What we are doing TODAY is far more important than dwelling on the past, but it is helpful to remember the “cloud of witnesses” who preceded us. Knowing where we’ve been can help light to path forward to where God is calling us.
Buildings and Names
What we now know as the Pitman United Methodist Church grew out of the Camp Meetings which were held in the Pitman Grove every summer. As more and more visitors opted to remain in Pitman throughout the year, the town grew and a church was needed. In 1885, the “Pitman Grove Methodist Episcopal Church” was founded. The first building was located on the Northeast corner of Laurel and Cedar Aves. In 1895 ground was broken for a new church building on the corner of Broadway and Holly. The “Methodist Episcopal Church” became the “Methodist Church” and later the “United Methodist Church”.
In 2003, an electrical fire destroyed our building that was in the center of town (actually, it was “lot 1 block 1”!). In 2007 construction was completed on our new building, located on the corner of Broadway and Lambs Road.
For more details, check out the article that was written for a news Blog called Pitman Online. It was published several years ago, but does a great job at detailing PUMC’s history. Click the below button to view this article:
People
But the church isn’t a building. It’s the people who serve and love Jesus; who fan each other’s faith into eternal love that continually glorifies our God. Over the years, many people have been part of PUMC. One way to learn something about those people is the following quiz. Don’t worry- nobody will see your grade! And, it’s multiple choice!
Try the quiz as many times as you want; the questions come from a larger pool, and the questions you’ll see (5) will be randomly selected from this pool.
This quiz digs out some old pictures and some current pictures of the pastors and leaders of our church. If you’re an old time PUMC’er, you might enjoy the memories. If you’re new to PUMC, you’ll have the chance to learn a bit about our history.
To start the quiz, click the “Next” button. Click the “switches” to select your answer. Once you’ve made your selection, you’ll see the correct answer and an explanation. Click the “Next” button again to advance to the next question.
Enjoy!
Results
You got them all correct!
Not quite. But keep trying.
#1. Which of the clergy pictured below never served as one of our pastors?
Rev. Glenn Conaway, longtime pastor of the Mullica Hill (Trinity) UMC became our District Superintendent on 2017.
#2. Who served as our Senior Pastor before Rev. Jim Bolton?
Rev. Larry Potts served as our Senior Pastor from 2007 until 2014.
#3. Who served two tenures as our Associate Pastor?
Rev. Light
Rev. Warren Light served as our Associate Pastor (with Rev. Robert Acheson) between 1962-1964, and then he returned as our associate between 1970-1974. While in Pitman, he was an active member of the Fire Department. On several occasions he would rush out of the sanctuary when the alarm sounded.
#4. Rev. Clete Kramer (pictured above) served as our Associate Pastor. Who was the Senior Pastor that he served with?
Rev. Champ Goldy
Rev. Champion Goldy served as our Senior Pastor from 1964 until 1968. An avid track and field athlete, he died in 2016 at the age of 99. He served in many churches after his time in Pitman, including a long tenure at the Haddonfield UMC.
#5. When taken, which of the following correctly identifies the people in the above picture?
This photo was taken November of 2013 when Bishop John Schol (of the Greater NJ Annual Conference) visited PUMC. Bishop Schol is in white. Also shown (l-r) are District Superintendent Rev. Richard Nichols, PUMC Sr. Pastor Rev. Larry Potts, Bishop Schol, and PUMC Associate Pastor Rev. Kee Yang.
For the Quiz of the week, visit the “Bible Quiz” page (it’s under the “News” menu). The quiz changes every Sunday.
Or, click this button:
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For more articles about the history of PUMC, click the following button:
PUMC History
