LENOIR NEWS-IOPIC, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1919
Lenoir Methodists Build and Pay for $32,000
Buitdiig Within Two Years; Makes
Church
Unrivaled Record
Page Ten
DEDICATORY SERVICES HELD AND ic M?m flffij
ul i uiu uiuiiui umiLiiioiuii :t:'r?v3-T .,-
Historical Sketch of the Activities of the Church Membership
During the Period of Reconstruction Breaking the First
Ground and Laying the First Brick Laying the Corner
stone Dr. T. N. Ivey Delivered the Cornerstone Service
Sermon The Opening Serm on by Presiding Elder VV. A.
Newell Other Interesting Facts Concerning Methodism
in Lenoir The Church Buil ding Dedicated in the Presence
of a Crowded House.
Caldwell county, as well as the the following resolutions of appreeia
larger portion of the territory em-, tion were passed: "Resolved, that
braced in the Western North Carolina , the thanks of this conference are due
Conference, belonged originally to I "id are hereby tendered to James
the South Carolina Conference. Harper, Esq., for the interest mani-
At the annual session of the con- : fested anJ the effrts maJe bv hira
ference held at Camden, S. C, on I in bfhaIf of the nt'w church for Le'
Ton ij.ii tv, I pnnir i-irpnit uai ',
formed from territory taken from
tl,. AfftrtrnntAn nirciiit. It was n th s
same year that the town of Lenoir
was laid out and the first Superior
Court was held in the county.
The first pastor assigned to the
Lenoir circuit was Rev. Cornelius
McLeod, and the first presiding elder
of the district was Rev. William
Crook. A few weeks after his assign
ment to this circuit Rev. Mr. McLeod
was transferred to the Rutherford
circuit and Rev. W. T. Harrison was
appointed as his successor.
The first quarterly conference for
the Lenoir circuit was held at Con
ley's chapel on April 2:1, 1842.
The Fairfield church, which was
located at the Fairfield cemetery in
the western end of the town, was the
mother of the First Methodist church
of Lenoir. The fir-t quarterly con
ference held at Fairfield was held o:i
June 28, 1S41.
At the quarterly conference held
at Littlejohns on July ", 18-15, it was
decided to build a Methodist church
in the town of Lenoir, and for thi.
purpose the conference elected a
building committee composed of the
following brethren: James Harper,
Peter Ballew, Noah Spainhour, Geo.
Conley, N. A. Powell, T. H. Moore
and Azor Shell. How well these faith
ful men performed their work is evi
denced '.. the fact that a quarterly
conference was held in the new
church on Dec. 12, 1846, just one
year five months and seven days from
the date of their election as a build
ing committee. At this conference
"V, r. d.
i First
,te the
i church
noir." Also resolved,
thanks of this congregation be and
U U f..!l..
ule nereuj lespmiuu, rut.-
ed to Col. William Davenport in con
sideration of the noble and Christian
spirit which prompted him to give the
lot without charge on which the new
church has been erected in Lenoir."
At the time of holding this con
ference Rev. Thos. W. Postell was
the preacher in charge of Lenoir cir
cuit, and Rev. W. A. Gamewell was
the presiding elder of the district.
It may be truly said that what
ever has been accomplished by this
church for the Master in the past,
and whatever it may accomplish for
Him in the future, was made possible
by the faithful and efficient work
done and the sacrifices made by these
consecrated men and their co-laborers,
all of whom have lone; since
"'passed over the river and are rest
ing under the shade of the trees."
I'mler the ministry of various pas
tors, the names of whom are not
at hand, the wuvt'oor. of these god
ly men continued to worship in this
modest structure until the year lS'.Hj.
During thi year, under the pastorate
of the beloved Rev. T. A. Boone, this
church was enlarged by building an
annex, tower and vestibule, and re
furnished by installing new pews,
lights and a heating plant.
During the sixteen years that fol
lowed these improvements the needs
of the congregation outgrew the ca
pacity of this building, and in the
year 11)12, under the pastorate of
Rev. ('. M. Pickens, the congregation
decided to build a new and more
SHERRILL
Methodist Church, .and under
final indebtedness of,,
was raised ?
