History of First United Methodist Church of Hawthorne (est. 1891)

The first church records state that a group of 34 people met in the Hawthorn* Presbyterian Church (no longer in existence) on December 5, 1890, for the purpose of organizing the Methodist Episcopal Church, south of Hawthorn, Florida.  Members of the Orange Creek Methodist Church of Rex helped in this organization.      The first pastor was the Rev. B.F. Mason, who obtained the church certificate.  The first stewards* were R.B. Smith and R.M. Martin.  The building committee was composed of these two men and H.A Morrison, T.J. McRae, and C.I. Morrison.  The first minutes were taken by Steward Martin with exquisite penmanship.       In June, 1891 the lot on which the church still stands was purchased from James M. Hawthorn for $55.00.  The church was officially named the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Hawthorn, at a prayer meeting August 11, 1891.  During the time the church was being built, the congregation worshipped in the Masonic Hall.  While the exact date for the completion and full use of the church is not known, some records indicate it must have been in the summer of 1895.      When Reverend Ley was the pastor from 1892 until 1895, Hawthorne was on a circuit of churches for many years until it became a full-time charge.  He preached in Hawthorne on 1st and 3rd Sundays, in Rochelle on 2nd and 4th Sundays, and at McMeekin on 3rd Sunday afternoons.  During this time, the committee decided to employ a janitor at $1.50 a month, but the ladies insisted that they care for the chandeliers themselves.       Prayer meetings were held on Tuesday nights.  The records show that after these inspiring meetings, the members felt renewed and blessed.      October of 1892 showed a Sunday School enrollment of 44 with an average attendance of 35, although at that time the membership had not been divided into classes.  It was stressed at the conference that a good Sunday School is an indication of the spiritual condition of the church.      In July 1895, the records showed that the Epworth League, the early Methodist Youth Fellowship, met on Sunday afternoons, and a social was planned for them.       In November of 1900, it was reported that Sunday School attendence "had not been good lately" but the Epworth League attendence was good and they were taking much interest in their work.  In October 1902, the congregation worried that they would not receive much over $100.00 on the pastor's salary, which would leave a shortage of $40.00, since the pastor's salary for that year was $140.00.      From church records, it appears that Ralph Edward McRae was the first person christened after the church was established.  Later, a christening font was purchased and R.B. Baker, Jr. (who later became Col. R.B. Baker, as we knew him) was the first infant christened from it.      When the Sunday School was organized, the minutes speak of the classes all meeting together.  The children sat on the two back benches at the entrance to the sanctuary.  Each Sunday, each child was given a small card with a picture on it and a memory verse.  On the back of the card was the lesson story.      A parsonage was built next to the church in 1914.  A Sunday School annex and chapel were added sometime around 1936, (though the exact date is not known) because the Sunday School classes were growing so large.  See the photos at the top of this page to see the annex and chapel.  The Ella Gay Fellowship Hall was completed in 1958.  Rev. John T. Pennington was the pastor at the time.  He had been a builder before he entered the ministry and did much of the work.       In 1977 the church purchased the Steele property, located across the street from the Fellowship Hall.  This property is about one-and-a-half city blocks.  A new parsonage was built on this property in 1983.  In 2002 the education building, housing the church office, pastor's office, library, and classrooms was built on this property.  The NOMADS mission group helped with this project.  To accommodate their stay with us, we installed six RV hookups on the property.  These are permanent and will be used by the NOMADS while working on projects within a 25 mile radius for years to come.       In 1989 the church purchased the lot, with house and garage, just east of the church.  This became the Nally House, which housed the church office, pastor's office, library, classrooms, UMW thrift shop, and the prayer room.  The prayer room and the thrift shop remain in the house, while the other four are now in the education building.      The trustees filed papers of incorporation for the First United Methodist Church of Hawthorne on July 21, 1993 with the trustees being officers of the Corporation.      Of course, we have been a member of the Florida Conference since our beginning on 1891.  We have undergone many name changes with the mergers of the general church.  In 1939, we became the First Methodist Church of Hawthorn and in 1968, we changed to the First United Methodist Church of Hawthorne.  The official board became the Administrative Board and Council on Ministries and is now the Administrative Council.  We have been in four Florida Conference Districts: Palatka, Deland, Orlando, and Gainesville, and we will be in the North Central District after June, 2005.      The women started the Ladies Aid Society soon after the church was formed.  Through the years, the name has changed: first to the Missionary Society, next, to the Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS), and finally, to the United Methodist Women.  Our mission outreach is greatly enhaced by the work of the UMW.      The youth group organized as the Epworth League in 1895 and is now the United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF).  Young people from the entire Hawthorne area, not just our church, participate in our youth activities.       The United Methodist Men (UMM) received their charter in June 1979.  They have put in many hours keeping the church building and grounds in shape.      Koinonia groups (K-groups) were organized in 1984.  These small groups meet once a month for Christian fellowship and ministry.      With the creation of a website on the World Wide Web with webspace provided by the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church in February of 2004, FUMC of Hawthorne has expanded its ministry to (hopefully) the world.      Our congregation has faithfully served God, the community, and the world for over 110 years.  With God's help, we will continue our mission of working for Christ's kingdom and helping to bring people to salvation through the acceptance of His saving grace. *The "e" was added to Hawthorne by the office of the Post Master General on January 1, 1950. *The use of the word "trustee" came in later.

