2007 was the Golden Anniversary of Bethesda UMC.
The first service of worship was held on July 28th,
1957. To commemorate this event, we held a
special service on July 22nd of 2007. The
District Superintendent (Grey Southern) delivered the
sermon.
In the year 1957, at the North Carolina Annual Conference in June, Rev. Ernest Boyd was appointed to the Bethesda community to start a new Methodist church. The first service of worship was held in the Bethesda Ruritan Club building on July 28, 1957. The congregation worshiped there for a brief time and then moved to Bethesda Elementary School. The church was organized and held its first quarterly conference on August 25, 1957. Bethesda United Methodist Church was chartered with fifty-one members during its first year of existence. The Building Fund crusade for the Educational Building was launched on March 26, 1960. The first phase building was completed under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Rod Randolph. The Educational building was ready for use in December of 1962. This building was also used as the sanctuary. The Educational building was paid for and dedicated in January of 1973. The current parsonage, located at 2405 Rolling Pines Ave., was purchased in September of 1967. The indebtedness on the parsonage was retired in February of 1988.
Through a great amount of hard work and dedication, as visions and dreams of a sanctuary were kept alive through the Holy Spirit, the groundbreaking was held in the early spring of 1999. Jim Ward served as the architect on the project. Actual construction did not begin until the year 2000 under the supervision of Gary Smith, Conference Contractor, and was mainly done by volunteer labor. The first service of worship was held in the new sanctuary in July of 2001.
The name Bethesda means "house of grace or loving kindness" according to the dictionary. Bethesda was one of the four sectors of Jerusalem. There was a pool in that area by the same name. This pool was near the Sheep Gate and the Temple. According to the Gospel of John, chapter 5, Jesus went to this pool one day. The sick and hurting would wait in expectation by the side of the pool. They believed that if they could be first to get to the water in the pool, while the water was showing signs of being stirred from within, as if by a geyser, they would be healed. However, there is no supporting evidence in Scripture that the waters actually had curative powers. But Jesus did! In John, chapter 5, Jesus asked the invalid, "Do you want to get well?" Of course, the man wanted that. Who wouldn't? Amazingly, Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!" At once, the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. Awesome!
There are times in life when things go wrong. People we love get sick and, sometimes, they die. Friends or family members are struck down by some horrible tragedy. We lose our jobs, or we are betrayed by a spouse or loved one. A thousand calamities can befall us, and in those moments when we feel most alone, most downcast, most vulnerable, most frightened, we need a Bethesda's pool. Bethesda United Methodist Church seeks to be that pool -- or house of healing. We wish to be a place of refuge where people can retreat in the real presence of Jesus.
May you find strength and power for the living of these days in this place of worship of Almighty God, called Bethesda United Methodist Church.