Sabine Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Sabine Methodist Church, out in Smith County. Now settle in, because this is a story about community, and community is always worth the telling. Way back in 1894, a man named Reverend W.

L. Pate organized a congregation out in the rural stretches near the Sabine River. That river gave the church its name, and the church gave the people something harder to measure than a name.

A man named Joe Crone stepped up and donated the land, not just for the church itself, but for a school and a cemetery too. That's three kinds of permanence right there. Where you learn, where you worship, and where you rest.

Now in those early years, the congregation didn't have a minister it could call its own. They were served by circuit preachers, men who rode from place to place spreading the word across wide stretches of country. That's how it worked, until 1922, when Sabine Methodist began sharing a minister with the Lindale Methodist Church.

Two congregations, one minister, and miles of Texas road between them. That arrangement held for decades, and somewhere along the way the bond between those two fellowships grew into something more than shared scheduling. In 1969, the Sabine and Lindale congregations merged entirely, becoming one.

Throughout all of it, through the circuit riders and the shared ministers and the eventual merging, the Sabine Methodist Church kept its eye on Christian education, and kept its doors open for folks who sometimes lived miles apart in that surrounding rural country. Out here, community doesn't happen by accident. Somebody organizes it, somebody donates the land, and then generation after generation, people drive the miles to show up for each other.

That's the whole story, and it's not a small one.

What the marker says

Organized in 1894 by the Rev. W. L. Pate, this congregation was named for its proximity to the Sabine River. Land for the church, school, and cemetery was donated by Joe Crone. The fellowship was served first by circuit preachers, but in 1922 began sharing a minister with the Lindale Methodist Church. In 1969, the Sabine and Lindale congregations merged. Throughout its history, Sabine Methodist Church has placed an emphasis on Christian education and has provided fellowship for members who often live miles apart in the surrounding rural area.