thin using two heated smoothing irons. The wine, served in a silver goblet, was made from grapes growing abundantly in the area. This church has been the host to both the Savannah and Georgia Conference several times. 1982 Membership: 93 SCOTTS CHAPEL Highway Avenue, Blackshear, Ga. This church was organized in 1862 and was part of the Savannah Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and then of the Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church after 1940. In 1972 when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference, this church was a part of the King Solomon Charge with King Solomon and Pickney Chapel. It became a part of the Waycross District of the South Georgia Conference. The original building was torn down and the present building built during the pastorate of Rev. George Washington. While Rev. David Rooks was pastor a kitchen was added to the educational wing and carpet and a piano added to the sanctuary. 1982 Membership: 51 WAYCROSS, TRINITY J. Harold Tucker, Pastor Church at State Street, Waycross Methodism came to Waycross in 1870s by the preaching of the pastors on the early circuits near by, both Blackshear and Waresboro. Rev. H. P. Myers is credited with organizing the first group in the Union Church in the school near the present site of Trinity Church. This was probably a log building, or rustic frame. In 1873 a frame building was built and soon the need for two churches was seen. In 1895 a red brick building was built facing Church street and along its side ran the important Dixie Highway, U.S. 1. In the mid-1920s a youth hut was built and a tabernacle for the towns use for revivals was built at the end of the block on State St. side. Later this would be removed and an annex built in its place. In 1954 the present building was begun to the left of the old building on the site of the old brown wooden parsonage. In the early years the Sunday Morning Love Feast inspired Frank L. Stanton to write his poem, Love Feast at Waycross. 1982 Membership: 1,091 Members entering ministry: James Agee, Bernard Brown, John Lough, C. S. Newton, Jr., Clark Pafford, Scott Douglas, Bird Yarbrough, Monroe Yarbrough, Colvin Morgan, Dan Williams, A. W. Orville L. Ferris, Pastor 1924 Ben Hill Street, Waycross This church began as the result of a revival meeting conducted by Rev. J. C. G. Brooks, pastor of First Church. It was organized with 30 members on September 30, 1939, in services held in an old commissary building. The church was named for the community in which it is located. The construction on the first unit began on July 4, 1941, with members making the cement blocks themselves. They purchased a few sacks of ce- ment at a time and made hand-made blocks at Gibson Brothers Oil Company Sta- tion. The first service was held April 11, 1943. The first pastor was Rev. W. A. Sedgwick. The parsonage was constructed partly from material in the old Fairfax church. In 1955-58 a new educational annex was constructed; sanctuary was carpeted, new pews, pulpit furniture and organ added. In 1961 the sanctuary was air conditioned. The first womens group was a Womans Society of Christian Service organized by Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Kellam of First Church. 1982 Membership: 301 Members entering ministry: Monroe Bennett, F. J. Beverly, Carroll Crosby, Garnet Lance, Deborah Pittman, Jonell Robinson Mission Field: Eunice Fairchild Duncan WAYCROSS, WINONA PARK 432 WEST GREEN CHARGE Mrs. Annie Louise Johnson, Pastor WEST GREEN US Hwy. 221, Coffee County In 1915 about ten miles north of Douglas a small town was named West Green for Mr. Westbrook and Mr. Green, two owners of big tracts of land. In this period a wooden one-room building was built for the new church. Earlier Mr. George Washington Lott had given land for a school and a Methodist and Baptist Church, so two identical buildings were erected side by side. Then the right-of-way for paving the highway required so much of the land, a new lot was purchased and the present church was built in 1952-55 during the pastorate of Rev. Byron C. Davis. It is wood with white asbestos siding. Improvements have been added, rest rooms, air-conditioning, new pews, window and lighting fixtures. In 1969-70 a fellowship hall was added. Mrs. J. A. Wiggins, wife of the pastor in 1949-52, organized the Womens Society of Christian Service. This church has been on the Nichols Charge as well as the Lone Hill Circuit. 1982 Membership: 63 EXCELSIOR Ga. Hwy. 268 at Ga. Hwy. 107 This church is located at Snipesville between Broxton and Hazelhurst in Jeff Davis County. It is 5 miles from Denton. This church was established in 1934 through the consolidation of William and Hearn Chapels. It took its name from that of the school located across the road. The material for the building came from the two earlier churches Williams Chapel founded by Rev. John Williams in 1890 and Hearns Chapel begun while Rev. S. A. Hearn served the Hazelhurst Ct. in 1905. In 1919 Williams Chapel was on the West Green Ct., Rev. D. F. Miles pastor, with West Green, Lone Hill, and Marys churches. Hearns Chapel was on the Graham Ct., Rev. S. W. Snead, pastor, with Graham, Zoar, Philadelphia, and Rocky Branch. Both these circuits were in the McRae District. In 1940 Excelsior was on the West Green Ct. with Lone Hill, Midway, West Green, and Nicholls, Rev. I. K. Chambers, pastor. 1982 Membership: 29 Members entering ministry: William H. Hinson LONE HILL Broxton-West Green Rd., Coffee County The story is told that a circuit rider came to hold services at the site of this church 433 and no one came, so he called it Lone Hill. The first building was erected on this site between 1848 and 1854; it sat on a slight hill in a grove of trees, and that setting is still preserved, although the present building was erected in the late 1800s. It was moved further back from the road in 1946 and the interior remodeled. The fellowship hall con- nected by a covered walkway was erected at that time. In 1922 the parsonage for the West Green charge was at Lone Hill near the church. The adjacent cemetery contains the graves of the early set- tlers to the community. In 1919 Lone Hill was on the West Green Ct. in the McRae District. In the same district in 1922, Rev. W. C. Bryant was pastor of the West Green Ct. 1982 Membership: 106 WHITE OAK CIRCUIT Phil Partin, Pastor WHITE OAK Folkston Rd., White Oak, Ga. White Oak is on US Hwy. 17 in Camden County. This church is on the south side of Ga. Hwy. 252 and was organized in the late 1880s. The first building was built in 1894 just east of the railroad behind White Oak Inn. There is a pastors report made in 1892 by Rev. R. B. Ross, and Rev. W. C. Langston reported to the Quarterly Conference in 1895 that the White Oak Sunday School was organized May 28 with 45 pupils. In 1919 White Oak Ct. with Rev. W. W. Hill, pastor, had Marvin, Province, Waverly, and White Oak Churches. In 1947 fire destroyed the church; and on land, given by C. L. McCarthy, the present church was built in 1949. It is white asbestos siding. On June 5,1949, it was dedicated. Rev. W. B. Taylor was pastor. 