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Introduction
Wheatland United
Methodist Church is a wonderful old church with a rich history, vibrant present, and a bright future.
The church, though located in south Dallas, near DeSoto and Duncanville, is
actually very much in the country.
Click here to see a panoramic view of the
church's setting. The view
starts out looking north. If you peer through the trees you can barely
make out the historic
Wheatland Cemetery.
As you move to the right the view actually moves towards the east with
Fellowship Hall coming into view first, the church, and
finally the cottage. The cottage is where the
nursery is located.
Now is a great time to go inside the church and take a look
around.
Click here to visit a page full of sanctuary pictures. At Wheatland we
are very proud of our beautiful stained glass windows. These windows were
installed in 1912, the year the church was remodeled and expanded. If you
are interested in stained glass this is the page to see. Each picture that
contains stained glass can be clicked for a closer view.
For example, this is a close up of one of the windows on the southern wall.
This window is in remembrance
of
Samuel Uhl, an
early pioneer in this area and one of the church founders.
One of Samuel's grand-daughters is still living, her name is
Irene Fleming
and she turned 100 years old in September 2006. Be sure and take a look
at our
old
clock, she needs to be wound each Sunday, but keeps great time.
Past
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The old church has quite
a history - in fact she has a
historical marker to prove
it. The church's roots go back to the
Wesley Chapel that was
started in 1847. The Wesley Chapel is believed to have been
located at the southeast corner of the present day intersection of
U.S. Highway
67 and Camp Wisdom Road. In 1856 a terrible storm
destroyed the Wesley Chapel. Because of the storm and possible
ground water contamination from the adjacent cemetery, the church
was moved to its present location in 1859.
Please keep in mind, Wheatland is not just a
church, it was originally a
small farming community that
included the church, a cemetery, and a school. If
you are interested in more historical information about Wheatland please
see the History
page. There are links to old newspaper articles like the one
from 1899 about a
snake with a horn, obituaries for the past like the one for
Henry Spillers, the
"Wheatland
Methodist Church Sesquicentennial" booklet, and
transcripts from an excellent presentation about the church's
history by Mr. Fred Harrington. |
Present
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Wheatland currently has about 100 members. For a church of that
size you wouldn’t expect very much to be going on except maybe an occasional Sunday morning
service. But not at Wheatland! Check out the
Activities page to
see all the things that are happening on a regular basis. Now I want to
point out a few of my favorites. The first Sunday of each month we
celebrate the
Lord’s
Supper. On the 4th Sunday of each month we have a church wide
Fellowship
Dinner in Fellowship Hall, next door to the church. If you can
remember Grandma’s cooking or if you enjoy restaurants like the “Cracker Barrel”
or “The Black Eyed Pea” then you will really enjoy the home cooked food served
up here. Now I am not complaining, but for some reason there always seems
to be an abundance of delicious
desserts. You know it would be great if you join us - as a visitor you are
not expected to bring anything but your appetite. Oh, and this is one I
really don't want to forget - on the fifth Sunday of each month we have a
Hymn Sing
and Ice Cream Social. Did I mention the
ice
cream?
Now don’t be misled, there are a whole lot of other activities at
Wheatland that aren’t on the Activities page. Here are some of my
favorites: Palm
Sunday Service and Easter Egg Hunt,
Easter Sunrise
Service, Seder Meal,
Annual Variety
Show, Fourth of July
Parade, Vacation Bible
School, Pet Blessing in October, and my favorite -
the Christmas Season. |
Future
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The future of Wheatland is indeed bright. She has a very active,
kind, loving, and caring Pastor who is in her 8th year at this church.
There is the country setting – the beauty, peace, and quiet that comes from being
located on a
large property set far back
from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets. Did you know there is a
peaceful running stream in a white rock creek just behind the church? Wheatland was a small pioneering community
and that pioneering spirit now lives on through the church. In today’s world of traffic
jams, huge corporations, mega-churches, and personal isolation, Wheatland is a
source of refuge for the mind, healing for the spirit, and nourishment for the
body. So many of us
are looking for this environment in our lives - we know this is what the heart
desires and what our
children
need. At
Wheatland it is all there, waiting for you -
and free for the taking. |
People
The tour of
Wheatland would not be complete without getting to know some of the more visible
members of the church. Now, if you’re a church member and I left you out, it was
not on purpose - so please forgive me.
