Belgrade Church
In order to understand the history of our church, you have to understand the history of Tabernacle Church of Maysville. It all started back in the days of the circuit rider and the camp meeting in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. These circuit riders brought Methodism to the early settlers of this area.
History has been lost on the specific details of the who but perhaps it was Joseph Pilmoor, the first lay preacher commissioned by John Wesley to America, who traveled from New Bern to Wilmington in the early 1773. Perhaps it was Bishop Asbury, the "Prophet of the long road," who passed this area several times around 1785. Or perhaps it was the fiery Methodist Evangelist Lorenzo "Crazy" Dow, who according to tradition preached here in 1804. Regardless which circuit rider came, they braved the wind and rain on horseback to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever men and women were found.
Although official records are absent, there is a strong tradition which places the organization of Tabernacle Church during the period of revivalism which spread throughout the state in camp meetings and evangelistic service between 1802 and 1810. This was known as a time where "loud cries and shouts of praise were heard, where groans of distress went up pleading to the Lord."
Tradition suggests that around 1806 when the great revival swept through the area, early meeting places were created and made into a make-shift "Tabernacle." A brush arbor of boughs and branches provided shelter for the worshippers from the elements and this temporary brush shelter became know as "The Tabernacle."
Eventually the brush arbor was replaced by a framed structure as a place of worship. The name "Tabernacle" was retained and transferred to the new building, known as the "Tabernacle Methodist Meeting House." The original structure was used forty three years after the Revolutionary War and the current structure was erected in 1857.
By 1916 the Belgrade community was starting to flourish. The population in and around the community was growing and the roads and transportation was improved. The Reverend T. W. Lee, who served from 1916 to 1919, saw a need and desire to reach the Belgrade community. To meet this need, a daughter church (Belgrade) was born out of the Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal Church which was just a few miles away. The church was organized in 1918 under Rev. Lee and called the Belgrade Methodist Episcopal Church and a number of Tabernacle members joined this church.
Today with it's rich history, Belgrade continues to stand and is part of the Maysville, NC community.
If you would like to read more on the history of the Tabernacle click here.
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