DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Schleicher County, in the town of Eldorado, there is a congregation with a quiet kind of distinction. It was the first church organized in that new town, and it got started in July of 1901.
Now, when a congregation is the first one in a brand-new town, you work with what you've got. And what they had, early on, was brush arbors and a schoolhouse. Picture that.
Folks gathering in the shade of branches lashed together, or filing into the school building on a Sunday, making do, building something out of nothing. That is a congregation with conviction. By 1903, they had enough to do something more.
They erected their first sanctuary, and here is a detail worth savoring. They shared it with the other denominations in town. One building, multiple congregations, all of them making it work.
That is a particular kind of Texas neighborliness. Then came 1938, and a new church structure went up. The old building was sold to the public school system.
A new chapter, clean and hopeful. But 1944 had other plans. Fire damaged much of the sanctuary that year.
Much of it, but not the spirit of the thing. Because by 1945 it was rebuilt. One year.
Rebuilt. The First Methodist Church of Eldorado has been serving that community ever since, through a variety of ministries, carrying a story that started in a brush arbor and has never stopped moving forward.
What the marker says
Established in July 1901, this congregation was the first church organized in the new town of Eldorado. Early services were held in brush arbors or in the local school building. In 1903 the church erected its first sanctuary and shared it with other denominations in town. In 1938 a new church structure was erected, and the old building was sold to the public school system. Though fire damaged much of the sanctuary in 1944, it was rebuilt by 1945. The church continues to serve the Eldorado community through a variety of ministries. (1996)