First United Methodist Church of Pearland

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, the story of the First United Methodist Church of Pearland goes back further than most folks might expect, and it has weathered more than a few storms along the way. I mean that literally.

Local Methodist worship in Pearland can be traced all the way back to 1894. But it wasn't until 1898 that this congregation got itself officially organized, under the name the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pearland. They had themselves a frame building, and being neighborly people, they shared it with other denominations.

That right there tells you something about the spirit of the place. Then came 1900. If you know anything about the Texas Gulf Coast, you know what 1900 means.

That storm damaged the building. The congregation patched things up and kept on. Then 1915 brought a hurricane that finished the job entirely.

Destroyed it. Gone. Now, a lot of outfits might have scattered to the wind after two blows like that.

Not this congregation. By 1917, they had a new structure standing. Sunday School programs, a ladies' aid group, the kinds of activities that turn a gathering into a community.

They grew steadily. Steadily enough that by 1947, a new sanctuary was required, and that 1917 building, the one they built out of the wreckage of two storms, got a quieter second life as a fellowship hall. New facilities came as they were needed.

And in the congregation's centennial year, the year this marker was put to paper, they counted over two thousand members, still upholding the traditions of the founders who refused to quit after the first storm, and the second one, and the one after that.

What the marker says

Though local Methodist worship can be traced to 1894, this congregation was officially organized in 1898 as the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pearland. The original frame building, shared with other denominations, was damaged in the storm of 1900 and destroyed in the hurricane of 1915. A new structure was completed by 1917. With activities such as Sunday School programs and a ladies' aid group, the congregation grew steadily. A new sanctuary was required in 1947; the 1917 structure became a fellowship hall. New facilities were acquired as needed. With over 2,000 members in its centennial year, the congregation continues to uphold the traditions of its founders. (1998)