This church has a very open and friendly atmosphere. We enjoy attending when we are in town. This…read moreChristmas (2017) we got an extra special treat with the Christmas Candlelight Service. The music was beautiful! After each song, we silently clapped. It was that good! The candlelight was beautiful throughout the church as we all sang Silent Night. The whole service made my Christmas even more special.

Sunday, June 22nd, while out hiking in Tennessee, we drove through McMinnville, TN and when I saw…read morethis STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS CHURCH...I had to stop...I get so darn excited when I find these Massive and Romanesque. I parked and had to get out to investigate the church and take some photos. Also found some history of the church online: History of the McMinnville First United Methodist Church The Methodist movement in America can trace its roots to a meeting held in Delaware by Dr. Thomas Coke to organize a group of preachers to carry out Wesley's grand plan to spread the faith throughout the Colonies. Thus, in 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was born in our nation. It did not take long for the circuit riders to carry Methodism to the frontier west. By the time Tennessee became a state in 1796, meeting houses were established in many communities and small towns. When the pioneers settled in Warren County, they brought their religion. The Church at Shiloh was one of the first congregations to organize along the Methodist doctrine here. Others followed soon after, and it was not long before a Bible group was assembling at the Court House in McMinnville. Oddly enough, there were few church buildings erected at this time even though the Baptists and Church of Christ congregations were already organized. By the 1830's, there was a movement in the city to build appropriate meeting houses to better accommodate the growing congregations of worshippers. It was at this time that the Methodists here decided to erect a proper chapel for the town residents. A site was chosen behind the current Magness library and a building was constructed. In 1852, the "Little Brick Church" was built which served the congregation for many years. The history of the current sanctuary began in the 1880's when the flourishing Methodist congregation decided to acquire a lot on Main Street on which to build a new church. On August 25, 1886, the dedication stone was set in a grand ceremony which included a barbeque and music provided by the Warren House Band. Enough money was raised to get the building underway, but not enough to finish it as quickly as most would have liked. The final dedication came in 1889 when the $18,000 construction cost was liquidated and all building debts were paid. Today, the sanctuary remains almost unchanged. Some interior work was done to reconfigure the chancel rail and pipe organ some years ago, and the original hanging light fixtures have been replaced with new ones. Some of the woodwork has been painted, but the beautiful stained glass windows and the pews remain virtually unchanged. Additions have been made to the exterior, however. The Willis Chapel to the rear of the main sanctuary was completed in 1940 after a receiving a sizable bequeath by Joh Address: 200 W Main St, Mcminnville, TN 37110 Phone: (931) 473-4419 If you are ever in the area..STOP and check out the building. Check out the gorgeous building and amazing size of the structure in this smaller town. I can't wait for my next adventure.

Asking for the nearest church to Bonnaroo.. well.. wasn't the easiest task. However, getting out of…read morethe campsite in the early morn was pretty dang easy. Although, we only saw about 3 other 'Rooers at mass.. so this is for you guys. haha.. We apparently caught the church on an "off day". The piano player didn't show up and so a few of the women were trying to get us to help sing songs acapella. Some of the hymns weren't the ones I was familiar with and I had also pretty much lost my voice/hearing from Bonnaroo, so that added to the difficulty. Kind of a disappointment because I wanted to hear some good Southern hymns and a loud congregation to back them up. The church itself is nice. It seems fairly modern, more like a large cushy meeting space than the churches I'm used to. The air conditioning (after a couple days of camping) was a definite plus (it is sometimes lacking in older churches). Some older women were talking about Bonnaroo and I thought that was pretty awesome. They weren't referring to the concert goers as "crazy kids" or anything, but appreciated people's love of music. The homily from the priest was pretty long. He was a good speaker, but none of his points totally reached me. Could have been my exhaustion. My only problem if I lived in the area is that there is only one mass on Saturday (4PM) and one mass on Sunday (10:30AM). They do have a 1PM Spanish mass too, which I thought was cool. At our mass on Sunday there were about 20 people or less. I wonder if all the 'Rooers scared off the regular congregation that didn't want to deal with nearby traffic? Living in the city, I'm used to at least 4-6 mass times to choose form, but I can understand that the priest at this church must have to travel to other parishes due to the shortage.

The best. A good youthgroup with a crazy youth leader. Conservative preaching from KJV. Teaching…read morefrom the NIV, the NAS and the Living Bible. Music is traditional and old-style Southern Gospel (Just a Little Talk with Jesus, etc.) Jeans are just fine!