The church was organized in
1897 with seven charter members. Evariste J. Joffrion donated land
on church to build the first wooden church. Five of the seven charter
members were from the Joffrion family. The pastor, Rev. W.L. Woodward,
also served as minister for the Presbyterian congregation.
The fist parsonage on North
Main St. was acquired in 1927 while Rev. White served as pastor.
In the late 1940s, that home was sold and the Bijou Lafargue home next
door to the church was purchased for use as a parsonage. In 1979,
the current parsonage on Debellevue St. was purchased. The Lafargue
house was taken down in 1982 and the space used as a parking lot.
The parsonage was renovated in 1994.
An education building was constructed
in 1952. In June 1957, hurricane Audrey damages the church and it
had to be taken down. A new $24,000 brick church was constructed
in 1958 under the leadership of Rev. Carl Lipe. The front wall of
the new structure contained a circular stained glass depiction of Jesus
at Gethsemane.
In 1985, an education building
was constructed behind the church. The debt was paid off on June
26, 1994 under the leadership of Rev. Marvin Pratt. Over the years, Mrs.
Betty Garrot led the ladies of the church in holding rummage sales to help
pay off debts. |
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