Olive United Methodist Church to Celebrate 170 Years This Sunday

Olive United Methodist Church, located in the heart of the Olive community, will be celebrating its 170th anniversary this Sunday with a special homecoming service with the Rev. Sky McCracken, superintendent of the Purchase District serving as guest speaker at 10am. A fellowship meal will follow in the actives building and Hunter and Carson Wright of the Kentucky Opry will be on hand to perform a gospel concert.

Founded before the Civil War, Olive United Methodist Church is one of the oldest churches in Marshall County. “Many of the early records have been lost, but we know the church was founded in 1847,” said Justin Lamb, a local historian and church member whose roots in the church and the Olive community date back at least six generations. “The church has seen considerable growth since those early years, but many of the descendants of the founding members still attend here at Olive,” Lamb said. During the service, eight people who have been active members for 50 years or more will be recognized for their years of service to God’s work.

Marshall County was only five years into existence when the church was founded at Olive and the land for the church building was donated by James M. Chandler, founder of the Olive community. The preacher was a circuit rider (on horseback in the early days) and preaching was twice a month on the second and fourth Sunday.

According to church records compiled by the late Aline Hill Lovett, the church suffered hard times during the Great Depression, and on one Sunday in particular, money was so hard to come by that the church offering was only 19 cents. When time came to order Sunday School literature, Verna Lovett was given the task of selling chickens and eggs to raise the money for the church. “The church nearly went under several times during the Depression years,” Lamb said, “But with God’s guidance and a lot of perseverance from the congregation, the church survived and continues to flourish today.”

Olive Methodist Church in 1925

In the late 1930s, the decision was made to build a new church house to replace the old frame building which had served the congregation since the 1890s. The cornerstone for the present stone building was laid on Sunday, August 10, 1941 and the church was officially dedicated at 2:30pm on Sunday, May 31, 1942. District Superintendent Dr. R.A. Clark headed the program and Bishop J. Loyd Decell gave the sermon. Trustees Clyde Walker, Henry York, and Charlie Lovett presented the building to be dedicated with a time capsule including a Bible and a songbook being placed in the cornerstone.

Olive Methodist Church, May 1942

When decision was made to build the new building, the church bell was sold to pay for construction materials. In the years that followed, many attempts were made to purchase the bell back, but to no avail. “One church member, the late Charlie Lovett, never gave up trying to get the bell back home,” Lamb said. “Finally in 1990, the bell was donated back to the church by the deceased owner’s family.” The bell was sandblasted and restored to its original condition and placed back into the belfry. “Bro. Neil Rudd rings the bell every Sunday which keeps part of the church’s rich heritage alive. This Sunday we plan on ringing that old bell 170 times to celebrate the church’s anniversary,” Lamb said.

Olive Methodist Church is located at 3975 Old Olive Rd and Pastor Rick Miller and the entire congregation would like to extend a special invitation to anyone to come be a part of this special homecoming celebration.

For more information contact Pastor Rick Miller at (270) 527-5080 or Justin Lamb (270) 703-6253