NEWBEGUN UNITED METHODIST CHURCHWEEKSVILLE

ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA

HIS TOR Y

COMPILED

SBPTEMBER, 1974

PART I

Hembers of Newbe qun United Met.hodi.s t, Churchare very proud ot the wonderful heritage thatis ours. We are most grateful for those wholed the way --those who have gone on before.

~ve are not certain of the exact date of theorganization of our Church Fellowship. Thereare two dates now under study and considerationby our Historical Committee.

It has been said that there was a HethodistMeeting House on Newbegun Creek during the1790's. Also, it is thought that Asbury; thefirst Methodist Bishop in America; preached inthis vicinity during the days of the "CircuitRiders."

It is a fact that this present building waserected in 1828 and at that time the Church wasa member of the Virginia Methodist Conference.Also, it is interesting to know that the originalname of our Church was Rehobeth, but later cameto be called Newbegun £!lethodistChurch becauseof its location near Newbegun Creek.

In the late 1890's, near the turn of thecentury, there carne a Doctrinal Hisunderstand-ing fu~ong the membership causing a split in theChurch at wh.i.ch time a group pulled out andorganized ~ureka Northern Methodist Church inanother area of the community.

I am sure there are some members heretoday who remember how this original buildinglooked when the entrance faced the road andthere were two doors in the vestibule. The men

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entered one door and sat on their side of theChurch. The women entered the other door andsat on the opposite side of the Church.

Down near the frontwas a very active,effective, and highly respected "Amen Corner."Above the vestibule was a Slave Gallery thathoused the worshiping slaves for many years.

As time marches on - changes take place -and so it has been with Newbegun.

It was in the 1920's when the first majorrenovation program took place. While this workwas being done, the congregation held servicesin the local Episcopal Chapel.

At this time, the entire basic design ofthe Church was changed to the beautiful, wor-shipful Sanctuary it is today.

It was about this time, or the early 1930'sthat the first piano was bought, and electriclights replaced the old-fashioned hanging andthe Victorian wall-bracket reflector oil lampsthat had illuminated the building for the firstone hundred years.

In the vestibule, you will be able to seeone of these old lamps that was salvaged a fewyears ago by one of our members.

You will also be able to see the old Com-munion Set that was used many years ago. Per-haps some of you remember drinking from thosesilver chalices .

....

-3-These are cherished possessions from our

past and we are most grateful for them.

In the late 1940's and 1950's, hardwoodfloors and new carpet were installed and ourfirst Electric Organ w~s bought. The balconieswere enclosed and made into class rooms to takecare of our membership.

During the late 1950's and 1960's, ourEducational Building and vestibule were addedto our edifice. We also acquired new Hymnalsand Choir Robes about the same time.

In 1971, the beautiful Cathederal Lightswere installed and last Fall (1973), we wereable to get a much needed new organ and piano.The women of the Church gave the money for thepiano because they had been working, giving,and saving for this project for several years.These instruments were paid for when they werebought because we collected the money first.ri'hanksto many of you.

We are a little late getting around tohaving these instruments dedicated, and we aredelighted to have you with us today to sharein our Dedication Service and we do hope youenjoy our Old Fashioned Homecoming.

PART II

Now, we are happy to report that all thework and progress at Newbegun has not b~en inphysical ways only, but in Spiritual Ways aswelL

In the late teens or early 1920's, theWomen's Missionary Society, Ladies Aid Soci-ety, and Bright Jel.velBand, the children'sgroups, were organized.

The women and the children were st.udy i.nqabout Missions and were giving of their meansto spread God's work around the world. Aftera number of years, these organizations diedout.

In 1937, the Epwo rt.hLeague was organi-zed. This was a Missionary and training groupfor young people. For several years, Hall'sCreek youth met with our group f and Lace rUnion youth members met with our IvlethodistYouth Fellowship. Many of our young peoplehave attended Ao Co So (Annual ConferenceSession) throughout the years.

For many years, a Bible School was con-ducted for our childTen. Also, they receivedMissionary and other Christian education inconnection with their Junior Choir rehersalsfor a number of years.

In 1939, a Missionary Society was reor-ganized in all four churches on the PasquotankCharge, including Hall's Creek, Mt. Herman,Newbegun and Union. These organizations arestill active today.

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We all became Charter Members of theWoman's Society of Christian Service in 1940.The first Elizabeth City District Secretaryof this new organization came from NewbegunChurch.

We were happy to have honored many of ourfaithful members by presenting them with LifeMembership Pins. Also, many Baby and JuniorLife Memberships were presented to the child-ren of our Church.

The first Honorary Life Patron Membershipin the Elizabeth City District was presentedto one of our members. This was the highesthonor bestowed by the Woman's Society ofChristian Service.

We have had two members who served asDistrict Officers and on the Executive Commit-tee of our Conference Woman's Society ofChristian Service 0

In recent years, we have also had twowomen members to serve on several Boards andCommissions of our North Carolina Annual Con-ference Boards of Missions, Temperance, Christ-ian Social Concerns, and Ecumenical Affairs.

Newbegun men are always active and co-operative in the various programs and projectsof our Churcho One of our young men was theCharge Delegate to Annual Conference this pastyear.

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We hope to continue our "Family Nig-htSuppers" in our present organization of UnitedMethodist Women. At these times, men: women,and children enjoy Christian Fellowship, Edu-cational Films, and Mission Studies.

