USA > Florida > Twenty-five years of organized work in Florida and Georgia by Church of the Brethren, from 1925 to 1950 > Part 3
USA > Georgia > Twenty-five years of organized work in Florida and Georgia by Church of the Brethren, from 1925 to 1950 > Part 3
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THE SEBRING CHURCH 12/12/1916
The work at Sebring began in January of the year 1915 when Brethren J. H. Garst and G. E. Kinzie came over from St. Petersburg and purchased property in the Geo. E. Sebring development pro- ject. In their discussion with Mr. Sebring he promised to give a lot for a church and other sub- stantial aid. Elder J. H. Moore and wife were spending the winter at Eustis and were persuaded to look the proposition over. Being pleased with the plans and offers of Mr. Sebring, they decided to locate in the new town. They moved from Eustis to Sebring in April 1916 and the first work they had to do was to erect a cottage on their newly acquired lot in this new development. Plans having been made during the Summer for a house of worship to be built on the lot donated by Mr. Sebring, the house was erected during the Fall. The house was built
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on the bungalow style and was twenty-eight by thirty-two feet.
During the Fall members began coming from the North and among them were Prof. A. M. Stout and wife from N. Manchester, Ind. The first service in Sebring was held in the home of Bro. and Sister Moore on Nov. fifth. In the afternoon of Dec. 3rd a song service was held in the new Chapel which was practically finished. In the evening of Dec. 12, 1916, the members assembled and effected an organization with fourteen members: Elders J. H. Moore and wife, J. H. Garst and wife, Riley Peters and wife, Deacons J. H. Kimmel and wife, E. M. Cottrell and wife, Taylor Arnold and wife, and Prof. A. M. Stout and wife, being fourteen in all. Later Bro. J. W. Lutz and wife came and are sometimes thot of as charter members, tho they were not at the organization. It was decided that the elders serve jointly with Bro. Stout as Church Clerk. The dedication service was held Dec. 17 at two-thirty with Bro. Moore in charge. The offering was $334 and was sufficient to meet all indebtedness and some left over. By the end of the tourist year, the mem- bership had increased to thirty with about that many tourists.
On Jan. 4, 1917 the first Prayer Meeting was held, with twenty present. On Sunday Jan. 7, the first Sunday School was held with about forty present with Bro. A. M. Stout acting as Supt. Jan. 11 Bro. Eli Cottrell called for and was anointed. He passed away Feb. 3rd and was taken back to
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Indiana for burial. During the Winter some of the Brethren erected dwellings and others pur- chased property with the intent of making Sebring their home. By the middle of May all had returned to their homes in the North, leaving Bro. and Sister Moore entirely alone for the Summer, so public services were suspended and this happened for the next two Summers. On many Sundays Bro. and Sister Moore had private services in the Chapel. In the Fall the members returned in larger numbers and the services were resumed with the Chapel packed, Sunday after Sunday. With the added attendance, it soon became necessary to add some Sunday School rooms, to care for the people who came to worship on Poinsetta Avenue.
During the first part of 1917-'18 the first Revival was held with Eld. J. A. Dove in charge of the preaching. At the same time a Bible Institute was being conducted by Eld. A. C. Wieand. This custom of having these Northern Brethren help out during the Winter season continued for a long time in this as well as in some of the other churches in this Southland. On Feb. 9th the first Love Feast was held in Sebring with Bro. Wieand in charge. There were about sixty at the Communion tables. Dur- ing the year of 1919-'20 the Chapel was moved to the corner of Oak and Pine Streets. Services con- tinued thruout the entire year since many of the Tourists had become Florida citizens, and lived in the city all the twelve months. About this time a small building was erected on the Oak Street side
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of the Chapel to help care for the Sunday School and Kindergarten. This building soon became the kindergarten room in the community for Church and Private pupils. Some of the teachers were Sisters Nellie Kneisley, Leah Gettel and Anna Miller.
During the year 1921 the large commodious Auditorium was built to care for ever increasing crowds. Elder D. H. Zigler of Broadway, Va., preached the sermon of dedication on Jan. 8, 1922. In the large audience were seventeen ministers. The next problem to be solved was the matter of a par- sonage and Brother J. F. Sanger came forward with a proposition: he would donate a house he owned on Pine Street if the Church would pay off a small debt on it. The deed and all legal matters were soon cared for and the house could now be furnished and ready for the in-coming pastor. The church secured the services of Bro. and Sister D. E. Miller for six months of the early part of 1924. On Sep- tember 3, 1924 Elder James H. Morris and family moved into the newly decorated parsonage and re- mained there for four years, serving three years full time and one year half-time. Brother and Sister D. E. Miller were then installed to begin their second pastorate and they served till replaced by Mckinley Coffman in December of the year 1938.
