Sac County IAGenWeb - History of Bethel M. E. Church, Early

History of Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church of Early

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Note from transcriber: This is a short history of this church. It was just on a type-written
sheet of paper found in a church file on familysearch, no date or author given.
The only other items in the file were [the above] 1920 photo of the church,
very poor in quality, and a couple pages of minutes. From the minutes I found that the
name "Bethel" was officially adopted in 1888, but was later referred to as
"Early Methodist Episcopal Church" in newspapers. I assume it became "Early United Methodist"
at some point, but couldn't find anything in the papers noting this.

In the spring of 1883 a few Methodist people from a class two miles north of Early came together with a class two miles south of Early and formed a church organization in the town. They met at a school house as part of the Sac City Circuit. Robert Smylie walked from Sac City every other Sunday and conducted services for them. They soon, felt they must have a church building, and they worked hard to obtain the means with which to build one. The frame work was all up when a tornado struck the building and demolished it. The church members gathered around to view the ruins. Brother Smylie turned to James Jackson, a pillar of the little church, and asked him "What shall we do now?" Brother Jackson replied, "We must have a Sunday School and church. We will rebuild."

Down on their knees the little company fell and held a prayer meeting among the ruins. Another church was soon built, the railroads came, and everyone was happy.

Many stories are told of Brother Smylie. When the walking was wet and difficult, he would tramp barefooted from Sac City, carrying shoes and socks in his pocket, and sit down on the church steps to put them on before conducting the services. Sometimes he would forget to put on his socks and would be apt to pull a sock instead of a handkerchief out of his pocket while preaching.

One Sunday morning the men of the church were called to clear a cut of snow left by a blizzard the night before, so that a freight train loaded with coal might go on its way. One of the boys was helping to shovel snow, feeling rather guilty for working on Sunday. Looking up, he found Dr. Smylie at his elbow. We had plowed his way through the drifts and had broken a path the ten miles from Sac City to Early.

An account of the first building committee states that there were two on the committee "who were not members of the church and were somewhat worldly, but the board needed a little financial aid." For thirty years this building served the congregation, until a new building was erected across the street from the old one. A parsonage which still serves was built in 1890. The first sidewalk in front of the church property was built in 1900. In 1884 a children's meeting was organized, and soon after the young people founded what was known as the "Methodist Young People's Alliance". This was reorganized into an Epworth League in 1889.

In the spring of 1886 Evangelist Lang from Omaha came to assist the pastor in the first revival meeting. Eighty-five probationers were taken into the church, nearly all later becoming full members.

B. S. Taylor, the pastor at Storm Lake, held a meeting two miles north of Nemeha, which resulted in establishing the Bethel Church. He then came to Early and held meetings. Sixty-five young people were received into the church. One of these was Mabel Allen, who spent twenty-one years as a missionary in China.

Mrs. Phoebe Reeder, the mother of Mrs. Dr. Campbell of Morningside College, was the first president of the W.H.M.S. When the church celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, there were seventy grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those early members who were still active in the Early Church.

Submitted by a volunteer transcriber and uploaded by Lynn Diemer-Mathews on January 2, 2024.