Several young men and one young woman fromNewbegun served their Country we Ll, during NorldWars I and II, Korea, and Viet Nam. vle have aplaque on our wall in memory of one of ourmembers who made the Supreme Sacrifice for hiscountry during World War II.

In recent years, some of our young men didoutstanding work in "The Boy Scouts of America."One of our members was presented his "God andCountry Award" here at the altar of his homechurch, Newbegun. We were very proud that thisyoung man, along with two other Newbegun mem~bers, attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

During the past three yearsv our formerpastor directed a Cub Scout Pack that met quiteoften in our Educational Building.

We are delighted to see our adult memberstaking their places in the business, professional; and political world. The fact that ouryoung people are studying and preparing them-selves for future positions of leadership andservice pleases us greatly.

)

I Within the past few years, we have hadthree of our college students to study inforeign universities: France, England, andMexico.

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We are happy to report that three youngmen "vent out as r.1inistersfrom our Church manyyears agoo They were: John Nesley Brothers,Tyndell Brothers; and Ambrose (Boss) Burgesso

In recent years, we had one member whohad his "Local" Preacheris License and servedfor several years as a Lay Speaker when neededo

Today we are delighted to have a "Grand-son" who is a minister and a "Granddaughter"who is a doctoro

One of our young ladies is married to ayoung man who is now studying for the mi.n i st ry ,

At the present time, we are proud to haveone young man who is preparing to be a hospi-ta1 administrator and one who is studying tobe a lawyero Also, one of our young ladiesgraduated in June and is now wor'k i.nq as aRegistered Nurseo

We have among our membership severalsecretaries, teachers; librarians, bankers,electronic technicians, postal workers, mer-chants, and others 0 We have one accountant,one architect, and one college professoro;....

There are several service men among ourmembership; one who is a Major in the AirForceo Many of our me~bers are prominentfarmers and produce men.

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And we certainly want to recognize ourmany outstanding Homemakers. So much of oursuccess at Newbegun depends on them.

At various times through the years, wehave had members to serve on the Board ofCounty Commissioners, with one serving asChairman for several years.

Also, we have had several men to serve onlocal Boards of Education in years past. To-day, we are proud to have one of our ladiesserving in this capacity.

Qui te a number of men and women are mem--bers and serve unselfishly in many of the Civicand Service Clubs of our area.

Surely, you will be interested in knowingthat we have several pilots among our member-Ship. One is a professional pilot while theothers usually fly for business or personalpleasure. Please note that one of these pilotsis a young lady. She is teaching school and isnow studying for her degree of Doctor of Phil-osophy.

By now, we are sure you know that "Women'sLib" has really come t:o'Newbegun Church.

From the early days of our Church untilrecently, we had always been a "Four or FivePoint Circuit." During all these years, theparsonage was in Elizabeth City, and for manyyears the minister drove a horse and buggy tothe different communities to serve his_membership.

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We are happy to report that today we haveUnion and Newbegun Churches making up a "TwoPoint" circuit with the parsonage in our localcommunity for which we are most grateful.

While we know we have fallen short inmany ways in the past, we enjoy our Churchwork and hope to live more dedicated lives inthe future. We love Newbegun Church and hopeto make it a bulwark for Christianity in ourbeloved Weeksville Community.

HINISTERS OF NEWBEGUN

Rev. W. W. Kennedy - 1340Rev. Thomas WilliamsRev. James C. ComptonRev. J. L. G. KennedyRev. 1'1. S. Co11onna WilerRev. E. N. S. B10ggRev. A. J. BradshawRev. Joshua Garrett - 1875Rev. Marvin Wiles - 1880Rev. HerrickRev. Hocutt - 1897Rev. ReidRev. HarrisonRev. JonesRev. PorterRev. 01dsRev. PylandRev. RoyalRev. StackRev. Bradley - 1916

Rev. Stack (8 Years)Rev. PhippsRev. UnderwoodRev. Ben Boone - 1932Rev. F. R. DavisRev. A. C. LeeRev. W. J. WatsonRev. Vance LewisRev. A. J. McLellandRev. Z. V. CowanRev. A. S. LancasterRev. L. A. GreeneRev. L. C. BissettRev. Robert PullmanRev. J. M. CarrollRev. Harold ChrismonRev. Russell KnowlesRev. J. C. (Jack) RaisorRev. Russell StottRev. E. H. Overman (1974)

SUNDAY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS

A. lv. Stanton - 1892F. P. Markham~ Sr. (About 1900)J. ~v. HarrisonDr. R. B. DavjsH. C. MeadsB. C. White (About 1958)

H. A. (Pete) ReidM. H. Stevenson, Sr.Gaston SmallClarence H. JenningsHoward HodgesBeverly Markham Small

(1974)

ACKN0I1LEDGMENT S

We want to express our appreciation toall those who helped in any way to make thisdocument possible. l-vewant; to make specialrecognition of and express personal gratitudeto these particular members and friends:

Mrs. Gracie S. Palmer (Our Oldest Member)Mrs. Lucille J. BrickhouseDallas Brickhouse, Jr.Fred P. Markham, Jr.Mrs. Goldie Lister MarkhamFred P. Markham, I.II

These are the ones who helped with themany hours of research and the gleaning ofmuch valuable information necessary for thewriting of the History of Newbegun UnitedMethodist Church. Without their help andM. S. Raper and Associates, this projectwould have been impossible.

Mrs. Glenn W. PendletonChairman, Historical

Committee