During the Summer of 1925 a need was felt for more room for the Young People's Sunday School Class. Also the Ladies' Aid needed more room to care for its work. The Young people came forward
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as a body and with their own money and help made their room a reality, even furnishing it at their own expense. The Sister's aid did almost the same thing for their room and they soon had a homey place to work.
The Sunday School has always been a vital part of the work of this church. Soon after the church was organized, Prof. A. M. Stout was chosen to be the Supt. Others to follow and serve in that capacity were, Eld. J. H. Garst, Sister J. O. Younce, Brethren John Hollenberg, B. C. Whitmore, Sister Elsie Sanger (so long till she begged off), Sisters Mary Swank, Martha Horton, and Lena Marchand, on at least two different occasions. This list may not be complete but it shows their interest in the work among the children and the young people. During the Summer of 1925 the Pastor with his helpers conducted a very successful D.V.B.S. which opened the way for one the next and following years. It would not have been omitted in 1928 had not so many been away from Sebring. From 1929 to the present time many efforts were made and successful schools were held but most were Union Schools with one or more of the other churches in the city.
During the years of 1937 and early 1938 it be- came evident that more District work was needed to hold up and care for the many places that had been opened up. The Mission Board conceived the idea of asking the Sebring Church to share its Pastor with the District on a fifty-fifty basis. Elders H. M. Landis and J. H. Morris met with the Sebring
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Church in May of 1938 and worked out a plan for such cooperation. In December of that year, Elder McKinley Coffman came to Florida to take up his two-fold work, pastoral and Executive Secretary work. His work began bearing fruit immediately for during the first nine months he was in each church one or more times in some regular or special work: eleven were baptized; three Summer Pastors had been brought to the District; he had assisted in Life Conference and in Summer Camps. In the next two years he was instrumental in more than one hundred being baptized. He directed the Sum- mer Camps for the two years helped to arrange for Sister Ida C. Shoemaker's itinerary and for Walter M. Kahle to come for number of conferences. He closed out his work at the close of 1941 and the District felt the loss very keenly as expressed by the Board of Christian Education in its District report.
During the years of 1942 to 1944 the pastorate of the church was cared for by several of the local ministers: Elders H. A. Spanogle, F. M. Hollenberg, Edgar Stauffer and I. R. Pletcher. In the Fall of 1944 Brother D. D. Feishman came to Florida to give one-fourth of his time to District Work and three-fourths to Pastoral work of the Sebring Church. His meetings took him into six of the congregations of the District and resulted in thirty- four being brought into the fellowship of the Church thru baptism and renewal of vows. In his District work he served on the Mission Board and assisted
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them in some of their projects of securing informa- tion about the possibilities and immediate needs of the District. He severed his relationship with the Board in March 1948. Elder H. B. Heisey was in- stalled into his Pastoral work with the Sebring Church and began there September 1, 1948. The oversight of the Sebring Church has been held by Elders J. H. Moore and J. H. Garst jointly for thir- teen years, or till the Church chose the Pastor, Eld. D. E. Miller in 1929. When Bro. Mckinley Coffman became Pastor he was chosen as the Presiding Elder. Since 1941 the Overseers have been: Elder H. A. Spanogle, F. M. Hollenberg, C. E. Bower and Edgar Stauffer.
Lack of sufficient Sunday School room and the crowded conditions during the Winter season caused many persons in the congregation during the Winter season of 1947-'48 to feel the need of enlarged fa- cilities in the Sebring congregation, hence in Jan- uary 1948 a Building Committee was appointed. The members of the committee were: Elder Edgar Stauffer, Miss Katherine Rinehart, Mrs. Lena Marchand, John Hollenberg, William Hollinger, Mrs. Chalmer Barley, Frank Sargent, B. R. Ikenberry, C. O. Rogers, Eld. Harry Swank and J. D. Wampler. William J. Hines was selected and appointed to be the architect, with C. W. Whitmer as the con- tractor. The ground-breaking service was held July fifth and the cornerstone-laying was November twenty seventh 1948. The work went along with great rapidity and in less than two years the new
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house of worship was ready for dedication. The congregation decided that it should be a Memorial Church to the two founders, Elders J. H. Moore and J. H. Garst. Elder Garst was consulted and he declined the honor of having his name used, hence the name of the church is: "The J. H. Moore Me- morial Church of the Brethren." On January 22, 1950 the house was dedicated and it was fitting that Elder James M. Moore, the son of Elder J. H. Moore should preach the Sermon of Dedication.
