The Bayou Chene Methodist Church
got tired of getting flooded, so in 1948 they moved off the island to property
along Highway 75 near Bayou Sorrell. Services were held in the homes
of six families while money was raised. A small house was donated
to the church, and the congregation leased a small piece of property along
the bayou. After the ladies of the church cleared the land with sugar
cane knives, the men moved the building to a lot. When the inside
walls were removed, beautiful cypress wood was allowed to show through.
By 1951, thirty-one charter members were worshipping in the church.
In 1953, while the Atchafalaya
Basin was flooded, Emile and Ira Mendoza brought the Bayou Chene bell to
the new location by boat. With the help of Hayward Seneca, they put
the bell in a newly built tower.
In 1958, Frank Lamp and John
Mendoza constructed Sunday School rooms. The pastor at that time
was Rev. Bob McCamman. In 1962, the parsonage was built by a Baptist,
Mr. Rufus Medlen.
Using pipe from Bayou Chene
for framing, a gymnasium was built in 1978-79 near the church. The
land on which the church building stood, as well as additional land, was
donated to the church at that time.
Restrooms and a kitchen were
added to the new sanctuary that was built. The classrooms were also
rotated. This was done under the leadership of Bro. John and Dixie
Oldham, charter members Ernest Bo Diamond, brothers Emile, Ira, and John
Mendoza and their nephew Jerome, and new members Frank Lamp and brothers
Hayward and Howard Seneca. The old cypress church was sold in 1981
and was moved
by barge and truck
to Picayune, Mississippi.
Grand River continues to open
its arms to the community as an outreach of Christs love. |
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