Imagine if you can... It's 1848...

Trinity Methodist Church, which was meeting on High Street for a time, had outgrown its quarters and a new church was erected on Main Street in Mullica Hill. The wide rough boards that covered the outside of the original structure were unpainted. A light pole stood on the front plot of grass that bordered the dirt walkway leading to the front steps made of wide oak planks. As you entered, the sound of the church bell ringing could easily be heard from one end of town to the other. There were horse stalls at the back of the church, as most folks came to services in horse and wagon.

The sanctuary had wood floors with homemade rag rugs scattered about and a beautiful brass chandelier hung from the ceiling. Someone had the job of pulling it down every Sunday to light the lamps as well as the lamp holders along each side of the windows.

Seventeen ministers were known to pastor the church from its inception until 1851. Chairs were set in a semi-circle around the floor for parishioners to see and hear the minister as best they could. The children sat on a long row of little stools in front and the older folks would prop their feet on them in winter to keep warm. The selection of handmade rag rugs on the floor was never enough to absorb the winter chill.

The congregation would sing from their hymn books to the sound of the old foot-pump organ, which sat at the front of the church. It wasn't until many years later that a piano was used for services, which were normally held on Wednesday and Sunday.

In the 1930's Reverend John S. Buck, then pastor of the church, passed away. The family donated the stained glass window, which still stands in the sanctuary in his memory. The following year the Sunday School Temple was added to the existing structure to meet the needs of the young people.

In those days, Harvest Home Dinners would be held to raise money. The backyard of the church would come alive with the bustle of church members setting up tables and cook stoves to prepare the chicken and roll the pastry for the pot pie. It would be served with lima beans, corn, and a generous helping of home-made cake and ice cream for dessert. The ladies set up tables covered with sheets and set the food out at noon and again at 6:00 PM. Netting would be placed over the food to keep away the birds, flies, bugs and dust, as Main Street was a dirt road then.

A "Fancy Works" table was always a must at these affairs. Homemade aprons, ribbons, fancy doilies, lace-edged petticoats, dust caps (for when you dusted your furniture) and baked goods such as cakes and fudge candy were the more popular items for sale. It was a social occasion for the community and people were never in a hurry to leave.

Although renovated, remodeled and enlarged over the years, our present facility still serves the purpose for which it was erected. As one scans the membership lists of our congregations past and present, there are names that have been on the church books for generations. Close to 70 pastors have served Trinity. Our church still gathers in the original sanctuary for services and now we look forward to the building of a new church on land we have purchased on Cedar Road. As the present facility has afforded the congregation the opportunity to nurture our children and our community as a place of worship, so will the new church building.

The foundation of a Christ-centered church in Mullica Hill was laid 150 years ago and we have the honor of continuing that legacy on new ground in the coming years. We honor and remember those who went before us today and look forward to the new millennium with the promise Christ has left for us when He said in Matthew 18:20...

  "Wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I will be also."