Sebring holds a unique position among the churches of Florida because of its geographical po- sition, near the center of them; because of its be- ing the home of many of the older Brethren and Sisters; because Elder J. H. Moore spent the last twenty years of his life there; he had been instru- mental in opening up the work in this Southland; he had helped so many churches get started in this new territory; he had directed our Religious think- ing so long thru the columns of the Gospel Mes- senger; his quiet leadership helped to organize and build up all the older congregations. Also, Sebring was the home base for the work at the Grate Mills, the Sunday School at Hicoria, the work at Lake Istakpoga that grew into the Sunnyland Church, the work in the Bassenger neighborhood that grew into the Bassenger-Okeechobee church; all these with the J. H. Moore Church of the Brethren that is located in Sebring make the place almost a sacred spot to so many of our Brethren and Sisters.
From its small beginning on Poinsettia Street
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in the twenty-eight by thirty-two house of worship to its towering Memorial Building on Oak and Pine Streets, is continual story of growth in attendance, problems and loyal leadership. Brother and Sister Moore could tell best the lonliness of the first three Summers when they were the only members to wor- ship in the Chapel. In 1921 a large Auditorium was built, placing the Chapel Annex to it to care for the increasing attendance. The Sunday School attendance has grown till in 1952 the average was 209. The Morning Worship attendance now for the Winter Season is from four hundred to six hundred. The mid-week service has always been very high in comparison to membership and now the average is anywhere between fifty in Summer to two hundred during the Winter Season.
Chapter III
CHURCH EXTENSION
THE CHURCH AT CHOSEN 5/4/1922
Brother Isaac West was the merchant and Post Master in the little town of Chosen on the Southeast end of Lake Okeechobee. Some other members lived in the community, having moved there from Virginia or some other part of Florida. Among those coming from the Indian River Church were the Leatherman brothers, John R. and Isaac. After talking it over these Brethren thot it might be beneficial to organize so that they could have Sunday School and Preaching frequently. They met in the school house on May 4, 1922 and were organized into a body and took the name, "Chosen Church." There were ten letters making the number of Charter Members ten with a promise of two more later. Elder J. R. Leatherman was chosen to be the Overseer of the group. Some members died or moved away and they were not replaced by others coming in so the number got less and the work went down.
During the Winter of 1927-1928, Sister Bertha Albin of Kansas taught school in Chosen and did good work in the Sunday School in the same school
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house. For more than a year the Sebring Church and the District Mission Board sent a minister about once a month to preach for them and the expenses were paid by the Church thru the efforts of Bro. and Sister West and Bertha Albin. As a result of the Tropical Storm of 1928 many people were drowned or made homeless and much property destroyed in the community. Among the buildings lost was the school house hence no place for school nor Sunday School. Since there seemed to be no hope of having a place for services nor of getting more members, a recommendation was made to disorganize the Church. During the six and one- half years of its existence, Bro. and Sister West did their best to build up the work but of no avail, it seemed. The few remaining members were given letters to put into a Church of the Brethren. Tho the work is closed, the good teaching that was done will bear fruit in some other community for God's Word will not return unto Him void.
THE LAKELAND CHURCH 1/18/1925
Early in November of 1923 Brother John Leck- rone and wife of Ohio moved to Lakeland, Fla. Other members living near were Brother Glenn Carr and family, who lived out about three miles. Eld. A. I. Mow and wife lived at Homeland, about twenty-two miles to the south. Also A. H. Price and wife lived near Homeland. The first meeting
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was held in Bro. Carr's home in Sept. 1924. A few meetings were held in the home of Eld. and Mrs. A. I. Mow and then they were transferred to the Leckrone garage on Dorothy Street. For the winter of 1924-1925 Brethren E. S. Hollinger and family and Chester Bookwalter and family were in Lakeland and worshiped with the members in this garage. On August 24, 1924 a Love Feast was held here with twenty-three taking part. Some of the group were from the Zion Church and the others lived around Lakeland. Elder J. H. Moore officiated at the service. The members in and around Lakeland were organized into a Church Jan. 18, 1925 with 15 charter members and Elder J. W. Rogers for the Overseer. On January 31st a Sunday School was organized. During the year at a Business Meeting the letters of Miles Hamil- ton and wife were received and before the end of the year the number of members had grown to twenty.