Pastor Peter McNabb – our
Pastor.
Janet Cavender -
one of the church leaders.
Laura Foreman – leads Sunday singing and
does the Children’s Chat.
Paul Foreman - does the Church's website and
part-time liturgist.
Ted Gruebbel - is the ever present pianist and
organist, Sunday school teacher, and Seder Meal host.
Cathy Gruebbel (Ted’s wife) - Sunday
School teacher.
Gene Hudson - one of the church leaders
and a long time member.
Cathie Green - active with the youth, Cathie is Gene Hudson's daughter.
Chick Libby –
friendly Sunday morning greeter and long time member.
Marie Libby (Chick's wife) - is the
church historian and long time member.
Dick Merz – spends
many hours keeping the church maintained. Dick has a tender spot in his heart for animals. If you stop by the church during the
week don't be surprised if you see Mr. Merz.
Joyce Merz (Dick’s
wife) – represents Wheatland at numerous
Methodist sponsored activities.
Gary Overman
- faithfully leads the church's choir.
Kathy Priester – Sunday School
teacher. Kathy is Dick and Joyce Merz' daughter.
I hope you have enjoyed the informal tour above. Below is a
more structured tour that discusses the church's home page and each of the
different links that branch from it.
Website Tour
The following tour uses the elements of the home page as a guide.
The home page is divided into a header, links across the top, and links down the
left side.
| In the
header |
The Flame and Cross. Located in the upper left hand corner
of the page, if you click this link it will take you to a nice explanation about
the meaning of this symbol.
Address Information. Located in the upper right corner of
the page, if you click this link it will take you to a map of the area and allow
you to obtain directions to the church.
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| Across the top |
Activities. This page has all the regular occurring activities of the
church.
Contacts. This page has the church's address information and a note
from the Pastor.
Directions. Directions for the church are provided here. If you
click on the map you will bring up "Windows Live Local" which is a tool you can
use to get directions to the church.
History. This page is full of information about the history of
Wheatland. You can see the church's historical marker and there are
numerous links to articles and information that cover the remarkable history of
the church and community of Wheatland. The link to
Fred Harrington's
presentation is really informative as well as the
Church's
Sesquicentennial Booklet that has been recreated for the website.
Ministries. Opportunities to minister are listed here.
Mission. The church's mission and vision statements are listed.
Newsletter. The church's newsletter, "Wheatland's Wit and Wisdom", is
located here as well as newsletters from the past.
Photos.
Lots and lots of church photos are available here both current and from the
past.
Related
Links. Links to other sites that are important to the church are
provided here.
Sermon. The current sermon series is available here.
Weddings. Wheatland
is a beautiful place for a wedding. Information and sample pictures can be
seen here.
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| Down the
left side |
Visitors Click Here. A
link to this page.
The
pastor's name, phone number, and email address.
Calendar. The church's calendar for the year is provided here.
Cemetery.
Information about the Wheatland Cemetery.
Children's Nursery.
The church's nursery has just been remodeled. Please visit here to see how
inviting it looks.
Directory & Email. The
church's
password protected on-line directory is available here. You can also access
the church's email service and sign up for a church email account here.
God's Plans ... Our Hands.
Information about the Church GPOH Phase II Capital Campaign.
Wheatland's Who's Who.
Read about members from the past and present who have been an important
influence to Wheatland.
What's New?
A link to quickly see what has been added to the website and an historical
record of changes.
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That concludes
the tour of the Wheatland United Methodist Church. I hope you
enjoyed it. You are sincerely invited to come and visit us anytime.
Any and all persons are encouraged to come and worship the Lord at our beautiful
historic church.
Thanks again for
visiting.
Henry S.
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