The process of forming a church in
the area began in 1948. Led by Ruth Taylor Mott, twenty-five signatures
were presented to the Louisiana Conference to formally begin a new church.
The petition for the formation of the B.T. Gallaher Memorial Church was
approved by the Conference on October 11, 1949. The Conference gave
them the old Gilead Methodist church building. It was disassembled
at its location in East Feliciana and rebuilt at the corner of Pine and
Magnolia in Gonzales. The Gilead pulpit, made by slaves in 1853,
was taken apart and reassembled. In June 1950, six men of the church
carried the altar into the sanctuary and put it into place as worship services
began in the church.
A parsonage was purchased in
1961. An education building was built the following year. In
1966, two large rooms were added to accommodate the growing congregation.
In 1967, four acres of land were purchased and construction soon began
on a new church and education building. Services were held for a
time at the Gonzales Elementary School before construction was completed.
The first service in the new sanctuary was held on November 15, 1970.
In 1985, the existing
sanctuary was converted into a fellowship hall and a new sanctuary was
built. The first service in the new sanctuary was held in December
of that year. The stained glass “I Am” windows, created by Baton
Rouge artist Steven Wilson, were dedicated on September 20, 1998.
The altar from the old church now stands by the north wall of the sanctuary’s
foyer.
The current parsonage was built
in 1993. The name of the church was officially changed to First United
Methodist Church of Gonzales that year. The church paid off the mortgage
in 2000, the year of the church’s 50th anniversary.
In September 2003, the church
began holding a contemporary worship service, called “First Light.”
Construction of a new administration/nursery building and multipurpose
facility began in October 2003. It was to be completed in 2004. |
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