Blue Ridge Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Blue Ridge Methodist Church, out in Collin County. Now settle in, because this one's got more chapters than a good paperback novel. The town of Blue Ridge came into being in 1876, and four years after that, a man named the Reverend W.

L. Fagg did something that set the whole story in motion: he donated land for a Methodist Protestant Church and stepped up as its very first pastor. When he stepped back, the Reverend Martin Gentry stepped forward.

And behind that church, somebody put up a tabernacle (a big open-air structure) where the congregation would gather for summer revivals. You can almost hear the singing carrying across those Collin County evenings. Now, jump ahead to 1913.

W. L. Fagg and his wife bought a tract of land on a new site, purchasing it from M.

L. and Goldie Fagg. The church building itself was picked up and moved; moved closer to downtown Blue Ridge, so the congregation could grow right alongside the community. Bold thinking, that.

But here's where the story gets serious. In 1919, a tornado tore through Blue Ridge. Devastating is the word the marker uses, and it earns it.

That church building, the one they'd gone to all the trouble of relocating, survived. Six years later, in 1923, the church expanded again, buying adjoining property from C. D. and Hettie Fagg Manning.

And somewhere along the way, the Methodist Protestant Church joined with the older Methodist Episcopal Church of Blue Ridge, and the congregation came to be known as First Methodist Church. Then the Depression Era arrived, and it hit the church the way it hit just about everything else: hard. The church could not pay a minister.

Could. Not. Pay.

But here's what happened instead of giving up: the members kept showing up. They held Sunday School classes. They kept the Ladies' Aid Organization going.

They attended summer revivals. And then, in the 1940s, ten members formed a Missionary Society and got to work: quilting bees, holiday dinners, ice cream suppers, bazaars; all of it aimed at covering the pastor's salary, the conference fees, the utility bills. Ten people, holding the whole thing together with needle and thread and a good pot of chili.

The church found its footing again. By the 1960s and 1970s it was thriving, and it joined the United Methodist Churches in the nearby communities of Trenton and Whitewright to form something called the Trinity Cooperative Parish. In 1976, the United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men programs were established.

Plans for a new educational building followed in 1977. From a donated piece of land in 1880, through a tornado, through the Depression, through revival after revival; the First United Methodist Church of Blue Ridge kept right on going. That's not luck.

That's a congregation that decided, more than once, that it wasn't finished yet.

What the marker says

The town of Blue Ridge was established in 1876. Four years later, the Rev. W. L. Fagg donated land for a Methodist Protestant Church. He served as the church's first pastor and was succeeded by the Rev. Martin Gentry. A tabernacle erected behind the church was used for summer revivals. In 1913 W. L. Fagg and his wife bought a tract of land on this site from M. L. and Goldie Fagg. The church building was moved here, closer to downtown, so that the congregation might grow with the community. The building survived a devastating 1919 tornado that tore through Blue Ridge. The church was expanded in 1923 with the purchase of adjoining property from C. D. and Hettie Fagg Manning. The Methodist Protestant Church joined with the older Methodist Episcopal Church of Blue Ridge, and became known as First Methodist Church. During the Depression Era, the church was unable to pay a minister. Members continued to hold Sunday School classes, support the Ladies' Aid Organization and attend summer revivals. Ten members formed a Missionary Society in the 1940s. They raised funds through quilting bees, holiday dinners, ice cream suppers and bazaars in order to pay the pastor's salary, conference fees and utility bills. The church thrived in the 1960s and 1970s. It joined the United Methodist Churches in the nearby communities of Trenton and Whitewright to form the Trinity Cooperative Parish. In 1976 the United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men programs were established, and plans for a new educational building began in 1977. The First United Methodist Church of Blue Ridge continues in the traditions of its founders with programs of worship and service. (2000)