1982 Membership: 55 BICKLEY CHAPEL On Tarboro to Atkinson Rd. Camden Co. This church is on the Old Post Road near Harrell Old Field in Camden County. Its very earliest beginning are not certain, but around 1834 the original congregation was meeting in a log meeting house. The church was blown down by a storm October 2, 1898, and was rebuilt; Rev. F. A. Ratcliffe was the pastor on the White Oak Ct. at that time. Services continued in this building until 1930 when a brush fire from a nearby saw mill destroyed the church. For a while services were held in homes and a brush arbor and in 1948 the present building of block with casement windows was built. The church was named for Rev. C. T. Bickley who served this charge in the 1880s. 1982 Membership: 19 HORSE STAMP Horse Stamp Church Rd., Waverly, Ga. Eastward from the intersection of Ga. 110 and US Hwy. 17 at Waverly, Ga. this church is located. Its unusual name is pronounced stomp for the action of horses. There are several accounts of how the name came about. The church was organized about 1814 in a clearing in the woods where General Longstreet had his headquarters in the War of 1812. The horses stomped down the under- brush. The other story is that the horses ridden to service were bitten by the horse flies and all during service they were heard stomping. Although the proposal to change the name has occurred at least twice, the name has remained. The first building was of logs; other frame buildings have followed. A plain frame one was built in 1926. During the pastorate of Rev. Alvin Lynn this church took on new life and a new building was built adjacent to the frame building. In 1982 a chapel in that building was dedicated to Rev. Lynn. The church sign reads Horse Stamp United Methodist Church and Lynns Chapel of the Pioneers. 1982 Membership: 57 PROVIDENCE Incahnee Road, 2 M. North of Tarboro This church was located on this site in 1856 after having been built at the loca- tion of Bickley Chapel in the 1830s. A storm had destroyed the building, and a new location was chosen. The name Pro- vidence was chosen for Gods provision for his people. This is the original building with the ceiling boards hand- planed by Alexander K. Stewart, and the benches in use are the original hand-made ones. The land was a gift in 1856 of David and Elizabeth Lang. The first record of a pastor is Rev. N. D. Morehouse in 1867. An interest note is that at one time the church was painted red. 1982 Membership: 26 WAVERLY US Hwy. 17 on Ga. Hwy. 107 This church is located in Waverly, Ga. west of the railroad just off of Atkinson Rd. (Ga. Hwy. 107) in Camden County. With about 12 families this church was organized in 1895 with Rev. Whitley Langston, pastor. The first church was built in 1895 just south of the present site. The present one was begun in 1948 with the first service being held March, 1952, and dedicated on August 2, 1953. The lovely windows are memorials. While Rev. S. P. Clary was pastor in 1967-8 he was planning a new fellowship hall, but he died before it was completed. When finished, it was named S. P. Clary Social Hall. This church has been on the White Oak Charge in the Waycross District since it was begun except for a period when it was on with the Brunswick Circuit. 1982 Membership: 56 WILLACOOCHEE CHARGE Ronald Register, Pastor WILLACOOCHEE US Hwy. 82, Atkinson Co. This church is located one block off of U.S. 82 on Ga. Hwy. 90. It was estab- lished on September 5,1885. Rev. H. T. Ethridge, the first pastor, preached a revival and over 100 persons joined the church. The church erected a wooden building which has been remodeled with an educational building added. The Nora Ladson Annex was built in 1948. Between 1954-1961 extensive renovations were carried out including, memorial windows, new pews, piano, carpeting, and air conditioning. At this time it was brick veneered. In 1906 this church was host to the District Conference. During a revival that year Miss Bessie Oliver dedicated herself to the mission field. The parsonage for the Alapaha and Willacoochee Charge in 1908 was in Willacoochee. In 1919 Moody Booth was the pastor for the Willachoochee Circuit that included Willacoochee, Roberts Chapel, Beulah, and Glory. Then and in 1940 this charge was in the Valdosta District. In 1928 the members of Grays Chapel united with this church. 1982 Membership: 160 Members entering ministry: W. E. Chappie, O. Lamar Studstill Mission field: Miss Bessie Olivei Korea BEULAH Ga. Hwy. 90 Between Lax and Willacoochee The conference evangelist, Rev. Francis A. Ratcliffe held a tent-revival and as a result this church was organized in 1915 with 40 members. They met in a brush ar- bor before the small one-room wooden building was erected. Rev. Quincy Pinson was the first pastor. The land for the first building was given by Dr. and Mrs. Jeff Willcox. In 1966 on land given by Elton O. Metts, Sr. a brick building with 436 classrooms and a kitchen were built in 1966, with additional rooms and a fellowship hall being added in 1975. The Lords Acre Program is an annual observance ending with the Thanksgiv- ing Celebration. The women have been actively engaged in the womens pro- gram since 1948. 1982 Membership: 78 WOODBINE Lewis W. Strickland, Pastor Corner of 4th St. and US 17, Woodbine, Ga. When the railroad came to this area the new town of Woodbine was born; so the church that was organized May 3,1896, drew its members from Antioch and Forest View Churches. Forest View was southeast in Floyds Neck begun in 1885 with a building erected by 1890. The membership was transferred to Woodbine in the ear- ly 1900s. Antioch was established in the Colesburg community, south of Woodbine in 1891, the land and building were given by J. K. Bedell who named the church Antioch. Their membership transferred to the newly organized Woodbine in 1896. Rev. G. G. N. McDonell had dedicated Antioch on November 1, 1891. The center core of the present Woodbine church was erected in 1896 on land given by Mr. Bedell. The church was organized May 3, 1896. The first Womens Missionary Society was begun in 1902. The church was remodeled in 1930 with educational space added in 1938-45 and in 1955. The original building is now brick veneered. In 1945 this church became a station. 