The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 with the union of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church.
The Evangelical United Brethren Church, established in 1946, represented the union of two U.S.-born denominations: the Evangelical Church and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. These two churches originated among German-speaking people during the great spiritual awakening in late 18th-century colonies.
The two fellowships and The Methodist Church were similar, particularly in terms of church polity and evangelistic zeal.
Jacob Albright of Eastern Pennsylvania was a lay preacher who gathered a number of followers in the early 1800s. These "Albright people" formed the Evangelical Association, later to become the Evangelical Church. The Rev. Philip Otterbein, ordained by the German Reformed Church, started the United Brethren Movement in the late 1700s.
Meanwhile, the Methodist movement had begun in England in the early 1700s, under Anglican minister John Wesley and his followers. Wesley did not officially organize a new church but sparked a renewal movement within the Church of England. Nonetheless, Methodism spread from England to Ireland and the colonial United States.
Methodist classes and congregations met in the United States from the 1760s. Around Christmas 1784, some 60 ministers gathered in Baltimore and organized the Methodist Episcopal Church, with the word "episcopal" referring to the church's administration by bishops. The denomination grew rapidly and was known for its "circuit rider" ministers on the advancing frontiers.
With rapid growth, philosophical differences and division was inevitable. In 1828 a group of persons, largely moved by an insistence on lay representation, separated and became The Methodist Protestant Church. In 1844, the parent church split again over the issue of slavery. The offspring denomination was the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The North and South factions reunited in 1939, but a racially segregated system was the compromise. Alongside the five geographic jurisdictions, an overlapping Central Jurisdiction was formed for African Americans. Legal separation within the church was ended in 1968 with the merger of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Churches.
St. Paul United Methodist Church is steeped in history and tradition. This church originally served the spiritual needs of a newly formed community in Huntsville at the turn of the 20th century. St. Paul traces it's beginning to the Merrimack Southern Methodist church which was organized in the Year of our Lord, 1901.
In 1901, the birth date of Merrimack Southern Methodist Church, Dr. George Boyd was presiding Elder of the Huntsville District, and the annual conference was held in Anniston, Alabama under the direction of Bishop E. R. Hendrix.
The Merrimack Southern Methodist Church was created soon after the Merrimack Mill, part of a textile corporation with headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, was established in western Huntsville. The corporation purchased land for its employees and provided a company lot, directly south of the mill at 128 Pike Street (now know as Triana Boulevard), for the location of the church. The Reverend C. C. Godbey, was appointed as first pastor by the Annual Conference on November 29, 1901, and Mr. George Marsh, manager of the Mill for several years, was the first Superintendent of the Sunday School. the church had on its rolls the names of nineteen charter members. The following were charter members of this new church:
Records of this early church are scarce. However, in a report written just before the Conference of 1919, Reverend J. C. Savage lamented, "In making to correct and bring down to date the Register of Merrimack Methodist Church, we have tried to do the best we could and it is hoped pastors following may not be annoyed as this one has by the presence of the names of people on the Register that should not be kept. The pastor would be pleased with a better record all the way around, but what is written is written and may the Lord help all to a longer life." this report was written two days before he left for conference in 1919.
In the Pastor's Report for 1942, it was reported that the Sunday school made great progress during the first quarter in "raising finance, especially for World Service and Methodist Orphanages." The need for more classrooms was noted in Sunday School Superintendent W. H. Taylor's report. Again in 1942, a report from the pastor Clarence W. Patton stated that for the first time in the history of the church, "...We can report al financial obligations paid up to date at a second Quarterly Conference."
In 1945, Pastor J. G. McKnight wrote that due to poor attendance "various services have been far from satisfactory," and "material things of the world have taken possession of the many church people."
On January 14, 1946, M. Lowenstein and Sons, Inc. of New York purchased the textile property and the company became know as Huntsville Manufacturing Company in Huntsville Park. It was about this time that Merrimack Southern Methodist Church became known as Saint Paul United Methodist Church.
In 1949, under the ministry of the Reverend J.J. Webb, a church remodeling project was commenced, and subsequently abandoned. It was discovered that termite damage made the expansion of the old foundation impossible, so the church was torn down and a new one started.
In 1950 the new church was completed. This building provided on the main floor a sanctuary with a seating capacity of two hundred fifty, ten classrooms, and a pastor's study. All of the second floor was occupied by additional classrooms. Marvin Swelling was pastor at this time. Most of the labor was done by the men of the church. Members of the Building Committee were Collier Lewter, F.B. Alexander, M.C. Walden, Mrs. O.G. Stanley, and Miss Helen Young. The new church was formally opened 1950 and the Reverend J.J. Webb returned to deliver the opening sermon. A week long revival was thus begun with the Reverend J.W. Gibbs, pastor of First Church in Huntsville, conducting the services. the closing sermon was delivered by the Reverend M.E. Lazenby.
In 1959, the need for a modern church, better facilities, and a larger parking lot was presented at the July Quarterly Conference. A resolution was adopted for the purpose of obtaining more land from the Huntsville Manufacturing Company. At about the same time, the company had need for a larger parking lot with better entrance and exit lanes. Therefore, the Huntsville Manufacturing Company offered the Church four acres of land just west of Triana Boulevard and south of Bob Wallace, an excellent location. Mr. Woodrow Dunn, General Manager at the time and also a member of the church, worked closely with the trustees in resolving legal matters. On the Building Committee were John Pinkerton, Herbert West, Collier Lewter, and Mel Bloyer. Ivan M. Terry, an architect from Birmingham, Alabama, was engaged to draw up plans for a two stage building project. the first stage of the construction produced a large Fellowship Hall to be used for worship services until the new sanctuary could be built later; a fully equipped kitchen; twelve classrooms; pastor's study and a secretary's office. One hundred eighty-five thousand dollars in church bonds were sold to members and friends to help finance this building stage,
May 17, 1964 was the date for beginning the second stage, the construction of the new sanctuary and fifteen additional classrooms. Two hundred sixty-four thousand dollars, the approximate cost for this building stage, was also financed through the sale of church bonds. The dedication service for the new sanctuary (seating capacity approximately four hundred fifty) was held in 1965, when E.S. Butterly was pastor.
