History

Gethsemane History

Decade	Events of Importance
1897	– Purchased property for $12 from The Working Benevolence Society No. 135 (Nov. 27^th)
	Trustees – Pink Smith, Elias Walker, James Davis, Jarrett James¹
1930	Collins was pastor until 1938 (W.M. Lipscomb preceded Collins)
	Church Building was rebuilt in 1938
1940	George W. Wofford was pastor after Collins
1950	October 17, 1951 – Rev. A.R. Shumate became pastor
	Baptismal pool installed in 1953
	Baptisms were done on Renrick Dr. (“the hill”) prior to the install
	Lodge building / Activity Center was built
1960	James R. Whitmore became pastor
1970	Warren Sullivan became pastor
1980	Joseph Kenneth Spearman became pastor (1982 – 1985) He died Monday April, 15th.
	-Every Sunday worship started (prior to this was 1^st and 3^rd)
	Jeremiah Ezekiel Palmer became pastor (1985-1986)
1990	Tony Blackmon became pastor (1986-1992)
	Florence Goldsmith became pastor in 1993
2000	New Sanctuary was built in 2005
2010	Florence Goldsmith retired in February of 2010
	Emanuel Duncan became pastor on 2/14/2010
	Old Church Building was Renovated in 4th Quarter 2010
2014	Purchased the 703 Worley Rd. Building from Mountain City Lodge
Present	The addition of ‘YOU’!

This history is a work in progress and therefore still remains somewhat fragmented. There was a fire where some church records were lost and few people have come forward to be able to rebuild the history of the church. If you or someone you know has information that will help us build a more accurate account of this history, please contact us. Greenville Newspaper records have been helpful, but have several erroneous misspellings of the name Gethsemane as Gathsemnea, Gethsemine, ane Gethsemane.

Gethsemane History

Prison Pal Ministry Envelope