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That the I , - - A . - r . V 1
The new First Methouist Church of Lenoir, which was formally
1919, by
uct. o,
commodious house of worship, and
the site for same purchased from Mr
M. M. Courtney and other parties in
terested the splendid lot on which the
new church now stands, paying $1.
."00 for same.
For a period of four years nothing
further was done toward the erection
of the new building, and the hearts
of many were made sick by hope de
ferred. However, a brighter day
dawned, and three years ago the pas
tor, Rev. D. M. Litaker, bv his zealous
and
hope
effective labors, revived new
and put new interest into the
enterprise. After much study and
careful investigation Brother Litaker
secured plans from C. W. Carlton,
architect, for the new church. These i
plans
were submitted to the church
and were approved and adopted by
the congregation. On Sunday, Nov.
10, l'JKi, he, without resorting to any
high-pressure methods, raised nearly
$20,000 in subscriptions for the new
church. These subscriptions assured
the erection of the new building, and
at a special quarterly conference held
in the old church Dec. 11, 1916, the
following brethren were elected as a
building committee to carry forward
the work: J. L. Nelson, M. M. Court
ney, H. T. Newland, E. F. Allen, W.
L. Greer, A. G. Foard, E. C. Ivey,
W. L. Minish and J. C. Seagle.
On April 13, 1917, the building
committee let the contract for the
erection of the new church.
On May 19, 1917, in the presence
of a large number of friends and
members of the congregation, the
first fifty-four bricks of the new
church were laid by different mem
bers of the congregation.
A most inspiring and touching
scene connected with Ihis exercise
was the placing of-the first brick by
Mrs. Rose M. Cloyd, the oldest living
member of this church, and, so far
as we know, the only living person
who witnessed the laying of the foun
dation of the old church. Mrs. Cloyd
is 89 years of age and has been par
tially blind for some years. She is
truly one of "the mothers in Israel."
The material used in the construc
tion of the new building is of the
best, and the pews and other furni
ture will be of like quality. In the
size, construction and arrangement
of the auditorium, 'basement and
class rooms ample provision has been
made for both Sunday school work
and preaching services, and when
completed it will be one of the most
convenient and imposing, as well as
attractive, church buildings to be
seen anywhere in western North
Carolina. As another has said : "The
building of this church, one of the
handsomest in the entire country,
shows remarkable enterprise on the
part of the local members and un
measured energy on the part of the
pastor, Rev. D. M. Litaker, who has
coupled skill with common sense in
Bishop U. V. W. Darlington of
bringing about a realization of such
an enterprise."
Dr. T. N. Ivev, editor of the Nash-
i
ville Christian Advocate, who is so !
highly esteemed and so much loved !
by us all, and who was pastor of this
church during the years 1887 and
1888, formally laid the cornerstone J
of the new church Sunday, Sept. 23, '
11)17. At 11 o'clock Dr. Ivey deliv- j
ered an appropriate sermon in the j
old church. At the close of the ser
vice the congregation repaired to the
new building, where the ceremonies
of laying the cornerstone took place.
Fint Service j
The first service to be held in the j
new church bulldingf was held on !
Easter Sunday, March 31. 1918. The
service was conducted bv Rev. D. M.
Litaker, pastor. Presiding Elder W.
A. Newell of Statesville was present
and delivered the sermon.
Dedication
The first preaching service held in
the new church building was held on
. i , , i , tj; ,
at 1 1 o clock in the morning, Bishop
U. V. W. Darlington of Huntingdon,
W. Va., preaching the dedication ser
mon. His text was taken from the
87th Psalm, the second verse: "The
Lord loveth the gates of Zion more
than all the dwellings of Jacob." This
was a great day for iMethodism in
Lenoir nd Bishop Darlington was at
his best. He delivered a great ser
mon and it was thoroughly appre
ciated by the crowd present.
The Presbyterian, Baptist and Lu
theran ministers called in their ap
pointments for this hour so that their
congregations might attend the ser-
vices and worship with the Methodist
congregation on this occasion. This '
act was thoroughly end sincerely ap-
preciated. The day was ideal and the
church building was crowded, many
coming from the surrounding county '
sections.
The Methodist ministers present,
in addition to the pastor, Rev. R. D.
