WELCOME WESLEYAN METHODIST CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC Version 1.0, 5-Nov-2000, C208a.TXT, C208 **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. **************************************************************** LOCATION: --------- Locate intersection of Highways 28 and 11. Drive 2.6 miles east on Highway 11. Turn right on County Junction Road (County Road S37-24) and drive 1.0 miles. Turn right on Ebenezer Road and drive 0.6 miles. HISTORY: -------- 1898 - 1978 By Linda L. O'Kelley 29-Oct-1978 Special Consultation: Rev. Ray E. Barnwell Mrs. Minnie Findley Mrs. Dana Gillespie Mr. R.N. Holland Miss Margaret Ann LeCroy Mr. Delton Long Mrs. Ruby Morgan Mrs. Wilma Conway It was a hot, sultry evening in the late 1890's as people gathered beneath the brush covered shelter in Ebenezer Community. Leaving their plowed fields and work behind, they gathered with only one purpose in mind... to worship by praising and rejoicing in their Lord. As these meetings continued, interest increased and a need to organize was felt. These were hard-working people who felt their spiritual needs must be met, as well as their physical needs. It was out of this need that the Welcome Wesleyan Methodist Church was organized and joined the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in 1898. However, as the church grew, it became evident that the brush arbor facility was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of this growing young church. Determined that Welcome continue its growth, Dora Weibens went to Mary Josephine Verner and requested permission for the church to use the property on which the brush arbor was located to build a building in which to hold worship services. In 1901, under the leadership of their first pastor, Rev. C.A. Dunwoody, Welcome completed a very crude one room building in which they held their first services. It is interesting to note that not long after Welcome joined the Wesleyan Methodist conference, Dora Weibens became an active and vital member of the South Carolina Conference. Miss Weibens later became a conference missionary and pastured the Good Hope Mission. Among the earliest members who attended services in the crude one room structure were the John Medlins, the Meares, the Boyds, the Fred Bells, the Broomes, the Lawrence Powells, and the Forrester Wyatts. Confronted with many seemingly insurmountable problems, the infant church became tormented by doubt and discouragement. It was decided among the members to disband; therefore allowing the church and the property to be returned to the ownership of Mary Verner, the original owner. However God intervened, on the evening before the property was to be released, a tremendous thunderstorm caused the Keowee and Little Rivers to overflow their banks and the minister could not get across. After several weeks when the rivers receded, and the minister was able to cross, Welcome had such a spirit-filled service, it was then decided not to disband. During this period without worshipping services, these people realized how vitally important this crude building had become in quenching their spiritual thirst For it was within these four walls that they found through the guidance and presence of the Holy Spirit and fellowship of Christian friends enough courage, faith and strength to meet the problems of everyday life. It was very evident that God had His hand on this small church. Under the capable leadership of Rev. J.H. Lawrence, Rev. J.T. Carey, Rev. J.A. White, Rev. J.R. Davis, Rev. F.H. Pressley, and Rev. W.D. Correll, Welcome struggled through the infant stages of Church growth for the next fourteen years. A great revival was held during the ministry of Rev. L. Rigdon and many souls were saved, thus many joined the Church. As a result of this growth, with Rev. L. Rigdon leading the way, Welcome took a great stride forward on the road of progress - They completed in 1914 a new church, a much bigger one room building, valued at $500.00 with no indebtedness. Things were not easy for this struggling young church. Every family had to share in the responsibilities. During the winter months all the families carried wood in their wagons to stoke the pot-bellied stove that stood toward the front in the middle of the huge one room building. Everyone participated and it wasn't unusual to see everyone gathered around the pump organ singing together for the Glory of God. While working in their fields, many members eagerly awaited the evening worship services. John Medllin, one of the earliest members, often testified that he worked in his fields until dark and then ran the one-half mile to Welcome Church. Under the guiding hands of Rev. L.H. Kelley, Rev. J.T Carey, Rev. M.R. Harvey, Rev. A.L. Voss, Rev. J.R. Davis, Rev. J.E. Merk, and Rev. J.R. Garrett, during the next ten years, Welcome became an active and vital part of Ebenezer Community. It was during the Ministry of Rev. J.T. Carey that two of