1982 Membership: 217 Members entering ministry: Jack McCullough, Jr., Zack Colson WOODBINE CIRCUIT Ernest S. Aucomfar, Pastor HAMILTON CHAPEL Woodbine, Ga., Camden County This church began in 1905 in the home of Sister Vivie James. Later a brush arbor was erected on the site. A simple one-room wooden structure sat to the east of the present building and was used until this present building was ready; then it was sold. Rev. P. W. Rock was the first pastor. Several small chapels have merged with this church: Bellview, Widows Chapel from Colesburg in 1926, and Wesley Chapel, Jeffersonton in 1970. Wesley Chapel was closed because the population of the area dwindled. This church was made from the Old Camden Courthouse when Jeffer- 437 sonton was the county seat. The old hanging tree was just behind the church. This church was built in 1872. Hamilton Chapel began plans for a new building in 1966 and the first service was held in July 9, 1972. In June 1972 the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference and this church became a part of the Waycross District. Rev. U. C. Dukes was pastor of the Woodbine Circuit. 1982 Membership: 94 CLINCHS CHAPEL Tarboro-Owens Ferry Rd., Tarboro, Georgia Across a creek on the unpaved road at the intersection of roads in Tarboro, Ga. 252 from White Oak to Folkston, stands a modern block church painted white, begun in 1963. But its beginning goes back to the slaves of two plantations who desired a place to come together, to sing and worship God. It began in a brush arbor near Big Tower Swamp on the new post road where Kings land and Clinchs land met. The 1896 wooden building was made from trees which were taken to the mill at Celon and cut into boards. Then loaded on rafts, they were floated to Owens Ferry where they were brought by ox carts to the site. A storm blew this church down. In 1901, on land given by J. H. M. Clinch for a small sum of money a building was built. Rev. A. B. Fish was pastor. Earlier Brother Zachery Butler had preached to the slaves from the Owens, King and Clinch plantations; now these were their descendants. In 1972 this church was part of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Con- ference. It was on the Nahunta Circuit and became part of the Waycross District. In 1893 it became part of the Woodbine Circuit. 1982 Membership: 137 OAK HILL 2 Miles W of Jerusalem on the Post Road This church is located in Camden Coun- ty a little way off Bartrams Trail. Organized before the Civil War for years it didnt know its denomination. Follow- ing the Civil War it was unused; several groups tried to buy it, but the Methodists succeeded. For a time it was also used as the school. The wooden 438 building was built in the early 1900s, and in 1973 the South Georgia Conference Work Team helped to begin a new concrete block building. In 1972 this church was part of the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference when it merged with the South Georgia Conference, and this church and the Woodbine Circuit became a part of the Way cross District. 1982 Membership: 74 439 INDEX TO THE INDIVIDUAL CHURCH HISTORIES A Abbeville..................134 Adel...................... 369 Adrian.....................202 Ailey......................226 Akin Memorial..............313 Alamo......................204 Albany, Avalon..................335 Christ..................335 First...................336 Morningside.............337 Palmyra Road............337 Porterfield.............337 Putney..................338 Trinity.................338 Alapaha....................370 Aldersgate, Columbus............... 172 Macon ................. 255 Savannah................282 Alexander..................334 Allentown..................217 Alma.......................403 Alpha (Bloomingdale).......276 Alston.....................220 Americus, Concord.................135 First...................135 Lee Street..............136 Morningside.............136 and Benevolence Salem...................137 Andersonville..............137 Andrew Chapel, Americus Dist...........138 Macon Dist..............246 Antioch, Lennox Chg.............381? Manor Ct................415 Sale City Ct............361 Arabi...................->7139 Arco.......................405 Argyle.....................416 Arline.....................243 Arlington..................339 Asbury, Columbus............... 172 Jeffersonville Chg......253 N. Baxley Ct............296 Savannah................283 Waynesboro Ct...........332 Asbury Memorial............283 Ashburn....................139 Attapulgus.................339 Avalon.....................335 Axson......................421 B Baconton...................340 Bainbridge, First..........340 Barney.....................382 Bartow.....................204 Barwick....................342 Bass.......................256 Baxley, First..............295 Bay Springs, Alamo Chg...............204 B.S.-Piney Mt...........229 Beech Springs..............271 Bellville..................298 Bemiss.....................398 Benevolence ChaunceyChg.............142 Cuthbert................184 Morningside, Am.........136 Berlin.....................371 Bethany, Girard Chg..............306 Newton Ct...............358 Bethel, Calvary Chg.............347 Crawford Co. Ct.........248 FolkstonCt..............412 Jacksonville Ct.........153 KiteCt..................222 Marion Co. Ct...........193 Stapleton Chg...........232 Surrency-B. Chg.........330 Wrightsville Ct.........243 Bethel Brick...............299 Bethesda, Bethesda-Goshen.........275 Girard Chg..............307 Bethpage...................364 Bethlehem..................153 Beulah, Sylvester...............395 Willacoochee............436 Bickley Nicholls Ct.............419 White Oak Ct............434 Bighams Chapel .......... 188 Black Creek................318 Blackshear.................403 Blakely, Circuit.................341 First...................342 Bloomingdale (Alpha).......276 Bloomfield.................256 Blue Springs...............318 Bluffton...................361 Blythe Island .............406 Boiling Springs............206 Bold Springs...............345 Bonaire .................. 