Sivells Bend United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker records about Sivells Bend United Methodist Church, out in Cooke County. Now settle in, because this little congregation has been around long enough to have a story worth tellin. It all started back in 1868, when the community came together and formed the Sivells Bend Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

That name alone carries some history in it. Twelve years later, in 1880, brothers William W. and Addison Y. Gunter conveyed two acres over to church trustees E.

L. Allen, W. M.

Midkiff, and George Dillard. Two acres. Enough to build something that mattered.

And build they did. A large two-story church went up, and with it a school and a masonic lodge. Now here's where the story takes that turn you feel comin.

In 1893, that whole two-story arrangement, the church, the school, the lodge, all of it burned. Just gone. But you don't stay standing in a community like Sivells Bend by stayin down.

W. W. Gunter deeded the current site in 1910, and two years after that, in 1912, the present frame church was constructed and has held continuous services ever since.

Continuous. Not occasional, not when convenient. Continuous.

Then came World War II, and even without a supplied pastor, the families of Sivells Bend came together and taught Sunday school themselves. Think about that for a moment. The war was pullin people in every direction, and these families kept the doors open anyway.

In the years that followed, Sivells Bend shared pastors with other Methodist churches, but since 1950 the congregation has had its own pastors. More than a century and a half after that first gathering in 1868, the marker says it plainly: community involvement and regular worship show a continuing focus on the true spirit of God. Some things, it turns out, don't burn.

What the marker says

This congregation formed in 1868 as Sivells Bend Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Brothers William W. and Addison Y. Gunter conveyed two acres to church trustees E. L. Allen, WM. Midkiff and George Dillard in 1880. A large two-story church, school and masonic lodge burned in 1893. W. W. Gunter deeded the current site in 1910. The present frame church has had continuous services since its 1912 construction. During WWII, families taught Sunday school even without a supplied pastor. Later, Sivells Bend shared pastors with other Methodist churches, but has had its own pastors since 1950. Community involvement and regular worship shows a continuing focus on the true spirit of God.