On Sunday, August 14,
Spur’s First United Methodist Church unveiled renovations to its buildings at 528 Burlington Avenue that had been longer in the making than planned.
Originally stemming from a desire to upgrade the church’s sanctuary audiovisual equipment, said member Matt Humphreys in an overview during the service, the project grew to encompass many different parts of the church. In the middle of the project, a flooded bathroom extended the list of needed fixups, so portions of flooring in the education building were also redone. The expense, said Humphreys, was covered by growth of a fund set aside for the purpose years ago.
Dated décor—including red carpet that had faded to pink since its original installation in the 1960s—was redone in soothing neutral tones. Leak-stained ceiling tiles were replaced with fresh ones. The entire pulpit platform was restyled, with removal of an altar rail, raising of the organ from a pit to the new floor level, and creation of a puplit custommade by neighboring pastor Rory Mosley.
The focal point of the new design was a wooden “old rugged cross” installed behind and above the pulpit on a rockfaced wall and dramatically backlit. Debbi Ball and Oran Hamilton sang a duet of the beloved hymn as stages of the cross’ construction were shown on the new television screens and a covering was drawn back to reveal the centerpiece.
Drew Humphreys coordinated aspects of interior design with a church committee. Many members of all ages contributed to every phase of the work.
Rev. Don Boren, district superintendent, and new pastor Marc Espinosa led worshippers in a service of reconsecration andobservanceofcommunion. Afterward, members and visitors repaired to the fellowship hall for an indoor “dinner on the grounds.”
Also as part of the special service, Debbi Ball presented a retrospective of the church’s history drawn from a variety of sources and republished here.
DEBBI BALL | SPECIALTOTHETEXASSPUR Spur Methodist Church had its official opening on November 1, 1909. Many people made their way to this new community. One of these was N.A. Baker and his family. Mr. Baker was the one who presented to the Northwest Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South the formal application for a pastor. Two weeks later, on November 15, 1909, the Reverend R.A. Stewart was assigned to Spur. Ten members were received in December 1909. A tabernacle was built on the corner of North Carroll and 3rd Street, a lot donated by the Stamford and Northwestern Town Site Company. The Reverend Joe Haymes and his family arrived in Spur in November 1918. Membership had grown to 498. But tragedy struck the new church through World War I and the ravages of the influenza epidemic. Our community’s school was lost to fire, and the tabernacle was used for classes. It was during Reverend Haymes’ time that plans were made to build a new church building on the corner of this lot. The basement was completed in the fall of 1920 and the remainder of the structure finished in 1921. The stainedglass windows now in the current sanctuary were paid for by individual members and families in honor of or in memory of loved ones. The larger In the Garden window was purchased by the women’s group. The altar table you see here along with the three chairs on the stage were all a part of the two-story church.
The Round-Up Class was organized in 1925. It was first called The Rocking Chair Class because the members bought rocking chairs for the entire class. They first met in the pastor’s study, but soon moved down to the basement kitchen because they needed more room. By 1934 they outgrew the kitchen and decided to build a separate building for the class. Brother E.L. Yeates, the pastor at that time, built the building with help from the class. When the building was finished the name of the class was changed to the “Round-Up” because the members went out to round up all the men who weren’t attending Sunday School at other churches. By 1941 they had “rounded up” so many men that it was necessary to double the size of the building to its present size.
Change continued in the church. In 1939, The Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church merged to form The Methodist Church.
Reverend W.D. McReynolds arrived in 1962. He was the last pastor to serve in the old sanctuary, for it was during his ministry that this building was constructed. Groundbreaking services were held on July 21, 1963. In 1964, the congregation moved into the new facilities which included a new sanctuary, several Sunday School rooms, a kitchen and a fellowship hall. It was built as you see it today, encompassing the Round-Up building and joined to the Education Building at the end of the fellowship hall. I’ve already mentioned that these stained-glass windows came from the old church, but you will notice more stainedglass windows hanging in the Round-Up chapel that also came from the old church.
Reverend Clarence Stephens was the pastor during 1967-1969. In one of his early reports to the church conference he reported that Con Davis and his Sunday School class purchased cushions to the pews.
In 1968, change occurred again. The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form The United Methodist Church.
The bell from the old church was finally mounted in the tower just outside the fellowship hall.
The Reverend Charles Gates became pastor of this church in 1972. During his ministry, the indebtedness on the church building was paid off. Bishop Alsie H. Carleton preached at the Dedication Service on February 10, 1974.
In 1988, we were blessed with the appointment of Reverend Bruce Parks to our church. He was no stranger to our church, holding two revivals and visiting when Reverend McReynolds was the pastor. You see, the current pastor at that time was Reverend George Price. He was given a mid-year appointment, so our church was without a pastor for several months with Reverend Neal Baumwart preaching during that time. But the strength of this congregation held it together during the time we waited for Reverend Park’s arrival.
Does that sound familiar? We have just recently experienced the same thing when a pastor could not be appointed to our church last year. Again, we stepped up and took care of business. Three interim pastors supported us and guided us through the process: Reverends Chuck Harrison from Matador, David McAbee from Lubbock, and Scott Gray from Floydada. We have prayed for a preacher that our church needed and one that needed our church. And this morning, our new pastor, Marc Espinosa, will be assisted by District Superintendent Don Boren in rededicating our sanctuary to God’s service.
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