First United Methodist Church of Buna

Duane's take

Well, I'm drawing this one straight from the official marker for the First United Methodist Church of Buna, so let me tell it the way the record tells it. Five people walked into January 1904 with a shared conviction and a plan. James J.

Hancock, John A. Hancock, Minnie Hancock, Ethel Hancock, and Tex Rogers. Five founding members, and four of them sharing a last name.

That right there tells you something about the kind of close-knit roots a church can grow from. Before the year was out, the congregation had grown. Lee Woody, Alma Hancock, Sallie Edgar, Prentice Landrum, S.S.

Fairly, and M. Mattox all joined up. Eleven people total, and they had themselves a church, even if they didn't yet have a building to hold it in.

For those early years, they made do with the town's schoolhouse, gathering for services in the same room where the children of Buna learned their letters and numbers. Now, a borrowed schoolhouse will serve a congregation's soul just fine, but eventually a church needs walls of its own. Construction began in 1914 on a white frame church building, and the land itself came as a gift.

J.R. Chapman donated it to the church trustees for that very purpose. The structure that rose on that donated ground was no modest little chapel either.

It was two stories tall. And it took some years to complete, the way worthy things often do. It was finished and dedicated in 1922.

When the congregation celebrated that dedication, there was more to celebrate than just the sanctuary. A community hall had also been built on the property, jointly funded alongside the local Masonic lodge. And the arrangement made beautiful, practical sense.

The Methodists held Sunday School on the first floor on Sunday mornings. During the week, that same floor hosted community functions. The second floor belonged to the Masonic lodge.

One building, shared purpose, two communities looking after each other. A parsonage had already gone up next door in 1919, so the minister had a home close to the work. The congregation kept building, kept growing.

Additional facilities rose in 1956, then 1965, then 1999. And along the way, the people of this church organized. The Epworth League got started in 1909.

A Woman's Missionary Society, which today goes by the name United Methodist Women, was established around 1919. The United Methodist Men and the Methodist Youth Fellowship are active as well. And the congregation's reach has always stretched beyond its own membership.

During the 1940s, the church actively supported the Hispanic community of Bessmay. That kind of outreach, quiet and sustained, is part of what this church has been from the beginning. Five people in January 1904 started something that, more than a century later, still stands as a spiritual beacon and a social center of the Buna community.

Not bad for a congregation that once borrowed a schoolhouse.

What the marker says

Five Buna citizens came together in January 1904 to form a Methodist Church. The founding members were James J. Hancock, John A. Hancock, Minnie Hancock, Ethel Hancock and Tex Rogers. Later that year, Lee Woody, Alma Hancock, Sallie Edgar, Prentice Landrum, S.S. Fairly and M. Mattox joined the congregation. Early church services were held at the town’s schoolhouse. In 1914, construction began on a white frame church building on land donated for that purpose to church trustees by J.R. Chapman. The two-story structure was completed and dedicated in 1922. At that time, a community hall was also built on the church property and was jointly funded by the local Masonic lodge. The Methodists held Sunday School on the first floor on Sunday mornings, and it was used to host community functions during the week. The second floor was reserved for use by the Masonic lodge. A parsonage was built next to the church in 1919. Additional facilities were constructed on the church property in 1956, 1965 and 1999. Several organizations have been founded by congregation members. Epworth League began in 1909 and a Woman’s Missionary Society, now known as United Methodist Women, was established ca. 1919. The United Methodist Men and the Methodist Youth Fellowship are also active. Mission work and outreach activities are also important to the congregation. The church actively supported the Hispanic community of Bessmay during the 1940s. Today, First United Methodist Church continues to serve as a spiritual beacon and a social center of the Buna community.