our members with the longest memberships, Ruby Morgan and Minnie Findley, were baptized at 9:00 a.m. one Sunday morning before Sunday School in Cane Creek. Welcome was becoming a place where fellow Christians could find fellowship after a labor filled week of working their farms and providing for their families. Yes, indeed, Welcome was becoming a strong Christian influence on the families in the community. The church family had expanded to include many more families in Ebenezer Community... A few of these families were the John Lecroys, the Jason McCurry's, the John Peays, the Mark Hughes, the Wiley Fowlers, the Lilly Freemans, the B.K. Ridleys, the J.D. Martins, and the Bert Nichols. As the church grew, it began to reach out in different areas. In December 1926, the Welcome Women's Missionary Society held its first meeting at the Wesleyan Methodist Conference. With the encouragement of Rev. W. L. Miller, the Wesleyan Women's Missionary Society became an integral part of the church's activities. These Wesleyan Women not only offered financial support to the Wesleyan Missionaries, but also comforted bereaved families in the community by providing the meal before the funeral service. Today, the Welcome Wesleyan Women's Missionary Society carries out much the same activities, but has grown tremendously over the years both in numbers and activities. The church records reveal by 1928, Welcome already had a membership of sixty- one. As the church grew under the ministries of Rev. R.C. Mullinax, Rev. G.L. Stewart, Rev. W.R. Padgott, and Rev. P.C. Lusk, the Sunday school during the next twelve years was becoming a very strong arm of Welcome Wesleyan Church. During the return ministry of Rev. G.L. Stewart, it became quite evident that Welcome needed a church which had rooms for the different Sunday school classes. Once again in 1940, Welcome began a building program and completed a church which consisted of a sanctuary and four class rooms. Rev. C.V. Marchbanks, during his six year ministry encouraged the growth of the Welcome Sunday School as a tool of Christian education. Up until Rev. Marchbank's ministry, the Wesleyan pastors traveled on a circuit serving as pastor for as many as three churches. Because Welcome now had a fulltime minister, it was felt that a parsonage was needed. The church bought the house and the property adjoining the Church on the right, however because the minister at the time could not move his family to this area, the property and house were later sold. Once again during the ministry of Rev. J.C. Byars (1952-1958), the members at Welcome began to feel financially able to buy a parsonage. In December 1953 Welcome purchased a house owned by the Oconee County School District. Not only was the church growing financially but attendance was on the increase. Rev. Foster Gentry urged the church to add onto the main auditorium in 1959 and new pews were purchased. Realizing that the future of Welcome Church depended on its young people, Rev.Gentry took an avid interest in the Wesleyan Youth and the Y.M.W.B. (Young Missionary Workers Band). Since then both these organizations have sponsored many activities and enhanced greatly the growth of Welcome Wesleyan Church. Shortly after the ministry of Rev. Billy R. Wilson, Rev. T.C. Childs suggested that the church build new classrooms at the back of the sanctuary. Realizing the need for more rooms, the members eagerly undertook the task and also added two indoor restrooms in the basement. This remodeling was completed in 1968. The year 1968 also brought about a change in Welcome's name. On June 26, 1968, the Wesleyan Methodist merged with the Pilgrim Holiness to form the Wesleyan Church; therefore Welcome is now known as the Welcome Wesleyan Church. Welcome was not only growing in size and structure, but was finding many various ways to spread the gospel. Under the ministry of our present pastor, Rev. Ray E. Barnwell, the church began to sponsor in November 1970 a radio program entitled "This is Your Witness" at 5:00 p.m. every Sunday on WSNW in Seneca. The program is still being aired every Sunday promptly at 5:00 p.m. and is a real encouragement and inspiration to those who are discouraged and downhearted. Reaching out in faith in 1971, a bus ministry was started to bring those in who, due to lack of transportation, were unable to attend services. With only one bus, the ministry grew until it was necessary to purchase another bus and Praise the Lord! The members were always willing to back this ministry with their prayers and pocketbooks. Now the church proudly owns and operates one van and one bus. In 1972, Welcome felt that a new parsonage was in order. Much to everyone's amazement it was discovered prior to the groundbreaking of the new parsonage that Welcome had been deeded the property on which the church was located. In order to obtain a building permit, the church had to submit a deed for the property on which they planned to