DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Faith United Methodist Church in Galveston County. Now settle in, because this story starts with a preacher making house calls and ends with something that outlasted a whole lot of storms — literal and otherwise. Two historically African-American Methodist congregations, one in Dickinson and one in League City, each with their own founding story, their own trials, their own faithful people.
And somewhere down the road, those two streams ran together into one. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Go back to 1889.
A man named Richard H. Warren begins preaching — not in a church, mind you, but in the homes of Sophie Monroe and Wilimina Toussaint. That's where the first congregation takes root, right there in somebody's front room.
Before long, Regular worship services move to the home of Shed Slaughter. No steeple, no pews, no stained glass. Just folks gathering around the Word.
Warren kept at it. In 1900, he was accepted as an ordained deacon in the Methodist Church. The very next year, he was appointed minister of the Dickinson Circuit — and that circuit stretched across La Marque, Hitchcock, Dickinson, and League City.
That's a wide piece of country to tend. Now here's the part that'll stop you cold. That same year — 1900 — a storm hit.
You already know the one. And in the aftermath of that storm, lumber washed ashore. Warren Chapel's first actual church building was constructed in 1901, built from that very lumber the storm left behind.
The congregation raised walls out of what the water gave back. Warren served as minister until 1904, and the membership kept growing. Meanwhile, over in League City, another story was unfolding.
Alex Winfield, Sr. founded Winfield Chapel. Around 1907, the congregation received a donation of land and built its first sanctuary right there on that site. Circuit riders came to hold worship services for the small congregation, keeping the faith moving along those back roads.
Then 1932 brought another storm, and that first sanctuary was gone. It took about ten years, but a new building was completed. These were not congregations that quit easily.
Fast forward to December of 1966. The district superintendent called a meeting — the kind of meeting where history turns a corner. The question on the table was whether Warren Chapel and Winfield Chapel ought to become one.
By June 1967, it was official. The merger of those two historic churches was recorded, and they were known together as Warren-Winfield Chapel. Two years after that, the church moved to its present location and was consecrated as Faith United Methodist Church.
From Richard Warren preaching in a borrowed home in 1889, to lumber reclaimed from a great storm, to two congregations finding each other across the decades — the marker says the church has developed significant programs of outreach, education, and ministries, with strength in its members. That strength, friend, didn't come from nowhere. It was built the same way that first church was — piece by piece, out of whatever the years washed in.
What the marker says
Faith United Methodist Church This congregation grew from the merger of two historically African-American Methodist congregations in Dickinson and League City. The first, Warren Chapel, was named for its founder, Richard H. Warren, who preached at the homes of Sophie Monroe and Wilimina Toussaitn in 1889 to begin the church. Regular worship services were then held in the home of Shed Slaughter. In 1900, Warren was accepted as an ordained deacon in the Methodist Church, and the following year he was appointed minister of the Dickinson Circuit, which included La Marque, Hitchcock, Dickinson and League City. Warren Chapel's first church building was constructed in 1901 with lumber that had washed ashore in the aftermath of the 1900 storm. Warren served as minister until 1904, and the congregation continued to build its membership. Winfield Chapel, founded at League City by Alex Winfield, Sr., received a donation of land about 1907 and built its first sanctuary on the site. A 1932 storm destroyed that building, and a new one was completed about 10 years later. Circuit riders held worship services for the small congregation. In December 1966, the district superintendent called a meeting to discuss a union of these two historic churches. In June 1967, the merger of Warren Chapel and Winfield Chapel as Warren-Winfield Chapel became official. Two years later, the church moved to its present location and consecrated as Faith United Methodist Church. With strength in its members, the church has developed significant programs of outreach, education and ministries. (2002)