Taylor's Chapel Congregational Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Taylor's Chapel Congregational Methodist Church in Comanche County. Now, some churches are built on stone foundations and stained glass. This one got started under a brush arbor.

And if you know anything about Texas summers, you know that takes a certain kind of faith. The year was 1901. A Methodist circuit preacher by the name of Rev.

J.V. Havner gathered area residents together, right there under that open-air arbor, and they organized themselves a Methodist congregation. No walls, no roof to speak of, just the sky and the Word and the will to make something last.

Then January of 1902 rolls around, and a man named Hood Taylor deeded approximately two acres to the church. From that point on, the congregation became known as Taylor's Chapel. Construction on their first church house began that same month, January 1902, so they were building a home and putting down roots all at once.

The earliest church records have been lost, which is a shame, because the families who shaped those formative years deserve to be remembered by name. The Robertsons, the Binghams, the Chapmans, the Vaughns, the Powers. And among the early leaders: Jim Power, Jim Robertson, and Sam Vineyard.

Those names carried the congregation through its beginning. Now, 1914 brings one of the more memorable characters in this story. Rev.

Hutchins S. Anglin arrived to take the pastor's chair, and folks didn't call him by his given name so much as they called him the walking preacher. He held that position from 1914 until 1920.

After him came Rev. Brady Claud Slate, who everybody knew as B.C., serving through the 1920s. Then Rev.

William Sineon Clark, who went by Will, carried the congregation through the 1930s and 1940s. And then the marker tells you something worth sitting with. Rev.

Gloyd Horton and Rev. J.L. Jones, between the two of them, pastored that church for more than thirty years, from 1949 all the way until 1981.

More than three decades of combined service. That's not just dedication. That's roots.

Meanwhile, the congregation dedicated a brand new building in 1948, retiring that first sanctuary that had carried them since 1902. But even after they had four solid walls to worship in, members kept holding services outside, under brush arbors and tabernacles, just like they had since that very first gathering in 1901. Old habits, when they're good ones, don't die easy in Texas.

By the time the church reached its centennial anniversary in 2001, membership was on the rise. A hundred years from that brush arbor, and Taylor's Chapel was still drawing people in. Today, as a part of the Soda Springs Community, Taylor's Chapel Congregational Methodist Church continues to serve as a focal point and place of worship for the surrounding rural area.

Started under open sky, still standing. That brush arbor did its job.

What the marker says

Taylor's Chapel Congregational Methodist Church Under a brush arbor in 1901, Rev. J.V. Havner, a Methodist circuit preacher, led area residents as they organized a Methodist congregation. In January 1902, Hood Taylor deeded approximately two acres to the church, which thereafter became known as Taylor's Chapel. Although the earliest church records have been lost, those involved in the congregation during its formative years included the Robertson, Bingham, Chapman, Vaughn and Power families. Jim Power, Jim Robertson and Sam Vineyard were important early leaders. In 1914, Rev. Hutchins S. Anglin, known as the "walking preacher," was elected pastor of the church, a position he held until 1920. Rev. Brady Claud "B.C." Slate served in the 1920s, and Rev. William Sineon "Will" Clark served in the 1930s and 1940s. In combined years of service, Rev. Gloyd Horton and Rev. J.l. Jones pastored more than 30 years, from 1949 until 1981. Although construction on the congregation's first church house began in January 1902, members have often held services outside, under brush arbors and tabernacles, since their earliest meeting in 1901. Their first sanctuary served until 1948, when a new building was dedicated. Since that time, membership has fluctuated, with rising numbers at the church's centennial anniversary in 2001. The Taylor's Chapel Congregational Methodist Church, a part of the Soda Springs Community, continues to serve as a focal point and place of worship for the surrounding rural area. (2003)