[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 142 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               HONORING LONE OAK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2014

  Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lone Oak United 
Methodist Church, a congregation that has been an integral part of the 
Lone Oak community for generations.
   The history of Lone Oak United Methodist Church can be traced back 
to 1854 when eleven charter members gathered in the private home of 
Ruffus Elliott at the Sabine Forks, west of Lone Oak, forming the Lone 
Oak Methodist Episcopal Church South. The members met in the home until 
1858 when the church was moved to the Hunt School Building in Lone Oak 
where they continued to worship until 1871, when the congregation 
merged with the Hall Church.
   The Hall Church, originally known as Hefner's School or Chapel, was 
a building constructed for the education of the children of the 
community, but was also available to the circuit riders and itinerant 
Methodist ministers and to the local Masonic lodge. Having been 
destroyed by fire in 1884, a new site was selected at 218 Main Street 
in Lone Oak. The Vernacular Gothic Revival church structure was 
completed in 1889 and continues to serve the congregation today.
   In 1939, Lone Oak Methodist Episcopal Church South merged with other 
Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestants meeting in Lone Oak to 
form the Lone Oak Methodist Church. In 1968, with the merging of the 
Methodist Church USA and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the 
church became Lone Oak United Methodist Church.
   Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to congratulate the congregation of 
Lone Oak United Methodist Church for 160 years of fellowship and 
worship, and 125 years in their present building. May God continue to 
bless this congregation and their ministry.

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