Some History of McKendree United Methodist Church
The picture above shows Bishop William McKendree for whom the church was named.
An old Sunday school Record Book shows a Sunday school here on April 13, 1834 and gives a list of pupils. On April 2, 1835, the Quarterly Conference appointed Jacob Hoyle, Robert Blackburn and Henry Carpenter as a building committee to erect a church on the Island Ford Road, north of Lincolnton, to be called McKendree Chapel in honor of Bishop William McKendree of the Methodist Church.
The first church building, erected about 1836, was of logs, square in shape with no ceiling. In the middle of one side was a high raised pulpit in front of which was a table and a chair. A gallery for colored people came out over about one half of the building. It was reached by a stairway on the outside of the building. It has been said that the doors were always open, and that the sheep that grazed nearby often found shelter inside the church. This log church building was used for fifty-two years. The second structure was a frame building, erected in 1887 - 1888 while the Rev. Bailey was pastor. This building was used as a church for 48 years and for recreation and classrooms until it was sold in 1956.
The congregation began its second century in a beautiful stone structure which was formally opened May 31, 1936. Old English in style, it was designed by Mr. H. W. Haynes of Duke University. The stone was obtained from a nearby quarry, timber for the framing of the building was given by Mrs. May Haynes Jones and much of the labor was donated by members and friends. To quote the Lincoln County News of June 9, 1936: "A congregation small in number but large in faith, have faithfully and loyally worked together , under the leadership of its pastor, Rev. W. B. Shinn, pastor of four churches on the Lincoln Circuit. Their loyalty and devotion to the enterprise enlisted the interest and support of friends, and their efforts have been crowned with success."
On Sunday, June 15, 1941, Bishop Clair Purcell of Charlotte was present and delivered the dedicatory sermon dedicating this building. He was assisted by Rev. E. M. Jones of Gastonia, the District Superintendent. The Rev. D. H. Reinhardt was the pastor at this time.
The oldest living member of the church upon completion of this building was the late Mr. Luther A. Shrum, a descendant of Nicholas Shrum, one of the early settlers of Lincoln County. To go back to the early days, the first Sunday School Superintendent was Robert G. Haynes, 1834 - 1835, followed by Wm. Brinkley. Later, Robert Haynes was elected again and served about twenty years. His descendants are still members of the church and prominent in the community.
An Epworth league was organized at McKendree Church on October 24, 1897 with the following officers: J. H. Auton - President, J. G. Little - 1st Vice President, John Haynes - 2nd Vice President,
Aurthur Shuford - 3rd Vice President, and J. W. Propst - Secretary.
The first church conference was held April 27, 1889. M. H. Hoyle was in the chair and J. R. Blackburn was Secretary. The roll of members was corrected. The Stewards reported that this church was assessed fifty dollars for the pastor and presiding elder.
On the Sunday School roll in 1838 is the name of Manuel Rudisill. Several other Rudisills from time to time attended church here. The donation of shrubbery by Mr. Carl Rudisill of Cherryville, N C, a member of the Lutheran Church, is splendid evidence of the unselfish interest of this great family in those things that count not only for time but for eternity.
Besides the original gift of land by Robert Blackburn in 1836, an additional 1/8 acre was given by Mr. Sid Poovey in 1900. Since that time four additional tracts of land have been purchased, one of the latest of two tracts added to the church property was a large lot acquired from the John Hull estate with plans to use this for a parsonage; the other tract was bought from Mrs. Albert Dellinger in 1963 to enlarge the church cemetery.
On July 5, 2005, 3.55 Acres of land were purchased from the Barkley family.
This adjoining land, fronting on the Maiden Highway and the Summerow Road,
will give room for future expansion of our cemetery or other needs of the future.
