The founder of Methodism,

John Wesley, traveled on a horse to visit all the

churches on a circuit. The Rev. Earl F. Dabney may travel

a Methodist circuit, but he does so in the comfort of an

automobile.

He oversees three churches

in Fayette County: Merrill Chapel, New Hope and Hartford

United Methodist churches.

All the churches were begun

shortly after the War Between The States and, as was

common to churches of that day, they began under a brush

arbor.

In the case of New Hope,

the first congregation began in 1872 and the first

organizers were Jack Ivory, Spencer Gay and Jessie

Grooms. Just 15 years after slavery ended, they built the

first permanent building. In 1954 parts of the older

church was used to build a new one. The original steps

are still in use to remind everyone of those first

members.

Georgia Power Company has

given the church additional land so that the cemetery

could be expanded. The church currently has 190 members

and is at 618 Inman Road, Inman Community.

The Hartford church has an

interesting beginning. Also dating back to 1872, a white

missionary from Hartford, Conn. came to Fayette to teach

blacks how to read. He was found one morning drowned in

Line Creek, presumably because of his missionary efforts.

The church members did not have any idea who his family

was or how to reach them; they just knew where he was

from. He was buried near the creek where he was found.

Though his name has been lost in antiquity, the name of

his home town remains a part of Fayette County history.

Some of the early names in

the church are Price, Arnold, Allen, Ward, Freeman,

Matthews, Westmoreland, Grooms, Weston, McIntosh, Hand,

Peek, Brassell, Henderson, Page, Hayes and Blindberg.

The church currently has a

membership of 75 persons and is across from Starr's Mill

at 202 Padgett Road.

Merrill Chapel dates back

to 1877, at which time an acre of land was purchased from

S. F. Blalock for $15 with Jacob Arnold, George Matthews,

Wesley Arnold and Robert Arnold as the church trustees.

The church was remodeled in

1953 with these families participating: White, Cofield,

Ringer, Goodson, Love and Murphy.

It has a membership of 90

persons and is at 430 South Jeff Davis Drive,

Fayetteville.

The pastor of the churches

is the Rev. Earl F. Dabney, who has been with them for

eight years.

He was born and reared in

Newport News, Va. He was a medical specialist in the U.S.

Army for several years and ended up at Ft. PcPherson. He

received his BA degree from Norfolk State University,

master of social work from Atlanta University, and his

master of divinity from Gammon Theological Seminary,

Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta.

He is married to the former

Dr. Betty L. Dabney, who was a teacher and principal in

the Fulton County schools for 32 years.

They are the parents of

Earllovette, who is a graduate of Clark-Atlanta

University and is a TV reporter in California; and Jon,

who is a graduate of Morehouse University with a degree

in marketing. He lives in Douglasville. The Dabneys have

one grandchild.

Dabney enjoys cooking,

fishing, hunting and reading and collects old jazz.

His love of cooking has led

him to be famous for his chow-chow and, after retirement,

he is thinking of going into that business.

"I enjoy seeing

something grow," he said. "To see how God takes

a little seed and feeds us is a humbling

experience."

He serves the churches in

the following manner: first Sunday Hartford UMC, second

Sunday New Hope UMC, third Sunday joint services, fourth

Sunday Merrill Chapel UMC.

He can be reached at

770-461-2584 or 404-696-0512.