246 Boston.....................343 Box Springs................185 Branchville................359 Brannen Chapel.............328 Brantley...................193 Brewton....................206 Brinson................... 344 Bronwood...................140 Brookfield.................372 Brooklet...................299 Brooks Memorial Brooksville............... 197 Browning...................241 Broxton....................404 Broxton Ct.................404 Brunswick, Arco....................405 Blythe Island ..........406 College Place............406 Emanuel................. 406 First....................407 Grace....................407 Jekyll Island............408 Lakeside ................408 McKendree................409 Taylors.................409 Buck Creek.................300 Buckhorn...................207 Buena Vista................171 Bullock Co. Ct.............301 Burns Memorial.............362 Butler.....................171 Byromville.................141 Byron......................247 c C.P. Miller, Sav...........284 Cadwell....................208 Cairo, Circuit..................345 First....................346 Calvary, C.-BethelChg.............347 Swainsboro...............234 Camilla....................348 Camp Tygart................378 Campground.................420 Carnegie Chapel............425 Carters Chapel............213 Cataula....................188 Cecil......................370 Cedar Crossing.............220 Cedar Grove, Chester Chg..............209 C.G.-Hardens Chapel----219 Wrightsville, First.....245 Centenary, Dublin ...;..............212 Macon....................257 Centennial.................348 Center ................... 208 Centerville, Blakely Ct...............341 Macon Dist...............248 Central, Fitzgerald........375 Charing....................189 Charlestown................328 Charlotte..................220 Chauncey...................142 Cherokee Heights...........257 Chester....................209 Christ, Albany...................335 Arlington................339 Warner Robins............273 Chula......................373 Clayton P. Miller..........284 Claxton .................. 302 Clements Chapel............168 Climax.....................367 Clinton....................251 Clinchs Chapel........... 438 Clyattville................374 Clyo...................... 279 Cobbtown...................302 440 Cochran, First.............143 Longstreet...............143 Cokesbury..................284 Coleman, Ft. Gaines Chg...........354 Coleman Chapel.............210 College Place..............406 Collingsworth..............198 Collins....................303 Colquitt...................349 Columbus, Aldersgate...............172 Asbury...................172 East Highland............173 Edgewood.................173 Epworth..................174 Hamp Stevens-Trinity 173,174 Midway...................175 M.L. Harris..............175 and Stephens Chapel.....176 Rose Hill................176 St. Andrew...............177 St. John.................177 St. Luke.................178 St. Mark.................178 St. Marys Road..........179 St. Paul.................179 Sherwood.................180 South Columbus...........180 Striplin Terrace.........181 Wesley Heights...........181 Wynnton..................182 Community..................390 Concord, Americus.................135 Hopewell-C. Chg. Am. Dist. 152 Cooks Union...............366 Coolidge...................360 Cordele, First....................144 and Midway.............. 144 Peavy Memorial...........145 and Seville..............145 Cordray....................356 Corinth, Adrian Chg...............202 Ellaville-C..............148 Talbotton Chg............199 County Line................138 Crawford Co. Ct............248 Crooked Branch (Bethel) ... 330 Crosby Chapel..............297 Cross Keys.................258 Crossroads.................162 Crowell....................270 Cusseta....................183 Cuthbert...................184 D Daisy .................... 309 Damascus, Leary Chg................356 Sumner Ct................393 Danville..................17 Darien ................... 310 Davisboro................ 211 Dawson .................. 145 Dawson Street............ 363 Deepstep..................211 Dellwood..................234 Desoto....................155 Dexter................... 212 Dixie.....................350 Dixon.....................250 Dodges Chapel.......... 156 Doerun................. 375 Doles.................... 258 Donalsonville, Friendship .. 350 Dooley Campground........163 Douglas, First...................411 St. Mark................411 Doveral...................149 Drayton...................141 Dublin, Centenary...............212 East Dublin.............213 First...................214 Howard Chapel...........215 Pine Forest.............215 Pine Hill ............. 216 Dudley....................216 E Easons Chapel............309 East Dublin...............213 East Highland.............173 East Macon................259 Eastman...................146 Ebenezer, Macon...................259 Morningside, Thom. Dist. 365 Nepsey-Warren Chg.......228 Stillmore Chg...........232 Edgewood..................173 Edison....................361 Elizabeths Chapel........427 Elko......................147 Ellabell..................278 Ellaville.................148 Ellenton..................391 Ellerslie.................200 Ellis Chapel..............325 Emanuel.................. 406 Emory Chapel..............303 Enigma....................370 Enterprise................161 Epworth, Columbus............... 174 Jesup.................. 312 Savannah................284 Eureka....................301 Evans Chapel..............201 Evelyn, Moultrie..........383 Evergreen.................213 Excelsior.................433 F Faceville.................353 Faceville Circuit.........353 Fair Haven .............. 304 Fairview .................363 Fargo ..................... 392 Finelyson..................163 First, Alamo...................204 Albany..................336 Americus................135 Bainbridge..............340 Baxley..................295 Blakely.................342 Brunswick...............407 Cairo...................346 Cochran.................143 Cordele.................144 Douglas.................411 Dublin..................214 Eastman.................146 Folkston................414 Hazelhurst..............310 Jesup . ................313 Moultrie................384 Perry...................162 Reidsville..............321 Statesboro..............327 Swainsboro..............235 Sylvania................330 Thomasville ............363 Tifton..................395 Valdosta................399 Vidalia.................239 Warner Robins...........273 Waycross................428 Waynesboro..............334 Wrightsville............245 First Street...............260 Fitzgerald, Central.................375 St. Peters..............376 Fleming (Mt. Olivet).......279 Folkston, Circuit.................412 First...................414 Forest Hills...............260 Forrest Street.............399 Fort Gaines................354 Fort Valley................ 