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HISTORY OF BLAIR ROAD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH February 9, 1959 -- January 31. 2004 In 1958, the Charlotte Mission Society was told a new rural church was needed in the Clear Creek area. With the help of Rev. Glenn Lackey a search was made. They found a Spring Mills sharecropper who was a lay leader. He share cropped during the week and preached on Sunday. Rev. Poindexter was offered the challenge to start a new church for a salary of $1,000 per year. By September 1958, 13 people – 8 families – were meeting in William Elliott’s home on Highway 51. By October 1958, they met in a small rented house with two pews and a piano. The rent was $40 per month. February 1, 1959, Blair Road Church was chartered with 30 members. It was the first rural church to be chartered in Mecklenburg County in 40 years. Rev Poindexter stayed five years. Membership was very slow. Some years only 11 new members joined. Under his leadership, the first church building was built with monies from the Charlotte District Mission Society, Belmont Park Methodist Church (now known as University City United Methodist Church) and the Duke Endowment Fund.
Rev. Robert Forward was pastor from
1964-1965, and the parsonage was started.
It was ready for Rev. M. B. Lee (a female).
Rev. Lee saw the need to start a building fund for a larger church.
Members bought bricks for building where each stamp represented a
brick. They were called Brick
Books, one of which is in the Corner Stone of our Heritage Building. The Methodist Men was started in 1966. The Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS) was formed in October 15, 1968. It was later chartered as the United Methodist Women in 1974. Next, to receive the call to Blair Road Church was Rev. Herbert Blackmon, who was at that time an Assistant Fire Chief in the Charlotte Fire Department. He was a supply minister until he received his degree in ministry. In Rev. Blackmon’s time, we had 175 to 200 members. The present sanctuary was built in 1975 for about $175,000. In 1977, there was a mortgage burning – seven (7) years ahead of time. Blair Road was debt free. In 1973, Young at Heart (Senior Citizen’s group) was formed by Peggy McGalliard and Gracie Helms. They have cooked for this group for twenty-six (26) years. Jean Holloway served for two (2) years and Marcus and Kaye Hamilton served for two (2) years. Young at Heart has now been a part of our church for thirty-one (31) years. In the early 1970’s, Mint Hill re-incorporated making property taxes lower than Charlotte. Mint Hill exploded with people. That meant that more and more people needed a church home; thus, our membership was rapidly growing. In 1979, Rev. Wannamaker Hardin came. Our membership grew and we again needed to expand. This time, members and friends were asked to buy church bonds for five years at 5% in order to build an education building. Ground was broken for the Education Building in 1980. The building was finished in 1981, at a cost of $350,000. With this building, we grew again adding space for Scout Programs, Athletic programs, Youth, Sunday School and church office space. We were growing fast when Rev. Frank Stith came. Frank brought a spiritual growth to the church. Many members participated in the Walk to Emmaus and Conference Building Teams were strong. We needed a Youth Director. David Easley was hired. After he left, Rev. Susan Norman-Vickers was appointed as Associate Pastor and Youth Director. In 1990, Rev. Paul Lowder was appointed as our pastor. Membership was up to around 800 members. He was the last pastor to live in the parsonage. It was sold in 1994, for $82,000.
Operation Warm-Up was started in 1990.
Our youth collected warm clothing and blankets for people in the
Appalachian Mountains. When Rev.
Lowder left our church, he retired. Rev. Jacob C. Troutman, III (Ted) came in 1994, as our eighth pastor in forty years. In 1995, Marcus Hamilton and Rev. Ted designed our Church Logo. They used teal as the background color with a white descending dove. In 1996, we started our Mid-Week Manna meal and program; a Contemporary Worship service was started along with Faith Break (a time of fellowship between services). Faith Break ended in 2001, due to change in our worship times. We now have a Welcome Coffee. In 1997, a new church van was purchased to replace the one formerly purchased by the United Methodist Women in 1985. In 1998, we needed more education and nursery space. We purchased 27 acres surrounding our facility for $264,368, bringing our property up to 35 acres. This is also the year the master plan was completed. Rev. Jenny Stewart came to us as our Pastor of Discipleship. On February 1, 1999, we celebrated our FORTIETH Anniversary with Homecoming and a covered dish meal. We have Homecoming every five years on the Sunday closest to February 1. The gymnasium was converted to a Family Life Center where it was totally renovated at cost of $175.000. By April 2000, ground breaking took place and April 2001; the new Education Building was dedicated at a cost of 1.6 million dollars. It houses a Child Development Center, adult and children’s Sunday School Classes, a Media Center, a Children’s Computer lab, and a meeting room. Worship for the Contemporary Service was moved to the Family Life Center because the sanctuary was no longer large enough. In the year 2002, there was a worship attendance of nearly 500. A part-time pastor for Senior Programs and Visitation, Dr. Nelson Melvin, was hired. A major renovation of our sanctuary was completed. A parlor for brides and for families to meet during weddings and funerals was created in the Heritage Building.
Our youth groups were increasing and have again started to participate
in the Appalachian Service Project each summer. The last year the United Methodist Women held a Bazaar was 2002. By this year, we had more than 175 in Sunday School. We now have more than 240 attending Sunday School each week. In 2003, the UMW hosted the Charlotte District Meeting for over 250 women. The UMW also held a Mother-Daughter Banquet. It had been a number of years since the last one was held.
The United Methodist Men broke
ground for the pavilion. They
held a golf tournament, a BBQ, a Fish Fry, and a Valentine’s Day
Dinner/Dance. In May 2003, our pastor, Rev. Jacob C. Troutman, III (Ted), received his Doctorate of Divinity degree. He has been serving our church for ten years. We paid off the mortgage ($100,000) on the covered walkway, which left the church ready to pay the remainder of the mortgage owed for the Christian Education Building. In July 2003, Johnny Lord was hired as a part-time Pastor Assistant and Youth Director. The Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs continue to be strong with a number of scouts receiving their Eagle Award and their Gold Award. The Basketball and Softball programs also continue to be strong and well supported. We have two classes of Disciple Bible Study, two classes of Companions in Christ and one class of Christian Believer. We continue to have our Mid-Week Manna meal, followed by Bible Study. It also provides a time for our children’s music program to meet, as well as Handbells. We serve an average of 125 each week. The English as a Second Language program was started by the Mission Committee. They have Latino, Hmong, and Russian students coming to learn English as well as American customs. They have expressed a desire to blend in better in their new world. I cannot list all who have served in many ways for Blair Road United Methodist Church to become what it is today. May God continue to bless and keep up on our journey to the cross. Jean Holloway, Church Historian, 2004 |
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