Biography

Church of the Covenant United Methodist Church (Lafayette, La.) is located at 300 East Martial Avenue, Lafayette, Louisiana.

In 1961, 22 people formed a small church on Beadle Road. They built a small "A-frame" wooden building and named it Ivanhoe Methodist Church, after a nearby subdivision. The first pastor of the church was Rev. Harold Hines. A small building was later purchased and moved onto the property to serve as an educational building.

By 1974, the membership had grown to 74. In 1975, part of the educational building was renovated to serve as a sanctuary with a capacity for 100 persons. An early learning center (called the Kiddie Patch Nursery School) was begun that same year.

In 1977, a 6.2 acre site on Martial Avenue was purchased by the Louisiana Conference. The Ivanhoe Church, now under the leadership of Rev. Peter Harrington, was renamed The Church of the Covenant. The ground breaking for the new church was held on April 15, 1979. The educational building was completed by June 1979 and was used as the temporary sanctuary. The sanctuary was completed in December of 1979. Several fixtures of the church, such as the cross, altar, pulpit, and lectern, were hand sculpted by Mr. R. J. Bernard.

In 1981, the Early Learning Center was established. Seeing the need for more classroom space, Mrs. Grace Holley donated the money to build another educational building. Construction began on September 1, 1986 and the building was dedicated on February 15, 1987. Using money from memorials and special gifts, a steeple was purchased and installed on December 21, 1988.

Church of the Covenant United Methodist Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in 2023.

Source: Timothy Hebert, “The Historical Register of the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church,” (Louisiana: Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2004), page AC-8.

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