[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING CENTRAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 12, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Central United Methodist Church Jackson, Mississippi. Central United 
Methodist Church is a church full of history and heritage spanning 
almost 150 years.
  When the Mississippi Mission Conference convened at Wesley Chapel in 
New Orleans from December 19-25, 1865, it was composed, for the most 
part, of Negroes, who sought affiliation with the ``Old Church.'' 
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas combined the Mission Conference. The 
Jackson Mission grew out of the Conference in 1866. Miles Proctor 
shepherded the fledgling mission until later in the year when Moses 
Adams and Thomas Anderson were appointed the pastors. At the time of 
its beginning, the Jackson Mission is said to have been located in the 
area of Millsaps College.
  Over the next ten years, the mission grew. In 1876, it established a 
church at the corner of Grayson, now Lamar and Fortification Streets.
  Several years later, in January 1890, the Annual Conference adopted a 
resolution that granted the Board of Church Extensions permission to 
use eighteen hundred dollars realized from the sale of land to buy 
another lot and to build a new church. Augustus M. Trotter, pastor of 
the church, presented the resolution.
  On June 25, 1890, December Sharp sold the land on which the church 
now stands to the Board of Trustees, headed by William Young. On May 
16, 1891, a second deed was acquired for land brought from M.F. Chiles 
for seventy-five dollars. In 1892, the first building to house Central 
Methodist Episcopal was completed. The structure was razed in March 
1965, and a new edifice was consecrated in June 1966.
  Throughout the years, Central has undergone a number of changes. In 
1921, the Mississippi Annual Conference appointed the first Bishop of 
African descent, Robert E. Jones. That year, Central hosted the first 
Annual Conference over which Bishop Jones presided in the state.
  At the result of two mergers, the church has changed names twice. In 
1939, church became Central Methodist, in the Central Jurisdiction. In 
1968, after the union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical 
United Brethren, church became Century of Methodism in Jackson. In 
1997, Central acquired the Marion-Jones Branch of the YWCA to use as 
its Family Life Center. Today it houses Central's Scouting Ministry, 
Food and Clothing Distribution and Summer Enrichment Programs.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Central 
United Methodist Church.

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