Mt. Carmel UMC celebrating 150 years

This Sunday, May 5, Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church in Jay will celebrate both its 150th homecoming anniversary and three years in the new, 8,000-square-foot facility, the fourth church built there since the church began in 1869.

Sunday School will be at 10 a.m. and at worship service at 11 a.m., will include Alabama-West Florida Conference United Methodist Church District Superintendent Tim Trent as guest speaker. Dinner on the grounds will be served and there will be sining and a church history given, complete with videos and pictures from the past.

The church has seen 150 years of change, including four different facilities built or rebuilt through the years, replacing each one before which was destroyed or demolished and showcasing the faith of its members to keep their church alive.

On Wednesday, May 14, 2014, the church suffered a lightning strike around 9 a.m. during a heavy storm and started a fire that destroyed the soft-heart pine building. It was the third facility that had been built on the 5-acre site since 1869.

Donald and Rachel Hendricks, members who live closest to the church, and their daughter-in-law, Teena Hendricks, remember the events of that day like it was yesterday.

"Sue Hendricks called me and said the church is on fire," said Rachel. "It was raining heavily when the fire started."

Teena said when she arrived at the church, the flames were very bright orange and she could see them from down the road in the middle of the day.

"It was burning from the rooftop when I got here, and smoke just billowing out of all the doors and I could see bright flames coming out of the top and windows," said Teena. "Lightning hitting a breaker box is what is suspected to have started the fire."

"It was all pine on the inside," said Donald Hendricks. "A lot of the church that burned was taken out of the old church. It was like pouring fuel on the fire, with that soft heart pine."

Although it isn't clear who called 911, Jay Fire Department and about eight other fire departments from the area came in the heavy rains to fight the fire, which took firefighters until that afternoon to put out, they said.

Of the stained glass windows that hung in the church, about half were destroyed in the fire, and the others have been put in frames and backlit and hang in the new church. Both the computer and soundboard remained intact and the church still uses the computer today. Teena said the Bible that was in the choir loft was charred, but survived the fire.

That evening after the fire, members met at Jay Methodist Church to discuss what to do to move forward in rebuilding their church. Teena said that Frederick Barrows approached them soon after to say that his church, Cornerstone, was not using their old facility and they were welcome to use it.

Mt. Carmel UMC rented that facility, where they met until July 2017, for the next three and a half years while they were raising money and building this newest facility. Then about a year and a half ago, in 2017, they moved into the new church.

Teena said the new church is made of metal and has all flame-proof and flame-resistent materials. With the exception of the pews, trim, pulpit and some other pieces. The outside is made of hardy plank, or cement board, and the spire atop the church is the old one and has a lightning rod through it to protect against another lightning strike.

"The first service in the new church was the children's Christmas program in December 2017 and the last service before the fire was that Wednesday, Mother's Day in May 2014," said Teena.

They said they held all kinds of fundraisers, donations were made from the community, other community churches, other Methodist churches and members.

"We raised all of it, with no financing," said Donald. "We have built four churches over the years, and never borrowed a penny to finance them."

Teena said they raised $1.2 million for the new church, plus the insurance, which covered about half the cost, although it took a while to get the insurance funds.

"We were raising money up until we moved into new church," said Teena.

According to Donald, the third church, (1960-2014), the one that burned, had been built in 1960 or 1961 and was made of concrete block covered with brick, and had an old bell tower from the second church on top that local members rang before church on Sundays. It had been built by all volunteers, except brick mason, plumber and electrician. The steeple from this church was saved and is mounted on top of the new church.

Donald said Joe McCurdy, who held auctions in Jay, would hit farmers up to make donations to the church while he was selling, which raised quite a bit of money.

"We had about four guys who were retired mostly who worked all day long and were able to work on the building," said Donald.

The building was T-shaped, and narrow, and sat closer to the road that runs in front of the church.

It replaced the second building (1928-1960) that was built entirely of wood and had stood since 1928 but had been demolished in 1960 or 1961 because of termite damage. The bell tower was original to this second of four buildings and has made it through to still be there today. Members met in Hendricks Mercantile Store, which had closed several years earlier, and local homes.

"It was a two-story, finished wood building," said Donald. "It had semi-basement and a semi-balcony in it with big windows. It had a bell tower with a big bell which was rung every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. I was one of four boys in my family, and I remember each if us taking turns going up to the bell tower to ring the bell before service."

The first church, (1869-1928) had a school to the east on church property. Donald said they don't have many records, just a church membership list. He said the members built a fire outside to stay warm. "They needed a larger building to house the members and there was no heat," said Donald.

There are no records of the transition from the first to the second church building that took place, he said.

The church holds several fundraisers each year to help different causes, including the annual Wild Game Supper. Local businesses donate auction items while guests enjoy dining on wild game, Donald said. He said a lot of people look forward to this fundraiser in particular.

"We were not able to have one at the usual time this year," said Paster Mark Barfield. "But we are planning to have it this coming fall."

Barfield has been the pastor since October 2016, coming from the Mississippi Conference.

The church also has a booth at Jay's Trick or Treat on Commerce Street, where they hand out candy and bottled water.

The church holds a prayer meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, with a service a 6:45 p.m.

On Sundays, Sunday School is at 10 a.m., with worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday evening, service is at 6 p.m. Everyone is invited to come attend Homecoming this Sunday or anytime.