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Church History: page 2

In the years since then, there have been many other improvements to the church which were accomplished by the generosity of the members of the church along with many of our friends, including many of our sister churches. In 1987, we were blessed to be able to purchase the property to the left of the church from the estate of Dennis Myers. The Myers family was a member of the Sandy Mount Methodist Church but they were always a good neighbor and friend to their neighborhood church. This purchase enabled us to insure the physical future of the church by providing a few things that most churches would see as a necessity. It immediately gave us access to water and sewer, as well as land that would eventually be needed for parking. The first thing we did was replace the gas-fired outhouse (yes, that’s what I said) with an addition on the back of the church that provided 2 restrooms as well as an entry way into the basement along with a much needed storage closet. Again, most of the foundation and footer work was dug by hand by the members. A local carpenter named Herman Miller did the actual construction. We now had actual restrooms and running water into the kitchen area of the basement. This addition was dedicated in 1988.

Shortly after that, the Carroll County road department decided to make improvements to Mayberry road. While much needed, the new road would have curb and gutter that allowed no room for parking along the side of the road where many of our church family parked for services. In 1991 a local contractor was engaged to build us a parking lot using the land that we acquired from the Myers family. A joyous ribbon cutting ceremony was held when both the original stone surface, and then the blacktop 2 years later, was dedicated to the sound of honking horns as cars went down the driveway into the new parking lot. A handicap accessible ramp was added to the church in 1998.

As the decade drew near to a close, another major project was undertaken to better provide for the congregation. It was always the thought that some day, we could build above the restroom addition and have a room that would be accessed off of the rear of the sanctuary. With the assistance of several of our members who had construction experience, along with plenty of others who were willing to follow instructions, and of course with God’s help, we took a giant leap of faith. Early one Saturday morning in the spring of 1999, we removed the roof of the existing restroom addition. We then proceeded to put on the deck that would be the floor of the new room and then put up the walls, getting the new room under roof as darkness fell that night. What a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Of course, there were many additional hours needed to get the addition finished, but as a result, we now have a room that serves multiple uses including prayer gatherings, Sunday school class, office space, counseling sessions and of course, much needed storage.

As noted in the beginning of this writing, our church dates back a long way, and the pew configuration, as well as the comfort they provide speaks to a much simpler time. Through much prayer and discussion we decided that it simply was not practical to replace the current pews. So in 2002, we engaged the services of a company out of Ohio to pad the pews. Six of the church members took a “field trip” to Alexandria, VA to see this company on an actual job. We were very impressed with their work and have been very pleased with the job that they did. An open house was held to show the community the changes that have been made to their little community church.

None of know what the future will bring, but by looking back over the history of the church, we can see that God has always had a plan for Mayberry and we are proud to have played a part in the ministry that this church continues to provide to this day and we trust will provide in the years to come.

 

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