Serving
God and the people of northern Baltimore county since 1871
In
November of 2006 Wiseburg celebrated its 135th anniversary.
In 1871 the church was built on a piece of land deeded to
the church by a Mr. Pleasant Hunter. We officially exist
today thanks to Mr. Hunter and the leadership of Reverend
J.C. Hagey. He was known as a circuit rider, traveling from
church to church on horseback in the Shrewsbury Methodist
circuit. When the actual church was built Reverend Charles
Cleaver was the pastor of the church. The total price for
the building of the church was $2318.32. At the time Wiseburg
was included in the Pennsylvania district as boundaries
were greatly extended in this period of time.Although
the official Wiseburg Methodist church was completed in
1871, groups of people called "classes" were meeting
at the Wiseburg Inn some 45 years earlier.
The current social hall of the Wiseburg Methodist Church
is a former school hall originally administered by the nondenominational
church that was meeting at the Wiseburg Inn in 1826. Churches
were instrumental in the establishment of schools so one
was built in 1847. Public education was taken over by Baltimore
County and in 1871 the schoolhouse was sold to the county.
Eventually enrollment at the Wiseburg School became too
small for classes to be held there. The Wiseburg Methodist
Church bought the Wiseburg School to be used as the social
hall in 1921. Originally lighted by kerosene and heated
by a pot-bellied stove this building has come a long way.
The original church constructed in 1871 was a brick building
that had a steep roof, two doors in the front of the church
and four tall glass windows on each side of the church.
One of the first major improvements to the church was the
addition of the narthex. Cold and rainy days were made more
enjoyable in 1968 when the narthex was built. Although the
Narthex cost more than the church itself to be built, the
church came together and the entire project was paid for
in two years.
1987 brought some unfortunate times for the Wiseburg Church,
but often during rough times people find strength. At that
time Wiseburg Methodist was part of the Parke Memorial charge
and Wiseburg was told that they would split. Attendance
was low at Wiseburg during this time and Wiseburg was on
the verge of being closed to make way for a large "mega-church
in northern Baltimore County. The parsonage next to the
Parke Memorial church was under dispute. Even though written
records and lawyers were involved, the congregation gave
up fighting and turned to prayer. Wiseburg today is proof
that prayer and leadership works, as it is still standing
and active today.
Prayers were answered and Wiseburg was able to get the services
of a small church consultant from the conference. Several
all day Saturday meetings were held in the hall as Wiseburg
struggled to define our future. Although not documented
but prayed for in earnest was a minister to lead us in growth.
Those prayers were answered when Pastor Carroll Brown arrived.
Pastor "Brownie" grew both the congregation and
the building. During a late night Christmas Eve service
Pastor Brown's granddaughter came to visit the church. After
the service she told her grandfather that she would not
be back until Wiseburg got a bathroom in the church. Under
Pastor Brown's direction the small church pulled together
and built the Annex. The church which had been struggling
to survive now built space for a pastor's office, recreation
room, coffee room and two bathrooms. The ten-year loan was
paid off in half the amount of time through fundraisers
and hard work by the congregation. Selling bricks, doors,
mugs, and donations, along with a lot of hard work and prayer
allowed the Wiseburg United Methodist Church to stay running
as well as grow.
Fellowship memories include the chicken dinner, the bus
trips, and the many activities at the hall. The Wiseburg
chicken dinners are the first Saturday in May and the third
Saturday in September. The dinners started as a a fundraiser
as attendance was down and funds were low. At one point
we had turned the heat in the hall down to keep the pipes
from freezing to save money. Ken Spicer suggested we try
the chicken dinners. We had tried a spaghetti dinner, which
did not work. Mr. Gettle, who had cooked chickens at another
church, show us how to cook the chickens. After one dinner
we seemed to have found a good thing. Mr. Weaver make the
grates for cooking the chicken. Ken still wishes we made
the grates entirely out of stainless steel. After twenty
some years of chicken dinners they are still raising about
$7000 per year for Wiseburg. All goods needed for the dinners
are donated by members of church with the exception of the
chickens which enables this impressive profit on only 300
to 500 dinners.
In the past several years the congregation has invested
over $18,000 in improvements to the kitchen in Fellowship
Hall to meet county health code standards for equipment.
This investment is not only an act of fiscal importance,
but an act of faith in the congregation's strength and future.
Activities
are plentiful at Wiseburg. Currently under the direction
of Rosa Baer one of the first bell choirs in the area was
started at Wiseburg in 1989 and still going strong today.
2003 was the year the Wiseburg Cherub Choir started singing
at the top of their voices and from the bottom of their
hearts. Sunday School services are held for pre-school through
high school age children. The Bibles and Bagels study group
meets on Sunday mornings before worship begins.
The
United Methodist Women is a strong organization supporting
mission and study. Under the direction of our current Pastor,
Bruce Frame, mission outreach has increased. Included in
this is the Baltimore County Christian work camp and serving
meals at homeless shelters. There is also increased involvement
in the activities and ministries of the north cluster churches.
Wiseburg has even reached into the cyber community with
www.wiseburg.com.
Another
meaningful way that Wiseburg spreads worship is the annual
Vacation Bible School held for a week in the summer ending
with a family picnic. Wiseburg even participated in the
first annual Hereford parade with a float representing the
church and the upcoming bible school.
Wiseburg Methodist is a small but strong church with a lot
of history. Through 135 + years it's members have worked
together through prayer and hard work to thrive at anything
put in front of them. When asked why people come back to
this church many people said because it feels like home.
Wiseburg is a family. A family that is always changing,
growing and adventuring in new projects through the works
of God.
