|
|
 |
This page contains many gif images. Please be patient.
The Church of God at Guthrie
Guthrie, Oklahoma
304 E. Lakeview Rd.
Guthrie, OK 73044
Chapel phone-405 282-5499 -
The Church of God Chapel is located at 304 E. Lakeview Road in Guthrie, OK 73044. Sunday School begins at 9:30 a. m. Sunday morning service is at 10:30 a. m. and Sunday night service is held at 7:00 p. m. Wednesday service is at 7:30 p. m.
The church is pastored by Bro. Stanley Dickson. His email address is stanok1945@okwifi.com.
Every December the Church at Guthrie is host to the 10 day Oklahoma State Assembly Meeting, during which three services are held daily. Every May the Church at Guthrie is host to the Oklahoma State Camp Meeting when again services are held 3 times daily for 10 consecutive days.
 History of the Guthrie Church
The Guthrie Church of God has a tremendous heritage. It was founded in 1905 by ex-slave George Winn. The church was chartered in 1906 by the Territory of Oklahoma. Other charter members of the church were C.N. Jones, George Oldham, James L. Glasgow and Robert Glasgow.
George Winn and Carrie Winn
James Glasgow and wife. James was a charter member and Guthrie pastor
George Winn and Carrie Winn with C.E. Orr. The tent they are standing outside of was probably the State of Oklahoma camp meeting tent.
The church met in Guthrie in this small chapel at 6th and Warner.
Almost immediately the Church at Guthrie began hosting the State Church of God Assembly Meeting every last week of December.
Mary Pruitt and her Sunday School class in the late 1920's or early 1930's.
Willie Murphey and his car outside of the church building in the 1930's.
Edith White, Frances Pruitt, and Beulah Mae White outside of the church building in the 1930's.
In or about August of 1937, the Guthrie site hosted the state camp meeting by using a tent to hold services in. The state meeting had been held in Oklahoma City but due to the fact that oil fields were enclosing the Oklahoma City ground and because of Guthrie's central location, the state meeting was moved to Guthrie. During the 1945 camp meeting, $85.44 was collected in donations to be applied to the building of a new pavilion next to the Guthrie church. This was necessary because the old tent was experiencing much wear. The tabernacle was built soon after.
Guthrie Tabernacle.
In 1937, the property north of the church was purchased by the Guthrie congregation. Plans were made to tear the house and barn which were on the property in order to build a new dining hall. In 1941, a new 16-foot addition was added to the church building, making it 24X52 feet.
In 1945 longtime Guthrie church member and founder George Winn died. During his lifetime he was an outspoken supporter of the church and was known for his vocal testimonies in which he would recall what God had done for his family, all the way back to when he had been a slave.
Fred Pruitt at the gravesite of George Winn
In 1946 the congregation started constructing a new dining hall on the property that was purchased in 1937 just north of the chapel. Cost for this project was $3000.
The 1949 picture taken outside the new dining hall.
The old chapel which had been used for 46 years was not large enough for the audience during the State Assembly Meetings in December. So during the 1952 Camp Meeting, a Mr. Barton set a proposition before the church. He quoted II Cor. 9:7 and exhorted the congregation, after which a large majority of those present raised their hands and pledged to sacrifice and give regularly until a new church building could be constructed. The building was estimated to cost about $8500.00 and construction began on the 20th of September. While the church was being built, the congregation held services in the new dining hall building. It was the intention of the congregation to complete the new building by the following Assembly Meeting - however, it was not completely ready by then. The new building was 40X68 feet and was all masonry and steel except for the doors and roof. In the February 1953 Faith and Victory editorials, the new structure was described thus: "The new building is made modern, having restrooms for both men and women and Sunday School rooms in the back. I believe that all the saints are now thankful that a new building was built instead of adding to the old one. This new building is strongly built in every way, [with] walls of cement blocks, and will perhaps be standing when Jesus comes if it is not blown to pieces by the atheists and infidels in the fast spreading communist movement."
Indeed the building was built well, for it withstood strong floods in 1959, 1965, 1985, 1993, and 1995. In 1967, $4500 was expended to expand the church. All congregations in the state were asked to contribute $15 per month until the debt was paid off. This expansion added significant seating and Sunday School rooms.
1982 ministers at the Oklahoma State Campmeeting outside the new church building.
In 1961, the church pastor, I. D. Stover, met with the ministers of the Church of God and made the decsion to start a boarding house across from the church for old saints, the handicapped and disabled. This plan never developed but the boarding house was later started in California. In 1969 the state camp meeting date was changed from the first week of August to late May in order to take advantage of the better weather. This trend took hold and to this day the state meeting is held late in May at the Guthrie church. In 1978, church pastor Leslie Busbee felt led to start a private Christian school at the church site. During the first year of its operation, the Path of Life School accepted only 4th-12th grade students. However, the operation quickly expanded to accept all grade levels. The school moved in 1987 to a new building on Lakeveiw Road in south Guthrie. Since 1978, the school has educated two generations of Church of God young people and is still in operation today.
In spite of the efforts of the Federal Government to prevent flooding, one of the greatest problems over the years in regard to the location of the chapel and dining hall, was the occasional and sometimes significant flooding from Guthrie's Cottonwood Creek.
Frances Murphey stands on the porch of the damaged church building after the flood of 1959.
After the 1985 flood, the City of Guthrie gave up on its efforts to stop the flooding and simply bought up the land surrounding the church. Many of the flood- damaged houses in the area were torn down, and the city began making the entire lower west side of town into a massive park. The church was in the middle of this area. The congregation bought property on the south side of the city and in 1987 the Christian school was moved there. In addition to the new school, plans were made for the construction of a new church building. In 1993, a large flood entered the old church and also destroyed some of the remaining structures in the area. While the church structure itself was undamaged, significant destruction occured inside the building. The water line inside the church reached 44 and 1/2 inches high. This intensified the efforts of the congregation to relocate to the new property.
1993 flood envelopes the church.
After the 1993 flood.
On Sunday, June 4th of 1995, the last day of the 1995 Oklahoma State Camp Meeting, the congregation met for what no one then realized would become a historic occasion. A 90-year tradition had come to an end. This would be the last time the congregation of the Church of God at Guthrie would meet at 6th and W. Warner. Afternoon and night services were cancelled because of the threat of a flood. By the end of the week, nearly 58 inches of water could be measured within any given spot in the chapel. In the dining hall, 70 inches of water could be measured. Damage done to the chapel included broken windows, doors which were destroyed, and thirty pews which were missing‹having floated away to unknown locations. The pews that remained were in sad condition. While services of the Church of God would no longer be held in the building, the prediction of the Faith and Victory editor in 1952 remained accurate. The structure still stands today at 6th and Warner.
While appealing to the Lord for the $125,000 needed to complete the new chapel on the south side of town, the congregation held services in the gymnasium at the Path of Life school. The gymnasium was without air conditioning or a PA system and the congregation spent a hot summer at church. Although the distinct possiblity remained that the state assembly meeting would have to be cancelled for the first time since its inception in 1907, the congregation managed to meet in the new church in time for the 1995 Oklahoma State Assembly Meeting.
The New Guthrie Chapel
Former Pastors of the Guthrie Church of God
|
|
|
 B. F. Davis ?-? (Died ?)
|
|
|
Back to Front Page
|
|
|
Call1-800-767-1479 or Email wemurphey@yahoo.com.
Copyright © 2001 Faith Publishing Inc
All rights reserved.
|
