Downtown church celebrates 181 years in Anderson

Independent Mail file photo

St. John’s United Methodist Chuch on South McDuffie Street and River Street in downtown Anderson is observing Laity Sunday. The event will celebrate the church’s 181-year history in Anderson.

ANDERSON — St. John’s United Methodist Church has come a long way since its open-air log cabin beginnings.

And on Sunday, the church, which according to its history began in 1828, will celebrate Laity Sunday and the congregation’s nearly 190 years of giving to the Anderson community, according to church member Richard Brennan.

A short history of the church states a small log cabin was built in 1830 on what is now Benson Street. It was built without windows or any means of heat on a half-acre of land for $22. It wasn’t until 1858 that the church’s current location was purchased and work began on a proper sanctuary. The church where the congregation now meets is a structure started in 1908.

Since then, the church has extended its reach into the community through work with the Anderson Free Clinic, Meals on Wheels of Anderson County, Safe Habor and the Sunshine House — just to name a few, Brennan said.

Brennan, a member of the church’s choir, will speak at Laity Sunday worship service. And there will be music from the church’s own barbershop-style quartet, CruzControl, and from the Choir of Hope and Rememberance.

The service begins at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday and will be followed by a pot-luck dinner in the church’s fellowship hall.