TOBACCOVILLE — When Lloyd McCormick drove up to Tabernacle United Methodist Church on Sunday, April 19, he saw something very different from the scene that had greeted him just a year and a half earlier. Before him on this April afternoon stood a new brick sanctuary, quickly filling up with people who had come out for the church’s 3 p.m. consecration service.

This was not the case on an autumn morning 18 months ago.

On October 14, 2007, McCormick, president of Tabernacle’s United Methodist Men’s group, arrived at about 6:50 a.m. for the monthly men’s breakfast. As he prepared to go inside, he suddenly saw that the historic sanctuary was on fire. He tried to call 911, but a dead zone there in the parking lot prevented any calls from going out.

McCormick, who is paralyzed from the waist down, began to blow his horn in desperation to alert those who were already inside the fellowship hall cooking breakfast. By the time local firefighters arrived, “the church was engulfed in flames,” testified Lonnie Ring, a long-time member of Tabernacle.

According to Ring, the fire, which ignited because of a faulty furnace, had probably been burning all night. Although firefighters worked tirelessly to stop the conflagration, the sanctuary was a total loss. A wall even fell on one young fireman who was taken to the hospital. He had been married for only three months and said, “If I die, my wife’s gonna kill me!” He was released later that same day.

The tragic loss of the historic sanctuary did not mean the loss of the church. Today Tabernacle UMC, including both the new building as well as the congregation, stands tall as a tribute to what faith in God can accomplish.

“Whoo-hoo! God is so good!” exclaimed the Rev. Jenna Grogan, present pastor of the church, as she opened the consecration service a few weeks ago. Heads nodded all over the sanctuary — heads of those who had labored for the last year and a half to raise money for the new facility.

District Supervisor Dr. Bill Medlin was on hand to help with the building dedication. He, Grogan and many members of the congregation took an active part in the celebratory service as red and white balloons waved both inside and outside the building. A few things salvaged from the fire — a communion table, the pulpit and a few chairs — had been restored for use in the new edifice.

Lucille Long presented a brief history of the church which began as brush arbor meetings in the mid-1800s in an unknown location. In 1861, James Reid donated the land the church now sits on, but the church wasn’t constructed until 1884. In 1885, Reid gave even more land.

Long has a direct connection to both land donations, because her great-great-grandfather Jonathan Speas was a church trustee who signed both deeds. The Reid and Speas families have played key roles in the church for many years. Long read a poem written by her niece Milissa Speas Beck who now lives in Alaska. Beck had come to visit year before last and witnessed the remains of the burnt church. Her poem was an uplifting one that spoke of angels in the smoke.

Music filled the new sanctuary of Tabernacle UMC on April 19. A trio of Jesse Needham, Kreisler Speas and Beverly Markland sang old standards such as “Precious Memories” and “How Great Thou Art.” The Tabernacle Quartet sang “He Is Here—Hallelujah,” then the Tabernacle Choir sang “Take My Life and Let It Be.”

Pastor Grogan, who had come to Tabernacle the summer after the fire, preached a message entitled “Called and Consecrated.” She spoke of how the parishioners had felt after the tragedy. “You wanted it back ... restored and renewed,” she said.

Then Grogan explained how that isn’t possible, but that they CAN remember — not only the former church, but also those who gave money, time and materials to the rebuilding efforts. This is the time for a second chance, Pastor Grogan told them, the chance to be resurrected.

The pastor who served Tabernacle at the time of the fire, the Rev. David Spaulding, was present as well. After nine years at Tabernacle, he moved to another church in North Carolina in June 2008. He told the story of how the great evangelist John Wesley was nearly killed in a fire early in his life and how Wesley referred to himself as a “brand pulled from the fire.” Spaulding applied that phrase to Tabernacle UMC.

The service ended with the Lord’s Supper and a time of fellowship.

According to Ring, the church was rebuilt through a combination of funding sources. Insurance, of course, contributed greatly, as did a grant from the Duke Endowment. Also, the church’s District has a policy of paying $5,000 per year for five years to rebuild churches that have been destroyed.

According to Ring, the rest of the funds needed — “probably a good third of the money” — came from fundraisers and donations. “We’re gonna come out pretty close to what it’s gonna cost,” he added. Even the pews and colorful stained glass windows were purchased through donations, honorariums and memorial offerings.

The church is not quite through with its fundraising efforts, however. It will hold a barbecue dinner on May 16. Tickets are now being sold by church members for $8. Around 4 p.m., the barbecue will be ready for drive-through pick-up at Old Richmond Volunteer Fire Department. For more information on how to purchase a ticket or help with donations, call Lloyd McCormick at (336) 924-2958.

Another asset to the Tabernacle congregation during the 18 months they met for services in the undamaged fellowship hall was their sister church, Mt. Pleasant UMC, also in Tobaccoville. Members of that congregation, off Meadowbrook Drive near King, bought new hymnals and the accompanying CDs for Tabernacle, offered the use of their facilities for church events, purchased a pew and even planted the grass outside the new sanctuary.

Ring credits Pastor Grogan as well. “She has really been a blessing to our church ... She’s alive ... There’s not enough of her to go around!” he said.

Despite the horrible fire that destroyed their building in 2007, the Tabernacle congregation has certainly rebounded with vigor. Did the tragedy draw them closer together as a body? “Definitely,” Ring avowed firmly.

They, as a church, have risen out of the ashes to continue spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to those around them, as they have been doing without pause for nearly a century and a half.