-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Methodism in the United States became an organized Church at the
Baltimore (Christmas) Conference in 1784. Early on, Georgia was a
district of the South Carolina Conference, but, in 1830 Georgia
became a separate conference. An historian wrote, “The Savannah
District probably included the counties of Screven, Effingham,
Chatham, Bryan, Bulloch, and Liberty.”
The Reverend Lewis Myers, one of the early circuit riders, was
appointed supernumerary for Effingham County by the 1825
conference, and settled at Goshen. His name appears as a trustee of
the Springfield Church on a deed to the church in 1831, although it
is reasonable to think that there was a church in Springfield by
1825 or sooner.
Over the years there have been several changes in Methodism
affecting the Springfield Church. In 1844, the Methodist Church
split over the slavery issue, and became the “Methodist Episcopal”
and the “Methodist Episcopal, South” Churches. In 1939 the two
bodies reunited and Springfield became part of “The Methodist
Church.” Again in 1968, the Methodist and Evangelical United
Brethren Churches united to form the present “United Methodist
Church.” It was back in 1865, however, that the Georgia Conference
was divided into the North Georgia Conference and the South Georgia
Conference. So here we are The Springfield United Methodist Church
of the Savannah District of the South Georgia Conference of the
United Methodist Church.
During these years, The Springfield Church found itself in various
groupings known as “circuits”- as many as eight churches. However
in 1962, Springfield became a “station” church as it is today.
There have been three church buildings, all on property bounded by
Oak, Cleveland, Pine and Elbert Streets. The date when the first
building (a frame church) became constructed is unknown. Although,
it may have been constructed around the same time as the old
parsonage (see GC1HMR7) in the 1890s. But, the first church burned
on the night of June 12, 1902. The first structure was across the
street from the present location on what is now the Springfield
Cemetery. Until the church was rebuilt, the services were held at
the Camp Ground (see GC1VAX6.) However, the members rallied to
rebuild immediately and the new building was used until 1949, when
a brand new brick structure was erected (the present sanctuary).
The new sanctuary was dedicated debt free on September 11, 1949, by
Bishop Arthur J. Moore, Rev. W.D. Raburn, pastor and Dr. George E.
Clary, Sr., District superintendent.
Since then several building projects have been completed. An
educational annex was finished in 1953. In 1979, additional office
space and Sunday school rooms were added. Again in 1988, more
Sunday school rooms, a large social hall (later named “Dent Hall”
in honor of Dr. Joel and Joyce Dent), a fine kitchen, nursery
rooms, restrooms, and parlor were added. With the addition of
another full time staff person, adjustments were made for the
pastor’s study, and provisions for the handicapped were
accomplished.
In September 1987, the Bragg property on the southwest corner of
Oak and Cleveland Streets, and in January 1992, the Webb property
on the southwest corner of Pine and Cleveland Streets were
purchased. The Bragg house is now used as the Youth Building and
the now vacant lot offers additional parking for the church and a
playground for children. In 1995, a complete landscaping project
was carried out to the make the approach of the church more
attractive. And in 1997 the new parsonage was consecrated.
In the Summer of 2001 another important building to the church
began construction. The reality of the Family Life Center was a
long time goal of the church to provide a place for the youth and
children not only for recreation, but also for spiritual growth.
The building houses a gymnasium, classrooms, kitchen, bathrooms and
an upstairs loft. The Family Life Center was formally consecrated
on April 21, 2002. It was built in memory of life long active
members Mr. Abner Exley and his wife Mrs. Myra Pace Exley through
their generosity of their surviving children Mrs. Cora Kight, Mr.
Elmon Exley and Mr. Irby Exley and their grandchildren.
With the growth of Springfield United Methodist Church, another
renovation was needed to accommodate the expanding church family.
In September 2003 the church began an extensive renovation and
expansion of the sanctuary and education building. The enlarging of
the sanctuary added 128 additional seats with a balcony and
redesigned the choir loft and chancel area. The church and the
education building received new floor coverings, paint, doors,
hardware and a HVAC system. The outside was also relandscaped to
enhance the appearance of the church. A copper steeple was added on
July 22, 2004 to the delight of the congregation. The complete
project cost $1.2 million dollars.
There has been over 100 years of tradition and recorded history on
this site.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You will be seeking a magnetic nano sized cache. Please use
discretion when searching and if services are being held
(particularly weddings and funeral services), please return at a
different time to search.
I originally had planned to place the cache on the beautiful bell.
However, it was just a few feet too close to one of Springfield’s
other caches. The cache is across the street from the church. But,
it is still on church property and does offer a nice view of the
church and the bell.
Congratulations to ktsmom and Ezdays for being FTF.
The information contained within this cache description was
taken from the church website at :
http://www.springfieldumc.com
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
V pna'g vzntvar gung lbh'yy arrq n uvag.