Glendale Congregational Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. Back in 1917, out in Trinity County, something needed to be done. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had discontinued services, and that left a community without a congregation to call its own.

So folks got together and organized the Glendale Congregational Methodist Church, and just like that, a new chapter opened up in that corner of Texas. They didn't have a building of their own at first. They met in the old Methodist church building, and when that wasn't available, the Baptist church opened its doors.

Now, there's something to be said for a congregation that keeps showing up no matter whose pews they're sitting in. Roots don't wait on real estate. Then came the 1930s, and these folks decided it was time to build.

Not with a fat budget or a wealthy benefactor waiting in the wings. Almost exclusively with donations and volunteer work, they put up a new building. Neighbors building for neighbors, hammers swinging on faith and not much else.

Over the years, pastors from Westminster College came to serve the congregation, and the church campus kept growing, adding classrooms, a fellowship hall, and other improvements along the way. Local programs, mission work, service, and faith. That's the thread that runs through the whole story of Glendale Congregational Methodist Church, and by the looks of it, that thread hasn't broken yet.

What the marker says

Organized in 1917, Glendale Congregational Methodist Church began serving the community when the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, discontinued services. The congregation met in the old Methodist church building and then in the Baptist church until erecting a new building in the 1930s, almost exclusively with donations and volunteer work. Over the years, pastors from Westminster College served the congregation and the church campus expanded with classrooms, a fellowship hall, and other improvements. Through local programs and mission work, the church continues to contribute to the community through service and faith. (2018)