Sunday's First Methodist Church in Marion, SC 10-09-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Sunday.  Welcome to the massive First Methodist Church in Marion, SC.  This Church is awe inspiring to look at and I love the dome.  Once upon a time, back in the 1700s, Marion was known as Liberty Precinct.  It was during that time period, in 1786, that this community became part of a large ministry unit called The Pee Dee Circuit.  At that time, meetings of the nearly 600 Methodists in this area were held in 22 different meeting houses.  One of those houses, The Flowers Meeting House, was visited by Bishop Francis Asbury in 1789.  In 1771 Francis Asbury, then a Methodist traveling preacher appointed by John Wesley, came to America from England in 1771 to preach.  The beginning of the Methodist Episcopal Church began in 1784 and Francis Asbury became  a Bishop charged with leading all Methodists in America.  His leadership continued for the following 32 years and Bishop Asbury visited Marion two other times during that tenure.

A school house once stood where the current building stands.  That school became the church on Sundays for a while until a separate building was built beside the school.  After only 20 years, the congregation outgrew that church and made a deal with the school to buy the property.  It turns out some of the students were vandalizing the cemetery located behind the school and it was best that the church have all the property.  A frame church was built on this site in 1853, and the cornerstone for the church that you see was laid in 1912.  The bell that you see in the far left corner of this photo is from the former, frame church of 1853 when the Church was called Marion Methodist Episcopal church.  It was renamed the First Methodist Church in 1912.  

You can read more about this church at:  http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/marion-county/first-methodist-church.html and more about Bishop Francis Asbury at:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Asbury if you'd like.  Those are the two sites where I gained most of my information for today's blog but there are other sites as well.

I hope you have a sensational Sunday.  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Sunday at The Greater Highway Church of Christ 07-31-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Sunday.  Today I want to invite you to see The Greater Highway Church of Christ on Liberty Street in Marion, South Carolina.  The Greater Highway Church of Christ is considered an Apostolic Church.  They do have a website at:  http://www.ghcoc.net/
 if you care to check it out.  One thing I like about this particular building is that, when walking the path to the Church, there is a reflection of a cross in the bottom windows,

I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday.  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Sunday's Harvest Church 07-10-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Sunday.  Today's Church is called The Harvest Church, located in Marion, SC.    It's a plain, but pretty little church on Jones Avenue.  Even though it's a small church, they have a website you can visit at :  http://www.harvestchurchofgrace.org/.

I hope you had a great Sunday.  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Sunday at East Marion Pentecostal Holiness Church 07-03-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Sunday.  Today, let's find out about East Marion Pentecostal Holiness Church in East Marion, SC.  This church actually has a website, and you can find out more about it at:  http://www.eastmarionphchurch.com/.  But, what does it mean to be a Pentecostal Holiness Church, you ask?  This kind of Church was founded in 1911 and basically grew out of two other religions - the "Holiness movement and the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century."  There is much to read about the roots of this type of church - holiness is rooted in Methodism, John Wesley is a key player; then there is Methodist Episcopalian, Evangelicals, Moravian, Lutheran, etc.  It's just too complicated for me to simplify here.  If you'd like to read more about Pentecostal Holiness check out:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Pentecostal_Holiness_Church, and then click on the highlighted areas which will take you to another part of the story and so on.  It certainly will be an education on this religion if you're interested.

Meanwhile, I hope you are having a sensational Sunday.  Thank you for looking.   See you tomorrow.