Harmon United Methodist Congregation Healthy Despite Changing Times
Last updated Friday, November 14, 2008 2:03 PM CST in Religion
By Bettina Lehovec
THE MORNING NEWS
Related Photos
The road to Harmon United Methodist Church winds past cow fields and barns. Located three miles south of U.S. 412 on the west side of Tontitown, the church has served the rural community for 125 years.
Yet a housing development just up the road hints at changes. New families have moved to the area. One-time farm families work in town. People who once thought of Springdale as the “big city” routinely drive farther away for work, play — and worship.
How does a country church survive?
This one has tried a variety of things. Harmon had been in a “charge” with Elm Springs Methodist Church since 1902. The term describes a relationship in which two or more churches share a pastor. About five years ago, the churches ended the relationship. Both were growing and thought they could make it on their own.
The Elm Springs church succeeded, but Harmon struggled to make ends meet. Coming up with the salary for a full-time pastor proved too much for the congregation, said Jerry DeLozier, a longtime member and lay reader.
A new idea took root. First United Methodist Church in Springdale and the Arkansas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church sponsored a new church on the west side of Springdale. The congregation from Harmon served as the nucleus.
Westside United Methodist Church met at Hellstern Middle School from July to December 2007. It didn’t attract the membership the conference had envisioned. The Harmon congregation returned to its original site.
In June, the Rev. Michael Callahan came on board. Callahan also is an associate pastor at the Highlands Church in Bella Vista. Membership at Harmon has stabilized at about 40.
Church members seem content to have reclaimed their home.
“We thought moving was the right thing, but evidently it wasn’t,” DeLozier said. “Whatever God wants us to do (is right). ... Maybe he has a better plan.”
125 Years Of History
The Harmon community dates to 1867, when settlers built a log schoolhouse near a creek they called Wildcat. About 1882, some new families settled in the area. They organized a Methodist church they called Ebenezer.
After 20 years, a new frame church and school was built. The community, which had been called Wildcat, became known as Harmon. So did the church. Membership grew, thanks to annual brush arbor revivals that converted large crowds. Baptisms were held in Wildcat Creek.
In 1932, a new church was built. Men dug the basement with picks, shovels and horse-drawn slips. Gravel from the creek was hand-mixed with cement for the foundation and basement walls. Women kept the workers going with daily meals.
The congregation began meeting in the unfinished church in 1933. As money was raised, a stairway was built and a concrete floor poured in the basement. Classrooms, a kitchen, water and electrical systems were installed.
Over the years, other amenities were added — paneling, new pews, wall-to-wall carpet, heat and air conditioning. Steel siding and a new roof were installed. Stained glass windows were added in the 1980s.
The white frame church sits at a slight slant, evidence of the tornado that tore the roof off in years past. It didn’t rain a drop until the roof was repaired, DeLozier said, his words heavy with meaning.
Through the years, Harmon served as a center point for the community, DeLozier recalled.
“This was a meeting place for elections, home demonstration clubs, women’s functions of all kinds, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, 4-H, square dancing — any kind of community activity, they congregated here in the basement.”
Rural schools consolidated with the Springdale School District around 1950, he said. That changed the community, as people became more mobile or moved closer to town.
Still, the church continued to thrive. Carolyn Page, a longtime member, said the church was full during the 1950s and early 1960s. Building capacity is about 80. Even in the 1970s, she remembers a bustling social scene, with chili suppers, pie suppers and an annual Easter sunrise breakfast.
Service As DNA
Some of the activity has ebbed in recent decades. Yet Harmon, like many small country churches, remains relatively strong, said the Rev. Mackey Yokem, district superintendent for the Northwest District of the Arkansas Annual Conference.
The challenges small churches face are largely generational, he said. Many younger families live a fast-paced life. They seek out larger churches with more activities. Yet for other families, a church like Harmon is the perfect fit.
“Some folks like the smaller setting, where there is a greater awareness of each member,” he said. “They like the intimacy of a smaller church.”
The congregation at Harmon includes new families as well as longtime members. Most live in the immediate area. Others drive in from Springdale and even farther away.
Communion is open to all, a practice indicative of the “live and let live” attitude of church members. Members of different denominations are accepted as brothers and sisters in Christ.
“We’re all aiming for the same place,” DeLozier said. “We’re just taking a different route.”
Church outreach efforts include a tape ministry for shut-ins and a food pantry that serves 70 families every other week, he said. Church members are open-hearted and sincere, always looking for ways to serve others, Callahan said.
“They are loving people who love the Lord,” he said. “Whatever need comes up, the people of that church respond. That’s Christianity, right there.
“It’s in their DNA. That’s the spirit that birthed the church. It’s the spirit that exemplifies it now.”
At A Glance
Harmon United Methodist Church
Location: 19032 Harmon Road, 3 miles south of U.S. 412 or 6.5 miles north of Arkansas 16.
Bible Study: 8:30 a.m.
Sunday Service: 9:30 a.m. A nursery is available.
Information: Call Jerry DeLozier at 409-9338
Source: Staff Report
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
