Bobtown congregation realizes long-standing dream
This is the exterior of the Bobtown United Methodist Church’s new social hall. A dedication ceremony for the new hall has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20.
This is the interior of the 40-by-60-foot metal building that now sits on the lawn of the church. The social hall was completed in May. (Photos courtesy of Kitty Friend)
George Gapen III obviously loved his church.
Since the 1970s, the organist for the Bobtown United Methodist Church drove around area roads in his van collecting discarded aluminum cans. He also asked people to save them for him.
When Gapen (his friends called him Georgie to distinguish him from his father) collected enough, he’d sell them to a recycler, then keep the money in his house. When he accumulated $1,000, he took it to the bank and opened a CD account in his and the church’s name.
“He told everyone he was saving enough money to build the church a new social hall,” said Arnold Friend, a church member in the congregation that numbers 35 to 40 people. “To get to the rooms we had in the church basement, folks had to walk down a set of steep stairs, which was hard on the elderly. Also the basement held only 50 occupants which made large gatherings difficult.”
One day, Gapen went to Friend and told him he wasn’t feeling well. He also asked Friend that, if something happened to him, would he make sure the social hall was built. Less than a year later, Gapen died of a blood disorder on October 11, 2011.
In 2014, while Friend was in the hospital after undergoing a triple bypass, he thought he’d better get busy on the social hall building project and called for a church meeting. At the get-together, everyone agreed to get the project underway.
Using the $19,000 Gapen had accumulated as a start, mostly by selling aluminum cans but also with money he himself donated to the cause, the congregation raised additional funds by donating money from their own pockets, establishing memorials for deceased relatives and even taking money from their retirement funds. They also organized a series of fundraisers – things like dinners and the sale of hoagies, Rada cutlery and kitchen utensils and soups — 10 different kinds.
The soup sales are still going strong. For $5 a quart every first Saturday, October through May, soup lovers can take home their choice of home made vegetable, Italian wedding, cabbage, broccoli-cheddar noodle, chili, stuffed pepper, ham and navy bean, chicken noodle and more from 8 a.m. to noon. The women of the church also include a loaf of bread, baked by hand in the church kitchen. The soup sales bring in between $1,200 and $1,500 each month.
To get the construction project underway, the church hired John Kuis of Kuis Construction of Bobtown to do the excavation work. Kuis knew of a group of Amish workers from Ohio, who have several Greene County buildings to their credit, and referred the congregation to them.
“Because the Amish don’t drive, someone brought five of them in to do the construction work and waited in the van all day to take them back home,” Friend said. “It took them about five days to complete the project, which totaled close to $100,000.”
Although the 40-by-60-foot metal building that now sits on the lawn of the church was completed in May, the congregation waited until this month to plan a dedication ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20.
Gospel musician Josh Oldaker from Clarksburg, West Virginia will begin the celebration, followed by a dedication ceremony led by Pastor Edward Hanley of Rogersville at 1 p.m. Cake, punch and coffee will be served at the dedication. Because of the support the public gave the congregation through its purchase of soups and participation in their fundraisers, everyone is invited to attend the event, located at 10 Crescent Avenue in Bobtown.
Because of all the support the congregation has received, Friend said the church doesn’t have a mortgage on what is now officially called the Bobtown United Methodist Church Social Hall.
“We don’t owe a dime on the building,” he said.
In naming the new social hall, Gapen’s family decided they didn’t want to name the new building after him. However, the congregation did name a room inside the building the Georgian.
“The social hall is a dream come true,” Friend said. “It shows what one man’s vision and a determined group of people can accomplish.”
For more information on the dedication ceremony or church social hall, call 724-839-7289.