History

Short Version

The Church began in 1976 as a neighborhood church meeting in members’ homes in the Springfield area. The congregation moved to the old John Dodd School in late 1976 and the church was constituted by the South Carolina Methodist Conference in 1977. The Church moved into the present building in 1981 and has expanded twice since then. The new Covenant Child Development Center was consecrated in 1997. This self-sustaining pre-school, daycare, after-school, and summer program is a community ministry that is directed by Church of the Covenant and serves 200 children with an equal number of applicants waiting.

As our Covenant states “We seek to minister to and accept persons from all backgrounds and walks of life.” Current membership is now just over 500 and is comprised of members from many denominational backgrounds. May all those who walk through the doors of the United Methodist Church of the Covenant feel not only our commitment but also feel our love and acceptance, so they too will want to be a part of the Covenant community.

Long Version

The United Methodist Church of the Covenant began like the churches founded and led by John Wesley. There was the desire for a neighborhood church. The small group of people who would eventually become the Church of the Covenant actually met for the first time sometime in the late winter of 1976 at the home of Lottie Chapman and the late Norman Chapman on Evergreen Drive in Springfield. The meeting was convened by Dr. McKay Brabham, Superintendent of the Spartanburg District.

Only about 15 people showed up. But that was, after all, more than Jesus started with, so we thought we were off to a good start. Dr. Brabham had led a team of interested lay folk in conducting house-to-house surveys prior to the meeting. This survey established that there were a great many Methodists in the area and that many would be interested in starting a neighborhood church.

Methodism had not produced a church in the Spartanburg area since St. James in the late 1950’s. That fact, coupled with the facts that there was no viable UMC congregation along the twelve-mile ribbon of highway between Spartanburg and Inman and that School District Two was at the time the fourth in the state in rate of population growth led Dr. Brabham to pursue the new church project with great enthusiasm.

For several months interest within the community was generated by Sunday evening meetings in the homes of interested people. The Chapmans, Norma and Russ Ammen, Bob and Ginnie Cox, Gene and Margaret Simpson, and Charlie and Sally Barrett hosted these meetings. The services were led by Dr. Brabham, District Lay Leader Bill Burroughs, and the Revs. Wesley Farr, Mitch Kyllonen, and Charles Barrett. On one occasion at the Ammens home, Bishop Edward Tullis dignified our gathering with his presence.

As time passed, other momentous things happened. Spartanburg School District Two rented us the long-empty John Dodd School for the sum of $100 a month. That seemed cheap until we actually saw what we got for our money. The auditorium in which we were to meet was bug-infested and covered in cobwebs. Virtually every window pane in it had to be replaced or reputtied, and the room had to be thoroughly cleaned and painted. Most of the old folding chairs had to be removed, and new metal chairs – some of which we still sit on in Sunday School and choir practice – had to be bought. Work progressed apace, and in October 1976 we moved into John Dodd for regular weekly services.

Our preacher for most of the services was the Rev. Mitch Kyllonen, Director of the Spartanburg District Pastoral Counseling Center. Though we paid Dr. Kyllonen modest honoraria from equally modest offerings of the time, our debt to him was far greater than we could say or pay. In a real sense he was our first spiritual leader and guide.

The next highlight in our history came on December 12, 1976 . On that day Bishop Edward L. Tullis led Consecration Services for a new church at five o’clock in the afternoon, an hour set to accommodate not only the bishop but also other District Methodists who wanted to attend morning services in their home churches.

We remained nameless even after that service. For the next 51 weeks we would be known simply as “the United Methodist Fellowship.”  We had to await the appointment of our first pastor before we could choose a name or make other momentous decisions. One such decision was made for us, however, when, on March 6, 1977, a Spartanburg District Conference held in John Dodd School voted to purchase the 8.9 acre site on which Covenant now stands. The same Conference then established a Church Growth and Care Fund to raise, through gifts from the 80 plus churches in the District, the $100,000 plus interest that the land cost.