Pastoral History (Hawthorne was on a circuit with other churches for many years until we became a full-time charge)
October 1890 - January 1892	B.F. Mason
January 1892 - December 1895	Edward F. Ley
January 1896 - December 1896	W.S. Richardson
January 1897 - December 1897	J.A. Vernon
January 1898 - December 1900	S.W. Lawler
January 1901 - December 1902	T.J. Phillips
January 1903 - December 1904	F.E. Steinmyer
January 1904 - December 1904	M.J. Bell
January 1904 - December 1905	L.D. Hynes
January 1906 - December 1906	J.S. Collins
January 1907 - December 1908	Chris W. Mathews
January 1909 - Devember 1910	Benjamin J. Rape
January 1911 - December 1911	J.T. Mitchell
January 1912 - July 1913	Robert James Wells
August 1913 - December 1913	B.F. Mason
December 1913 - December 1914	J.L. Folsom
January 1915 - December 1918	A.L. Hope
January 1919 - July 1919	L.D. Haynes
August 1919 - December 1920	R.T. Caldwell
January 1920 - October 1921	Allen McFarlan
October 1921 - December 1922	William O. Rencher
January 1923 - December 1925	R.T. Caldwell
January 1926 - June 1927	J.E. Skipper
June 1927 - June 1929	Jesse Jones
June 1929 - June 1930	John E. Hartsfield
June 1930 - December 1933	G.H. Guy
January 1934 - December 1934	E.B. Clapp
December 1934 - June 1936	J.E. McKinley
June1936 - June 1937	W.G. Strickland
June 1937 - June 1938	Joe Barton
June 1938 - June 1939	H.T. Foley
June 1939 - June 1941	W.T. Walters
June 1941 - June 1943	Dan H. Williams
June 1943 - June 1944	E.G. Hutchins
June 1944 - October 1944	Robert S. Skelly
November 1944 - June 1945	Troy M. Wakefield
June 1945 - June 1946	J.N. Herald
June 1946 - June 1948	Adrian A. Godfrey
June 1948 - June 1950	Theodore W. Jennings
June 1950 - June 1951	Raymond Hayes
June 1951 - June 1952	O. Bruce Pickering
June 1952 - June 1953	L.E. Watkins
June 1953 - December 1956	R.T. Caldwell
January 1957 - June 1960	John T. Pennington
June 1960 - June 1964	C.M. Sappington
June 1964 - June 1967	Donald E. Keyes
June 1967 - September 1968	H. Walter Carmony
September 1968 - December 1968	Marshall E. Myers
January 1969 - June 1971	Guy S. Athern
June 1971 - June 1973	Donald L. Bain
June 1973 - June 1976	R. Russell Walker
June 1976 - June 1978	Wendell H. Startup
June 1978 - June 1980	Kenneth L. McPeak
June 1980 - February 1983	Gary N. Beam
February 1983 - June 1986	Kenneth Vickery
June 1986 - June 1991	Charles H. Ketcham
June 1991 - June 1994	Alan Gaylord
June 1994 - June 1996	Jaynie Nell Hickman
June 1996 - present	Richard Stauffer

The First United Methodist Church of Hawthorne history was compiled for this website by V. Dannenhoffer from written histories by church historian Ina Kay Morgan and old Hawthorne Church Homecoming booklets.