Bethel UMC Heritage Sunday, May 19,2019
Click on the photo to view a slideshow of pictures taken on this occasion
Heritage Sunday
(from www.umcdiscipleship.org)
Traditionally observed on the Third Sunday of May (to correspond with Aldersgate Day, May 24),
this day calls The United Methodist Church to honor its heritage by committing itself to the
continuing call of God known and spread by Charles and John Wesley, along with others the early
Methodist movement reached, and with whose denominations we are all joined as The United Methodist
Church.
The Rural Roots of United Methodism
Heritage Sunday at Bethel
Bethel hasn't always observed Heritage Sunday on the denominational appointed date, but it has
been an anticipated date on the calendar since Joe Stiles was the pastor in the mid 1980's. With
Bethel's origin coming from a "brush arbor" camp meeting on the banks of Bethel Pond in 1834,
Bethel's history and identity parallels much of the period documented in the "Rural Roots" video
above.
The property in which Bethel Pond and surroundings now lie are privately held but previous owner
Jo Palmer, and now Don and Pat Singletary, have been generous in allowing Bethel to celebrate its
founding here over the years.
The congregation at these Heritage Sunday services originally sat on chairs and blankets placed
on the grassy sloped banks of the pond. The "wedding chapel" shelter came later. The service
always included a sharing time for telling stories of significant...and insignificant but memorable
events from the past and the service was followed with a covered dish dinner. Later, there might
be games, swings and canoe rides over the pond, and children and adults might be found gathering
blueberries from bushes around the pond. It was a day to be enjoyed remembering the past, enjoying
the present and looking forward to the future, together.
Some Hymns Sung at Heritage Sunday
