In 1898, the Methodist Camp
Meeting Association built an open-sided, tin-roofed tabernacle at the end
of Tabernacle Street near the Amite River. Rev. J. Martin Alford
from Live Oak Methodist Episcopal Church started holding services at the
tabernacle once a month. In 1899, he organized a church with 19 charter
members. The first church was constructed in 1902 across Center Street
from the tabernacle. It consisted of one large room that was curtained
off for Sunday school classes. There was a parsonage behind the church
at the corner of Magnolia and Center Streets. About 1917, the church
was rolled to Main Street at the edge of a canal (on land now crossed by
Magnolia St).
Ice cream was sold at lawn parties
to help finance the church, which had a pump organ that squeaked and was
lighted with coal oil lamps. Children and young people gathered on Sunday
evenings for worship and fellowship.
The church was badly damaged
by flood waters from the Amite River in 1925. It was not the first
nor the last time. While Rev. Joses S. Rutlege was pastor (circa
1920), water rose the the ceiling of the parsonage and the family had to
be evacuated by boat. In 1927, a new church was built (on higher
ground) on Mattie Street ... across from the present sanctuary. The
parsonage now stands on that location. The 1927 white frame church
had a steeple with a bell to summon the members to worship. Sunday
school rooms (including one called the Upper Room), a kitchen, and a pastor’s
study were also built.
As the church grew, larger facilities
were needed. A new church was built across the street from the old
church (which was still used as a Sunday school building). The first
service in the new sanctuary was held on March 30, 1952. An educational
building was constructed 5 years later. When the sanctuary burned
down on January 13, 1973, services were held at the fellowship hall and
high school gym while a new sanctuary (with the same design as the old
one) was built.
The Connie Smith Prayer Chapel,
dedicated on April 20, 1975, was built by Mabel and George Smith in memory
of their daughter. It is open 24 hours a day for prayer and meditation.
A Family Life Center was also built to provide additional space for fellowship,
recreation, and worship. |
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