build. However, this situation was remedied when the Bauknights readily agreed to deed the property to Welcome. The parsonage was sold and the mortgage on the new parsonage was burned shortly after the completion of the new structure. With the bus ministry, Welcome began to feel a great increase in each of its Sunday School departments. It was not long until many of the classrooms were "bursting at the seams" because they were filled to capacity. Soon it became necessary to move the Junior High class to a small trailer the church had obtained and placed at the back of the church. All evidence again indicated that Welcome had outgrown its present facility. Early in 1976, a new church plan was presented to our local church board. The board quickly approved the plan and passed it on to the members for approval. In March 1977, Welcome Church moved into a beautiful new sanctuary valued at over $100,000.00 Part of the old church was cut off, but most of it was remodeled and is being used as classrooms. The year 1978 has brought many new and welcome improvements to our new sanctuary. For those who have difficulty hearing, special hearing aids have been provided in a reserved section. Several of our members who have hearing problems are being so richly blessed from this added improvement. The church was also able to purchase through the help of one of its members, L.J. Powell, some of the property on the right of the church. The old store building was torn down and a much needed parking area has been provided. This has done much to enhance the beauty of the church and its surrounding property. Thus Welcome has grown to the Church we know today. Welcome now has a Sunday School enrollment of 200 and a church membership of 101. The above is a brief sketch of Welcome's history. Unfortunately due to the lack of time and information many facts and details have been left out. This was written in the hope that each and everyone who attends Welcome today will realize what God can accomplish through His people when they reach out in faith. The challenge is here for each of us as Christians to strive to move forward for Christ as our ancestors did. Certainly, Welcome has been richly blessed throughout the years. It is now up to us as present members to carry out the faith and courage of our founding ancestors, now the question facing us is.... can we accept the task of spreading the gospel and reaching out to those who are lost with the same unwavering faith of those few Christians who met under that crude shelter in 1898? PASTORS OF WELCOME CHURCH 1898-1899 Organized 1899-1902 C.A. Dunwoody 1902-1904 J.H. Lawrence 1904-1905 J.T. Carey 1905-1907 J.A. White 1907-1909 J.R. davis 1909-1910 J.A. White 1910-1911 F.H. Pressley 1912-1913 W.D. Correll 1913-1915 L. Rigdon 1915-1917 L.H. Kelley 1917-1920 J.T. Carey 1920-1922 M.R. Harvey, A..L.Vess 1922-1923 J.R. Davis 1923-1924 J.E. Merck 1924-1925 J.R. Garrett 1925-1932 W.L. Miller 1932-1933 R.C. Mullinax 1933-1936 G.L. Stewart 1936-1938 W.R.. Padgett 1938-1939 P.C. Lusk 1939-1946 G.L. Stewart 1946-1952 C.V. Marchbanks 1952-1958 J.C. Byars 1958-1963 Forest D. Gentry 1963-1964 Billy R. Wilson 1964-1968 T.C. Childs 1968- Ray E. Barnwell DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Nov-2000 Carol S. Wolfe at naficmail@aol.com in Nov-2000 HISTORY WRITE-UP : Linda L. O'Kelley at Welcome Wesleyan Methodist in Oct-1978 LIBRARY REFERENCE: ____________ at ____________ in _______ TRANSCRIPTION .. : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Nov-2000 TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: -------------------- a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife DAVERPORT, Ruth Medlin, b. 18-may-1923, d. 17-apr-1949 GREEN, Pearl McCall, b. 1900, d. 1924 LONG, Bessie Juanita, b. 28-jun-1921, d. 1-apr-1936, p. d.v. & Nellie long LONG, Denton V., b. 30-aug-1898, d. 19-oct-1992 LONG, Edgar D., b. 25-apr-1920, d. 9-jun-1920 LONG, John D., b. 19-jun-1932, d. 18-aug-1932, p. d.v. & Nellie long LONG, Nellie Peay, b. 27-sep-1898, d. 30-mar-1975 MAXIE, John D., b. 28-nov-1862, d. 28-nov-1933 MAXIE, Millie D., b. 8-mar-1863, d. 20-dec-1918 MEDLIN, Pauline Pressley, b. 25-sep-1906, d. 14-feb-1923 MOORE, Lula Geneva, b. 27-jun-1926, d. 23-jun-1927 MORGAN, Elzie E., b. 7-feb-1899, d. 30-dec-1980 MORGAN, Ola M., b. 11-dec-1895, d. 15-jun-1964, h. elzie morgan NICHOLS, J. Bert, b. 13-jun-1867, d. 9-dec-1952 NICHOLS, Nannie C., b. 25-apr-1878, d. 13-jan-1965, h. bert Nichols PEAY, Anna Addis, b. 2-nov-1878, d. 21-may-1963 PEAY, John R., b. 23-jun-1872, d. 3-jan-1943 POWELL, Luther J. (Jr), b. 23-sep-1947, p. l.j. & aggie powell POWELL, Martha R., b. 12-aug-1924, d. 12-aug-1924, p. l.j. & aggie powell RIDLEY, Martha M., b. 18-may-1879, d. 27-nov-1932 SIEGLER, Gladys, b. 2-dec-1918, d. 18-sep-1920 WEIBBENS, Dora, b. 21-apr-1856, d. 30-may-1921 WILSON, Alma M., b. 2-mar-1902, d. 30-sep-1919 WILSON, Amelia Richey, b. 9-dec-1863, d. 24-aug-1922, h. w.l. Wilson