Foundry-Saint Andrew’s United Methodist Church (Sterlington, La.)
Biography
Foundry-Saint Andrew’s United Methodist Church was located at 143 Church Street, Sterlington, Louisiana.
In 1912, the people of the Fairbanks community built a church in which to hold services by multiple denominations; this included the Fairbanks Methodist Episcopal Church South congregation. In 1920, the Southern Carbon Company built a new structure. Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians used the facility on alternate weeks. The Baptists left in 1946 and built their own church, and the Presbyterians left to build their own structure in 1959.
In 1925, the people of the Sterlington community built a church in which to hold services by multiple denominations; this included the Sterlington Methodist Episcopal Church South congregation beginning in 1929.
The Methodist congregations at Fairbanks and Sterlington decided to merge and build a new church, which was named Saint Andrew’s Methodist Church and located at 143 Church Street in Sterlington. Its first worship service was held on March 19, 1961. The pastor of the new church was Rev. George Harbuck. A parsonage was added in 1962. A fellowship and activities building was acquired in 1980. The church got a new steeple in 1997. The parking lot was paved in 2000.
Foundry United Methodist Church (Sterlington, La.) formed in July 2014 and began weekly worship services in September 2015. In 2018, Foundry began a cooperative ministry with Saint Andrew’s United Methodist Church.
In September 2020, the two congregations merged and were renamed Foundry-Saint Andrew’s United Methodist Church. Foundry-Saint Andrew’s United Methodist Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in May 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 MO-73.