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A Light in the Community: Our History |
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In the fall of 1926, some 18 or 20 people met one evening in the home of Mrs. G. F. Jones, 1454 Beecher
Street, intent on organizing a Methodist Church in the Cascade community. This group accomplished its
purpose and the first service of Cascade Methodist Episcopal Church south was held on October 3, 1926, in
a store building on Beecher Street near Cascade Avenue, Dr. W. T. Hunnicutt, presiding elder, in charge.
The new church had grown to 120 members by December 1, and the first pastor, Reverend S. A. F. Wagner, led the congregation in erecting the first church structure on Richland Road, April 1, 1927. On September 24, 1936, Mr. H. T. Pullen and Dr. G. H. Stegar gave to the church the adjoining lot on Richland Road and Cascade Avenue, thereby making the property big enough to build a larger and more permanent facility. The new building would face Cascade Avenue. In 1939, we became the Cascade Methodist church brought about as a result of the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North), the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Church. That same year, Reverend W. T. Hunnicutt was assigned as pastor of Cascade. Seeing the crowded conditions and the need for more space in all departments of the church, Reverend Hunnicutt launched a movement to start work on a new building. On May 20, 1940, however, a fire heavily damaged the church, the congregation met temporarily in the E. L. Connally Elementary School. On May 1, 1941, work began on the basement and upon its completion, worship services were held there. In December 1941, work on the new sanctuary was suspended because of the scarcity of building materials due to World War II. The Reverend J. J. Sneed was appointed pastor in 1942. During the war years, Reverend Sneed constantly kept before the membership a mental picture of the completed structure which had so long been the dream for the people of Cascade Methodist Church. The steel and other building materials needed for the new sanctuary were restricted until February 10, 1947. At that time, the building program was started again. The new sanctuary was completed at a cost of approximately $125,000 with a seating capacity of 425 and the first service was held in it on July 4, 1948. In 1952, Reverend L. F. VanLandringham was assigned as pastor. During the post-war years, the church grew rapidly and in six years the indebtedness on the sanctuary was liquidated. On December 26, 1954, Bishop Arthur J. Moore dedicated the sanctuary. By this time there was an acute need for additional facilities for the Sunday School. Planning began for a new church school building adjoining the sanctuary. On January 15, 1956, the new church school building was completed and ready for occupancy. Included in this building project was an air conditioning system for the sanctuary. Just two years later on the night of January 23, 1958, an explosion of a hot water heater caused major damage to both the sanctuary and the new educational building. During the months of rebuilding, services were held in the E. L. Connally Elementary School. Repairs to the explosion amounted to $60,000. (Note: The stained glass windows that adorn the sanctuary at 875 Cascade Avenue today were blown out of their frames to the ground without breaking!) The Reverend Ralph C. Shea was appointed pastor in 1959. The congregation worked to pay off the indebtedness on the Sunday School building. In December, 1962, the debt was liquidated. During the first year of Reverend Shea’s pastorate, a new church parsonage located at 1415 Pollard Drive, was purchased. In 1963, Reverend Charles T. Gray was assigned as pastor and served the people at Cascade with his love for God and his dedication to God’s work. Two houses were purchased on Richland Road. One was used to house staff and the other was used for youth activities. In January, 1967, a lay witness mission was held and from this experience, there came a spiritual renewal in the lives of many people. In 1968 at the General Conference in Dallas, Texas, the Methodist Church was united with the Evangelical United Brethren Church, becoming the United Methodist church. Reverend William B. Ridgeway became the fourteenth pastor to serve Cascade Church in 1968. On September 15, 1968, a house at 887 Cascade Avenue was purchased. This house was adjacent to the sanctuary and thereby increased the size of the church property at the corner of Cascade Avenue and Richland Road. The youth activities were moved to this location and the remaining Richland Road site was then used as rental property. In 1970, the process of racial transition started with the family of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Allen. In 1971, Reverend Charles B. Walls became our fifteenth pastor. He served us well with much love and dedication to the work of God. People were moving away and the congregation began to get smaller. The two houses on Richland Road were sold and a part of the educational bu9ilding was rented to the Board of Education for two years to help us through some dark, discouraging days at Cascade. The few who were left kept the faith and kept praying for strength to carry on with God’s work. Reverend Marcus Booker became our sixteenth pastor. Reverence Booker served us well and in the spring of 1974, we had a very, very successful stewardship campaign. We were able to revise our church membership roll and that helped us to know just where we stood. Our spirits were lifted and we had renewed hope to carry on the work of God’s kingdom. In 1974, Reverend Walter L. Kimbrough, a dynamic, young, black minister with proven expertise in transitional church ministry was appointed to Cascade as our seventeenth pastor. Cascade, having found a perfect match, began to grow again. The first year of Reverend Kimbrough’s appointment, 116 new members came into the church. During his 12 years at Cascade, the church accepted the challenge of creative growth. She outgrew here building finding it necessary to hold two morning worship services and to install television monitors in order to accommodate a growing membership. The ministries expanded to a range unequaled not only in Atlanta, but in the nation! In 1986, Reverend Joseph E. Lowery became the eighteenth pastor. The church continued to grow in membership and in ministry. Cascade has once again outgrown her building finding it necessary to seek larger facilities for worship and ministry. With the capable leadership of Reverend Lowery, in 1988, Cascade launched a building project -- the "Cathedral" on Cascade (at 3144 Cascade Road, SW at the corner of Childress Drive). At that time this was a projected $4 million structure, designed to house the 2600 members of Cascade United Methodist Church. The groundbreaking service for the "Cathedral" was held on Saturday, September 29, 1990. During Reverend Lowery’s pastorate, more than 1,000 members joined the church. Before his retirement in June, 1992, 10 acres of land at Cascade Road and Childress Drive had been purchased and paid for, a preliminary architectural design completed, and with the contract signed to sell the edifice to The Chapel of Christian Love Missionary Baptist Church, approximately $1 million was on had towards the construction of the "Cathedral". Following Reverend Lowery’s retirement, Reverend Walter L. Kimbrough was reassigned to Cascade June, 1992. The last worship services at the 875 Cascade Avenue site were held October 4, 1992 on the 66th Anniversary of the church. The following Sunday, October 11th, the worship service was held at the West End Seventh Day Adventist Church, where 10:00 a.m. service was held each Sunday during the building/transition period. Administrative offices remained at 875 Cascade Avenue on the third floor of the now Chapel of Christian Love Missionary Baptist church. The cooperation and interaction involving the West End Seventh Day Adventist Church, The Chapel of Christian Love Missionary Baptist Church, and Cascade United Methodist Church is a beautiful example of ecumenism and the children of God dwelling in harmony. Our sister United Methodist churches in the area have also been very supportive of our needs during the transition and we are grateful to them. Cascade is the first predominantly Black United Methodist church to build a structure of this size and magnitude since the merger of the Georgia and North Georgia Conferences in 1971. Reverend Kimbrough made sure that the church continued to focus on its ministries even while in the midst of this massive building project. Under his leadership and with the enthusiasm and generous support of our faithful membership, the commencement of worship and ministries in our "Cathedral" began with our Entrance Day Celebration on Sunday, April 17, 1994, and continued on Consecration Sunday, April 24, 1994.
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