The Blount County Genealogical and Historical Society will host its annual potluck luncheon beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at Fairview Methodist Church, Maryville, in the gym. Opening remarks and prayer will be offered at 11:30 a.m. followed by the serving of food and drinks.
A program on “The 110-Year History of Fairview Methodist Church” will be presented beginning around 12:15 p.m. by J.R. Young and Steve Wegner. Young is a longtime member of Fairview and a past director of the BCGHS. His ancestors donated the land on which the first church was built. Wegner is president of the BCGHS and also a member of the church.
The event is free, but reservations are requested by emailing attendance to president@BCGHSTN.org by the end of the business day today, Wednesday, May 15. BCGHS will provide barbecue pork and drinks, while attendees are asked to provide side dishes and desserts.
The public is invited.
Humble beginnings
Young and Wegner will speak on the history of Fairview Church as documented by Young and others in a booklet published for its 100th anniversary in 2013. Additional information on the subsequent 10 years will also be discussed.
“From small, humble beginnings, Fairview Church has maintained its family focus and grown into a mission church with a global footprint in carrying out Jesus Christ’s Great Commission,” Wegner quoted from one of the charts included in the PowerPoint presentation to be used during the program.
“It’s not only going to be the buildings, the brick and mortar, but quite the contrary,” Wegner explained. “When Pastor Jerry Russell started taking the church to the big leap in building the facility we’re in now, it shows how the members of the church were always ready to extend beyond where they were. From the little white church to the two brick churches, we were still space limited. The sanctuary in that progression only ended up holding 400. Now, this facility will hold 1,100.”
The first building, known as “the little white church,” was erected on a tract of land donated by Young’s ancestor, Edward Bartley “Bart” Young, while others donated lumber for the building. The building was finished on Feb. 8, 1914, and dedicated on Dec. 7, 1914, with a small congregation of about 40 parishioners.
“J.R.’s great-grandfather (Chris Hannah) was the head carpenter,” Wegner said. A photograph of Hannah holding Young as an infant will be shown during Young’s portion of the presentation as well as other historic photographs, news articles and documents related to the church’s history.
Global presence
Wegner’s portion of the program will focus on how the members have always banded together to support the church growth and outreach.
“We’ll go from the transition there on the north side of Old Niles Ferry to the south side,” Wegner said. “The church today, as Pastor Gilbert Harris has continued to say, is still a family church.
“The big story is that we’ve gone from humble, small beginnings to all over the map with our missions and ministries. We’ve built churches, orphanages, conference centers and all that from scratch, all over the globe,” he said, as well as throughout the United States and right here in Blount County.
One of the most recent local ministries is the park Fairview is constructing across Peterson Lane from the church. “It will be open to the public, not just for Fairview,” Wegner said. “It will have walkways, children’s areas, a big pavilion, parking lot, restrooms, all of that.” The park will be open later this year.
About BCGHS
Wegner said BCGHS has some new projects underway including scanning many older records as well as the Society’s publication, The Blount Journal. Additional information is being posted on the revamped website, www.blountcountytngenealogy.org. The Society also has a new logo, new business cards and brochures.
On May 31, a “meet and greet” for members will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Blount County Public Library, 508 N. Cusick St., Maryville, where BCGHS has an office. The event will take place in the Sharon Lawson Room.
“We’ll serve light refreshments and go over what we’re doing now,” Wegner said.
For more information, visit the website or email president@BCGHSTN.org.
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