Pearl Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Coryell County, in the winter of 1875 into 1876, a group of Methodists gathered in somebody's home. Not a grand hall, not a courthouse, not even a proper church.

The home of the Reverend John Wesley Shook. Now Shook was born in 1846, and he'd live until 1921, and on that winter night he opened his door and, in a sense, opened something that would outlast the better part of a century. They organized a congregation right there.

Early on, they held their worship services in the Hope schoolhouse, borrowing space the way new congregations often do, making do with what the land provided. Then came a turning point. In 1890, a landowner by the name of Charley Karnes, born 1854, gave the Methodist church three acres of land on which to build a sanctuary.

Three acres, a gift, free and clear. By 1892 a Sunday School was in operation. By 1900 a parsonage had been built right near the church.

The congregation that had started in a living room now had roots in the ground. The sanctuary standing there today was erected around 1919 to 1920, and that parsonage was eventually sold off in 1953. Now here's the thing about Pearl Methodist Church that makes it a little bittersweet to talk about.

The membership, it varied. Communities around the area began to grow, and as they did, members of Pearl Methodist Church withdrew, not in anger, not in dispute, but to help organize new congregations. They kept giving pieces of themselves away to build something bigger in the surrounding region.

October of 1975, the church celebrated its centennial, a hundred years, with a special program and descendants of J. W. Shook and other early members came together one more time in that old sanctuary.

Four years later, in March of 1979, the congregation voted to disband. The Methodist denomination officially discontinued the church. And in 1985, the church property was given to the Pearl Cemetery Association.

That sanctuary, erected around 1919 to 1920 on land given by Charley Karnes in 1890, still stands. Not as a place of weekly worship anymore, but as what the marker calls it, a reminder of the area's early heritage. Some things end so that other things can keep going.

Pearl Methodist Church gave and gave until there was nothing left to give, and even then, it gave the land away.

What the marker says

A group of Methodists gathered in the home of the Rev. John Wesley Shook (1846-1921) in the winter of 1875-76 to organize a congregation. Early worship services were held in the Hope schoolhouse. In 1890 landowner Charley Karnes (1854-1933) gave the Methodist church three acres of land on which to build a sanctuary. By 1892 a Sunday School was in operation, and in 1900 a parsonage was built near the church. The existing sanctuary was erected about 1919-1920, and the parsonage was sold in 1953. Serving the people of a large area, the size of the church's membership varied over the years. As the population of surrounding communities began to grow, members of Pearl Methodist Church withdrew to help organize new congregations. In October 1975 the church celebrated its centennial with a special program involving descendants of J. W. Shook and other early members. Four years later, in March 1979, the congregation voted to disband and the church was officially discontinued by the Methodist denomination. The church property was given to the Pearl Cemetery Association in 1985. Pearl Methodist Church stands as a reminder of the area's early heritage. (1988)