St. Paul’s celebrates
130 years in service by Lynn R. Parks
Surrounded
by cornfields, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church is an island of white. It gleams from the top of its steeple to the
frames of its purple, green, blue, and yellow windows. Inside, it shines as well from the polished
oak pews and railings to the fellowship hall’s white lace curtains moving in
rhythm with the breeze. Everything is
fresh, ready for parishioners who in many cases, have been attending since
childhood.
“I
have dropped out a couple of times, stopped coming for two or three years.”
says one parishioner. “But I always
come back. When I walk through that
door, I feel like I am coming home. I
get a spiritual lift every time I come in.”
“This
is my home!” says another.
Still
another says “I kind of left for a while and started attending another
church. They were nice, but it was not
my home.”
St.
Paul’s celebrated its 130th anniversary August 29, 1998. The church was designated an historic
building with a marker placed on the premises for the celebration. In attendance was Lt. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.
St. Paul’s United
Methodist Church (organized 1869)
Hearn’s Crossroads,
Laurel, Delaware
“In
1865, Rev. Issac G. Adkins commenced preaching at the Dorothy School House in
Broad Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware.
In 1866, as nearly as can be ascertained, in the month of August, Revs.
I. G. Adkins and Thomas H. Burgess organized a Methodist Protestant
Church. The Maryland Annual Conference
in March 1865 set off Millsboro Mission and appointed I.G. Adkins, pastor. In 1866, no supply (Editor’s note: Meaning
that no regular preacher was called or assigned) although Bros. Adkins and
Burgess continued to preach at Millsboro, Rogers School House, Dorothy S(chool)
H(ouse), Vaughns S(chool) H(ouse) and Sharps S(chool) H(ouse). In 1867, T. H. Burgess was appointed to
Millsboro Mission and the charge thereafter received regular supplies. (Editor’s note: Meaning that a pastor was
appointed regularly.)”…H. G. Cowan
“In
1869, the name Millsboro Mission was changed by the Md. An. Conference
(Editor’s note: The Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant
Church) to Lower Sussex Mission, and in 1872, by the same authority, the title
was altered to Sussex Mission.”…(Writer not identified)
“Sussex
Mission was changed to a Circuit by the Conference in 1890.” A final change to Laurel Circuit was made in
1905.
“The
Methodist Protestant and Methodist Episcopal Churches merged at a union
conference held at the State Teacher’s College in Salisbury, Md. in 1939.”
As
a member church of Millsboro Mission, St. Paul’s Methodist Protestant Church
was organized by the Rev. Thomas H. Burgess in 1866 in Sharp’s School House,
one and one-half miles southeast of Laurel, Del. on the Old Stage Road at
Hearn’s Crossroads. The original
members were Elizabeth Gordy, Leah Gordy, W. L. Gordy, and John W. D. McGee.
In
1868, during the pastorate of the Rev. Jeremiah Clay, active measures were
taken to erect a church building. On
August 21, 1868 the Trustees of the Missionary Society of the Maryland Annual
Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church purchased a half-acre tract of
land to serve as the site for St. Paul’s Church. The site was purchased for the sum of twenty-five dollars from
Thomas L. Cannon. The Trustees were
Thomas Bacon, William Gordy, John W. D. McGee, William F. Gordy, Nathaniel
Wootten, Isaac Hearn and Nathaniel Elliott.
A
single-story frame building, originally measuring 28 ft. by 36 ft. was started
in 1869 and was dedicated in 1871 by the Rev. W. D. Litsinger.
Improvements
were made to the structure in 1904. No
further building was undertaken until 1924 when the Community House was
completed at a cost of five hundred dollars.
This building was renovated in 1950.
In
1951, two rooms for Sunday school use were added between and connected the main
church building with the community house.
In
1954, the Young People of St. Paul’s Church initiated a program resulting in
the purchase of the recreational and parking area immediately south of the
original site.
In
1964, an addition including four Sunday School rooms, an area for Sunday School
use and supplementary seating for the main sanctuary, and modern sanitary facilities
were added to the north side of the original structure.
In
1967, the entire complex of buildings was covered with aluminum siding and, in
1969, a new fiberglass steeple was placed atop the original building, replacing
the old wooden one removed several years earlier when it weathered to a
dangerous state of deterioration.