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The people of Edenton Street United Methodist Church have worshipped
God on the corner of Edenton and Dawson Streets in downtown Raleigh,
North Carolina since 1811. Edenton Street was founded that year
following a conference of Methodist ministers in Raleigh under
the leadership of Bishop Francis Asbury. Since our founding, Edenton
Street has shared fully in the life of this community and the Nation,
both in the times of prosperity and in the impacts of the Civil
War, two World Wars and other conflicts, and the Great Depression.
Throughout almost two centuries of existence, Edenton Street has
sought to faithfully share Christ from the heart of Raleigh.
Edenton Street's traditional worship services are held in the
fourth of our Sanctuaries. Our third Sanctuary was lost in a
great fire in July 1956, but rebuilding started immediately.
The first service of worship in the present Sanctuary was celebrated
on February 2, 1958. Edenton Street also holds a contemporary
worship service on Sunday mornings in Kerr Fellowship Hall of
the Curtis Fellowship Center, completed in 2002. Between the
Sanctuary and the Fellowship Center stands the Poindexter Memorial
Building, opened in 1937 as the third Sunday School building
on this site and home to Sunday School classes, bible studies,
staff offices, the nursery and the Joseph G. Brown Chapel.
Edenton Street has a deeply rooted tradition of outreaching
missions, both at home and abroad. One of this church's first
ministers, Melville B. Cox, left his appointment here in 1831
to serve as the first Methodist missionary to Africa. Around
the turn of the last century, Edenton Street's Mary Piscud served
as a missionary in Brazil, and Frances Burkhead entered the mission
field in China. Others have followed in their footsteps. In the
past two decades, volunteers from Edenton Street have maintained
regular contacts with missions in Liberia and Mexico and have
undertaken special mission projects in the Appalachians, Puerto
Rico, Jamaica, Spain, France and elsewhere. Closer to home, Edenton
Street annually supports numerous mission programs in and around
Raleigh, and in 1999 we undertook a major multi-year commitment
to support eastern North Carolina's recovery from Hurricane Floyd.
Nearing our 200th birthday, Edenton Street draws strength from
this heritage. We also recognize that the examples of the past
call this church to a renewed commitment to share the grace and
love of Jesus Christ today and in the years to come.
"Sharing Christ from
the Heart of Raleigh"
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