Sherrill, were the following: Presid
ing Elder W. A. Newell, D. M. Lit
aker, R. G. Tuttle, R. M. Courtney,
D. A. Lewis, J. M. Downum, J. B.
Craven and R. C. Goforth.
The official members of the church
at the request of the bishop stood
around the. chancel during the dedi
cation service. The chairman of the
board of trustees, Mr. J. L. Nelson,
presented the house to the bishop in
the following words, taken from the
Discipline:
"We present you this house to be
set apart from all unhallowed or com
mon uses for the worship of Al
mighty God."
The bishop then pronounced the
"sentence of dedication," after which
the" congregation knelt while the ded
ication prayer was offered. Benedic
tion was pronounced by the pastor. .
, Thus ended a service that marks
kit epoch In the hlatorjr( of "this
church. . - '
dedicated Sunday morning,
Huntingdon, W . V a.
OFFERS DONATION FID
3 FOll GH
Carnegie Corproation Offert Meth
odiit Church $1,150 Towards
Payment for a Pipe Organ
for the New Church
The Carnegie Corporation of New
York city has offered the members
of the First Methodist church $1,150
as a donation towards paying for a
pipe organ for the church. The let-
! u'r making this oifer has recently
been received bv Rev. R. D. Sherrill
the pastor, and is as follows:
"Responding to your appeal, Car
negie Corporation of New York will
be glad to provide the last half of the
cost of an organ for your church, at
the price of $2,300 when the first
i half has been collected by the con-
J
gregation and payment of the organ
becomes clue.
"This promise expires on Sept. 30,
1920, if the conditions attached to it
are not fulfilled and the contribution
of the Carnegie Corporation paid be
fore that date.
"Should the congregation decide
to purchase a more expensive instru
ment at a price not exceeding $3,300
Carnegie Corporation will be glad to
give the same amount $1,150 to
ward it, but the balance required
must be in hand so th.-.t when the
contribution of the Carnegie Corpo-
ration of New York is !witl there wil1
be no debt left on the instrument or
lurlner moneys collected
; ;
REV. D. M.
Pastor of the First Methodist
4 under whose pastorate
' begun and
luiiunjywiu i II I mi iiiiijiiui.m.ii 1 mill
V... v, . .-
Built With Great Car and Planned
for Convenience Main Audito
rium Hat Seating Capacity
for Twelve Hundred
In building and paying for this
new church building the Methodists
of Lenoir have in all probability es
tablished a record not to be equalled
by any other congregation inthe
country. The building cost approxi
mately $32,000 and was built and
paid for within a period of a few
weeks over two years. The same
building today would cost more than
$50,000.
The building is a large one. It is
thoroughly modern and was planned
with the greatest care. It was plan
ned for convenience. The main au
ditorium has a seating capacity of
1,200 persons, while the Sunday
school room auditorium has a seat
ing capacity for nearly as many.
There are twenty-one rooms in all,
which include a Sunday school class
room for each class, a ladies' parlor
and a girls' parlor, a postor's study,
work rooms, including a kitchen, etc.
There are few handsomer church
buildings to be found. It reflects
great credit upon the membership
and all who took part in its con
struction, and it does greater credit
to the community in which it is
built.
The building is situated on prop
erty that seems to have been ar
ranged for just such a purpose. It
occupies corner lot and faces south
and east. It is easily accessible fco all
parts of the city. The entire people
of the town and community take
much pride in the building.
One of the outstanding features of
the great undertaking by the mem
bership was their undivided support
of the then pastor, Rev. D. M. Lit
aker. Mr. Litaker was equal to every
duty placed upon him. He displayed
his skill as an organizer for such a
task All preliminary plans were
worked out and the proposition was
placed before the church membership
to receive their unanimous approval.
In a single Sunday the funds were
pledged, nearly a sufficient amount
for the completion of the building.
Mr. Litaker was succeeded by an
other man, Rev. R. D. Sherrill, who
has also proved his ability. He has
completed the finals. To Mr. Sher
rill goes the distinction of getting
togethe rthe money to make the final
payment on the building.
According to airplane passengers
last week the Methodist church build
ing is the moat prominent building
in the city. It shows up to the best
advantage, they say.
LITAKER
"Church from 1915, to 1918, anoV
the church building was'
completed K