St Paul's is celebrating it's 141st year!

I came to St Paul’s about 2-1/2 years ago, As a new member, I was unaware of the history of St Paul’s until recently, and I’ve found it fascinating and thought I would share some of it with you. St Paul's is now celebrating its 141st year in Brick!

St Paul’s can trace its history back to the time period in the late 1700’s when Methodists came from England to escape persecution. By the early 1800’s Methodists began to settle in the area now known as Brick. They met for prayer in each other’s homes, had large meetings in barns or out in the open air when weather permitted. Worship in these times was difficult… people had to walk for miles, often carrying their children, but they were faithful.

The Methodist conference established “circuits” (geographic areas of worship) and “charged” travelling ministers to preach in their assigned circuits. (These were called “circuit riders”). A circuit rider travelled with all their belongings and books in saddlebags and stayed at worshiper’s homes. It is said that Francis Asbury traveled 270,000 miles and preached 16,000 times! One circuit rider, John Handley, was known to have walked from Freehold to Herbertsville to preach. A church had to be rather large to require a full-time minister in those times!

In 1858, a schoolhouse was built on the corner of Herbertville Rd and Schoolhouse Rd, and services were held there -- I've included a picture of the schoolhouse which still exists today. In 1876, Edger Herbert donated a plot of land on Herbertville Rd at the corner of Thiele Rd, and the congregation built the first church. David Estelle an ancestor of our own Milt Estelle, donated the timber, and the Herberts and Giffords laid the foundation and built the structure. This building still stands today and is used by the Church of the Epiphany as their Parish House, and is also pictured.

In 1945, the church membership was 54. By 1954, as the area became more populated, membership had increased 300% to 147, and an expansion was completed to add another room, a kitchen and bathroom to the existing church. By 1960, the church’s membership had grown to such a degree that a full-time pastor was needed. St Paul’s was the only Protestant church in the area, and it was expected to grow… AND, GROW IT DID!

Starting in 1958 through 1976, St Paul’s experienced huge growth with membership increasing from about 200 to 900. It was during this time that it was decided to build a new church. The property was obtained for a good price, and for 8 years, the church membership held events to raise funds, church fairs, covered dish suppers, and other things. The broke ground in 1965 and dedicated the new church in January 1966.

In the years since then, the Church has been expanded twice, the new parsonage on Sally Ike Rd was built in 1972, and the Associate Pastor’s Parsonage next door on Herbertsville Rd was built in 1986. The congregation continued to grow, and in 1988 it was over 1,000 members.

How did the church grow? I believe it was because the church provided the “social life” as well as the spiritual life for its membership and they were willing to invest their time, talents and resources to share the gospel and do the work of the church. The woman cleaned the church and the men did the repairs and outside maintenance. Our Church BBQ in August was a throw-back to the days of yore, where they celebrated each other and the church with Church Fairs, Chicken-Pot-Pie suppers, Oyster and covered dish suppers, Clubs, Youth Fellowship, Small group classes, The “Hour of Power” Wednesday night worship, a Discipleship Celebration, retreats, meetings with outside speakers, and of course missions. When people are together and working towards a common goal they become close and committed.

You may be wondering what all this has to do with stewardship. A steward is a person who manages or cares for something to see it grow and thrive. Christian stewardship is the giving of time, abilities and material possessions based on the conviction that these are a trust from God…. that none of this belongs to us… we have been put here on earth to be good stewards of everything the good Lord has gifted to us. The Christian standard establishes the tithe as the minimum requirement of meaningful discipleship. However, Stewardship really involves our whole beings in time, service and resources to express our faith. St Paul's has always been involved in local ministries including the Christmas Shop, held annually in cooperation with St Thomas Lutheran Church, feeding the hungry through our food pantry, food baskets and turkeys in cooperation with Church of the Epiphany, during the holidays, Lexington House in Lakewood, Open Door Pregnancy Center, Grace Initiatives, Providence House, Step of Faith, Children's Specialized Hospital, and many more! The congregation also supports several missionaries including Sky and Michele Taing in China, Lizette and Andy Bowen in Paraguay, the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky, and of course our own mission in Haiti every year. Our hospitality ministry visits shut-ins and those in the hospital, and delivers hand crocheted prayer shawls created by our crochet ministry. There are a number of different ministries at St Paul's including active United Methodist Women (UMW) and United Methodist Men (UMM) groups, the growing Junior and Senior Youth Groups, the Crochet Ministry, the Pet Ministry who recently sponsored a Blessing of the Animals and Pet Adoption Fair, Senior Joy to provide entertainment and activities for seniors, and many more.

St Paul's also has a thriving Music Ministry, under the directorship of Barbara Estelle, which includes several choirs for ages 4 to adult, and a contemporary worship team. On November 4th, at 7PM, St Paul's Music Ministry will be hosting the 38th Annual Variety Show, a much anticipated community event! This year we are going to Broadway. There will be songs, dance, and acts from the "Great White Way of Broadway". We are excited to bring this fun music to everyone to enjoy. All of our choirs will be participating as well as many solo, duet, group, and instrumentals. We hope you'll come out and enjoy a fun evening! And of course, in December, the Music Ministry will host the annual Cantata and band concert, so keep tuned!

There are always fun activities happening at St Paul's! One of the upcoming events include the UMW Annual Rummage Sale on 9/30 from 10AM to 2PM. This is a non-vendor event that the local community waits for every year! Clothing, household items and furniture are donated locally and can be purchased for a fraction of their original price! The UMW uses ALL profits to fund the many missions they support. Come on by and check it out and enjoy a tasty lunch! Another event which is kicking off on the same day is the Pumpkin Patch Youth Fundraiser! The youth will be selling pumpkins, gourds, and other fall items as well as hosting activities for the younger set. The Pumpkin Patch will be open Monday-Saturday until October 31st.

Starting on October 10th, St Paul's is hosting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. This 9 week class will teach how to CRUSH DEBT, SAVE, INVEST, and PLAN your money! Don't let money control you... learn the biblical way to handle money! Register at: www.fpu.com/1049713

Quoting Youth Director and Associate Pastor, Hector Meza, “God is at the heart of things. He doesn’t want us on the sidelines.” I take this as a personal commitment on my heart as I hope you do too. If you are looking for a welcoming and faithful church to attend, please join us! Our services are held on Sundays at 9:00 AM and 10:45AM, and we also have Mid-week Worship on Wednesdays at 7PM. We hope you'll join us!

Ann Blais, Stewardship Team Coordinator