Biography

Centenary United Methodist Church was located at 308 North Parkerson Street, Rayne, Louisiana.

In the early 1880s, the widow of Dr. W. H. Cunningham donated a city block to the Methodist Church. In 1883, an Opelousas District Quarterly Conference was held by the Kimball Chapel (Indian Bayou) and Plaquemine Brulee (Branch) churches. Led by the Presiding Elder, Rev. Christian Keener, a resolution for the construction of a church in Rayne was adopted. Construction of the new church began the following year, in 1884. Bishop Keener (Christian's father) later presided at the dedication. The church was named "Centenary" because it was built on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Methodist Church in America.

A Sunday School and a Women's Parsonage and Home Mission Society were soon established. In 1919, a building (known as the "Hut") was constructed under the leadership of Rev. E. C. Gunn. The building served as a meeting place for the church's organizations, including the Men's Bible Class. A new parsonage was built in 1951 and dedicated four years later. The history of the Centenary Church was recorded by Mrs. W. F. Johnston (1924) and again by Mrs. H. A. MacDonald (1955).

Centenary United Methodist Church was discontinued and abandoned in 2018.

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 LC-3.

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