Work on an educational building was begun in July 1955. This building was 40 x 80 feet in size, with two floors, the ground floor contained an assembly area, kitchen, a stage, and dressing rooms. The second floor contained eight classrooms, an office, and a storage closet. Outside walls were constructed of concrete blocks, veneered with "split rock." This gave a very durable wall and one which matched well with the natural rock of the other building. Seth Construction Company was awarded the contract, with sub-contracts being let by them to others to complete the project. Mr. B. J. McAlister was in charge of general construction. This phase of building was completed in February 1956 at a cost of $26,551.18.
The second phase of construction involved remodeling the existing building to make better use of the space occupied by three classrooms. Work on this was begun in October 1957 by Seth Construction Company. During this time, services were held in the new educational building area. About 75 additional seats were added by this work and they wre badly needed. Cost of this phase, which was completed in May 1958, was $4,657.83.
Both phases of this project were financed locally. A Building Fund was started in 1948, many suppers sponsored by the church added to this fund, as did the many contributions of the members of the church and others. Gifts of $2,500 from the Gastonia District Mission Society, and $6,000 from the Duke Endowment were received. In January 1964, enough money had been received to completely liquidate the indebtedness incurred near the beginning of this project in 1955. Total expenditures and cost of this entire project, including the additional land which was purchased, interest paid on the loan, and other improvements which were made was $43,069.12. The Building Committee consisted of the following: W. F. Keever - Chairman,
A. L. Blanton - Treasurer, T. L. Wright, Frank W. Shrum, John A. Ramseur, Fred Auton, Paul Setzer,
A. Y. McMurray, J. D. Shuford, and Paul Reinhardt.
A parsonage was built in 1965.
The church was recognized as a "Station Church" in 1999.
Worship has always been a very important part of the life of the congregation and music is an important part of Worship. Mrs. Vivian Shrum was organist and pianist for many years. Barbara Houser was organist for a number of years as was Martha Polhill. In March 1968, William F. Keever became organist and served for nearly 30 years. Sue Withers then became organist and served until her un-timely death in 1998. Lavinia White is the present Organist/Choir director.
We were really blessed by our participation in the "Cornerstone Celebration" February 17, 18, & 19, 2008. Our guest speaker was Bishop Robert Fannin, Vice-chairman of World Evangelism on the World Methodist Council and Bishop in residence at Florida Southern college. The aim of the special services was to help people move toward a closer walk with God by giving them a better understanding of His works. For us this was a joint program with three churches: McKendree, Asbury and Boger City. A total of 39 churches in the Gastonia District were a part of this celebration.
Under the leadership and supervision of Harry Hope (shown in photo at bottom of page) and Rev. Joe Ervin (also shown right) from Church Extension, construction began in Spring of 2001 on a new Fellowship Hall and Youth Center. This facility gives space for many activities: the growing "Building Fund" luncheon on each Third Sunday, for Youth Activities on Friday nights, and "frees up" space that can be re-modeled for additional class rooms in the Educational Building. Volunteers from many other churches, as well as from McKendree, worked long and hard to make this dream a reality. The gifts in money, talents, and materials are sincerely appreciated.
The final phase of our building program, the renovation of the Educational Building, was begun in 2004. This involved the renovation of the Rest Rooms to be "Handicap Accessible." Also, the area formerly occupied by the old Fellowship Hall was to be divided into classrooms, a Music room, and a new Nursery located on the Ground floor. Another major part of this project was an indoor ramp connecting the Sanctuary with the Educational Building.
Much other work was also involved: Updating the wiring and light fixtures in both the Educational Building and the Sanctuary, new heating/cooling for Sanctuary, new windows for the Ed. Building, carpeting and inside painting, as well as new furnishings.
This work was led by a "Renovation Committee" consisting of Loy Keener Jr. and Perry Kimbrell, Co-Chairs, Rev. Randy Powell, Maureen Freeman, Frances Armstrong, Jerry Scronce, William F. Keever, and Ernie Ottinger. Harry Hope was General Contractor. He was helped by Michael Pope. Steve Widdows was hired as architect. Several church members helped in completing this phase of the project. Total cost of this phase of construction was $185,866.66.
