When the church decided we needed a bigger sanctuary, the question was, “How do we pay for it?” We hired a retired pastor, Wimpy Smith, to lead our financial campaign. We worked hard and finally had enough pledges to start construction. Bill Ferris, a church member, was the general superintendent.
After months of construction, on Saturday before our first Sunday to use the new facility, I visited the church and all the new pews were obviously not ready to be used. It seems that the new sanctuary floor was higher in the back of the sanctuary and sloped lower and lower all the way to the front. The baseboards were cut for a level floor, and the pews tipped precariously forward. A few men and a saw fixed the problem before we left on Saturday night.
In addition to our pew problem, we had hired a lady to install the stained glass in the front of the sanctuary. That same Saturday night about 8-9 pm, we checked if it all was complete. Sadly, it was not. When the lady had left, she had said that she would return. You can imagine our concern even though she told one of the men that she would be back to finish it. She must have had the Holy Spirit’s help, because the next day, the finished, perfect windows filled the sanctuary with glorious light.
~MUMC Sesquicentennial History Committee