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Chester
Bethel United Methodist Church is located on Foulk Road, just south of
the Delaware-Pennsylvania state line. It is the oldest Methodist
congregation which has continuously gathered in the state of Delaware.
Dating back to before the
Declaration of Independence, this Methodist society originally met in
the homes of its members, notably that of Robert Cloud.
Cloud's
Chapel, a log meeting house, was built in 1789 on an acre of land; this
building was torn down and replaced, in 1799, by a stone church
christened Bethel.
In
1873, the serpentine church was built
and the name was changed to Chester Bethel, commemorating the previous
church and the original preaching circuit of which this congregation was
a part.
In
the 1900s, other growth and expansion projects were completed: a new
parsonage (1913), Fellowship Hall (1959) and a new sanctuary (1972).
As
the new millennium approaches, Chester Bethel is again looking to grow
and change in order to keep up with its surrounding population.
Chester
Bethel currently sits on 20 acres of land, most of which is devoted to
its cemetery. The church also provides a Little League ball field for
the local community, and a Thrift Shop is run out of the old serpentine
church. The new building, where the sanctuary and
Fellowship Hall are located, also houses a preschool and daycare.
Since
the 1990s, Chester Bethel has established a Health Ministry that has
been modeled by other churches in the Peninsula-Delaware conference.
All
of these ministries have been a natural expression of Chester Bethel's
life as a church.
Worship and Sunday School have been the central part of the life, out of
which everything else flows and develops. Mission work, in the local
community and worldwide, has been a hallmark of Chester Bethel from
early in its history.
Early
History
Francis
Asbury, one of the circuit riders and an early American Methodist,
preached twice at Bethel, according to his journal. He was there in
1809, and again on May 2, 1810.
He wrote of his 1810 experience, "I spoke at the Bethel Chapel, a
beautiful new house". (Quoted from C.E. Hallman's "Garden of
Methodism
In
1849, someone attempted to introduce a new songbook, the "Lute of
Zion", in the Bethel services. The pastor and many others opposed
this "sacrilegious innovation", but younger and more
aggressive members argued for it.
One
good brother is quoted as saying, "Anybody with common sense ought
to know that it will not help the voice to look when you sing upon those
things you call keys and bars, with black and white tadpoles, some with
their tails up, some with their tails down, decorated with flags and
trying to crawl through the fence. It's all the work of the Devil".
The
Trustees closed the church but people kept meeting. The old Trustees
were voted out and new Trustees voted in. The church split, and a new
church named Siloam was formed one mile north of the present Chester
Bethel church. The congregations have since reconciled and joint
services are held on Thanksgiving Eve and Ash Wednesday. The reason for
the split has been forgotten.
This
history was compiled from papers left by Rev. Edwin Gardner, Ph.D. and
Rev. Frank Lucia, both of whom served at Chester Bethel. Rev. Gardner
was pastor from 1912 until 1913, and Rev. Lucia remained at Chester
Bethel from 1964 until 1978.
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