"Of a number of men of stalwart stature who were officially connected with the early history of Lincoln Methodism, Samuel Lander was probably the most prominent. Mr. Lander was the moving spirit in founding McKendree Chapel, four and one-half miles north of Lincolnton, in 1836." (North Carolina Christian Advocate - January 14, 1926)
In the early years, "Junior preachers" were also assigned.
The following ministers have served at McKendree: Jacob B. Anthony & William C. Ferrell
1836-1837, Samuel Armstrong & William C. Patterson 1837-1838, John H. Robinson & Martin P. Myers 1838-1839, Daniel McDaniel & Archibald Kelly 1839-1840, Daniel McDaniel & W. C. Clark 1840-1841, Jacob B. Anthony 1841-1842, Whatcoat Asbury Gamewell & Peyton G. Bowman 1842-1843, A. B. McGilvery & Wm. E. Holliday 1843-1844, A. B. McGilvery & Alexius M. Forster 1844-1845, Alfred H. Richardson & Solomon W. Davies 1845-1846, Thomas Sumter Daniel & J. H. Chandler 1846-1847, Thomas S. Daniel & Michael Robbins 1847-1848, J. M. Bradley & J. H. Postell 1848-1849, Colin Murchinson 1849-1851, J. H. Zimmerman 1851-1852, L. M. Little & W. M. Easterling 1852-1854, Henry M. Mood 1854-1855, William C. Patterson 1855-1856, Landy Wood & W. S. Black 1856-1857, Landy Wood & M. A. Connolly 1857-1858, James S. Ervin & A. W. Rennick 1858-1859, Eugene W. Thompson 1859-1860, John Finger 1860-1861, George W. Ivey 1861-1863, Osgood A. Darby 1863-1865, Daniel May 1865-1866, John Finger 1866-1868, John Watts & A. W. Walker 1868-1870, W. D. Lee 1870-1871, V. A. Sharpe 1871-1875, R. G. Barrett 1875-1878, J. T. Harris 1878-1879, G. F. Round 1879-1880, J. W. Jenkins 1880-1883, F. A. Bishop 1883-1884, J. W. Wheeler 1884-1885, J. B. Bailey 1885-1889, M. H. Hoyle 1889-1891, J. F. Austin 1891-1892, M. T. Steele 1892-1895, W. F. Womble 1895-1898, A. E. Wiley 1898-1900,
T. T. Salyer 1900-1902, J. H. Bennett 1902-1903, Beverly Wilson 1903-1905, D. ?. Waters 1905-1906, C. R. Ross 1906-1909, J. W. Strider 1909-1911, J. H. Robertson 1911-1915, N. M Modlin 1915-1917, John P. Davis 1917-1918, O. C. Fortenberry 1918-1921, J. W. Combs 1921-1923, W. E. Moretz 1923-1925, J. W. Bennett 1925-1927, C. R. Allison 1927-1930, James B. McLarty 1930-1932, William B. Shinn 1932-1938, W. S. Smith 1938-1939, D. H. Reinhardt 1939-1942, J. T. Bowman 1942-1946, W. L. Harkey 1946-1951, John Crews 1951-1953, W. E. Rufty 1953-1957, B. W Lefler 1957-1959, R. L. Billings 1959-1963, Wayne Hoyle, Associate 1960-1961 (16 months), Lawson P. Henderson 1963-1967, T. G. Highfill 1967-1970, Mack M. Armstrong 1970-1975, Brown McKinney 1975-1978, Dwight Whitlock 1978-1982, James B. Hamilton 1982-1987, Ervin Cook Jr. 1987-1992, D. H. Lutz 1992-1995, Deval Mason 1995-2002, Randolph Powell 2002-2008, James Robert Reeves 2008- 2012 . Thomas E. Conder Jr. 2012 - 2014, Gregg Plott 2014 -