It's as much of an icon to Camden as the King Haiglar clock tower, Quaker Cemetery or the Baron DeKalb monument.

Camden First United Methodist Church, formerly Trinity Church, is one of the oldest churches in Camden. With its lofty bell tower, doughty brick facade and stained glass windows casting an ethereal glow to an airy, open sanctuary, it is certainly one of the most beautiful.



According to oral tradition, a black congregation worshipped in its own building on the south side of West DeKalb Street since the early 1800s. Records show that on June 20, 1836, Frank Adamson deeded to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., the property on which the church originally stood.

The church's present site on DeKalb Street was secured and a wooden building erected by the white Methodist Episcopal church in 1828. The use of the building by a black congregation started in 1872 when Lyttleton Street United Methodist Church was built.

The wooden church was partially destroyed by fire in 1925 and the present structure was completed in 1928.

Throughout the 1900s, the church not only was spiritual home to many people in Camden, it was also an important fixture in the lives of Mather Academy students until the school closed in the early 1980s.



The church merged with Macedonia United Methodist Church in 1992.

In recent times, membership has dropped, but the remaining congregation, while smaller, remains faith ful. They are committed to preserving the sense of nurturing spirit they recall.

"It has always been a very nurturing place," Dr. Clifton Harryton Anderson said. "The home and church were the two places where one learned character. The church supported and nurtured the home. It really had an impact on my life"

As is often the case, the members do what they can to support the church.

While our choir sings beautifully a cappella, we need some musical accompaniment," Frankie Hull, a long time member, said one morning, looking up from the old piano next to the choir box. Hull, a retired teacher, was practicing some of the hymns for an upcoming service, despite her distraction with a case of rheumatoid arthritis.



They also are committed to preserving the physical structure. In early June, tentative plans for a major renovation and preservation efort in the old sanctuary were announced at a breakfast meeting at the Pearl Restaurant in Camden. "We are in the process of putting together a timeline and gathering information regarding projected costs," Rev. Otis Scott, Camden First United's minister, said last week.

Remond Cooper, church member and chairman of the church building committee, said the group hopes to have more concrete plans finalized by mid to late September.

Fundraising efforts will soon be underway as well, both through donations and through grants, Cooper said. Ruby Gibbs will be working with the church group to help write and secure grant funds.

Sumter architect Tommy King is currently in the process of designing and drawing the proposed renovations, Scott said.