Bethlehem Christian Church

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of Bethlehem Christian Church in Matagorda County, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. In 1872, the Reverend Henry Woodard established the Bethlehem Christian Church Disciples of Christ out in the Cedar Lake community. Now, that's not nothing.

Starting a church is one thing. What the Reverend Woodard did next is the part worth sitting with. He conveyed two acres, his own two acres, to the freedpersons who were the earliest members of that congregation.

Land for a church. Land for a cemetery. A place to worship and a place to rest, deeded over to the people who needed it most.

That kind of act has weight to it. The members first gathered in a wood-framed building that did double duty, housing Cedar Lake School right alongside the congregation. Church and classroom sharing the same walls.

Community building itself from the inside out. The Reverend Woodard stayed. He didn't establish the church and move on.

He served as pastor for forty-three years, right up until his death in 1915. Forty-three years of sermons, of funerals, of marriages, of hard seasons and good ones. The congregation he built outlasted every building he ever preached in.

They erected a new sanctuary in 1913, then another in 1951, then another in 1997. Three times they built anew, and three times the church kept standin'. Bethlehem Christian Church has served that Cedar Lake community as a spiritual, social, educational, and financial leader through all those years.

And today, it continues to be a focal point of Cedar Lake. Some things you plant in 1872 are still growin'.

What the marker says

In 1872, the Rev. Henry Woodard established the Bethlehem Christian Church Disciples of Christ. The Rev. Woodard, who served as pastor for 43 years until his death in 1915, conveyed two acres for the church and a cemetery to freedpersons who were the earliest members of the congregation. Members first met at a wood-framed building which also housed Cedar Lake School. The members erected new sanctuaries in 1913, 1951 and 1997. Through the years, the church has served the community as a spiritual, social, educational and financial leader. Today, Bethlehem Christian Church continues to be a focal point of the Cedar Lake community.