Christoval United Methodist Church

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and I'm just here to pass it along the way Duane does. Now settle in, because this story starts the way a lot of good Texas stories start: with people sharing what they had. Before 1910, the Methodists, the Baptists, and the Cumberland Presbyterians in Christoval were all crowding into the same Cumberland Presbyterian Church building for worship.

Circuit riders from all three denominations took turns preaching on alternate Sundays. Think about that arrangement for a moment. Three different traditions, one building, everybody making it work.

When the Baptists built their own structure in 1910, the area Methodists didn't rush off anywhere. They stayed right there alongside the Cumberland Presbyterians, worshiping together for many more years. The records of the Christoval Methodist congregation pick up from 1923, and by 1926 the congregation was ready to put down something permanent.

With the Reverend J. E. Young serving as pastor, the Methodists erected a red brick structure, right there at the corner of Second and McKee streets.

Now, a red brick building doesn't pay for itself, and that's where the Fourth of July comes in. Fundraising projects at several Fourth of July celebrations helped defray the cost of the building loan. Nothing says community like raising a church fund between the fireworks and the barbecue.

In those early years, the church women organized the Women's Missionary Society, and their first major project was to raise money for the Methodist Orphans' Home. A Men's Nondenominational Sunday School class was established in 1951. A parsonage was built in 1947 at a cost of twelve hundred dollars, and an educational building followed in 1956.

Further additions and renovations came as the congregation needed them, including three classrooms constructed in 1983 and given in memory of Clarice Atkins McMillan. The congregation paused to honor its former pastors and longtime members at a church homecoming in 1978, and again at a seventy-fifth anniversary celebration in 1998. And the Men's Nondenominational Sunday School class?

They still host an annual barbecue. Some traditions, once they take root in Texas soil, just don't let go.

What the marker says

According to local history, Christoval Methodists, Baptists, and Cumberland Presbyterians assembled for worship services in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church building before 1910. Circuit riders from the three denominations preached on alternate Sundays. Although Baptists built their own structure in 1910, area Methodists continued to worship with Cumberland Presbyterians for many years. The records of the Christoval Methodist congregation date from 1923. In 1926, with the Rev. J. E. Young as pastor, the Methodists erected and occupied a red brick structure at the corner of Second and McKee streets. Fundraising projects at several Fourth of July celebrations helped to defray the cost of the building loan. In early years church women organized the Women's Missionary Society. Their first major project was to raise money for the Methodist Orphans' Home. A Men's Nondenominational Sunday School class was established in 1951. A parsonage was built in 1947 at a cost of $1,200; an educational building was erected in 1956. Further additions and renovations were made as needed, including the construction of three classrooms given in memory of Clarice Atkins McMillan in 1983. Former pastors and longtime members were honored at a church homecoming in 1978 and a 75th anniversary celebration in 1998. With continuing activities of worship and community service including an annual barbecue hosted by the Men's Nondenominational Sunday School class, the Christoval United Methodist Church carries on in the traditions of its founders. (1998)