At last, on December 4, 1977, we became a church with a name. When Dr. Ted Walter, who had succeeded Dr. Brabham as District Superintendent, asked the Disciplinary question “By what name shall this church henceforth be known?”, Administrative Board chair Eb Barnes answered, “It shall be called The United Methodist Church of the Covenant.”  At that point our membership stood at 58 full members, one associate member, and 33 preparatory members. In the six months of Mr. Britt’s tenure, six adults had been received on profession of faith and twelve persons had been baptized.

Things moved rapidly after that. In October of 1980 we broke ground for the building in which we worship today. Joining Mr. Britt in turning the first spades of dirt were the other members of the Building Committee: David Darwin, Chair; Sally Barrett; Linda Deahl; Gary Gibbs; Billy Hodge; Brenda Rentz; Lynn Simpson (now Mrs. Bruce Feiman); Margaret Simpson; and Sam West. The workhorse of the committee—our onsite supervisor of the building process— was Gary Gibbs.

The next landmark date was May 3, 1981. That day the worship service began in John Dodd auditorium. Then the entire congregation, led by the minister and choir, walked down the hill to our new building. The building was consecrated six Sundays later, with Dr. Walter presiding.

Intermingled with these signal events were other milestone moments, preserved for us in the memory and notes of our ever-vigilant guardian angel and historian, Margaret Simpson:

— The first baptism was administered by Mr. Britt on August 21, 1977, to Lenoir, Kelli, and Jessica Leigh Smith, daughters of Mr. And Mrs. Don Smith, who now live (we think) in Lenora, NC.

— The first marriage of a church member was that of Pam West Gault on June 10, 1976, at Trinity UMC.

— The first confirmation class was Allen Caldwell, Steve Chastain, and Janie Simpson on April 8, 1979.

— Our first high school graduate was Mary Diana Morrow, whose family later moved to the Atlanta area.

In today’s religious community a church of 25 years is considered a young church. With youth, however, there is growth and we have had a lot of growth. Phase II of the building began with groundbreaking on September 14, 1986. This added more Sunday School rooms and a social hall. Consecration service for the new educational wing was held on October 25, 1987. We have future building dreams for an expanded sanctuary and a Family Life Center.

Ten years later we found ourselves in need of additional space. Our Child Development program under the leadership and direction of Barbara Manoski, began in 1983 with only a dozen children and grew to 95 by 1996. Our Child Development Center was built in 1997 in time for the fall session. This self-sustaining pre-school, daycare, after-school, and summer program is a community ministry that is directed by Church of the Covenant and serves 200 children with an equal number of applicants waiting.

During the lifetime of our Church we have had only five pastors (all graduates of Wofford College). The founding pastor was Rev. Don Britt (1977-1985), followed by Rev. Joe Long (1985-1987), Rev. Dr. Steven Morgan (1987-1994), Rev. Dr. Robert Monson (1994-1998), Rev. Arthur Holt (1998-2004) and our present pastor, Rev. Cynthia Swofford. We have also had four Program Directors: Mary Moses, Nina Gosnell, Dawn Compton and Lisa King. Our first choir directors were Don and Sheila Gillespie, followed by Leigh Tumblin, Marcella Teague and Diane Pickens. With the return of Don and Sheila, we have now come full circle.

Our programs for all ages continue to grow as does our desire to add additional programs to meet the needs of the community. In March of 2005, Covenant began a Contemporary Worship service. The Covenant is still in existence and will be as long as the body of the church continues to grow, reach out to others in the community, continue to bear witness to God’s reconciling and redemptive love, and accept others from all backgrounds and walks of life. John Wesley said: “If your heart is with my heart, then give me your hand.” May all those who walk through the doors of The United Methodist Church of the Covenant feel not only our commitment but also our love and acceptance, so that they too will want to be a part of the Covenant community.