After many offers and opportunities to secure lots on which to build a house of worship, finally two lots were secured one mile west of the Post Office on the Old Tampa Trail. Being located be- tween the city and the suburbs was unfortunate for the place did not settle up readily and the house was away from the people. Work began immedi- ately and it was pushed along rapidly and in four- teen months after the organization the house was ready for use. The Dedication Services were con- ducted March 21, 1926 with Eld. D. H. Zigler in
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charge and he continued preaching for a week. His master messages were appreciated by all who heard him. The membership kept growing till the number reached 35. But moving day came to this group too and when two of the largest fami- lies had moved away the crowds looked rather small. A few others moved in and two letters from Ft. Lauderdale brought the number of members back to twenty-five (25) again.
At a Business Meeting held May 16, 1926, Bro. and Sister Glenn Carr were ordained to the Elder- ship. At a later Business Meeting, one held October 1, 1927 Bro. and Sister John S. Leckrone were called to the office of the Deacon and duly installed. Thru a later Business Meeting the Church issued a Call for the Annual Meeting to come to the Florida and Georgia District in 1930. The Call was sanctioned by the District thru the District Meeting being held at the Clay County Church. The call was renewed the following year and sent to the Con- ference at La Verne, Cal., for the next Annual Con- ference. Besides the member on Standing Committee Bro. and Sister Leckrone went to the Meeting. Two other Revival Meetings were held in the new church besides the one by Bro. D. H. Zigler. These were held by Brethren L. L. Lininger and J. H. Morris. The church has had many Communion Services, especially in its early history, having one each year. Many programs and Special Services were held, having service and then having lunch and a Social hour.
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Although the membership was not large, yet they felt that they could care for the District Gather- ings in 1933, so they sent a Call to the Meeting that was being held at Lorida and it was considered favorably, and the Meetings were allowed to go to Lakeland. Since the church house was small and away from most of the homes of the members, they arranged with the School Board to use the facilities at the Central School in the city proper. In some sort of coincidence this school house is but a short distance from where the first services were held in the garage on Dorothy Street. From the Resolutions, we quote: "We wish to express to the city of Lakeland, her School Board, her Trus- tees and the Faculty of Central School our sin- cerest gratitude for the royal welcome extended to us and the free use of the buildings that housed so well our District Gatherings."
After the District Meeting of 1933, a number of members moved into the bounds of the con- gregation and the membership list almost doubled in the next few years. More strenuous efforts were put forth to build up the work by the resident membership as well as by the help the Boards could give, but the location was a great drawback. An effort was made by some to have the house moved to where more of the members lived but the move was never made and when moving day came again, what were left decided to sell the house and take their letters to some other congregation of the Church of the Brethren. The house was sold for
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five hundred dollars ($500) on March 12, 1943.
During the eighteen years of its existence it had for its Presiding Elders, Brethren J. W. Rogers, J. H. Garst, J. H. Morris, S. W. Bail, the Ministerial Board, S. G. Fahnestock, and Clarence Bower. Most of the time it had no resident Elder nor Pastor but was supplied from other congregations. Tho the organization is dissolved, the house sold and the members gone otherwheres to live, the much seed that was sown thru the Word of God that was preached will continue to bear fruit and some people will make many right decisions because of their association with the work at Lakeland.
WINTER PARK CHURCH 2/15/1925
About 1920 some members moved into North Florida and organized a Sunday School in Madison County. Before very long they moved back into Jefferson Davis County, Ga., and there were organ- ized into a Church. The number grew to about 20 members here in Georgia. Before long some of them moved south into Florida, locating near Winter Park. In 1923 four families met in the home of Bro. H. F. Ellis and held their first service with thirteen in attendance. Other meetings were held in other homes, the attendance being larger each time. A Sunday School was organized March 23, 1924 with Bro. H. F. Ellis as Supt. On Easter Sunday the Services were held in the home of Bro.
