Centenary Before 1832
Not just bricks and mortar, but also trees and roots...And mostly, people!
When we study history, we study life, and life is about people! So, to study the history of our church, one must consider the "great cloud of witnesses," the many, many people who have contributed over the years to the building of the congregation now known as Centenary United Methodist Church. For every person mentioned by name in this brief history, know that there are hundreds of others whose prayers, presence, gifts, and service God has used to make Centenary what it is today. YOUR prayers, presence, gifts, and service will be used to help us grow toward tomorrow!
Prior to 1832
Centenary United Methodist Church had its beginnings as the "Mulberry Tree Society". The people of this society met beneath a mulberry tree that stood on the land of John Miller. Although the exact location of the tree is uncertain, it appears that it was just south of Kent Road. E.E. Gray, the first historian of Centenary Church wrote in 1903:
There is some difference of opinion as to whether this tree was an apple or a mulberry tree as some say it was one and some say the other, but as the mulberry tree afforded the advantage of larger size, it was most likely the latter. Besides, Mr. Calvin Miller says he remembers walking as a bare-footed boy under the tree, with the ground underneath strewn with mulberries, and he remembers how the berries oozed up between his bare toes. And in view of this piece of evidence natural to all boys who have gone barefooted and walked on mulberries, the decision can readily be made in favor of its having been a mulberry instead of an apple tree. (Tise, 35)
It was the first Methodist group to come into the very heart of the Moravians' Wachovia tract, although Bethel had preceded it in 1820 on the southern side as the first Methodist society within Wachovia. Interestingly enough, most members were women. Only seven of the fifty-one people listed were men. (Bumgarner, 17)
Bumgarner notes that it was easier to be a Lutheran or Moravian in the heart of Wachovia in 1832 than to join the enthusiastic Methodists. This was especially true of the men who were brought up in the German churches. They would have experienced strong political and business pressures.
1832
It seems that August 5, 1832 was an important date in the history of the church. It was apparently the close of a very successful camp meeting bent on launching a new church near the Moravian town of Salem. Michael Doub, one of the men credited with organizing the church had preached at the camp meeting on the two previous days.
A deed, dated August 11, 1832, and recorded in the Register of Deeds office in Danbury, reveals the purchase of "two acres and one hundred and thirty-three rod" for $1.00. (This was a fast-acting building committee!) The church, named New Jerusalem Methodist Episcopal Church was built on Old Town Road. As was common in that day, the building was a congregational and community project. Some hauled logs to the old saw mill. Some helped in the carpenter work and others in various ways until the building was finished.
