Columbus church celebrates 100 years

By: Stephanie Prokop
   MANSFIELD— On Sunday, Wesley United Methodist Church on Main Street in Columbus celebrated the 100th anniversary of its building, which was constructed for $9,500 in 1906 and today houses a congregation of 150.
   "It’s a beautiful building, lots of beautiful stained glass," said Marjorie Paine, a resident of Columbus and member of the congregation for 21 years.
   According to the Rev. W. Garey Hope, a retired preacher who had served the church for 34 years, said the church building itself was uniquely designed to have a oval-shaped layout.
   "The building was built as a preaching church; the pulpit is front and center, and the pews are curved," he said. "The width of the building is wider than the length (front to back) of the building, and you get the feeling like you’re talking to them, and they can see you. The floor is sloped, and this way nobody is tempted to fall asleep."
   Finding historically accurate details about the building proved to be a bit challenging, but Ms. Paine and some other parishioners dedicated time to research and do some investigative work to get the facts accurate so parishioners, both present and past, could have a historical look-back at the building.
   "We did have a bit of difficulty digging out some historical data," she said. "Some things were contradictory, things didn’t match up, and other things where hard to find, so we made a compilation of everything into a souvenir booklet," she said.
   The Rev. Ronald Sager, who is in his sixth year preaching at the church, also appreciates the church’s unconventional layout.
   "The building in Columbus is very warm and personable, and very homey, it gives off a warm feeling by just the way the pews are arranged," he said.
   The Rev. Sager said the current building is the third to house the congregation since its inception in 1814. According to Rev. Sager, the previous two buildings were reconstructed.
   "The biggest thing that we have done this past year, is we had the church repainted and the front doors have been replaced," he said. "They were solid doors with no glass, and now there are doors so you can look right into the sanctuary."
   The church has also undergone some major renovations throughout the years. The Rev. Sager reflected on some of the most meaningful.
   "We had a whole new roof down to the rafters put on," he said, "but the biggest change was — we got pews from the Palmyra United Methodist Church."
   The original style of seating for the church was arranged in individual style seats. Still, the task of installing the donated pews was not as easy as it sounded.
   "We had to take all of those pews and trim them down, because our pews are arranged in the slight oval shape," he said. Brent Lippincott, a teenage parishioner, helped with most of the project.
   "We refinished them all, and after a couple of months the floor looked like a mess, and then somebody asked if I would accept the gift of new carpeting," the Rev. Sager added.
   All of the renovations throughout the years were financed by either donations or by trustee funds.
   The anniversary luncheon at Joey’s Elegant Restaurant in Burlington on Sunday included previous ministers who have served at the church taking part in a special service.