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By John W. Coleman, Jr.
UMConnection Staff

After five years of patient, persistent efforts to establish a new church in a community that sorely needed it, not even snow and ice could deter New Hope Christian Fellowship in Edgewood from consecrating its first building, Jan. 30.

For the past three years the tiny, multiracial United Methodist congregation in the Edgewater Village community met in the basement family room of lay leader Rick McComas for weekly worship, Bible study and prayer meetings. It is the only church in this racially and economically mixed community where about 8,000 people deal with pockets of poverty, illegal drug trafficking and low morale, according to the Rev. Charles Wilson, pastor.

JOHN COLEMAN / UMCONNECTION

The Rev. Charles Wilson, right, pastor of New Hope UMC, thanks the Rev. Peggy Groseclose, center, and her husband Bill for the support they and Bel Air UMC have given to New Hope since its beginning.

That?s why Wilson pushed, prodded and even prayed with Harford County officials and others so that New Hope could buy five acres of county-owned land and finally erect a double-wide trailer as a house of worship and ministry. Numerous obstacles had to be overcome, including opposition to the sale of county land to a church, the discovery of fuel tanks buried beneath the grassy field and other delays in completing the sale and setting up the trailer.

?If you all heard a jubilant scream across Harford County and Baltimore on Dec. 7, that was me,? Wilson told fellow pastors at a recent Baltimore-Harford District clergy meeting, announcing the long-awaited date when the congregation first worshiped in its new home.

The 44- by 24-foot trailer seats about 30 people, and includes an office and other rooms. Wilson and church leaders presented the building and the donated altar furnishings to the Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, district superintendent, who consecrated them on behalf of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Hunt also preached.

Among the guests were strong supporters of the fledgling congregation, including the Rev. Peggy Groseclose, and her husband Bill, from Bel Air UMC, which partners with New Hope in its ministry. Harford County Executive James Harkins, a United Methodist who has helped garner county support for the new ministry, spoke about their hard-won partnership and the role of the church in lifting the morale of the community.

?What has occurred here is phenomenal because some strong-willed people would not give up,? said Harkins, recalling the struggles that followed his first meeting five years ago with Wilson and the Rev. Edwin DeLong, conference director of new church development.

JOHN COLEMAN / UMCONNECTION

Baltimore-Harford District Superintendent, the Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, left, prays for the ministry of New Hope UMC and its pastor, the Rev. Charles Wilson, after consecrating the church?s new building. Laying hands on Wilson along with Hunt are the Revs. David Roberts, Edwin DeLong and Peggy Groseclose.

?Had it not been for church and state coming together, we would not be here in this building today,? Wilson told the congregation. ?This is a celebration of our relationship and cooperation, thanks be to God.?

Significant support has also come from conference apportionments through the Board of Congregational Life, including funds to help pay Wilson?s salary, to help purchase and prepare the land and to buy the trailer.

New Hope is intentional about giving back through its ministry, however. Wilson and church members volunteer in a local feeding ministry, a youth peer-adjudication program, community clean-up campaigns and other civic activities.

The church also does outreach to women struggling with poverty, addiction, homelessness and family strife, and has reached beyond its community through its tithes to help another new church start and support conference mission projects in Africa. Wilson announced plans to begin a community Lenten Bible study and a day shelter with services for homeless neighbors.

?This is a commencement service (marking) the end of one journey and the beginning of another,? he told about 20 celebrants during the consecration. ?This is not a nesting place but a launching pad, that we might take the name of Jesus with power and strength into the world.?

New Hope will soon begin raising funds to erect a permanent, 15,000 square-foot, two-story building on its land and add a picnic area and playground, Wilson said. ?We?re looking forward to establishing a full-service ministry here,? he added, naming community development as a key emphasis of future ministry.