Brock Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Brock Methodist Church, out in Parker County. Now, every good Texas story starts with somebody pulling up stakes somewhere else and pointing themselves south and west. In 1876, James and Sarah Maddux did exactly that: packed up their family, left Arkansas behind, and set their sights on Texas.

They purchased land and settled into a community that went by the name Olive Branch at the time. Good name for a place where folks were tryin' to put down roots and live peaceably. Four years in, James and Sarah had clearly decided this was home.

In 1880 they donated land (land they'd worked and claimed as their own) for a school, a cemetery, and churches. Plural. They weren't being stingy about it.

That kind of generosity has a way of shaping a community for generations. The Methodist Church took root here in 1882, with the Maddux family counted among the charter members. And now, picture where they first gathered: not in some grand building with pews and stained glass.

No. They met in a brush arbor. Open sky overhead, trees doing the work of walls, voices rising up through the branches.

From there they moved into a log building, and then a tabernacle, and through all of it they were sharin' those meeting facilities with the Baptist Church. Methodists and Baptists, side by side. That's the kind of arrangement that tells you something about a community.

For a good while, worship services were conducted by visiting preachers; circuit riders and the like, folks who'd come through when they could. That went on until 1892, when the Reverend E. J.

Maxwell arrived and became the church's pastor. A congregation finally with someone to call their own. Then came 1908, and the laying of a cornerstone.

An actual church building went up: a sanctuary constructed, something permanent, something that said we are here and we intend to stay. But here's where the story gets honest. By 1951, the congregation was declining.

That word (declining) carries a lot of weight. Empty pews. Fewer voices.

The kind of quiet that can settle into a place and make it feel like an ending. And it might have been, except that a new pastor arrived, and a few dedicated members decided they weren't done. They began to rebuild.

Later, facilities were added. The sanctuary was refurbished. And the congregation grew; steadily, the marker says, which is the best kind of growing; becoming active in domestic and foreign missionary activities and in many community outreach programs.

From a brush arbor in 1882 to more than a century of being an integral part of this community. The Brock United Methodist Church is still providing traditional programs for its members today. James and Sarah Maddux donated that land back in 1880, and the story that grew from it is still being written.

That's a long return on a generous gift.

What the marker says

In 1876 James and Sarah Maddux moved their family from Arkansas to Texas. They purchased land here and settled in this community originally named Olive Branch. In 1880 James and Sarah Maddux donated land for a school, cemetery and churches. The Methodist Church was established in 1882 with the Maddux family among the charter members. They first met in the brush arbor and later met in a log building and in a tabernacle, sharing meeting facilities with the Baptist Church. Worship services were conducted by visiting preachers until 1892 when the Rev. E.J. Maxwell became pastor of the church. In 1908 the cornerstone for a church building was laid and a sanctuary was constructed. By 1951 the congregation was declining. A new pastor and a few dedicated members began to rebuild the church. Later facilities were added and the sanctuary was refurbished. The congregation grew steadily and became active in domestic and foreign missionary activities and in many community outreach programs. Brock United Methodist Church provides traditional programs for its members and has been an integral part of the community for more than a century. (1997)