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Bush United Methodist Church (Bush, La.) records

 Collection
Identifier: LACUMC-2023-050

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the activities of Bush United Methodist Church (Bush, La.). The collection includes membership records, charge conference records, audit records, church board and administrative council records, administrative records, insurance records, treasurer's records, financial records, newsletters, church bulletins, and programs.

The charge conference and audit records from the 2010s also include material from First United Methodist Church (Covington, La.).

Dates

  • 1961 - 2023

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Biographical / Historical

Bush United Methodist Church was located at 81306 Louisiana Highway 41, Bush, Louisiana.

Union services began at Bush in 1900, when Methodists and Baptists met for worship in a Union church across the highway from today's Bush UMC. In 1908, the Methodists built a church of their own, which was located near the present Bush Library. Around 1919 to 1920, the church was moved to J. E. Noble's property at the intersection of Highways 40 and 41. The first pastor was Rev. T. V. Peters. Some memories of those early days include shouting, going to the mourners' bench, and traveling by horse and buggy over dirt roads. Some of the early names in the congregation included Crawford, Dutch, Fauntleroy, Jenkins, McLendon, Noble, Penton, Richardson, Russel, Sticker, Tally, Thomas, Watts, and Williams.

By 1948, a new church building was needed. The old church was tom down and a small wooden building constructed on the present church site. That piece of land was donated by Mrs. Emma Jenkins. This church was used until the present block building was constructed in 1964. The new church was dedicated on September 12, 1968.

The Fellowship Hall was dedicated on January 19, 1985, by Bishop Underwood. An educational wing, with 3 classrooms and a choir room, was added in 1987. Activities at Bush include an annual Christmas Candlelight service, monthly craft day, monthly breakfast, annual children's day, and Sunday school classes for adults, youth, and children.

Bush 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 NO-9.

Extent

1.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged by subject, then chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Unknown person dropped off collection at the Louisiana Conference Office (Baton Rouge, La.), then transferred by Rhonda Whitley (Ministry Coordinator, Congregational Development and Transformation) in 2023.

Title
Finding Aid to Bush United Methodist Church (Bush, La.) records
Author
Beth Vogler and Chris Brown
Date
2025
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
2911 Centenary Blvd.
Shreveport LA 71104 US
(318) 869-5462