|
The
church is not a building, the church is the people. But the building in
which people worship also has a history so we'd like to begin with the
history of our buildings. From a prayer meeting held at the home of
William Griffith in the year 1912 the present Oakland UMC came into
being. A little wooden frame building 30X40 feet, complete with steeple
and bell was built by the men of the church for a cost of $1,100. In
1954 ground was broken for a new church building. This truly was a
community project as the members, along with their neighbors, built our
current sanctuary and fellowship hall starting with only $700 cash.
Since then many physical improvements have been made with again much of
the work being done by members of the church. The Educational Wing was
constructed and dedicated in 1972. In 1986 the front of the building
received a new entrance, narthex and balcony. Skateland Motors was
purchased and then torn down to provide additional parking space. In
1995 the mortgage was paid off. Multiple projects were completed in
1997-1998: new sanctuary roof, air-conditioning to the sanctuary,
remodeling of the parlor and kitchen and asphalting of the lower lot.
In 1999 the front of the sanctuary was remodeled and a new sound system
and multimedia system were installed. In 2001 the Grand Slam building,
behind the church building, was purchased and remodeled over the next
two years. On April 17, 2003 the building was dedicated with the vision
of serving our community as a youth and community center. However, nine
days later, heartache set in as fire totally destroyed the building! |
|
