|
|
ANN STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH "The Mission of Ann Street Church is.... To Know Christ and to Make Him Known" -------- |
|
||||
|
Eric Lindblade, Senior Pastor |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
The ancestors of this present congregation
organized as Methodist in 1778. Through the years, the congregation has
worshiped in three buildings, all in this square. The first building was
built in 1724 on a lot opposite what is now the Carteret County
Courthouse and the congregation was Anglican. Frances Asbury, during one of his two visits to Beaufort, said, "The people of Beaufort are kind but have little religion." Twenty-one years later, after the Great Revival of 1810-11, when he was in Beaufort again, he wrote, "In Beaufort the Lord hath put forth his power and the whole town seems to bow to the scepter of the Lord." In 1820 the church now known as Purvis Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was built with a balcony for slaves. In 1828 a Sunday school was organized, but there were no classrooms and no literature; however ninety miscellaneous volumes were in the church library. Some of these books are believed to have been left by the Anglican Priests when they fled Beaufort at the beginning of the Revolutionary War and are in our Heritage Room. Later $30 was raised to purchase additional books. In 1830 the Beaufort-Straits Circuit was separated and Beaufort became a station church with a membership of 164 whites and 94 African Americans. In 1854 the present church was built and Purvis Chapel remained open, later being given to the black members. The original structure of this church was what the main part of the sanctuary is now. The front door was located where the big window is beside the choir loft and the pulpit area was where the big window is on the opposite side backing the cemetery. Backless pews ran east to west, and it has been said that the ladies sat on one side, the gentlemen on the other and the children sat in the back with their Sunday school teachers who carried long rods to help keep the children awake during the 4-5 hour services that were held at that time. Ann Street Church is a building that represents personal involvement and love. Each nail, shingle, plank and brick has been a labor of love given by fishermen who sold their catch, women who sewed and sold their craft, girls who made hominy and boys who hauled oysters and did odd jobs, all turning their gifts over to be used for building a beautiful and enduring sanctuary, a place of worship through all these many years. The ceiling of the main part of the sanctuary was built like the hull of a ship. The builders were shipbuilders after all. The manner in which they built the church has helped it withstand many ferocious hurricanes without major damage. Prior to the Civil War the pastors of Ann Street were called upon to volunteer as Chaplains at Fort Macon. During the War Between the States, Federal soldiers took over Beaufort and because our Conference appointed preacher had fled with his family, the soldiers moved into the empty parsonage. The church itself was used as a hospital during a part of the time during the war years. There was an outbreak of yellow fever that swept this area, brought in by the occupying troops, and many died. A plaque in the Narthex remembers one Sunday School class of our church, the entire membership of which died during that outbreak. During the war years two local Lay Pastors helped keep the congregation together and preached the Word with the church holding meetings in private homes and the Courthouse. After the War, in 1866, an organ was allowed to be used in the church. The hand-bellows organ had been ordered from England and was very ornate and large for that time. Old members shook their heads at the worldliness of such a fancy addition to the sanctuary. There were those who even left the church to become part of the large Quaker contingent that flourished in this area for many years. Beaufort was an active seaport with ties to the China Trade through the Boston ports and before storms changed the inlets. Many of our forbearers made their living from the sea. The stained glass windows in our sanctuary reflect this history through the many symbols of the sea and the Orient. Look for anchors and pagodas! Please visit our Heritage Room where we have preserved many artifacts that point to the life in God that our people have tried to live. From the communion table that dates back to the 1700's, the turn-of-the century Cradle Roll books, or even the first steeple that stood over our church, the history of this church points to a people striving to be a people of God. Over the years the church buildings have been restored and renovated. However, all in all, the sanctuary remains much the same as it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Our church has not stood still in just one moment of history. Rather we remain committed to Christ and ministry to others, with that call leading us ever forward. We are glad that you have visited our website and hope that you will want to come and be a part of the worship and spiritual growth experience at Ann Street United Methodist Church! |
||||||
|
Home Ministries Chimes Newsletter Sermons Worship & Study Church History PreSchool Links |
||||||
