Countywide : Old Church Takes Look at History

A small group of families who first met for prayer in 1869 moved from building to building over the decades. But they remained together, and last weekend the congregation observed the 125th anniversary of the oldest Protestant church in Orange County.

Congregants of the Spurgeon United Methodist Church celebrated by opening a time capsule and applauding those families from throughout the county who have stayed with the church for up to six generations.

“You hear a lot about American society being so mobile, but there are a lot of roots,” said Katherine Gara, who has been pastor of the church and its 250 members for several years. “I think it’s unusual to have so many families that have been in one place for so many generations.”

Gara led up to Sunday’s festivities with about six weeks of “historic” services that recalled various periods in the church’s history. One Sunday she preached as Maggie Newton Van Cott, ordained in 1969 as the Methodist Church’s first female minister.

The opening of the time capsule, from the church’s 100th anniversary in 1969, also gave the party a historic feel.

The capsule was largely filled with predictions, few of which came to pass, said Judy Cobb, chairwoman of the church trustees. A few optimistic souls predicted that by 1994 an astronaut would have reached Mars and war would have been abolished, Cobb said. Another predicted that Memory Lane, where the church sits, would be a major thoroughfare, which did come true, Cobb said.

The church plans to open the time capsule every 25 years, Cobb said. “It does keep a sense of connectedness to your past and your future that is motivating,” she said.