A History of Pinson Memorial UMC

Assembled by Herbert and Martha Floyd

Founding

The founding of Pinson Memorial United Methodist Church was preceded by the Worth Mission. There were several Methodist preaching places in this area, and the Rev. E.L. Pedrick frequently passed through Sylvester on the way to these appointments.

There were only a few Methodists in the village in 1893. They asked for, and were granted a preaching appointment for one evening service each month during the year.

The meetings were held in a small schoolhouse that sat on the northeast corner of Main and Pope Streets, now the site of the Sylvester Banking Company.

In 1894, a decision was made to organize a church and have a regular pastor. The annual conference that year granted their request and Rev. W.C. Glenn was sent to the circuit. For several years, the little congregation, originally 52 members, continued to have one evening service each month, still meeting in the little schoolhouse.

The Sumner-Ty Ty circuit, which included Sylvester, was in the Cordele District the first year Rev. Glenn served. It was in the Valdosta District the second year and has been there since. The seven churches comprising the district were Beulah, Wesley Chapel, Isabella, Poulan, Ty Ty, and Sylvester.

During the years from 1894 to 1896, the members who organized and laid the foundation for a Methodist Church in Sylvester were:


Dr. and Mrs. Crockett
Mrs. Priest
Mrs. Belle Ford
Mrs. A.H. Overton
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Allen
Mrs. W.H. McPhaul
Mrs. T.C. Jeffords
The Welchs
The Brinsons
The Wallaces
The Grubbs.

Conference records showed fifty-two members on roll and Rev. E.A. Sanders was pastor at this time.

In 1897, the congregation decided to build a permanent church home. Funds were raised and the building was completed by October 1898. Rev. Jason Shirah was pastor during 1897 and 1898. This small group of devout men and women who worked so faithfully to build the church, walked into the beautiful new building on the first Sunday morning with a great sense of pride and thanksgiving. The congregation had to sit on rough board seats until Mr. and Mrs. T.K. Heinsohn presented the church with a check to cover the cost of the new pews, which were soon installed. Mr. W.H. McPhaul, who gave the lot for this building, also served on the building committee and gave much material aid. Mr. J.S. Westberry, though not a Methodist, was a loyal friend and served on the building committee with G.G. Wallace and W.A. Allen.

During Rev. Shirah's ministry, there were additions to the church, and many families moved into the growing town of Sylvester. The most notable event of the year was the organization of a Women's Foreign Missionary Society by Mrs. Shirah, a talented, consecrated woman. Although the name of the Society has been changed several times, it still serves as a very necessary and important organization of the church.

Rev. S.W. Brown was sent as pastor in 1899. In the early part of that year, the Methodist Sunday School was organized and held in the new church. Mr. R.A. Holmes was the first Superintendent.

In 1900, Sylvester was made a half station, with only Beulah and Wesley Chapel remaining with the charge. Rev. W.F. Hixon was the pastor. By the second quarterly conference, an Epworth League had been organized by Mr. A. H. Pinson, who was confirmed as president.

Rev. M.F. Beals was on the charge for 1901 and 1902. Rev. M.B. Ferrell was sent in 1903. During this period, Mr. C.H. Strangward came down from the north and found his way to the Methodist Church and Epworth League. In 1903, he and Miss Nannie Carter were married. Since there was no Episcopal church in Sylvester, he cast his lot with the Methodists and served the church faithfully in every possible capacity until his death.

In 1904, Rev. J.S. Jordan served as pastor. By 1905, the church became a station, and Rev. R.E. Bailey filled the pastorate during 1905-1906. Rev. W.L. Wright was on the charge for four years, from 1907-1910. These years record some important and interesting history.

In 1908, the church lost one of its staunchist members, Mr. T.J. Pinson. By the year 1909, the members began to feel that they must have larger and more fitting quarters. There was a great need for a larger church to accomodate the growing membership.

The Pinson Estate and Dr. and Mrs. T.C. Jeffords and others gave liberally, so the cornerstone of the splendid T.J. Pinson Memorial was laid in 1910. The Pinson Estate proposed to the building committee to pay one-half the cost of the new structure so that it might stand as a creditable memorial to the lately deceased member, Mr. T.J. Pinson, and that it be called "The T.J. Pinson Memorial Church". Albert H. Pinson gave thirteen-hundred dollars for seats. The building committee was composed of Mr. A.H. Pinson, Mr. W.R. Johnston, Mr. J.M. Bullard, Dr. T.C. Jeffords, J.J. Hall, and G.M. Pinson. On March 3, 1913, Bishop Warren A. Candler preached a great dedicatory sermon, and the same day, baptized all the Methodist babies in town.

The old structure was sold to the Presbyterians. Later, the Presbyterians built a new church on North Main Street, and donated this building to the Sylvester Women's Club. It was moved across the street and maintained by the Women's Club for a public library until the new Margaret Jones Library was completed.

Rev. E.M. Overby served the church during 1911-1913, and Rev. T.G. Lang during 1914 and 1915. The church plant was damaged by fire on January 13, 1917, while Rev. Christian was serving as pastor. The damage was repaired, and the building restored without delay.

Rev. J.C. Flanders served the church for the years 1918-1920. From 1921 to 1939, the following served as pastors:


1921 Rev. S.C. Oliff
1922 Rev. B.E. Whittington
1923-1926 Rev. W.A. Huckabee
1927-1929 Rev. T.O. Lambert
1930-1933 Rev. H.W. Joiner
1934-1936 Rev. W.F. Burford
1937-1939 Rev. W.P. Blevins

During his pastorate, Rev. Blevins was stricken with arthritis and died during his last year in Sylvester, in the fall of 1939.

