Our History
1769- First mention of a Methodist service in New Castle. Captain Thomas Webb, a retired
British Army officer and Methodist Minister, preached here but was not well received.
Comment from Scharf's History of Delaware: "His teachings were received with so little
favor that the doors of the courthouse were closed against him."
1770's- Several other attempts were made to bring Methodism to New Castle with
little success. Francis Asbury, the pioneer bishop of American Methodism, visited New
Castle in April 1772. His account: "I rode to New Castle and stopped at the house of
Brother Robert Furness, a tavern keeper, but a good man. I preached there to a few
people, but met with opposition and found that the Methodists had done no great good…"
1772-1773- Bishop Asbury made three additional visits to New Castle with some degree of success.
1779- Reverend Benjamin Abbott came to New Castle to preach but bands of
ruffians interrupted the gatherings and one man threatened to throw a bottle of rum at
his head. Again, it was Robert Furness who rescued him. One early account refers to
Robert Furness as the "father of Methodism in New Castle." Despite the loss of his
business and threat of personal injury, he continued to practice his faith and made
heroic attempts to bring others into a fellowship of believers.
1800 (?)- It is not known how long the first successful New Castle class, as early groups
were known, met, but in 1820, they organized into a regular society and elected trustees
and stewards. The group consisted of 42 persons - 17 males and 25 females. This group
met every Sunday at three P.M. at the house of Thomas Marshall.
September 28, 1820- The board of trustees purchased from Richard Sexton a lot which
forms a part of the present cemetery and proceeded to build the first Methodist Meeting
House in New Castle. No official records remain, but a letter written by William Hunter
gives these details: "It was a small brick building about 50 X 30 feet front. It stood at the northwest corner of the graveyard about 20 feet from the building line. The entrance was
double doors in the center front. At that time, when seventy-five cents a day was considered
a fair wage, devout members were making family pledges of ten dollars or more to the new building.
1824- Financial crisis. The church found itself in serious financial difficulty. Pledges
dried up because of a devastating fire in the community. The church still owed $150.00
and the bank threatened to sell the building and dispose of them. The trustees sent out one
of their members to travel to Philadelphia, Dover, and various other churches in the area
to appeal for funds. He was successful and the financial crisis was averted. The first class
list has the name Methodist Episcopal church, but by the time the church was dedicated,
the name Nazareth had been added. The text the preacher chose for the dedication service
was "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" The congregation was made up
primarily of working class citizens and was referred to as "low church" by the Anglican
Episcopal church which was, of course, the "high church". The term "class" was used to
refer to the early church and then was replaced by the term United Society of
Methodists. As the societies grew, the membership was divided into smaller classes of
about 12 persons with one leader each.
Duties of the class leader: to see each person in his class once a week in order to inquire
how their souls prosper; advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort as occasion may require;
receive what they are willing to give toward the relief of the preacher, the church
and the poor; and to meet with the minister and /or stewards of the society once a
week in order to inform the minister of any who are sick or who have been disorderly.
By 1850, the class system was being phased out. This is not to be confused with Sunday
School which served a much different purpose.
1863- After just 43 years, the congregation had outgrown the original building. The tasker
iron works had brought many workers to New Castle and its president, Thomas Tasker
was a staunch Methodist and an eloquent local preacher. His interest and financial support
made it possible to build the main building of the present church in 1863. Just a note:
This was right in the middle of the civil war. At that time, the name Nazareth was
dropped and the church was dedicated as New Castle Methodist Episcopal church.
One account states that bricks from the original building were saved and cleaned by
Sunday School boys to be used in the construction of the new church. If that were so, then we
still have a part of the original church with us in fact, not just in spirit.
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