This past

June, three United Methodist preachers took part in a

centuries-old tradition, moving on the same day, and they

moved to Fayette County from as far away as New Mexico.

The Rev.

Doug Burrell, Inman United Methodist Church, the Rev.

Frank Long Jr., North Fayette United Methodist Church,

and the Rev. Ricky McFarland, Friendship United Methodist

Church, all arrived Thursday, June 17.

The

Methodist Church was an outgrowth of the circuit ministry

in the early 1730s organized by John Wesley. He and his

brother Charles came to Savannah with James Oglethorpe.

Wesley was

a preacher with the Church of England and he and his

brother were ridiculed both in England and in Georgia as

"Bible bigots" and "methodists"

because they spent so much time in methodical prayer and

Bible reading.

John Wesley

believed in circuit preachers and when he went back to

England just a couple years after arriving in Savannah,

he had trained several men here in the United States to

carry on this tradition. Back in England, he would have

preachers meet him at a church on Sunday morning and then

assign them various churches at which to preach.

mid-1800s in the United States, instead of circuit riders

being out "on the road" for two and three

months at a time, they were assigned just four churches.

One of these would provide the parsonage for the preacher

to live in as its contribution. As congregations grew in

size, and more and more preachers were assigned to just

one church, that meant that those receiving new churches

all had to move on the same day.

Those

moving in the North Georgia Methodist Conference do so on

the third Thursday of the third week in June. Those

moving out must do so by noon and those moving in cannot

do so until after 2 p.m. In some instances, though, a

church may not provide an already furnished parsonage and

the preacher will buy a house.

The Rev.

Doug Burrell was born in Hall County and reared in the

general Atlanta area. He first felt pulled into the

ministry in his teens and was a graduate of Southern

Seminary, Louisville, Ky. in 1982. Before coming here, he

served at First United Methodist Church in Carrollton,

Ga.

He is

married to Diane Bond Burrell and they have two children,

Mary Ann, 13, and David, 10.

The Rev.

Frank Long was born and reared in the Atlanta area. He

holds a bachelor of arts in history from Berry College

and a master of divinity, Candler School of Theology,

Emory University, having graduated in 1984.

Before

coming to Fayette County, he served a church in Marietta,

the Mountain View United Methdodist Church.

He is

married to a former Texan, Mary Hollingsworth, and they

have two daughters, Laura, 16, and Hannah, 14.

Entering

the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in the

fall, the Rev. Ricky McFarland was born and reared in

Albuquerque, N.M.

He received

his B.S. degree in natural science and his B.A. in

religion.

He and his

wife, Bunny, have commented that they find Fayette County

"absolutely gorgeous. We are excited to begin our

ministry in such a lovely and friendly place."

Commented

Long, "Along with my family, I am very pleased to

come to Fayette County and begin a ministry in this

place. I am anxious to learn what God has in store for us

here."

"To

settle in a community with strong traditional values,

Inman fits the bill. It's like coming to Mayberry,"

said Burrell.

To find out

more about the United Methodist Church, visit its web

page at www.umc.org/ .

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