The doors to the church
that was the forerunner of Arlington United Methodist Church were opened
on March 24, 1889. Our founder, Martha J. Inskip, was the widow of Rev.
John Inskip, a Methodist minister, of Ocean Grove, NJ. She visited the
Eggleston Heights area of Arlington (eastside of the St. Johns River
from Jacksonville) during the winters of the late 1880's and recognized
the need for a church. With funds raised from friends in the north and
the donation of property by a local resident, Mr. O. H. P. Champlain,
Mrs. Inskip returned in early 1889 ready to build. The total cost of the
building was $650 and was completely paid at completion. As many of the
residents had moved to the area from Ocean Grove and had known Rev.
Inskip, they requested the little church in the woods be named the
Inskip Memorial Church. In her diary, Mrs. Inskip wrote, "May it be
the birthplace of a multitude of souls."
The first year or so the
little church was able to maintain a steady membership and attendance in
this sparsely populated area. However, several misfortunes occurred that
brought troubled times. The winters of 1895 and 1899 were brutal, with
freezing temperatures killing the citrus and vegetable crops from which
the residents made their living. Many moved further south. The future of
the little church did not look promising the first decade of the
twentieth century.
Revitalization began in
1912 when the Inskip group met with residents of a new neighborhood,
Floral Bluff and organized the Floral Bluff Methodist Episcopal Sabbath
School on July 28th. The Ladies Aid Society was formed on November 24,
1912.
On June 14, 1914, an
"altar service' was held by the pastor and 14 persons were received
into membership. The congregation decided to make a slight change in the
name of the little church to Floral Bluff M. E. Church. However, in
August dissention among the Floral Bluff and Inskip members developed
when some wanted to move the organ, hymnals, and other properties into a
private home in Floral Bluff and hold the services there. A vote by the
total membership was against that proposal.
On November 11, 1914, a
special meeting was called when it was discovered that the organ,
hymnals, and other properties had been unlawfully taken from the church
and were unable to be found. A piano was purchased and hymnals were
borrowed from Snyder Memorial Church in downtown Jacksonville. Services
continued at the Inskip Church.
The Arlington area began
growing, but the little church in the woods was declining primarily due
to location. Residents purchased property about five blocks from the
original site and on a main thoroughfare. They moved the church, made
repairs, and built an addition to the rear of the building for
classrooms. This was at a cost of $1,092.47. On June 25, 1920, it was
rededicated and renamed the Arlington Methodist Episcopal Church. As the
community grew, so did the church. Boy Scout Troop 38 was formed in 1922
and, except for a brief period, has been affiliated with this church
ever since. Until the middle 1940's, our Methodist church, commonly
called the Arlington Community Church, was the only church in the
greater community of Arlington.
During the years 1930-31,
35 new members were received, and World Service giving increased by 50%
over previous years. The first Vacation Bible School was held with an
enrollment of over 100 in 1932. It became apparent that a new facility
would soon be needed. With a loan from the Livingston Foundation and the
donation by A. C. Macy of the lot adjoining the church, building began
on April 10, 1933. When the brick church was completed a few months
later, it contained a sanctuary and classrooms. The Inskip building
became the Parish Hall.
The church remained a
center of the community religious life. Membership and attendance grew
with the area. In 1939, we became Arlington Methodist Church due to the
merger of the Methodist Episcopal Churches North and South.
During the 1940's, many of
our young men were called into the military service. The kitchen of the
Parish Hall stayed busy with the ladies of the community using it as a
"canning kitchen". Victory Garden vegetables and fruit were
preserved and goodies prepared for our service men.
A bridge linking Arlington
with Jacksonville opened in April 1953. Growth in the area exploded. It
wasn't long before an educational building was needed and Asbury Hall
was completed in October 1953. The Methodist Men were chartered in 1954.
1956 saw the construction of a new parsonage. Additional education
facilities were built in 1958. An addition was added to the sanctuary
and a second worship service was added during the 1950's as well as
double session Sunday School.
A new sanctuary seating
700 was completed in March 1960. The original Inskip building was sold
to the Masonic Lodge. It was demolished in 1974. A second parsonage was
purchased that same year when our first Associate Pastor was assigned.
Growth continued. In 1965, Wesley Hall was built as a fellowship hall
containing 20 classrooms, a kitchen, a stage, and a library. The
interior of the brick church was renovated and the old sanctuary became
Williams Chapel. In 1968, the merger of the Methodist Church and the
Evangelical United Brethren Church gave us a new name, Arlington United
Methodist Church.
During the late sixties
and through the seventies, we saw a decline in membership and
attendance. The population was becoming more mobile. Families were
moving in and out of the area at a rapid pace. Also, we were no longer a
community type church. We had become an urban church. Almost every
denomination was now represented in the area and another Methodist
Church was built about six miles away. However, we remained strong in
our commitment to the purpose and mission of the church. The youth of
our church had a dream to serve the underprivileged youth of the
community. In July of 1971, our youth held the first Doo Dah Day Camp
with 63 campers and 14 counselors. This ministry continued for nine
summers.
In the early 1980's, we
looked toward the future. Our staff had outgrown their space. The
nursery and early childhood areas were out of date and remodeling was
out of the question due to asbestos exposure in the buildings. It was
also noted by many that the need for quality day care for children with
working mothers was not being met. After much study, the planning
committee recommended demolishing the Asbury Building and replacing it
with a building that would house the Administrative Staff and an early
childhood center. Major renovation to the sanctuary was also included.
The new Asbury Center was consecrated December 11, 1988 and the
sanctuary renovations on January 29, 1989. Thus we entered our 100th
year not only celebrating our past but also preparing for our future. We
had gone from a $650.00 building to a plant worth over $3,500,000.
Early 1991, the Trustees
recommended we sell the two parsonages. We no longer had an Associate
Pastor and the Senior Pastor's parsonage did not meet all of the
criteria set by the Florida Conference. With the sale of these two
houses, we were able to purchase a parsonage that was larger and better
able to serve our parsonage family.
After four years of study,
getting all the necessary licenses, and hiring a qualified staff, the
Asbury Child Development Center opened in August 1993. The children are
not only well cared for physically, but they are taught academically and
spiritually. We now had another mortgage and older buildings needing
repair. A successful Capitol Campaign got under way and in three years
we paid off the mortgage and the more urgent repairs were made. Over the
years, our community had changed. There were thousands of unchurched
families within a five-mile radius. In July 1999, we participated in a
district-wide Share Jesus Mission as a means to reach out to those who
need to hear about Jesus.
During the last quarter of
the 20th Century, twice we took the lead role by breaking ground in new
forms of ministries within the Florida Conference. The Florida Annual
Conference ordained its first woman minister in June 1975. At that same
Conference, she was assigned to Arlington as our Associate Pastor. The
two years she spent with us were a joyful and blessed time. Today she is
the presiding Bishop of the North Carolina Conference. Another first for
Arlington, and the Florida Conference, was the assignment in June 1991
of the first Clergy-couple assigned as Co-Pastors to one church.
We are excited to begin
the new millennium with an additional Sunday Service. On April 9, 2000,
the first Contemporary Service, named "The Journey", began. We
enter this new endeavor with the prayer of our founder, Martha Inskip,
on our lips, "May it be the birthplace of a multitude of
souls."
