First United Methodist Church of Taft

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First United Methodist Church of Taft, out in San Patricio County. Now settle in, because this one goes back further than you might expect. It starts not with a building, not even with a congregation, but with a Sunday school meetin' in Gregory, Texas, way back in 1876.

Just folks gathering to worship, no walls to call their own, just faith and a little determination. That seed would take a long time to bloom into something permanent, but when it did, it was something worth noting. In 1910, a man named E.

A. Hunter was appointed pastor to a circuit that stretched across Taft, Gregory, Portland, and Ingleside. That's a lot of ground to cover, and Hunter covered it.

By December of that same year, he had organized the Taft Methodist Church. Then came the Rev. R.

C. Aubrey, assigned to the circuit in 1911, and things started moving. The Taft and Gregory congregations held a joint revival together and brought in forty new Methodists.

Forty. In one revival. And if that wasn't enough, the entire circuit, every congregation on the route, pooled their money that same year to raise a thousand dollars toward the building of the new Southern Methodist University.

That is a community with a sense of purpose. Now, here's a detail that gives you a feel for how the early days actually worked out on the ground. The Methodist and Presbyterian congregations in Taft, two different denominations, shared the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company assembly hall, and later the Taft School building.

They made it work because they had to, and probably because they wanted to. In 1921, those two congregations built a new facility together, on land given by the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company itself. And that building, that joint effort, became the first permanent church building in Taft.

The first one. After decades of Sunday schools and borrowed halls and circuit riders, a real building finally stood. But as congregations tend to do, they eventually wanted their own space.

In 1923, the Methodists decided to erect their own building, and that same year, the Methodist and Presbyterian congregations over in Gregory voted to merge with their counterparts in Taft. The pieces were rearranging themselves. By November 1924, a new Taft Methodist Church building was completed.

And it kept growing from there. A new sanctuary was formally opened on Easter Sunday, 1949, and membership increased dramatically in the 1950s. Plans for a new educational plant began in 1954 and were expanded in 1955.

The congregation never stopped building, and it never stopped reaching. From the Epworth League, organized in 1924, to a lay witness program begun in the 1980s, to modern family programs organized in the 1990s, the Taft United Methodist Church has been planting roots in that community decade after decade. Started with a Sunday school in 1876 and kept right on going.

Some seeds just know what they're supposed to become.

What the marker says

E. A. Hunter was appointed pastor to the Taft, Gregory, Portland and Ingleside circuit in 1910. Methodists in Taft and Gregory worked together to build Methodist worship and religious education in the area. A Methodist Sunday school had been meeting in Gregory since 1876. The Rev. Mr. Hunter organized the Taft Methodist Church in December 1910. The Rev. R. C. Aubrey was assigned to the circuit in 1911. The Taft and Gregory congregations held a joint revival, bringing in forty new Methodists. The entire circuit pooled its funds in order to raise a thousand dollars for the building of the new Southern Methodist University in 1911, as well. The Methodist and Presbyterian congregations in Taft shared the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company assembly hall and later the Taft School building. The two congregations built a new facility in 1921 on land given by the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company. It was the first permanent church building in Taft. The two groups separated in 1923 when Methodists decided to erect their own building. That year the Methodist and Presbyterian congregations in Gregory voted to merge with the Taft churches. In November 1924 a new Taft Methodist Church building was completed. The church continued to grow, erecting new facilities as needed. A new sanctuary was formally opened on Easter Sunday, 1949. Membership increased dramatically in the 1950s, and plans for a new educational plant began in 1954 and were expanded in 1955. The Taft United Methodist Church congregation has been active in the community, from the Epworth League (organized in 1924) to a lay witness program begun in the 1980s to the modern family programs organized in the 1990s. (2000)