250 Friendship, Cairo Ct................ 346 Donalsonville...........350 Eastman, First..........146 Vidette Chg.............332 WaresboroCt.............428 Funston....................376 G Garden City................285 Garfield...................305 Geneva.....................185 Georgetown.................186 Georgetown Ct..............186 Gethsemane.................214 Gibson.....................225 Gilchrist Park.............429 Girard.....................306 Glenwood...................218 Glenwood Hills.............261 Glenville ................. 307 Glory......................371 441 Goloid, Rocky Ford Chg...........323 Statesboro Ct............328 Gordon.....................251 Goshen.....................275 Grace, Brunswick................407 Savannah.................285 Vidalia..................239 Graham.....................296 Graves.................... 149 Gray ......................251 Greater Trinity............425 Greens Cut................332 Grooverville...............343 Grovania...................147 Guyton.....................276 H Habersham..................305 Hagan......................308 Hahira.....................377 Hamilton...................188 Hamilton Chapel............437 Hamp Stevens.............. 174 Hand Memorial (Pelham) .. 361 Hannatown..................340 Hardens Chapel............219 Harding....................373 Harmony Colquitt Chg.............349 H.-Manassas..............309 HilltoniaChg.............312 Harpers Chapel............304 Hartsfield ................362 Hatley ................... 150 Haven Chapel...............417 Haven Memorial ........... 333 Hawkinsville...............151 Hazelhurst.................310 Hebardville................430 Helena.....................151 Henderson..................147 Herrington Memorial......396 Hillcrest Heights..........261 Hilltonia ................ 311 Hilton.....................341 Hinesville.................277 Homeland...................412 Homerville.................414 Hopewell, H.-Concord, Am. Dist...152 Faceville Chg.......... . 353 Glenville Chg............308 S. Baxley Ct.............298 Horse Creek................324 Horse Stamp................435 Howard ....................189 Howard Chapel..............215 Hubert.....................300 I Ideal......................160 Ingleside................. 261 Inner City.................286 lone ......................360 Iron City.................. 344 Irwinton....................252 Irwinville..................377 Isle of Hope................286 J Jacksonville................153 Jacksonville Ct.............153 Jakin.......................345 Jamestown...................430 Jeffersonville ............ 253 Jeffersonville Ct...........253 Jekyll Island...............408 Jesup, Epworth...................312 First.....................313 John Wesley Circuit.......220 Jordons Chapel.............247 Joycliff....................262 Juniper.....................185 K Keas........................203 Kelley......................400 Keysville...................242 Kimball.....................386 King Memorial...............286 King Solomon................431 Kings Chapel...............378 Kingsland...................414 Kirkland....................421 Kite........................221 Knoxville...................249 Kramer......................166 L Lake Park...................379 Lakeland....................378 Lakeside ...................408 Lambs Chapel...............240 Landsburg...................218 Langston....................301 Laurel Branch...............254 Leary.......................356 Lee Street, Americus........136 Leesburg....................154 Leets Chapel............. 325 Lelia.......................379 Lenox.......................380 Leslie......................155 Liberty, Macon..............263 Liberty Hill Abbeville Chg.............134 Jeffersonville Chg........254 Lilly.......................141 Live Oak................... 398 Lizella.....................255 Lone Hill...................433 Long Pond...................227 Longstreet..................143 Lothair.....................223 Louisville..................223 Louvale (Marvin)............183 Lovett......................206 Lowery......................213 Lucy Chapel...............271 Ludowici..................277 Lumber City...............156 Lumpkin...................191 Lynmore...................263 Lyons.....................224 M M.L. Harris...............175 Macon, Aldersgate..............255 Bass....................256 Bloomfield..............256 Centenary...............257 Cherokee Heights........257 Cross Keys..............258 Doles.................. 258 East Macon............. 259 Ebenezer................259 First Street............260 Forest Hills............260 Glenwood Hills..........261 Hillcrest Heights.......261 Ingleside ..............261 Joycliff................262 and Smiths Chapel.....262 Liberty.................263 Lynmore.................263 Martha Bowman...........264 Mulberry Street.........264 Park Memorial...........265 Pitts Chapel............265 Riverside...............266 Shurlington.............266 South Side..............267 Swift Creek.............267 Vineville...............267 Wesley..................268 Manassas..................310 Manor.....................415 Maple Springs.............243 Marion Ct.................193 Marlow....................276 Marvin, Center-M. Charge.......209 Cusseta Ct. (Louvale)--183 Marshallville.............268 Martha Bowman ............264 Martha Memorial...........422 Marys Chapel.............404 Matthews Chapel...........201 Mauk......................189 McBride...................300 McKendree.................409 McRae.....................157 Meigs.....................357 Meldrim...................278 Meltons Chapel...........296 Mershon...................422 Metcalf...................364 Metter....................314 Middleton Memorial.......278 Midland...................194 Midville..................314 Midway, Columbus................175 Cordele, First..........144 442 Midway-Fleming..........279 Milan-Mt. Zion..........158 SopertonChg.............231 Milan.....................157 Milford...................357 Millen....................316 Millikin..................330 Mitchell..................224 Mizpah....................280 Montezuma.................159 Montrose..................217 Moores Chapel............222 Morgan....................352 Morgans Chapel, Darien ... 