The Old in the New
In 1854, First Methodist Church was founded in the city of Dripping Springs. The Methodist Church is as old as the city and carries with it a deep and abiding legacy. The church, founded by Dr. Pound and his family, has endured its share of difficulties in its storied history. The church burned down twice due to lightning strikes, and once it was set ablaze in response to a cholera outbreak. It has changed locations several times, moving from the Pound House to the land where Phillips Cemetery is located. From there, it moved to the place where Walgreens is currently located. After that location, it moved to the land on which it resides today.
There have been many different pastors, many different members, and many different people employed by the church. There have been weddings and funerals, fire damage, water damage, and damage from extreme cold. There have been good pastors and bad, good members and bad, hurt feelings, disagreements, hard decisions, and painful discussions. There have been different styles of worship, different services, different kinds of music, different types of preaching, and different approaches to discipleship. People have found Christ at this congregation in Bible studies, Sunday school classes, children’s ministry, youth ministry, music ministry, preaching, community service, missional efforts both locally and abroad, and in the sharing of the sacraments. We have suffered together, celebrated together, and throughout it all, we have been a family united in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The city around the church has changed quite a bit as well. Dripping Springs used to be quite small. Everyone knew each other. The schools changed as well. The current administration building used to be the entire school district. All the different grades were housed in one building. Now we have five elementaries, two middle schools, and one high school. The school board has seated many different board members over the years, and the school district has gone from employing a few teachers to being the largest employer in the city.
Many of you likely know these statistics already; some of you may not. My point is that this community and the Methodist Church have gone through a great deal of change since the founding of both in 1854. This Church has been a Methodist Episcopal Church, a Methodist Episcopal Church South congregation, and a United Methodist Church. This congregation has served this community faithfully for almost 170 years, carrying with it a legacy of perseverance, faithfulness, and tradition.
Throughout this time, men and women have worked hard to build this congregation alongside the town. They have sacrificed over and over again to follow their collective calling to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, serving in the community.
On Sunday afternoon, March 26th, 2023, this congregation decided to leave the United Methodist Church and join with the Global Methodist Church. This is not an unprecedented decision. In 1969, this congregation decided to become a part of the United Methodist Church after being part of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Although this isn’t unprecedented in the history of this congregation, it is new and extraordinary for the people who are part of the church in this season.
While this decision does bring change, and perhaps uneasiness, it also brings opportunity for something new. Through the many months of praying and discussion that have taken place in the Church, and in particular amongst the leadership, there has been a sense that God is doing something new in our hearts. It is a season that carries with it the possibility of living into our purpose in this community in a way that embodies the old within the new. We carry with us a great legacy of those who have gone before us in Christ who sacrificed and endured so that we might have the opportunity to worship as the Methodist Church in Dripping Springs. This new direction affords us the opportunity to carry that legacy of faith forward into the future of this Church as we grow together and serve our community.
I am so very thankful to be your Pastor in this season. Your attitude, honesty, and kindness to our staff and to one another in this process have been inspiring to watch. May God be with us as we continue in His grace to be the people and the Church we are called to be in our community.
Adam Thornton, Senior Pastor
