Methodist Church 3/20/1892

Methodist Church 3/20/1892

Methodist Church March 20, 1892 Betsy Mosher had date of image of March 20,1893 METHODISM acquired a foothold in Maine during 1794 when Elder Jesse Lee, of Virginia, who has been called the apostle of the sect, made an eastern tour of several months, "surveying the region of the coast from Portsmouth to Castine."The first Methodist sermon preached here was by the Rev. Joshua Hall, in August, 1795, in the James Miller house. Mr. Hall was the third preacher sent to the district, and the first who labored on the Penobscot, after Lee. There were then two church members only in all this region; viz., Abner Curtis and wife, of Bucksport, who came from the British provinces. The circuit of Mr. Hall extended from Union to Orono. His first visit here was from Lincolnville, through a path designated by spotted trees; and on his way to Bucksport his horse reached the opposite side of the river by swimming. His Sabbath appointments were Hampden, Orrington, Buckstown (Bucksport), Frankfort, Belfast, and Union, each of which he visited once in six weeks. Bangor and other towns on his extensive route were supplied by lectures on week-days. People went in canoes or boats from ten to twenty miles to hear him. Not a single horse except his was then owned on the Penobscot. The denomination made slow progress in this vicinity. Meeting with constant persecutions and contending with the traditional theology of New England, many years elapsed before it assumed the confidence or certainty of permanent success. Although itinerant ministers and missionaries continued to visit Belfast, no efforts towards establishing a church were made until 1809, when the Rev. John Williamson, a preacher stationed at Union, formed a class, of which Robert Miller became the leader. Meetings were at first held in the village school-house, until its use was refused by a vote of the district. The houses of Miller and of Robert Patterson were then used. Miller appears to have been the most influential and liberal member of the society; but in 1821, in consequence of an injudicious sermon of the Rev. Benjamin Jones, urging him to sell all that he had for the benefit of the church, he became disaffected, and withdrew. In 1821, the society received a new impulse from the exertions of Gershom F. Cox, who came here from Hallowell, and kept an apothecary store in a building at the corner of High and Market Streets. He was an influential speaker, and, in the absence of the regular circuit preacher, conducted services in the school-house, which, having been granted to the Baptists for religious exercises was no longer denied to the Methodists. Meetings were also held in the house of Josiah Bean. Through the efforts of Mr. Cox, aided by those of William Durham (who gave the land), Jacob Sleeper, now of Boston, Ziba Hall, William Beckett, and Peter Winslow, the chapel, at the corner of Miller and Cross Streets, was erected in 1823, at an expense of thirteen hundred dollars. Dedicatory exercises took place the same year, a sermon eing preached by Rev. S. Lovell, from Isaiah LX. 7: "I will glorify the house of my glory." The edifice was about forty feet long by thirty in width, and was two stories high. A gallery extended around three sides, and the pulpit stood between the two exterior doors. The pews were of the old-fashioned style, with doors and. high backs. In 1843, during the ministry of Rev. Theodore Hill, the interior was modernized. After the occupation of the new church, the chapel was converted into a dwelling-house, and perished in the great fire of 1873. Another dwelling-house now stands upon its site. On the 25th of October, 1839, a centenary meeting was held in the chapel, commencing at sunrise, and continuing during the day. In January, 1843, an extensive religious revival commenced in the church, and extended to all the societies here. Prayer and conference meetings were held in the chapel every evening for several months, and a universal solemnity pervaded all classes of the community. On the 23d of March, 1843, the first donation party to a minister, ever given here, took place at the house of Rev. Theodore Hill, pastor of the society. Upon the division of the Maine Conference in 1848, the churches on the Penobscot belonging to the East Maine Conference adopted measures for an annual camp-meeting, which was held that year in Islesboro'. In September, 1849, the grove in Northport was first occupied for the purpose. In 1851, the project of a new church was first seriously agitated, but with no result except to obtain the refusal of a lot. The sum of twenty-four hundred dollars was subscribed soon after. In 1858, by the perseverance of Rev. William J. Wilson, a sufficient amount to warrant the commencement of operations having been secured, ground was formally broken on the morning of June 15. On the afternoon of August 25, the south-easterly corner-stone of the present edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies. A cavity prepared for the purpose received a tin box, eight inches square by four deep, containing the following articles: Methodist hymn-book, Bible, church reports, copies of the local and other newspapers; a historical sketch of the Methodist church in Belfast, prepared by John L. Locke; and several miscellaneous pamphlets. The exercises were conducted according to the ritual, by the Rev. F. A. Soule, presiding elder of the district. Owing to the intense heat, an address from the Rev. Benjamin F. Tefft, D.D., was postponed until evening, when it was delivered in the Unitarian Church. A History of Methodism in Belfast, written and read by Mr. John L. Locke, followed. Through the indefatigable efforts of Mr. Wilson, who himself performed manual labor; the walls were soon raised and covered. An unexpected pecuniary gift from the Hon. Jacob Sleeper, of Boston, and the proceeds of a levee, furnished material aid. At the camp-meeting, Mr. Wilson solicited assistance at every tent, cordially receiving even the smallest mite with the remark that each cent given would purchase a brick.1 On the last day of the year 1858, the vestry, in the basement, a room sixty feet by forty-eight, was completed and dedicated. The sermon was preached from Hebrews x. 23-25, by Rev. F. A. Soule. A watch meeting took place in the evening. The church was completed during the following year, and dedicated on the 11th of October, by a sermon from John XVII.17 by the Rev. E. O. Haven, D.D., of Boston. In the afternoon, thirty-five pews were sold. The highest price paid was $187. The cost of the church edifice was $9,800. METHODIST CHURCH - ERECTED 1858. The edifice is handsome in appearance, and is substantially constructed. Its dimensions are: length, eighty-five feet; width, fifty feet; height of spire from the ground, one hundred and fifty-eight feet. There are eighty pews. A melodeon, costing one hundred and fifty dollars, was placed in the church the year after its completion. On the 12th of April, 1860, the East Maine Conference assembled here. Bishop Jones presided. About one hundred clergymen were present. In 1869, the Hon. Jacob Sleeper increased the debt of gratitude from the society, by presenting a fine toned bell, weighing fifteen hundred and one pounds, manufactured by William Blake & Co., of Boston. It arrived on the 19th of March, and was immediately placed in the belfry. An engraved plate was afterwards affixed to the balance-wheel, bearing this inscription: - "Received March 20, 1869. The gift of Hon. Jacob Sleeper, of Boston" A session of the East Maine Conference commenced here on the 6th of May, 1874, and continued five days. Bishop E. S. Jones, of New York, presided. On the Sabbath, all the pulpits in the city were occupied by members of the conference, or. by clergymen from abroad in attendance.