A United Methodist Pastor's Theological Reflections

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 15:57


Sunday, August 30, 2009

Learning Something New Every Day!

During my recent sermon planning retreat in Adam's county, a friend of mine and I spent an afternoon sight seeing Moore's Chapel United Methodist Church, located in Blue Creek, Ohio.

Moore's Chapel is named after Rev. Joseph Moore who organized the congregation as early as 1796. The historical distinction is that this church is on the site of the first Methodist Episcopal Church building in Ohio and the Northwest Territory dating back to 1800.

With so many United Methodist church buildings scattered throughout Ohio today, it was humbling to think that this was the location of where the very first one was built! The original building was a log cabin. An estimated guess is that there are probably about 1,500 to 1,800 UM churches in Ohio today.
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We toured the two room church which continues to be a place of worship and fellowship for the Moore's Chapel congregation.
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Before the sermon planning retreat, I never heard of Moore's Chapel UMC and it's historical distinction and I've been a pastor in the West Ohio Conference for the past twenty-four years! There's something new to learn every single day.

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