An early spelling of the name of the church was “tselica” which was a Cherokee word for “Whispering Waters”, their name for the river that subsequently was named the French Broad River. Selica was a community that had a train depot, etc.
The Selica Methodist Church was organized in the year 1920. The earliest members were Mrs. Jim Mull, Mr. & Mrs. Beecher Mull, Mrs. Roxie Dunn, Mr. & Mrs. George Justus, Mr. & Mrs. George Hayes, Mr. & Mrs. 0. R. Sharpe and children.
The lot on which the old church stood was then valued at $50.00. Mr. Bill McGaha let the church have it for $25.00, donating the remaining $25.00 himself.
The building was built from some of the lumber from the Greenwood Methodist Church, which was located in the Calvert section. This church was dissolved and the building torn down. The lumber was hauled to Selica by wagons by Mr. James and Beecher Mull. This, along with additional building materials purchased by the church was used to build the little white frame church. The pastor at the time the church was built was the Rev. W. A. Thomas.
On 9/24/04 Linda Peeples wrote:
In 1961, my Daddy Ralph Benson, a member and local contractor, remodeled the church. He used knotty pine paneling, which was popular at the time, for the front wall. The old coal burning stove was replaced with a more modern floor furnace. The wood from the communion rail was saved and made into candleholders and a cross which we still use today. Wood from the rail was also used to frame the picture of Christ, which hung in the old church and is now hanging in the Fellowship Hall.
When the decision to build a new church was made, property was purchased across Hwy. 64 near the church site. Under the leadership of Rev. Chris Fitzgerald, a meeting was held and a building committee chosen. The trustees of the church were delegated to be the committee. The Chairman was picked by a very unusual happening. James Holden attended the meeting as an interested observer--a non-member of the church--and was elected by paper ballot and after prayer at the altar, to be the chairman. James joined the church a month later. Other members of the building committee were: Charles Jones, Avonda Jones, Edna Holden, The Keeners, Oscar and Inez Harbin, Ruby Rogers, H. G. Rogers, Lillie Green.
McDonald & Brewton, architects were hired to draw up plans for the new building. The contract was let to Bryant Builders on a cost plus basis, at a cost of $128,000.00.
Rocks for the sanctuary wall were gathered by members of the Congregation. The wall was built by Joe Owen and Frank Lipe.
The new Hwy. 64, just coming thru, needed a place to dispose of some dirt and fill dirt was needed by the church. Approximately 200 loads of dirt were obtained free of charge. This was worth $4,000.00 to the church.
The Contractor lost only one day during construction due to bad weather. The building was begun at the beginning of a recession and building prices decreased. This factor caused the cost to decrease and the final contract cost was $121,000.00 --- a savings of $6,000.00. It was necessary to borrow $58,000.00 to cover the build cost. Interest on the construction loan was 15%.
The floor coverings were installed by Doug Grindstaff, who donated his labor. The landscaping was done by David Pearson who donated his labor and shrubbery. The Paraments of the church were handmade by Opalie Duckworth, with materials purchased by Selica UMW. Melvin Dann of the Rosman Church made the Candelabra and presented it as a gift.
Other notes (mostly from Edna Holden, church Matriarch):
The first service in the church was on October 18, 1980.
The church had bought 3 acres of land along old highway 64. When the new highway came through it took 1.5 acres away from the chruch. Charles Jones remembers that it was “quite a fight” to keep the rest of the land. The Highway Department paid the church $36,000 for the land it took.
The bell in the old church was bought by James Holden [at a flea market?] with money raised by the young people’s class. Apparently it was a bell from an unknown old church. It was put in the steeple of the old church; it was moved to the present church when the church was built.
The two chairs by the entrance to the sanctuary were the preacher’s chairs in the old church. The small table near the entrance was the communion table in the old church. The old church was remodeled sometime before the new church was built. The wood from the communion rail was used to make the frame for the large picture of Christ which was in the old church and now is hanging in the Friendship Hall. The cross on the piano in the Friendship Hall, and the candlesticks on the altar were also made from that communion rail.
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