A Rich Heritage
The Hiawassee United Methodist Church can trace its origins to the
first church established in Hiawassee in the early part of the last
century. The Hiawassee Church, as it was known then, began as a result of
a camp meeting held in 1834 and 1835 with 96 members. In 1858 land was
deeded to the trustees of the church for the construction of a new
building. According to records, this building was completed just before
the war in 1860 and was situated on a site now covered by Lake Chatuge.
The Hiawassee Church was dissolved soon after the 1939 union of the
Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal Church South and Methodist
Protestant Churches. All three were represented in Towns County, and due
largely to political differences among the various members, the
congregations were not able to unite.
It was in this time frame that TVA came into the area, bought land from
the local residents, causing upheaval and forcing them to move from their
homesteads. In this period, many of the local men were inducted into
military service to serve during World War II. The small group of
Methodists and others felt the need of meeting as a Methodist group for
prayer in their homes. These prayer meetings became too large to meet in
private homes. An organized church was the next step for these people with
the "faith that moves mountains". Their Baptist friends came to
their aid, offering the McConnell Memorial Church for vesper services,
until the Methodists could meet in a church of their own.
The town of Hiawassee was predominantly Baptist and it seemed
impossible for the Methodists to carry on the expenses and work connected
with an organized church. It was reluctantly decided to disband and let
members find their work and worship in neighboring churches.
In 1947 while he was a ministerial student at Young Harris College,
Rev. Ralph Mabry began serving the Towns Circuit and soon instigated the
reorganization of a church in Hiawassee. A meeting place was needed and a
congregation of 12 or 13 began holding services at the Hiawassee Court
House. The Hiawassee Methodist Church was officially reorganized in 1950
with 23 charter members.
After several years of hard work and numerous fund raising projects, a
new sanctuary was completed in August of 1955 on the current site of the
church. By this time, membership had grown to over 30 members and Sunday
School attendees numbered well over 40.
As the church continued to flourish over several decades, the
congregation was served by a number of wonderful pastors and their
families, many of whom were directly connected with the faculty of Young
Harris College.
In 1984, the current parsonage was completed on generously donated land
on Fodder Creek Road and the mortgage note was paid off in 1988. In 1989,
a large anonymous donation initiated a campaign to renovate the existing
church by adding Sunday School rooms, a larger sanctuary and a larger
fellowship hall. All the church organizations set about to raise funds
matching the donation so that construction of the new church could begin.
These tireless efforts came to fruition when the present Hiawassee United
Methodist Church was consecrated in May 1990.
At the beginning of the conference year in 1991, Hiawassee United
Methodist Church became a station church and was assigned a full-time
dedicated pastor. Until that time, the church had shared a pastor with
Union Hill United Methodist Church. Our current pastor, Rev. Jim Blair and his
wife Katie, joined us in July of 2004.
Since receiving our charter in 1950, membership has grown almost 750%
to a current level of 169. Through the dedicated giving and tithing of its
members, the church has met all its financial obligations, including 100%
of all yearly apportionments and our pastor has received a raise in every
year. All incurred debt has been retired ahead of schedule and the church
was in a debt-free condition from 1992 until the recent purchase of land
in October 2000 for the construction of a new facility.
The land purchased on Hwy 76 W was paid off in April, 2003 and the
mortgage was burned at the church service on June 1, 2003.
With much discussion and planning, a design for our new facility was
approved in 2004, with Batten and Sons as Architect and prime
contractor.
We had our Groundbreaking Ceremony, January 30, 2005. Our
building was completed in December and we had a Watch Night Service
December 31.
Our last Sunday in our old building was January 1, 2006, and our
first service in our new worship center on January 8, 2006. The
new worship center was consecrated on February 19, 2006.
When we felt we had all the "bugs" worked out, we had an Open House
on April 21, 2006. It was well attended by the public.
Since we have been in our new facility our congregation has been
growing and we continue to plan for the future. Some of our outreach programs.
- Barnabas
- Children's Ministry
- Divorce Care
- Food Pantry
- Grief Share
- Habitat for Humanity
- Mom's Morning Out
- Prayer Shawl Ministry
- Prison ministry
- Singles Ministry
- "Witness Protection" Methodist Youth Fellowship
- Visitation Team
The congregation of Hiawassee United Methodist Church is extremely
proud of its rich heritage and is eager to face the challenges of the
future as it endeavors to serve the needs of the community through
Christ. |
