OUR LEGACY FROM THE PAST - NCCUMC

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witnessed the shooting of one of his friends who had entertained
him in his home. When Garrettson entered North Carolina and
headed for the town of Salisbury, word preceded him to that town,
and the night before his arrival, a mob burned the house in which
he was to stay. The same night they burned the house, they
dragged the owner up and down the street until he was barely
alive. These persecutions of Methodists lasted throughout the
days of the American Revolution. It is evident then that it was
dangerous for a person to admit being a Methodist during those
days. How grateful we should be for the founders of our church
here in Williamston who persevered through such adversity!
It has been said that after America won her independence
from England, the first order of business was to win the people
from the devil. At this time, there was great skepticism among the
people concerning the reality of God in their lives, and there was a
great need for preachers who could administer the sacraments of
Baptism and Communion and who could go out into the backroads
to carry the Gospel message. For this reason, the Methodist
Church was to play an important part in establishing a church in
the new Republic, and with its organization in 1784,became the
first indigenous episcopal church in America.
Portable pulpits like this one were used by
the circuit rider preachers as they traveled
from one place to another. The one shown
in this picture was used by John Wesley.