By Chanel Bingham | Special to the Advertiser

As Verbena United Methodist Church prepares to celebrate its 140th anniversary, members are taking time to reflect on the rich history of God’s faithfulness.

The church, first organized in 1871 by a charter team consisting of 10 women and one man, began meeting in a small house that also served as a school.

Several prominent families from Montgomery moved to the area to avoid the yellow fever outbreak in the 1870s, and as the church grew, they began to meet in Cooper’s Plantation Chapel, offered as a meeting space by the Cooper family.

In 1875, a building fund was established, which allowed the church to purchase 4 acres of land from the Hughes family, and shortly after September of 1876, the building was complete.

The church, modeled after the Southern Gothic Revival architecture of its time, still sits in the same location today, housing many of its original features including: alter rails, communion table, baptismal font and pulpit.

The pews, also original, were constructed in Birmingham by a craftsman with an eye for perfection and delivered by train to the church. The total cost for the pews was $118.

In the 1950s, the church began to see a decline in membership, along with the deterioration of its building. Thankfully, several lay members had a passion for preserving the church and were successful in their revitalization efforts.

Today, the church is a fixture in the community with a rich heritage of family and education.

“We have a very long history of being a teaching church, with strong Sunday School teachers and church members who are well-versed in the Bible,” church historian Ola Taylor said and added that VUMC is a church where loving and supporting one another is greatly valued and families can gather together. “It’s not just that family members worship together here over the years. As in most small towns, children grow up, move away, etc., but all people worshipping here are treated as family. People know and support each other.”

In serving the community, the church provides meals for the local high school athletic teams, along with working to make repairs at the schools on their annual Great Day of Service. They also provide a ministry to shut-ins in their area.

As the congregation of VUMC prepares for their anniversary celebration, Pastor Hunter Pugh reflects on God’s faithfulness.

“When you walk in [the church], you’re walking back in time,” Pugh said. “It’s really cool because you are reminded that God was doing work 140 years ago, and God is still doing work today.”

Verbena United Methodist Church will hold its 140th anniversary celebration on May 15 beginning at 11 a.m. with a special Pentecost service.

A luncheon will follow with a time of reflection and storytelling from longtime church members.

The entire community is invited to attend.

For more information about the anniversary celebration, call the church office at 755-2304.

The church is located at 8060 County Road 59 in Verbena.