Elbert County GaArchives Church Records.....Concord Methodist Church Copyright Date August 25, 1936
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Barron Bradford BarronRB@aol.com January 31, 2006, 4:34 pm

Church Record - Concord UMC

The following article appeared in the August 25, 1936 edition of the Elberton 
Star newspaper:

CENTENNIAL AT CONCORD DRAWS IMMENSE CROWD

Church History, Sermon by Native Son, Unveiling Marker, Talk by Norman and 
Splendid Dinner.

The Concord church centennial celebration Sunday was attended by more than a 
thousand people, many of them coming considerable distance to be present.  The 
pastor of Bowman circuit, Rev. W. E. Purcell, was in charge of the program, 
which was replete with interest and inspiration.

Mr. T. Jesse Maxwell delivered a cordial welcome address which was responded 
to by Miss Mary Hansard.

The church history was given by Prof. Riley B. Carter.  The story of the 
builders of the church and of the community of which it is the center, was 
told in interesting detail, while cotemporaneous high lights of the church 
history, and conditions of pioneer days, in method of travel, in agriculture, 
industry and commerce, were all given with a minuteness that challenged the 
interest of the vast crowd of listeners.

The sermon of Rev. Marvin M. Maxwell, pastor of the Griffin First Methodist 
church, and one of the leading ministers of the conference, was a high light 
of the occasion.  Mr. Maxwell chose as his subject, The things that are not 
shaken.  He was born and reared in the community and is one of the many men 
Concord church has given to the ministry, and the great throng of people had 
just cause to feel a degree of pride in this particular contribution.

In the afternoon a huge granite marker to the memory of Elijah B. and Jane 
Higginbotham Norman was unveiled by Frances and Bill Norman, lineal 
descendants.  The high light of the afternoon session was the talk by W. T. 
Norman of Louisiana, also a lineal descendant of the old pioneer who gave the 
land on which the church is located, and who helped to organize the first 
church a hundred years ago, and whose descendants have made generous support 
to its forward-going since, as well as to community uplift in general.

The marker, a five-ton block of fine granite, was presented by John J. 
McLanahan, it was in the granite shed of O. Minervini, and Horace Eaves did 
the work.

The people of Concord community did themselves proud in preparing and serving 
so expeditiously dinner to at least a thousand people.  The diners formed in 
lines and were served cafeteria style from a number of tables in the shade of 
on the church grounds.

[Submitted by: Barron Bradford.  Barron's mother, Augusta Norman Bradford, is 
the sister of Frances and Bill Norman mentioned in the article]





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