WINNSBORO – After almost 200 years, the doors of the Oak Grove Methodist Church on Cedar Creek Road will close on Sunday with a special 11 a.m. worship service. The community is invited.
On that day, the church pews are expected to be overflowing with the descendants of the Blume, Kinsler, Lever, Riley, Meetz, Graddick, Seabile, and other families who grew up attending the little white church, just as their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents before them.
Longtime member Thomas Lever, 84, whose ancestors helped found the church that sits along Cedar Creek Road, says the closing is not the will of the few remaining members. He says it is the will of the S.C.United Methodist Conference, who owns the building and the property it sits on.
He doesn’t agree with it, but he has accepted it.
Lever says the Methodist Conference has owned the church building for some years now, but he says he can’t remember how that came about or why. Now, he says the few remaining members can’t afford to pay the apportionment, so the Methodist Conference is taking the building.
For Lever and other old timers who grew up in the church, it is tantamount to taking their world.
Standing in front of the church last week, Lever talked to The Voice about how his family, for almost two centuries, has been intertwined with Oak Grove Methodist Church.
His ancestors were affiliated with Cedar Creek Methodist Church until the late 1800’s, when they helped build the Oak Grove Church.
The Cedar Creek Methodist Church, which now stands vacant, is just down the road, but on the other side of Cedar Creek.
“When the creek was high, the members who lived on the east side of the creek couldn’t get to church,” Lever said. “There were no bridges.”
The eastsiders decided in the late 1800’s to build a church on their side of the creek on the same side of Cedar Creek Road.
According to the Blythewood Scrapbook, Jefferson J. Lever gave two acres of land on which to build and the church was named Oak Grove Methodist Church.
“The lumber was hand-dressed, ceiling boards were 12 inches wide. Pews were handmade of planks 18 inches wide,” according to the Blythewood Scrapbook
“My parents, my grandparents, and many other Levers are buried right here in the church cemetery,” he said, pointing out their headstones that cover a large section of the cemetery. He said he has attended the church all his life and has many memories wrapped up in the building.
Last week members announced on Facebook that the church is closing.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the permanent closing of our church,” the announcement stated. “This decision was not made lightly. Despite our best efforts, we have reached a point where we no longer have the financial resources necessary to keep our doors open and maintain the ministry and facilities that have served this community for generations.
“While this chapter is coming to an end, we take comfort in knowing that the faith, memories, and relationships built here will continue long after our doors have closed. The impact of this church cannot be measured by a building alone, but by the lives it has touched across generations.”
The church is located at 1801 Cedar Creek Road.