310 Morningside, Albany..................337 Americus................136 Thomasville ............365 Morven....................381 Moultrie, Evelyn..................383 First...................384 Tyson Memorial..........384 Mount Moriah (Mt. Moriah), Statesboro Dist.........316 Trinity Ct..............236 Moxley....................205 Mt. Calvary...............373 Mt. Carmel................154 Mt. Olive.................161 Mt. Olivet, Chauncey Ct........... 143 Midway-Fleming Chg.....279 Mt. Pleasant (Akin Mem.) .. 313 Mt. Vernon................226 Mt. Zion, Clyattville Ct..........375 MUan-Mt. Zion...........158 Morven Chg..............382 Mt. Moriah-Mt. Z........236 Palen-Mt. Zion..........287 Mt. Zion-St. Marys.....317 Mulberry Street...........264 Munnerly..................333 Musella.................. 249 N Nahunta...................418 NahuntaCt.................417 Nan Williams..............326 Nannie B. Williams........326 Nancy Williams Memorial .. 139 Nashville.................385 Naylor....................402 Nepsey Memorial...........227 Nepsey-Warren Chapel-----.. 227 Nesby Chapel..............417 Nevils....................318 New Beulah................237 New Branch................236 New Hope, Bartow Chg..............205 NahuntaCt...............417 N.H.-Nevils Chg.........317 New Lowell................355 New Prospect Graves Chg..............149 Manor Ct................416 New Union ............... 154 Newington.................318 Newton....................358 Newton Ct.................358 Nicholls..................419 Norman Park...............385 North Baxley Ct...........296 Northview.................273 o Oak Grove, Boston-Barwick Chg.....344 BroxtonCt..............405 Rhine-O.G..............166 Rocky Ford Chg.........323 Simmons Ct.............326 Oak Hill..................438 Oak Park..................233 Oak Ridge, Herrington Mem. 396 Oakey Grove...............228 Ochlocknee................357 Ocilla....................386 Odum......................320 Oglethorpe................159 Olive Branch..............186 Oliver....................319 Omaha.....................183 Omega.....................387 Ozell.....................350 p Pachitla..................197 Palen.....................287 Palmyra Road..............337 Patterson.................423 Paynes Chapel............305 Park Avenue...............400 Park Memorial.............265 Parkers Chapel...........205 Parrott...................160 Parrott Ct................160 Patten .................. 361 Pavo......................360 Pearson, Circuit................421 First..................420 UvaldaChg..............238 Pearsons Chapel..........238 Peavy Memorial............145 Pelham, Hand Memorial ... 361 Pembroke..................280 Perry, Crossroads.............162 First..................162 Philadelphia..............311 Pickney Chapel............426 Pierce Chapel, Midland Chg............195 Nahunta-P.C. Chg.......419 Parrott Ct.............162 Pierce Co. Ct.............422 Pine Forrest..............215 Pine Hill, Dublin.................216 Mitchell Chg...........225 Piney Grove...............320 Pine Level, Howard Ct................190 Oglethorpe Chg...........160 Valdosta.................387 Pinehurst..................168 Pineview.................. 163 Piney Mt., P.M.-Bay Springs.........229 Wrightsville Ct..........244 Pinson Memorial, Sylvester . 394 Pittman Park...............327 Pitts......................167 Pitts Chapel, Macon.......265 Plains.....................164 Pleasant Springs.......... 211 Pooler (Trinity)...........281 Popular Springs............203 Port Wentworth.............281 Portal.....................321 Porterfield................337 Poulan.....................388 Powells Chapel............222 Powersville................269 Preston....................195 Prospect, FolkstonCt...............413 Twiggs Co. Ct............272 Providence, Lumpkin Chg..............191 Valdosta.................388 White Oak Ct.............435 Putney.....................338 Q Quitman....................389 R Ray City...................389 Rebecca....................165 Recovery...................353 Reidsville, First..........321 Remerton ..................401 Rentz......................208 Reynolds...................270 Reynolds Chapel...........366 Rhine......................165 Richland.................. 196 Richmond Hill..............281 Rincon.....................282 Riverside..................266 Robert Mclntire............288 Roberta....................271 Rochell....................166 Rockledge..................223 Rocky Ford...... ..........322 Rosebud....................254 Rose Hill..................176 Roxie Mae..................428 Ruths Chapel..............238 Rural Hill.................196 Rylander...................164 s Sale City Ct...............361 Salem, Americus.................137 Irwinton-Toomsboro......252 443 S.-Shiloh, Va. Dist.....390 Sandersville...............230 Sardis, Lumpkin Chg.............192 S.-EUis Chapel, St. Dist. .. 325 Woodland Chg............201 Sasser.....................150 Savannah, Aldersgate..............282 Asbury..................283 Asbury Memorial.........283 Clayton P. Miller.......284 Cokesbury...............284 Epworth.................284 Garden City.............285 Grace...................285 Inner City..............286 Isle of Hope............286 Mt. Zion................287 Palen ..................287 Robert Mclntire.........288 St. Luke................288 Silk Hope...............291 Speedwell ............. 288 Trinity.................289 Wesley Monumental.......289 Wesley Oak..............290 White Bluff.............291 Whitefield..............292 Wildwood ...............291 Wilmington Island.......292 Woodlawn................292 Savannah Beach (Tybee) ... 293 Scotland...................151 Scott......................214 Scotts Chapel.............431 Screven .................. 321 Seville....................145 Sharon.....................187 Sharpes Chapel............236 Sheffield................. 418 Shellman...................197 Sherwood...................180 Sheltons Chapel.......... 