First United Methodist Church of Bishop

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now settle in, because this one starts with a meeting in a town hall and ends with a church that just flat refused to quit. November 12, 1911.

The Rev. Alton T. White, who was pastoring over at nearby Calallen, gathered a group of Methodists inside the Bishop town hall.

What came out of that meeting was the organizing of a Methodist Episcopal Church, and a founding roll that reads like a proper Texas congregation ought to: Mrs. B. G.

Bishop, Mrs. J. B.

Butts, J. H. Herron, Mrs.

Althea McClane, Mr. and Mrs. Reinhold Moser, Mr. and Mrs. J.

N. Starrett, and Maude and Blanche Starrett. Charter members, every one of them.

The congregation then received the Rev. P. L.

Pyle as its first pastor, and they were off. Now here is where the story gets good. By 1912 they had fewer than fifty members, but they had ambition.

They set up a building committee, L. E. Appleby, Mrs.

F. Z. Bishop, J.

H. Herron, and R. Moser, and those four looked at the lot that city founder F.

Z. Bishop had given to the Methodist denomination and made a decision. That lot, they agreed, sat too far from the central business district.

So they traded it. Exchanged the designated church land for lots just south of Main Street. That right there is a congregation that knew where it wanted to be.

Groundbreaking came in December 1912, and within nine years the church was free of debt. Nine years, through drought, through hurricane, through whatever South Texas threw at them. Free of debt.

Fast forward to 1952, and a new building fund committee got to work. Two years later, church trustees bought a full block of property facing Sixth Street on the north side, and a large part of that land came as a gift from church members, given in honor of their parents. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on October 27, 1955.

The new edifice took more than a year to rise, and when it was done it included a sanctuary with a seating capacity of more than four hundred. By the end of 1966 membership had climbed to 586. And then on December 14, 1969, the new building was declared free of debt and dedicated.

Free of debt, again. Some congregations have a gift for that. The First United Methodist Church of Bishop, born in a town hall with a handful of charter members and a borrowed pastor, continues today in the traditions of its founders.

They picked the right lot. They outlasted the drought and the hurricane. Twice they built, and twice they cleared the books.

That's not just a church. That's a statement.

What the marker says

The Rev. Alton T. White, pastor at nearby Calallen, met with Methodists in the Bishop town hall to organize a Methodist Episcopal Church on November 12, 1911. Mrs. B. G. Bishop, Mrs. J. B. Butts, J. H. Herron, Mrs. Althea McClane, Mr. and Mrs. Reinhold Moser, Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Starrett, and Maude and Blanche Starrett were among the charter members. The congregation received the Rev. P. L. Pyle as its first pastor. In 1912, with fewer than 50 members, they set up a building program with L. E. Appleby, Mrs. F. Z. Bishop, J. H. Herron and R. Moser as the building committee. Though city founder F. Z. Bishop gave town lots for each denomination, the building committee agreed that the designated Methodist church lot was too far from the central business district. They exchanged the land for lots just south of Main Street. The groundbreaking took place in December 1912. The church was free of debt within nine years despite the ravages of drought and hurricane. A new building fund committee began its work in 1952. Two years later, church trustees bought a block of property facing Sixth Street on the north side. A large part of the land was a gift from church members in honor of their parents. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on October 27, 1955. The erection of the new edifice took more than a year to complete and included a sanctuary with a seating capacity of more than 400. By the end of 1966, membership had reached 586. The new building was declared free of debt and dedicated on December 14, 1969. The First United Methodist Church of Bishop continues in the traditions of its founders with programs of service and worship. (2000)