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Hearing My Mothers Voice

Mary Ann Adams

Elizabeth Church was first a 'Campground Meeting Place' for Methodists'. The first preachers were circuit riders who traveled over eastern North Carolina - Johnston County, Wayne County, down to Onslow and Duplin County

The first building to serve worshippers at Elizabeth Church was built in 1839. When it burned, the present building was a community project built in 1853, of local heart pine. It is the oldest Methodist Church in the Goldsboro District that has been in continuous service.

The church was named for Elizabeth Temperance Peters Sanders, the second wife of Col. John Sanders, who gave the land for the building site. However, in 1879 the property was officially deeded to the 'then trustees' by Willis H. Sanders, a son of Col. John Sanders.

The gallery was built for slaves, with the stairs going to the balcony on the inside. The first wooden steps have been replaced with wrought iron for weathering and safety reasons.

The benches are built around the columns which hold up the balcony. These benches are partitioned down the middle - men and boys sat on the left and women and girls on the right.

The lectern was handcrafted by the same person who finished the benches (Note character of the chairs in the chancel area)

Early on, the building was heated with two pot-bellied stoves, then a big heater in the middle. These were replaced with gas heaters along the sides. Finally, in 1993 heat pumps were installed. In 1956 the education building was built. Before that we had Sunday School classes in different part of the church: Children the back, adults down front, and the young people in the balcony.

My mind often goes back to remember some of the early saints who worshipped within these walls: - to all day meetings; - babies who cried and were fed; - To hot days when windows were open; - To revivals when the church was full and choirs came from far and near; - Negro choirs who sang from the balcony;

How much we owe to our ancestors who built a building that would last this long, and to all those who kept the doors open and in continuous operation through wars, depressions and 'good times' and always paid the preacher.

It has always been a Methodist meeting place to learn and practice what it means to love God and his Son and to serve the community.