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J. W. Rogers with an attendance of twenty-five. An outing was enjoyed at Oakhurst May 25th. After partaking of a basket dinner, some time was spent in visiting and enjoying the beautiful sur- roundings. The services were held during the Summer in a vacant house owned by Bro. J. W. Rogers. A Sunday School and Sermon made up the morning service and the evening service con- sisted of a Bible Class, conducted by Bro. C. E. Bower. The mid-week services were mostly made up of hymn singing.
In September of 1924 they began holding serv- ices in the home of Bro. Jacob Ihrig. When the attendance outgrew the room, they began talking about building a church house. Bro. S. J. Burger was in the community and preached each Sunday, the attendance being about seventy or more each Sunday. In October Sister Maude Elis called for and was anointed. In December the ladies organ- ized an Aid Society with Sisters Audrey Brown, Millie Rogers, Minnie Brallier and Iva Bower as officers. On January 19, 1925 work on the new church house was begun with the first service being held a week later. The new church was dedicated Feb. 15, 1925 and on the same day the Church was organized. The Dedication Sermon was preached by Eld. D. H. Zigler. After the sermon a basket dinner was served to 85 people, some being from Sebring and Seneca besides the tourists in and around the community. At a Business Meeting, Nov. 30, 1925, Brethren A. H.
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Brallier and J. W. Rogers were called to the deacon's office and duly installed.
Early in 1925 a Christian Workers' Meeting was organized with Sisters Ruth Swihart, Hester Ihrig and Mildred Brallier as officers. The first revival meeting was conducted by Bro. S. J. Burger in March of 1925. On March 15 the first Communion Service was held with 48 taking part. The Young People's Class was organized soon after the Church was organized with Bro. Jacob Ihrig as teacher. There were eight members in the class. At its meetings it had duets, readings, stories, questions and other forms of religious work. Thru personal work and contests others were added to the class till the number reached twenty. The first program was rendered at the Sebring Church in June 1926. They continued till they had been in about all the churches of the District, one or more times.
When the first church house was built, it was with the understanding that the inside finishing would be done later and more rooms would be add- ed to accommodate the growing congregation. In the getting ready to entertain the District Gather- ings in 1927, the plans were carried out. A large Sunday School room was added on the east side and a kitchen on the rear of the present house. These rooms and the inside finishing were com- pleted in time for the Meetings and were dedicated the evening before with James H. Morris preaching the sermon. Since the Sunday School Room could be opened into the main room, it proved to be
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ample room for all the gatherings. The sisters cared for the culinary duties and proved to be good hostesses to satisfy the physical wants of the attendants. The open homes of the Brethren and neighbors of the community furnished sleeping places for all the delegates and outside visitors to the Conference.
Thru the kindness and money support of Dainiel Frantz and wife the daughter Bertha was allowed to give her valuable services to the Dis- trict for about three years. Besides much District work she lived and worked at the Crate Mills and in the Winter Park Church. For two years, her work along with some other workers built up the Sunday School and added to the membership of the Church. When her time expired in May 1931 the Board was loath to let her go but money matters made it necessary. Her good work in the Church bore fruit for many years. The District Gatherings were granted to the congregation for 1934 and were ably cared for as at other times.
Early in 1935 when the Will of Mr. William Coursen was probated, it was found that he had divided his money among the Churches of Winter Park and the part falling to the Church of the Brethren was seven thousand seven hundred thir- teen dollars ($7,713). Since it was already evi- dent that the congregation needed more room, this was an opportuniy to arrange for a larger house. With the future in mind, a more suitable location was found at the corner of Harmon Avenue and
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Clay Street. Brethren James A. Richards and Clarence E. Bower were selected as a Building Committee. After the Architect, H. W. McCord had drawn the plans, or about the first of October 1935, the work began with Brother Bower as the foreman. The work moved along rapidly and the new house was ready for dedication May 17, 1936. Dr. Paul H. Bowman of Bridgewater, Virginia preached the Dedication Sermon. Early in March the old church was moved on the rear of the lot and is now called Bethany Hall. All was paid for at Dedication except one thousand dollars and that was secured by a mortgage, held by the General Brotherhood Board, which was paid off in 1942. A lot had been donated on which to build a Parson- age and some money had been raised for the new building, so in the Spring of 1948 a loan was secured from the General Board. The building has been erected and in use now for several years with all indebtedness paid off.
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