156 Shiloh, Reidsville-Shiloh.......322 Salem-Shiloh............390 Vienna-Shiloh...........169 Waverly Hall Chg........200 Wheeler Co. Ct..........241 Shingler...................393 Shurlington................266 Sikes Chapel...............297 Silk Hope..................291 Silver Hill................280 Simmons Ct.................325 Smiths Chapel.............262 Smithville.................140 Smyrna.....................221 Snow.......................148 Soperton...................230 South Baxley Ct............297 South Columbus.............180 South Side.................267 Sparks.....................391 Speedwell................. 288 Springfield ...............393 Springhead.................329 Springhill, Wheeler Co. Ct..........242 Whigham-Climan Chg. ... 368 Springvale.................187 St. Andrew, Columbus............... 177 St. A-Horse Creek......324 St. John, Columbus.........177 St. Johns, Coleman Ct..............210 Way cross Dist..........424 St. Luke, Columbus............... 178 Savannah................288 St. Mark, Columbus .............. 178 Douglas.................411 St. Marys, Circuit.................425 St. M.-Mt. Zion.........317 WaycrossDist............424 St. Marys Road............179 St. Paul.................. 179 St. Peters.................376 St. Simons.................426 Stapleton..................231 Statenville................392 Stephens Chapel........... 176 Statesboro, Circuit.................328 First...................327 Pittman Park............327 Stillmore..................232 Striplin Terrace...........181 Summertown ............... 315 Sumner.................... 393 Sumner Ct..................393 Surrency.................. 329 Suttons Chapel............359 Swainsboro, Calvary.................234 Dellwood................234 First...................235 Sweetwater.................421 Swift Creek................267 Sycamore...................167 Sylvania, FacevilleCt.............354 First...................330 Sylvester, Pinson Memorial . 394 T Tabernacle................ 229 Talbotton ................ 198 Taylors...................409 Tazwell....................193 Tennille...................235 Thomas Chapel............. 207 Thomas ville, Dawson Street.......... 363 Fairview................363 First...................363 Metcalf.................364 and Bethpage............364 Morningside.............365 andEbenezer.............365 Tifton, First...................395 Herring Memorial........396 Oak Ridge............. 396 Trinity.................396 Tired Creek...............347 Toomsboro.................253 Traders Hill.............413 Trinity, Albany..................338 Columbus............... 174 Tifton..................396 Pooler..................281 Savannah................289 Shellman Chg. ......... 198 T.-Reynolds Chapel......365 Tybee Island............293 Warner Robins...........274 Waycross................431 Trinity Circuit...........236 Twiggs Co. Ct. ...........271 Twin City.................237 Turkey Branch.............293 TyTy......................394 Tybee Island (Trinity) ...293 Tyson Memorial............384 u Unadilla..................168 Union, Bullock Co. Ct..........302 Georgetown Ct...........187 Howard Ct...............190 Marion Ct...............194 MorvenChg...............382 Statesboro Dist.........331 Union Grove...............315 Unity.....................397 Upatoi....................195 Uvalda....................238 V Valdosta, Bemiss..................398 First...................399 Forrest Street..........399 Kelley..................400 Park Avenue.............400 Remerton................401 Westview................401 Vidalia, First...................239 Grace...................239 Vidette...................331 Vienna....................169 Vincent.................. 352 Vineville.................267 w Wadley....................240 Waldens...................240 Walkers Chapel...........249 Wards Memorial...........423 Waresboro.................427 WaresboroCt...............427 Warner Robins, Christ..................272 First...................273 Northview...............273 444 Trinity..................274 Warren Chapel..............228 Warthen....................226 Warwick....................169 Waverly....................435 Waverly Hall...............199 Way cross, Brooks Memorial..........428 First....................429 Gilchrist Park...........429 Hebardville..............430 Jamestown................430 King Solomon.............431 Trinity..................43% Winona Park..............432 Waynesboro, Circuit..................332 First....................334 Weeks Chapel...............380 Wenona............... ... 170 WpqIpv HilltoniaCt..............312 Howard Ct................191 Macon ................. 268 Stillmore Chg...........233 Wesley Chapel, Berlin Chg..............372 Dudley Chg............. 218 Ft. Gaines Chg..........355 Lumplin Chg.............192 Powersville-W.C.........269 Wrightsville Ct.........244 Wesley Heights............181 Wesley Monumental........289 Wesley Oak................290 West Bainbridge...........366 West Green................433 Westview, Blakely Ct..............342 Valdosta................401 Wheeler Co. Ct........... 241 Whigham...................367 White Bluff...... ........290 White Oak,................434 DavisboroCt.............211 White Oak Ct............434 Whitefield................291 Wildwood .................291 Willacoochee, First.......436 Wilmington Island.........292 Winona Park...............432 Woodbine .............. 437 Woodbine Ct...............437 Woodland, Cairo Ct................346 Columbus Dist...........200 Woodlawn..................292 Wrens.....................242 Wrights Chapel...........402 Wrights vill Circuit.................248 First...................245 Wynnton...................182 z Zoar, N. Baxley Ct............297 Stapleton Chg...........232 445 1983-84 APPOINTMENTS BEYOND THE LOCAL CHURCH Conference Council on Ministries: Conference Director, Fred D. McLendon, Jr. Associate Director, W. Carlton Carruth; Associate Director, David T. Haygood; Associate Director, Mr. Ray Cox Southeastern Jurisdiction Council on Ministries: Director, G. Ross Freeman Administrative Assistant to Bishop: Amos O. Holmes Candler Hospital: Chaplain, Ralph Bailey; Associate Chaplain, Jimmy R. Hill Epworth-by-the-Sea: Superintendent, Vernard E. Robertson Magnolia Manor: Chaplain, John Quillian; Associate Chaplain, J. S. Wetzel Director of Public Relations and Funds, Brooks Partain Methodist Home: