Historical souvenir of Greenville, Illinois : being a ... - University Library

Rev. J. H. Flower,
Who was pastor of the F. M. church
EJfor several years and who built the
present church. Now a resident of
t
}^ St. Louis.
been troubled about the state in the
established church, left it and met
together to study the Scriptures.
This resulted in their being gathered
unto the name of the Lord alone,
and instead of forming another
unity, and thus adding to the divisions
in Christendom, they simply
recognized the unity of the church
of Christ, and so were standing on
a ground that embraced all Christians.
In the year 1S2S. Mr. .1. N. Darby
published his first pamphlet entitled:
"The Nature and Unity of
the Chu'ch of Christ." This tract
Historical Souvenir of Greenville, Illinois. 59
may be considered as a statement of
what these brethren believed and
practiced, yet not in the form of a
confession.
In the spring of ISISd they commenced
breaking bread in their
first public meeting room on the
first day of the week and the truths
which seemed to get most notice
were the divinity of the Lord Jesus,
the efficacy of redemption, the knowledge
of pardon and acceptance, the
oneness of the body of Christ, the
presence of the Holy Ghost in the
assembly, and the Lord's second
coming.
The first public meeting room in
Plymouth was called "Providence
Chapel" and as they refused to give
themselves any name, they were
known as "Providence People."
But when the brothers began to go
outside the town and preach the
gospel in the villages—then a rare
thing—they were spoken of as
"Brethren from Plymouth," which
naturally resulted in the designation
"The Plymouth Brethren." This
new title spread rapidly over England
and elsewhere but was never
accepted by them, as they refuse
both the position and name of a
sect.
This company has spread all over
the civilized world, and the first
meeting in Greenville was in 1S54.
when there were only a few gathered
together and the meetings were
held in a private house. After a
while they rented a hall, when the
number increased to about forty or
fifty. They do not accept the term
or name of member of church but
only members of the body of Christ.
Hence, there is no such thing among
them as members of Plymouth
Brethren church as they only recog-
The Free Methodist Church, built in 1899.
Rev. C. a. Fleming,
Pastor of the Free Methodist church
in 1881 and again in 1904- and
1905.
nize one church, composed of all
true believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, no matter where they meet.
free Methodist Church.
By The Reverend C. A. Fleming.
X the fall of 18S0 C. A. Fleming,
I
1 who was appointed to the Woburn
and Walnut Grove circuit,
which included Dudleyville and Mulberry
Grove, first began preaching
in Greenville, in the private house
of Mr. Fleeharty, and continued until
the following July, at which time
a tabernacle meeting was arranged
by him. The services of F. H. Haley,
T. H. Agnew, Lon B. Myers and
Addie Durham were secured to assist
in the meeting.
At the close of the tent meeting,
W. B. M. Colt, district elder of the
Litchfield district, organized a class
consisting of seven members, namely
W. S. Dann, A. J. Huffman,
Lewis Wright, A. L. Aired and
Sarah Dann, Hulda Huffman and
Clara Wright. The organization
took place in the rooms of W. S.
Dann, over his store which is now
occupied by Joy & Co. This was
about July 20, 1881. C. A. Fleming
acted as pastor to the end of that
conference year, at which time the
circuit was divided. Then C. C.
Brunner was appointed to the
Greenville circuit and served from
ISSl to October 1SS2, at which time
C. A. Fleming was re-appointed and
served the following year. During
this year the first Free Methodist
church was built at the corner of
Prairie and Vine Streets, at a cost
of $1,300. The church was dedicated
by B. F. Robert, one of the