In November, 1940, Rev. J.O. Stanaland came to serve the church, and remained three years.

Rev. O.C. Cooper followed Rev. Stanaland in November of 1943. In 1943, under the leadership of Rev. Cooper, we began to dream of an expansion program to meet the growing needs of the church. The idea was advanced to build an educational building as a memorial to those members of the congregation who served their country as members of the Armed Forces in World War II. A finance campaign was launched in 1945, and as a result, twenty-thousand dollars was raised for the building fund. At this time, however, and years immediately following, the material and labor costs were unreasonably high, and for this reason, the building program was put on hold. Rev. Cooper served as pastor through 1946.

Rev. Joseph Cook served as pastor from 1946 through 1951. In 1948, it was decided to go ahead with the building project, and construction began in January of 1949. By spring, the building was completed, and occupied for the first time in May of 1949. Rev. Cook was serving his fifth year in Sylvester when death came from a heart attack on January 16, 1951. His wife, Ruth, and son, Francis, continued to live in Sylvester. The Joe Cook Sunday School class was named in his honor.

Rev. George Zorn came to serve the church in 1951, and remained until 1954, following Rev. Cook, who passed away while serving Pinson. Rev. Zorn relates that the greatest part of his pastorate was being able to work with the whole community during the Centennial of Worth County, and was privileged to be the preacher for the outdoor church service during the celebration.

Rev. John Shell came in June 1954, and served one year. During this year, plans were made for building a new parsonage.

Rev. C.R. McKibben was pastor from June 1955 to June 1959. The new parsonage was completed and occupied by the McKibben family on December 15, 1955.

Rev. Jarvis Ellis came to Sylvester in June of 1959, and served for four years. These were good years for the church, and much interest was shown in building an addition to the annex to take care of the increased Sunday School enrollment. Leroy Wilkerson was chairman of the Finance Committee, and twenty-five thousand dollars was raised for that purpose while Rev. Ellis served as pastor.

Rev. Chester Gilbert followed Rev. Ellis in June of 1963, and stayed four years. During his pastorate, the Educational building was begun, and completed in October of 1963. Classrooms were furnished throughout with draperies, chairs, cabinets, teacher's desks, and pictures. Everything was made ready for open house on the second Sunday in October of that year. The cost of the building was seventy-two thousand dollars.

Two of the rooms in the old annex were made into an office for the pastor and church secretary, and one for a chapel. The office was furnished in memory of Dr. T.C. Jeffords by the Jeffords family, and the chapel by Sylvester Banking Company. A beautiful picture of Christ, Sallman's "His Presence", was hung in the chapel in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Majors by their children. A committee of Mrs. Tom Purdom, Mrs. Mary Hillhouse, and Mrs. David Jeffords was in charge of selecting furnishings for the chapel and supervising the work done. It is a beautiful, worshipful room, and the church is very proud of this tradition.

In June 1967, Rev. Charles Culbreth came to serve Pinson. Many wonderful things were accomplished under his capable leadership and guidance. One of his important contributions to the church and this community was his work, along with Henry Hall Woolard, in establishing and working with the local AA chapter. Rev. Culbreth was also very active in Scouting, serving a Chaplain for the Chehaw Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Rev. John Carroll came to serve Pinson in 1971, and served three years. The district superintendent asked Rev. Carroll to fill appointments at the Bridgeboro and Gordy churches on second and fourth Sundays. A church bus was purchased during Rev. Carroll's pastorate, and the Dial-A-Devotion was instigated with Joe Bishop, Tolly Rogers, and Gene Wyles giving the devotions.

Rev. Max Hill came to serve Pinson in 1974, and served four years. Rev. Hill and his family were very active with the youth of the church and community.

Rev. Aaron Sellers came to serve Pinson in June of 1978, and served for five years until 1983. During his pastorate, with the leadership of Gerry Sutton and Mary Ann Temple, a pre-school kindergarten was organized. Two lots adjacent to the church were purchased for a playground. During his stay, Rev. Sellers served both Pinson and Beulah on a regular basis.

Rev. C.E. (Gene) Cariker came to Pinson in June 1983, and served four years. During Rev. Cariker's pastorate, he introduced a Christmas Eve candlelighting service with luminaries lighting the walks to the church. Rev. Cariker had the congregation as guest at open house at the parsonage called "Christmas on Main Street."

Rev. Tom Oliver came to Pinson in June of 1987, and served four years. While at Pinson, Rev. Oliver was sent to England by the church for the 200th Anniversary of Methodism, appointed a handicap committee, and worked closely with the migrant ministry in Moultrie and Ellenton.

In June of 1991, Rev. Ray Powell was sent as pastor to Pinson and Beulah with two primary concerns: to see Pinson and Beulah grow to their full potential, and to help with the administration of a sizeable inheritance from the Emma and Lizzie Sumner Estate. During his ministry at Pinson, he called a Charge Conference for setting policies regarding the handling of these funds, as well as other memorial funds. At this Charge Conference, the trustees were instructed to invest all memorial funds and use only the earnings for the work of the church and missionary works outside the church, leaving the principal of said funds intact. Many good programs have been carried out using the earnings from the memorial funds. The new parsonage was completed in June 1994 at 114 Bent Tree Drive, and was occupied by the pastor and his family on June 15th.

In June of 1995, Rev. John A. Bacher was assigned to Pinson.

In June of 1998, Rev. Jimmie Cone was assigned to Pinson.