200 YEARS OF CHRISTIAN MINISTRY PART FIVE “Celebrating 200 Years of Ministry” AN EXCITING FUTURE ST. PAUL’S METHODIST CHURCH, POSEYVILLE, INDIANA
News Article in the “Posey County News” May 6, 2014 --By Valerie Werkmeister
Members of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Poseyville have a very ambitious goal. They recently kicked off a capital campaign to raise $600,000 over the course of the next five weeks. The task may seem difficult to some, but the goal is simple: to build the church for the next 100 years. The brick church building has withstood the test of time. It was built in 1904 and is the fourth building for the church. Over the years, it has served the church well. Now, the church is faced with making improvements that include tucking and sealing the brick, making repairs to the roof and providing handicap accessibility that meets the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements. About a year and one-half ago, the church trustees began exploring the needs of the church. The current church facilities are used to their maximum potential. Multiple groups and organizations meet several times a week and every inch of space is used, said Pastor Paul Huntsman. Pastor Paul, as he is known to his parishioners, is in his fourth year as the pastor. Between Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, the Community Table, the after school MAGIC program which offers activities and homework help to elementary school students and the various church groups and committees, there’s hardly a night that goes by in which the church sits quiet. “We have an adult Sunday School Class that must meet in our fellowship hall because there is just no other place to put them,” Pastor Paul said. “Everything we do demands more and more room.” Church trustees wrestled with the idea of building a new church. They soon abandoned the idea, nothing the rich history with the current location. St. Paul’s was the first church in Poseyville. It was founded in the fall of 1815, when Jonathan Jaquess and his wife, Rebecca, opened their home to the first church services that were, at that time, conducted by circuit riders. Preachers rode horses in all types of weather in their assigned ‘circuits’ or areas that were sometimes as large as 600 miles. Those first church meetings consisted of only a handful of people but it soon grew to strong numbers. In 1818, the first of two log churches were built on a lot at the western end of Main Street. Those sufficed until 1861, when a frame structure was built at the current location at the intersection of Cale and Second Streets. Today, there are approximately 135 people who regularly attend Sunday services, although the recent Easter service had 228 in attendance. Pastor Paul said with assurance there may have been room for six more. In order to consistently see those numbers, the trustees know they must take a proactive approach. The hope to see 200 people in weekly attendance within the next five years.
St. Paul’s UMC History
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