Church celebrates 175th anniversary with park

Marietta First United Methodist Church members thought they would commemorate the church’s 175th anniversary with pins and refrigerator magnets.

“This church and these people are bigger than a magnet,” member Beverly McAfee pronounced. She then proposed her dream.

Sunday the church, established in 1833, celebrates with something much bigger than a magnet: the creation of McAfee’s dream. Homecoming for a crowd of 2,000 will be held in a 6.5 acre park church volunteers developed in 175 days.

“It was a vision, and they all said it couldn’t be done, ” McAfee said.

The church is at 56 Whitlock Ave., the site of its original log cabin home and the park is behind it on Polk Street. When the congregation bought the land 12 years ago, McAfee had a pavilion designed hoping it could be built there one day.

The park includes that pavilion and a log cabin replica of the original church. Those buildings, all the landscaping, trails, benches and two playing fields were built or donated by members of the 3,900-member congregation. In 175 days, the church raised $250,000 in donations and another $1 million worth of in-kind services.

Nearly 700 volunteers put in 9,000 hours to complete the park within the 175-day goal, McAfee said. To be good stewards, the church built a well in the park to water the landscaping it added among trees believed to have been planted by original church members.

Sunday, holy communion will be served in the log cabin church with dinner on the grounds. The park is open to the public.

“What we want this park to be is just a place of peace,” McAfee said.