Bethany United Methodist Church, one of the oldest churches in Fayette County, will celebrate 155 years of service to the community with a Homecoming celebration on Sept. 18. Morning worship will be at 10:55 a.m. with lunch following. The Rev. Bruce Handy will deliver the sermon.
The event will also feature special singing. Those planning to attend are asked to bring a well-filled basket to share.
Bethany was organized about 1856 in the Fife community of North Fayette County and has been in four different locations, all within a close proximity of the present location. At one time it was even located on the site of its historic cemetery across the street. The original land was donated by Edward Bustin, with additional land donated later by T.E. Rivers and Mrs. M.J. Ellington. The present building was dedicated in 1900.
Bethany was in the “Georgia Conference” of Methodist churches until 1866 when the state was divided into two Methodist conferences — north and south. Bethany was placed in the North Georgia Conference where it remains today. It was on the circuit with Fairburn Methodist for many years in the early to mid-1900s and preaching was not offered every Sunday. In 1941, it was moved to the Fayetteville circuit and shared a minister with two other churches — Ebenezer near Peachtree City and Hopewell in Tyrone. Finally, in 1950, Bethany was made a full station with F.W. Price as its fulltime minister. The Sunday School building was added in 1959.
In 1973, work was begun on a parsonage and the minister and his wife moved into their new home in February of 1974.
The church has undegone renovations and refurbishings over the years but essentially remains the same. Surnames of its members still reflect the names of many original members of the 1800s … names seen on gravestones in the cemetery across the street.
The church is still active in the community and publishes a monthly newsletter.
Bethany is on the corner of Milam-Rivers and Lee’s Lake roads in northern Fayette County.
(Historical information taken from The History of FayetteCounty 1821-1971 published by the Fayette County Historical Society and edited by Carolyn Cary.)
