Monday, September 25, 2023

Looking Back: Dorchester's Old Church Was Left To Rot In Field


"And on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

That verse from the book of Matthew reminded us of a Times story from years gone by and the photo at the right of the old Dorchester Methodist Church (circa 2005).

As many of our readers know, Dorchester's original United Methodist Church building was moved in the from Pleasant Hill to the east side of Dorchester, on Lincoln Street, where it stood for more than 110 years. 

As the 20th century came to a close and a new building to house Dorchester's Methodist Church congregation was erected, the old church was taken to a location north of Wilber -- its final resting place. The building had been purchased by a collector whose dream of a museum never reached fruition.


The last we knew, the building had been reduced to a pile of rotting wood. 

Dorchester's current Methodist Church is one of our community's strengths. The church's forward-looking leaders favored reconstruction in the 1990s, which was a practical move, much like the construction of the current school building in 2008.

However, it saddened us to witness the long good-bye of Dorchester's old church. It was not the dignified end we would have envisioned for a building that served the town and its faithful so well for a century.

“...I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…” 
                                                                                              - Philippians 3:13.