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History Highlights of the Hope Hull United Methodist Church
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| The first Hope Hull Methodist Protestant Church was built of logs hewn from trees in the fields of the Honorable Abner McGehee. It was in his memory that the marble marker on the church grounds was placed by the Alabama Bible Society. The original 1830 structure was located about a mile west of the present site. In 1886 it was rebuilt at the new site and was placed facing west. It was truly "The Little Brown Church in the Vale". In 1920-21 the Little Brown Church was turned to face north toward the highway and was painted white. But in 1923 it was destroyed by fire. Services were held in the Club House for a while and plans were made to rebuild. Dr. T. C. Cassady, pastor of Bibb Street Methodist Protestant Church, asked Cooper and Opal, Montgomery architects, to draw plans for the new building. It was completed in 1925. Much could be said about the men of God who served as pastors of our church since that time. To mention a few, they were: Dr. T. C. Cassady, Dr. J. S. Eddins, Dr. S. H. Lynch and his sons, W. O. and A. G. Lynch and their cousins, Brother Herschel Lynch, who went from this church as a missionary to Japan. The women have always played an important part in the work of the church. Some have even served as church school superintendents, but their greatest work, of course, is in the missionary field. In the early 1930's the State Missionary Society held their annual meeting here. Another big event of the year, 1930, was the installation of electric lights in the church. Nineteen thirty-five saw the uniting of the Methodist Protestant Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church. We then became the Hope Hull Methodist Church. The first minister to serve our church after this merger was the Rev. Marvin K. Vickers. In 1949 Hope Hull and Snow do un churches were placed together on a circuit and the Rev. Henry L. Tate was our minister. A parsonage was bought and furnished by the two churches. Rev. Lloyd Kimbrough and his family was the first and only church family to live in it. It was later sold and a new parsonage was built in 1954 on land on Lamar Road, which had been donated by Mr. and Mrs. Z. P. Gordon, Sr. The Rev. W. P. Price and his family were the first to occupy it. On April 13, 1958 under the capable leadership of Rev. Stanley Mullins, the church membership voted to begin plans toward construction of a new masonry building consisting of a sanctuary, fellowship hall, kitchen, bathrooms and several classrooms. Local architect, Frank Temple, was employed to design a building of 5,737.5 square feet. The old building was removed and the new one was constructed on the same site and was completed in 1961. The 1961 building was located on an exactly one-acre lot. Sometime after the completion of the building, Mr. Fred Hooper, Sr. gave to the church 3.16 acres that adjoined the original lot on the east and south boundaries. The new area would be sorely needed in 1976 when plans were discussed for a new parsonage. The old parsonage was sold and the proceeds used to start a new structure. Freeman Shelton drew the plans for the parsonage, an addition to the choir room, and details necessary to repair a collapsing west wall on the church school wing. The whole project was completed in April, 1977. The first occupants were Leonard Shultz and his family. Building "fever" hit again in January, 1997, when plans for another addition were discussed. Freeman Shelton made the starting sketches and worked with architect, George Edmondson, in preparing the final working plans. Bids were obtained and the 3,575.0 square feet addition would reach a final cost of $250,000.00. Ground breaking was set for July 5, 1998. Donations to the building fund exceeded $120,000.00 and a loan of $130,000.00 was obtained to complete the project. The Finance Committee, the Trustees, the Long-Range Planning Committee and Administrative Board were all instrumental in completing this ambitious undertaking. Rev. Glen Pugh was our minister and the motivating force behind all those who helped and those who gave for this project. In 2004 we saw the reality of our paved parking area, which brought over 100 new parking spaces. Along with the new parking facility we have updated our children's play area, and soon it will be enclosed for safety. |
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305 Wasden Road - Hope Hull, Alabama - 36043 - (334) 288-3956
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