Director of Public Relations and Finance, Emory Gilbert Superintendent of Bethesda Home for Boys, William H. Ford Vashti Center: Executive Director, William L. Oliver Wesley Community Center: Chaplain, Joan Edington SE Jurisdiction Coordinator of United Methodist Volunteers in Mission: Thomas L. Curtis Missionaries: R. Dean Hancock, Parkistan Refugees CWS; J. Morgan Johnson, Zambia; J. Parke Renshaw Church of the Exceptional, Clifford K. Wallace Christian Family Center: Director, Robert Kea Chaplains: U.S. Army Floyd Wayne Brown, Samuel P. Lamback, Jr., Fred L. Maddox, H. Franklin Pierce, Charles M. Smith, Jr., C. Rabon Stephens U.S. Marines Clifford Dunham U.S. Navy Tommy B. Nichols, W. A. Smith V.A. Hospitals George Anderson, Glen H. McCranie, Cephas Williamson Dublin V.A. Medical Center, Lee Jones Hamilton Memorial Hospital, Dalton, Ga. Emily E. Sessions Counselors: Dept, of Rehabilitation: Tom Hall Ivey, Jr., William Whipple Pastoral Counselor, The Pastoral Institute, Richard N. Robertson Counselor-Therapist, Tift Co. Mental Health Center, Marcia Cochran Andrew College, President, William T. Greer LaGrange College Professor, Charles F. McCook Wesleyan College Professor, Jacob Quiambo Wesley Foundation Directors: Georgia Southern, William Jackson-Adams, Valdosta State, D. Eugene Pollett; Assoc. Dir. Univ. of Ga., O. C. Dean, Jr. Students: Michael Timothy Brown, Donald B. Clarke, Cynthia Elaine Cox, Rodney Gattie, Stanley Harrell, Bernard Henry, David Johnson, Roger A. Mays, Allison Morgan, Emma Friedman-Morris, Lawson Stone Disability Leave: L. Loyd Coward, Vernon Edwards, Clarence Griffin, Homer Grimes, Warren Grimes, Roscoe Hutchings Sabbatical Leave: L. A. Lemons Leave of Absence: Wayne Anthony, David Hancock, James P. Walker, Ronnie Wills 446 1983-84 RETIRED MINISTERS OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE Rev. James Agee Rev. C. T. Allen Rev. W. A. Aksobrook Rev. Lowry Anderson Rev. W. H. Ansley Rev. Max Barlow Rev. J. Paul Barrett Rev. Oscar Bell Rev. Burch Beckum Rev. Jack Bentley Rev. William Berry Rev. Horace Bird Rev. Robert Boone Rev. Joe Bridges Rev. Glen Brinson Rev. Harold Brooks Rev. Bernard Brown Rev. S. J. Brown Rev. A. J. Bruyere Rev. Charles Burdette Rev. W. W. Campbell Rev. Fred Carter Rev. W. E. Chappie Rev. J. C. Christian Rev. George Clary, Jr. Rev. John B. Cobb Rev. Leonard Cochran Rev. W. E. Cochran Rev. Olin Cooper Rev. J. D. Corbitt, Sr. Rev. Lloyd Cowart Rev. Curtis Cribbs Rev. David Cripps Rev. Claude Croft Rev. W. O. Crosby Rev. A1 Crumpler Rev. Virgil Culpepper Rev. Byron Davis Rev. W. E. Dennis Rev. D. R. Dixon Rev. C. H. Donaldson Rev. Sam Douthit Rev. Curtis Drake Rev. David Duck Rev. Earl Duke Rev. U. C. Dukes Rev. R. O. Edenfield Rev. Vernon Edwards Rev. W. R. Edwards Rev. W. J. Erwin Rev. J. O. Fuller Rev. L. C. Fullerton Rev. George Gambill Rev. Earl Garbutt Rev. Roy Gardner Rev. Louis Gholson Rev. Frank Gilmore Rev. Edwin Grimes Rev. W. E. Grimes Rev. C. N. Haisten Rev. Albert Hall Rev. Allen Hardison Rev. Earle Hart Rev. Clyde Harvard Rev. Hoke Hatcher Rev. James Hendrix Rev. Kell Hinson Rev. Amos Holmes Rev. Buren Hughes Rev. Roscoe Hutchins Rev. J. B. Hutchinson Rev. Charles Jackson Rev. McCoy Johnson Rev. Joseph Kelly Rev. Larry King Rev. Joe Lanier Rev. Alvin Lynn Rev. James May Rev. S. L. Mayo Rev. Walter McClesky Rev. W. E. McCord Rev. I. M. McDuffie Rev. A. C. McLendon Rev. Roy McTier Rev. J. B. Minter Rev. James Moore Rev. C. I. Morgan Rev. William Nance Rev. Clark Pafford Rev. Pledger Parker Rev. Frank Perry Rev. George Perry Rev. John Preston Rev. D. A. Price Rev. Tyler Rauls Rev. Albert Ray Rev. James Reese Rev. Robert Round Rev. Roy Sampley Rev. Allen Sanders Rev. H. W. Scoates Rev. W. E. Scott Rev. Ernest Seckinger Rev. Orman Sloat Rev. C. E. Smith Rev. W. R. Smith Rev. Robert Sneed Rev. Louis Spivey Rev. W. J. Stanford Rev. Heyward Stephens Rev. J. W. Stipe Rev. Harvey Strickland Rev. Stanley Strickland Rev. David Stubbs Rev. C. B. Studstill Rev. John Taylor Rev. W. W. Taylor Rev. Henry Thomas Rev. Curtis Tillman Rev. J. Ellsworth Tucker Rev. H. B. Underwood Rev. J. C. Varnell Rev. Ernest Veal Rev. Loy Veal Rev. C. E. Wallin Rev. George Walton Rev. J. S. Wetzel Rev. C. H. Wheelis Rev. Dan Williams Rev. Frederick Wilson Rev. John Wilson Rev. Bob Woodall Rev. Comer Zeigler Rev. Embree Zeigler Rev. Fred Zigan Rev. George Zorn 447 1983-84 WIDOWS OF MINISTERS. OF THE SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENC Mrs. Rebekah Anthony 'Mis. Helen Barnes Mrs. Ollie Barton Mrs. Ruth Bond Mrs. Mildred Booker Mrs. Gladys Boyd Mrs. Alma Boykin Mrs. Julia Bradley Mrs. Carrie Brooks Mrs. Janie Brooks Mrs. Jewel Brown Mrs. W. C. Bryant Mrs. Shirley Buchanan Mrs. Mae Chambers Mrs. Louellen Childres Mrs. Lucy Clary Mrs. Rachel Collins Mrs. Ava Coursey Mrs. Lucille Cudger Mrs. Myra Curry Mrs. Lucille Davis Mrs. Jean Deas Mrs. Laura Dorsey Mrs. Harriett Dunlap Mrs. Mary Easom Mrs. Mary Fain Mrs. Fannie Fletcher Mrs. Sarah Gilbert Mrs. Pauline Graham Mrs. Eunice Gray Mrs. Emmie Hancock Mrs. Ethel Harris Mrs. Georgia Harvey Mrs. Annie Haywood Mrs. Anthony Hearn (Polly) gS Mrs. Virginia Henry Mrs. Winona Herndon Mrs. Mamie Hillis Mrs. Edith Holloway Mrs. Annie Hooks Mrs. Susan Huckabee Mrs. Ruby Hudnall Mrs. Wilma Ivey Mrs. Helen Jackson Mrs. Mary Johnson Mrs. Dorothy Johnson Mrs. Helen Johnson Mrs. Beatrice Jones Mrs. Bertye Jones Mrs. Minnie Jordan Mrs. Carlva Kirkland Mrs. Edith Knowles Mrs. Fannie Lawhorn Mrs. Harriette Lewis Mrs. Clarice Mann Mrs. Lois McGregor Mrs. Nettie Marx Mrs. Susie McTier Mrs. Irene Melson Mrs. Annie Meyer Mrs. Carole Mitchell Mrs. Alice Moore Mrs. Elizabeth Moore Mrs. Laura Moreland Mrs. Iris McConnell Mrs. Edna Nalls Mrs. Jessie Owen Mrs. Jeannette Pefford Mrs. Ruth Peavy Mrs. Jewel Penland Mrs. Cleo Pierce Mrs. Martha Pierce Mrs. Hattie Pilgrim Mrs. Faye Prickett Mrs. Rhoda Rahn Mrs. Nell Rainey Mrs. LaFontaine Rogers Mrs. Addie Sedgewick Mrs. Maureen Shell Mrs. Mildred Senseny Mrs. Grace Shippey Mrs. Anna Smith Mrs. Eloise Smith Mrs. Maude Smith Mrs. Gladys Smith Mrs. Eunice Smith Mrs. Hattie Stanaland Mrs. Clara Starnes Mrs. Judy Steitz Mrs. Clara Stipe Mrs. Sallie Meadows Mrs. Ann Taylor Mrs. Thelma Taylor Mrs. Irene Thomas Mrs. Laura Thornton Mrs. Sadie Vincent Mrs. Rachel Walker Mrs. Emma Ward Mrs. Gertrude Ward Mrs. Leila Whaley Mrs. Tille Wilder Mrs. Bessie Williams Mrs. Louise Wimberly Mrs. Edith Yarbrough Mrs. Juanita Yarbrough 448 147119 287.6 W Waite, Marynell S., ed. History of the South Georgia Conference \ gpH&s'tag mm i ?, !j*